The Wilmington morning star., 1946-08-04
interpreting
The News
By DEWITT Mackenzie
AE Foreign Affairs Az

which is Of vast Importance ~ ~
rehabilitation and politoc " ne
nomic realignment Of conti,. .tH
Europe as a whole. 1'al
What has happened Is This.
U. S. State department IN me
cent note 10 Moscow raise5 re-
point of a possible rec~onsidsr.u'
of the Soviet claim for $500 nm ot Nun
repartations from war : shst|
Hungary. Washington pointed sa
that the Russians were taki0. W!
least four-fif5hs of the nra az
Hungarian production in besvr ..'
dustry, and were reauisitior; M.
much food as well.
The note also suggested tb,.
Russian American : British ioina
commission work out a olsr 4 q.
help Hungary out of her econo,ois
chaos. The panubian country b..
been suffering from one Of tb.
most fantastic mutations The wo~ls
has known. AT the time the Arna.;
can note was sent, the United
States dollar was worth one him.
dred quadr;llion Hungarian Non.
COS, whereas the pengo If Inn.
of 1899 before the war was rated
at 29.12 ceats.
Rejected Points
Moscow rejected the America,
points regarding the economic M
sition as Completely groundlessu
It turned down the idea of a ioint
commission as Unacceptable"
Why shouldn't Russia welcome
Uncle Sans suggestion? Well ths
answer would seem to be-and jts
worth logging for future reference
that Hungary is a key position
in the Soviet's new zone of inf1u.
ence in Eastern, Southeastern and
Central Europe. That zone is
rapidly being made alright. and
as the signs read Moscow has M
intention Of surrendering any ad.
vantage in a Hungary which is Of
vast strategic importance politi.
cally, economically and military.
Hungary is the logical gateway
between the Balkans and Central
Europe. The mighty Danube runs
through the very heart Of the
country, providing a navigable
water route which reaches through
Austria into the heart of Europe
on the one side, and on the other
winds through the Balkans to the
Black sea.
The Hungarian capital, Buda.
pest, which stands astride the
Danube, is not only a port OF in
estimable value that is the hub
of railways from all points Of the
compass. The country Is bounded
by Yugoslavia on the south, Ro-
mania on the east, Czechoslovakia
on the north and Austria on the
west. No wonder the Russian high
command made Hungary one Of
its main opjectives as the world
war drew to its close.
Powerful keystone
So we see that Hungary Is a
mighty keystone in tn Russian
structure of influence. A similar
situation prevailed before the war
when Germany was overload Of all
the vast territory of which Buda-
pest is the hub. and it's important
to note that the seich's most I'M
portant hold On these small coun-
tries was economic.
The economic grip, backed by
military might, gave Berlin poi''
cal domination. when Hitler
launched his attack to conquer the
world he held this whole area in
the palm of his hand, because
these small countries were de-
pendent on Germany TO ABSORB
their agricultural products and 10
furnish them machinery ana
drugs. The nature of the FaM
brigand's stranglehold was well
illustrated by a remark MADE 10
me while I was in Budapest III
1888. Perhaps I've mentioned NV
incident in this column before ou'
it is so pat that l venture 10 re-
peat. A famous Hungarian sta'e''
man in explaining tae SITUATION
said to me-:
Germany takes more tran my
per cent of all our exports We
have no alternative market Al
Hitler has to do Is ban our e%
ports for six months and Hungary
is bankrupt. Do you think We DIV
going to play his gan.ef Inc ~
sWer is yes"
It's a fair prophesy that Russo
viii establish economic conI"
throughout its sphere Of influence
1t may be difficult to do 50 I'M
mediately because OF the indus'1,
al destruction the Soviet sufferer
in the war, but Marshal Stain =
driving hard for rehabilitation a"'
81 eat progress is being maze
In any event, it seems clear why
Moscow isn't keen to lave a..
mixed econornic missions WORMS
in the Russian zone.