THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES MONDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1947. EMERGENCY AID

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26632, 1 December 1947, Page 4

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES MONDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1947. EMERGENCY AID

The fact that the proposals for the definition of.the Marshall Plan are now before Congress is something for which to be thankful. It was essential if aid was to be given effectively that it be given soon, but there was a danger that details could not be prepared before Congress had adjourned for the session, and next year the fate of the proposals might have been, very different when placed before a Congress suffering from pre-election fevers. This satisfaction must be tempered by the announcement of further whittling down of the grants which were recommended for the emergency foreign aid programme, the preliminary step to the implementing of the Marshall Plan. The Administration had asked for 597,000,000 dollars to help France, Italy and Austria through the winter. This was below the estimates received from the countries concerned, but it was agreed that the assumptions of basic requirements could be modified. The House Foreign Affairs Committee has, however, now voted to reduce this still further to 489,000,000 dollars and it has added a complication by recommending aid amounting to 60,000,000 dollars for China although ’it was not asked to do so and Mr Marshall’s advice was that China’s need could wait for another six months. It will be a bad omen for future planning if the decision of the Foreign Affairs Committee is to be taken as indicative of an attitude that American aid is really a dollar investment and the trade potentiality of China is greater than the benefits to be derived from saving a Europe which, when recovered, would be a trade competitor as well as a consumer.

Congress can hardly fail to appreciate the vital necessity of adequate aid to Europe within the shortest possible time. The formation of the Cominform, with Italy and France as its only Western European members, was a clear warning that Moscow was taking its war against the Marshall Plan into the enemy’s camp, and this warning has been followed by action- of an unmistakable kind. The strikes and riots which broke out simultaneously in Italy and France were Communistinspired and tactically they have been disturbingly successful. There is an actual possibility of both these countries falling intp anarchy within the next few weeks, and the offer by America of generous aid to the two Governments would have a greater stabilising effect than any internal action which could be taken. In Austria the situation has not developed overtly to the extent it has in Italy and France, but it has to be remembered that Russia already has one foot over- the doorstep of that country. The Foreign Affairs Committee has recommended the reduction of the amount of emergency aid in accordance with the evidence it has received of the amount of goods that could be made available. But if the original assumption of requirements can be modified, so too can the estimates of what gan be made available. The Harrimar? report made it clear that aid to Europe would impose real sacrifices on the American people, but the committee has shown that it will not accept the responsibility. There is still a possibility that the committee’s recommendation may be raised. This depends on the ability of President Truman to assure Congress that his proposals for preventing the export of goods from raising the already high cost of living will be effective. This is the second part of the proposals the President gave warning of a few weeks ago, and it may have a determining effect not only on emergency but also on future aid.