Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1945-09-23
Conclusion of LeaSe-Lend
Brings Serious Problems
Conversations Already Under Way as Allies Seek
to Work Out Agreements Which Will
Safeguard World Economy
By Joseph II. Baird

! IL. Bard
ton is expected, This is represented by
military material which our Allies may
wish to keep for the postwar use of their
own forces, installations such as port
facilities, docks and airfields, and also
vast amounts of industrial machinery.
some of which may be used for civilian
production.
The major part of lease lend was in
the form of consumable products for
which no compensation is likely to be
asked. In the case of Great Britain, for
example, out of total of $13 ,498, 748, 900
worth of services and supplies advanced
by the United States, some $4,000, OO0,-
| 600 represented ammunition, aircraft.
tanks, petroleum products and food, the
last item alone being $3,4O9, 446 900. Pre-
sumably all or most of this will be writ
ten off the books, balanced partly by the
| $3,796 $4,000 worth of goods and serv-
ices which the British furnished the
United States.
Much material Still Usable,
There are on the British account,
however, some items for which partial
payment may be asked There is, for
example, $69l 1893, 900 worth of ships,
S703,982, 900 worth of motor vehicles and
parts and s1925 ,304 900 worth of indus
trial materials and products Presum-
ably some of the ships, trucks and in
dustrial machinery are still serviceable
and disable in British civilian economy.
In the case of Soviet Russia, the pro-
portion of lease-lend supplies which
have a postwar civilian use is even
higher. Out of total of SO l28, BITS, 900
advanced under lease-lend through July
l, industrial machinery and products
accounted for $2,946, 1886 900 and motor
vehicles and parts for ST 1922 933, 900, q
total of more than S4,000,000,000. Entire
factories were shipped from the United
States to Russia and assembled there
Thousands of jeeps and trucks were
sent to the Soviets. Presumably many
of them are still serviceable.
Under terms of the lease-lend agree
ments, the President has the authority
to demand the return to the United
States of any article which shall not
have been destroyed, lost or consumed
and as shall be determined by the Presi-
dent to be useful in the defense of the
United States of America or of the
Western Hemisphere or to be otherwise
of use to the United States of America"
The War and Navy Departments, it is
understood, now are making survey
of lease-lend material to decide whether
there is any of it which they want re-
turned for their own military stockpiles.
Surplus Weapons Problem.
Officials we'll acquainted with the
lease-lend picture, however, doubt that
our own armed services will desire the
return of any large amount of the mill
tary material now in the hands of our
Allies. Our own surplus of weapons
is tremendous, and with the rapid ad-
vances being made, for example, in the
design of planes and tanks the chances
are that much of it will be obsolescent
within few years.
However, some of our Allies may pre-
fer to return surplus weapons rather
than pay for them. In the case of the
British, for example, negotiations now
are going on to determine whether they
want to accept large number of new
and unused weapons which were in the
lease-lend pipeline" or in supply de-
pots on VI day. Some high-ranking
British officers, it is understood, prefer
not to accept them, as they wish to equip
their postwar army and air force en-
tirely with materiel of British design
1t is considered likely, however, that
nations such as Soviet Russia, France
and China, which do not have large
armament industries, likely will retain
American military materiel to bolster
their national defenses in the early
postwar years.
Barring the transfer of cash across
international exchange which is ad-
mitted by the administration to contain
serious economic dangers, how will the
lease-lend debts be settled?
Might Pay in Raw Material.
One suggestion which has received
some consideration is that payment be
made in the form of raw materials
which are needed for American national
defense or which could be sold by the
| Government to private industry. Soviet
| Russia, for example, has tremendous de-
| posts of manganese which is essential
| to the manufacture of steel and of
which the United States has very lin
tied, low-grade ores. Also Russia is a
large producer of timber. The British
might make payments in kind" in the
form of crude rubber from Malaga,
nickel from Canada or other strategic
ores found in various parts of the en-
pire.
A report of a Senate committee,
headed by President Truman in 1912.
suggested that the British repay lease
lend by turning over to the United
States the ownership of some of its
petroleum reserves or deposits of nickel,
copper, tin and iron.
| In considering such payments "in
kind" however, the administration
must bear in mind the protests that
would arise from United States and
Latin America producers should the
domestic market become glutted with
products which they normally sell. That
limits the acceptance Of goods and ma
terials to those not produced in large
quantities in the Western Hemisphere.
Still another suggestion which has
been made at times in Congress is that
the lease-lend debt be discharged, in
part at least, by our Allies granting to
us the use of naval and air bases which