Evening star., 1946-10-06
Bargain 70 Unity
Reich Reported
Put Up 10 Reds
U. S. Might Sanction
Repurotions From
German Production
By NewboId Noyes, Jr
sior stoH Correspondent

BERLIN, Oct. 5.-Russia is be-
ing sounded out informally on
the proposition that if she will
agree to economic unification of
the occupation zones in Ger
many, the United States will
sanction her taking reparations
from current German produc-
ton.
1t. Gen. Lucius D. Clay, United
States Deputy Military Governor,
said in an interview today that he
had talked with Soviet officials
along this line. He said they were
definitely interested.
Gen. Clay stated he did not be-
lieve that Russia would agree to
unity her zone with the others, as
the United States badly wants her
to do, unless under the unified set
up she could get the reparations
from current German production
which she also badly wants.
Production Gain Seen.
Treating Germany as an economic
whole, the general suggested, might
SO boost German production that
Russia could take some reparationsl
from current output and still leave
the Germans what they are entitled
to under the terms of the Potsdam
agreement. He said he saw here
possible area of compromise for the
vexing. stalemated issues of German
unification and reparations.
Hitherto, the United States has
been on record as opposing the TAX
ing Of such reparations although /
Secretary of State Byrnes' Stuttgart
speech left open the question of
compromise along the lines now be-
ing tested.
Gen. Clay insisted he did not know
whether the State Department |
would sanction such a compromise.
But he is unlikely to have talked |
to the Russians on such an i'm
portant matter before he talked to |
Washington about 1t and, therefore,
it reasonably may be presumed that
a widely predicted policy shift in
respect to the reparations question,
already has been made.
Compromise Outlined.
The compromise proposal being
preached TO the Russians amounts
simply to this:
The Russians want reparations
from current production. The
Americans do not want. 10 see Ger
many bled white. If tht Russians
agree to an all-around economic
uniflcation Of zones, it might give
German production such shot in
the arm that Russia could take
her reparations in reasonable guam
titles and still leave Germany capa-
BILE Of maintaining reasonable
standard of living.
The possibility of achieving such
a compromise, Gen. Clay asserted,
depends on the amount of repara-
tions on which the Soviet would
insist. The United States could
agree to such a solution only if
Russia were willing to limit her
take to an amount which would
leave Germany with standard of |
living approximating the European
average, he indicated.
Gen. Clay predicted that Russian
agreement to economic unification
of the four zones might also prove
to be contingent on a settlement |
of the problem of Germans west
ern frontiers.
Red Cooperation Seen.
OF late, and particularly since
Britain and the United States have
announced economic uniflcation of
their zones, there seems to have
been a Russian disposition toward
more practical cooperation with
the other occupying powers in Ger
many, the general said. His per-
sonal relations with the Russian au-
thorities have always been exceed
ingly cordial, he added.
The feeling of many American
Military Government officials here
is that there is every likelihood
Russia will agree, probably before
next spring, to the handling of Ger
many as one economic unit, pro-
vided she can be assured that such
unif1cation will not keep her from
extracting the reparations she is