Evening star., 1943-11-07
Many Groups Are Turning World Problems
Forgotten Man Remembered
AS Allied Leaders Confer
By Sierid Arne.

NEW YORK (P).-The forgotten man
has lost his job the world over. He:
now the remembered man. He's thu
subject of perhaps fourth of the secre
talks now going on in Washington ane
London.
He was discussed at Quebec. He likely
cast long shadow at Moscow.
Out of charity? Not at all. Because
world leaders now recognize that the
forgotten man in the bread line could
bring on the third world war He was
the malleable mass welded together by
Hitler. And it's feared the third world
war wouldn't leave much.
So, how to keep the forgotten man in a
Job, give him a diet, medical care and a
chance to add to his savings account?
Whether he wears Bond street, white
sheets and sandals, or just feathers
The ideas weave through speeches in
the British Parliament. They run
through speeches and papers the Ma
tional Foreign Trade Council has COL
lected from international traders both
here and abroad They form the sub
stance of most of the postwar plans pro-
posed here by members of exile govern
ments.
Sequence of Plans.
There's sequence, First, peace and
safety. Then stable money, brisk buy
Ing and selling between nations, high
manufacturing rates, full employment,
~,
living standards around the world.
The planning isn't as simple as the
old WPA formula, What? No Job?
Here's s42 month. Go rake leaves"
The planners are putting their faith
In freer world trade The words they
use are $40 ones. But they translate
into this: If enough of us have the
money to buy plenty, enough of us
should have jobs turning out the goods.
And if enough of us have what We
Want-no more war"
Clark H. Minor, president of Interna-
tional General Electric and chairman of
the Foreign Trade Councils Reconstruc-
ton Committee, puts it this way:
Peace and stability are conditions
essential to the growth and expansion
of international commerce, upon which
depends the solution of the problems of
poverty and unemployment through in
creased production and the raising of
the standards of living.
ITO preserve our standard of living
We should work for free enterprise sys-
tenn under which We provide continuing
employment and contribute to the i'm
provement of the standard of living and
well-being of all people"
Three Steps Taken.
In concrete words, if Americans need
enough Spanish cork, Italian olive oil,
French gloves, then those countries can
spend enough elsewhere so that Brazil
ians may have money to buy our tractors,
Russians our autos or Chinese our struc-
tural steel.
Some planners particularly those from
Central Europe, go beyond. They urge
that undeveloped nations, like Bulgaria,
must have goods to sell in world markets.
Did you ever buy much from Bulgaria?
Or from Latvia, or Korea?
Three steps have been taken by the
United Nations so far:
l. They are setting up United Ma
tions Food Board.
2. They are discussing a world none
tary sterilization fund
g. They are conferring on world bank
to finance reconstruction.
There are handful of other plans,
by private groups, most Of which also
look toward fuller world trade.
This should be said Immediately about
the position OF the United States: If the
three steps above will work Uncle Sam
will likely be bailed out of playing Santa
Claus to the world. We may, to some
degree. But If we do, others will also
wear the white whiskers. And, we may
want to play the role for our own future
good.
Central Europe Sore Spot.
The first step. the United Nations
Food Board, is now preparing to become
permanent agency. 1t has announced
10 definite plan. But it has recognized
the general pflnclpIe that people must
eat, and must eat a health-preserving
diet
Let's look at one sore spot that's made
1t necessary to consider food on world
basis. It's Central Europe: Poland
Rumania. Hungary and the rest.
Central Europe has produced huge
grain crops, but little fruit, vegetables,
eggs, milk. Why? Because they had to
be ready for war, and an acre of wheat
feeds more people than an acre of string
beans.
So are we just worried about helping
Poles to eat like we do? Not by a
bombsight. The Central Europeans pro-
duced such grain surpluses they had to
sell where they could in the 30s Hitler
bought the grain. Shortly, the Central