The Wilmington morning star., 1946-03-24

The News
BY DEWITT MACKENZIE
AP World Trayeler

her five year economic nIan
sy1nptcmatic Of the shockinU - ~; ~
tress which blankets most Of % rS
rope and special envoy Leon RL1o u'
quite likely is only breskino i +a
for e long line Of applicants +rnnl ,lau
other nations. 1'V'''
OF course the big problem ~ A..
moment In most countries NJ ~
old world is to find food m w M
basis that L you are starvir, W
doesn't matter tinker's dam Son,
much money you have in vnn,
pocket unless it will buy SOM
thing to eat. However, I TAX. u
that in the long run a full rnn
board is dependent on a full pur,s
which means that there can he w.
permanent cure for hunger unIs,'
the economic situation is sound
There was hunger in Europe ~
er the first world conflict, snd
1here was economic disturbanc,
but 1t was a happy interlude =,
compared with what Is happeninS No
now. AS this column has remarEaS
before, you've got to be her. in
Europe and see these things IN
order to get a full realization of
the extent Of the catastrophs.
Belonged 10 Atomic Age
The total war which Hitler ".
augurated truly belonged to Ii.
atomic age. It not only stopped
the wheels Of progress but II d..
stroyed the means Of recovery
Those means now must come
largely from the Western hemI.
sphere.
That's why we find Franc.
knocking at our door. She's one
OF the hard hit countries. Her pres.
ent misfortune is due to variou.
reasons, including political con.
fusion and spiritual hurt, but we
find enough cause for economic
distress in the despoilment Of this
great country by the HitIerites.
Here, as in most other occupied
territories, the Nazis not only sent
thousands of citizens to servitude
in Germany but plundered the
country of equipment essential to
keep the economic wheels turning
For instance, much of the rolling
stock Of the railroads was run off
for use in Germany and other In.
vaded countries. Factories were
stripped Of machinery, and ma.
chine tools were stolen wholesale
In short, when the war ended
France had been 50 crippled that
she lacked the basic means OF re.
covery and had to look abroad for
help. The same is true Of most
other countries which were over
run by Hitler. Another case in
hand is little Holland which has
been negotiating credits In Wash
ington.
No Machinery
When I was in Holland month
ago, Frime Minister Schermer.
norm told me that the Germans
aad taken all but IL percent Of
he country's rolling stock There
S such a shortage Of machinery
and machine tools due, to Naz
olundering, that it has been I'M
possible to get industry under way
Or do repairs.
The question naturally arises
Why these stolen railway cars and
the industrial machinery aren't re-
turned to France, Holland and the
other despoiled countries. Well,
little of the plunder is finding its
way back, but I remind you again
that this has been a total war.
Much of the tremendous amount
If wealth which Hitler collected in
Germany was destroyed IN the a.
led hurricane that swept the
reich.
Then, too, even where rachIn-
cry ano various kinds OF supplies
are found intact, it frequently Is
difficult to determine ownership.
was talking the other day with
'amous Dutch manufa cturer who
old me of losing an invaluable
;rainload of material to the Ger
mans.
What appears to be this material
las now been found in one of the
occupied zones of Germany but
here is no way of making po-
'itive Identification, and conse'
luently the Dutch firm can't gel
t. back.
So the stricken countries OF Eu,
'ope must turn to the t'nlted
States for the whereWithal to re-
labilitate themselves, since there
S no other nation which has lne
Necessary resources.
The degree of distress in differ
mt parts of Europe naturally
aries greatly. France is cne o.
hose which have been hard nl'
md it occupies an exceptiona1y
position as the W1eel'
louse of the western part OF Ins
continent.