Evening star., 1943-11-11

EAST Africa, asbestos and chrome
from Southern Rhodesia, cocoa from
British West Africa, tea and coconu,
oil from Ceylon and benzol and tai
acids from the United Kingdom.
British shipping for these raw
materials and foodstuffs from all
parts Of the British Commonwealth
will also be made available under
reverse lease lend.
Discussions are also under way
with the other governments of the
British Commonwealth looking to-
ward a like arrangement for the
provision of materials and foodstuffs
as reverse lease-lend aid.
AS Of June 30, l943, the British
Commonwealth of Nations reported
that expenditures of about sl,17l.-
100000 had been made for reverse
lease-lend aid. The United King
dam has expended about $871 900 ,0OO
OF this amount, and Australia, New
Zealand and India have expended
approximately $300,000,000.
Based on estimates for the first
six months of this year, expendi-
lures by the British Commonwealth
Tor reverse lease-lend aid to the
United States are now at an annual
rate of about $3.50, ,0O0,0 900. This
does not take into account the an
t1clpated exports of raw materials.
commodities and foodstuffs for the
account Of the United States.
The data necessary for even an in
complete accounting of the none
tary expenditures by the British
Commonwealth for reverse lease lend
assistance to the United States have
been gathered in the face of diff
culties. British aid is rendered to
the armed forces of the United
States all over the world. Usually it
is under conditions very different
from those surrounding leasc-lend
from the United States. which flows
from a central source. Many sup
plies and services have been made
available by the British to the United
States armed forces in North Africa.
Sicily and elsewhere for which no
report has yet been received.
Facilities Supplied by Britain.
The figures set forth in this report
include expenditures made by the
British Commonwealth for newly
constructed barracks, military air.
ports, hospitals and other military
facilities for our armed forces. They
do not include such facilities made
available to our armed forces where
no out-of-pocket expenditures have
been made for their construction
since our entry into the war.
These British expenditures were
from appropriated funds which
required financing either through
taxation or borrowing. They are
comparable to the expenditures
made by the United States from
appropriations for lease lend pur-
poses which include funds for
capital installations in this coun-
try, such as munitions plants. ship
yards and other facilities. 1t has
not yet been determined how such
lease-lend or reverse lease-lend eX-
penditures will be entered or treated
in the final settlement under the
lease-lend agreements.
They will. of course, be considered
when the final settlement is made.
The master agreement provides that
in the final determination of the
benefits to be provided to the United
States, full cognizance shall be
taken of all property, services, in
formation, facilities, or other bene-
fits or considerations provided by
the government of the United King
dom subsequent to March II, 1941,
and accepted or acknowledged by
the President of the United States
Of America"
The governments of the British
Commonwealth have submitted their
statement of expenditures for the
reverse lease lend aid covered in
this report in pounds. To make
these figures more intelligible to the
people, these expenditures
have been translated into dollars at
the official exchange rates. This
may be misleading because the rate
of exchange used cannot, especially
under war conditions, always reflect