Evening star., 1946-03-18
Seeds Of New Conflict
Seen by Lehman if
Relief 10 Hungry Fails
Ry the Associated Press

l
| ATLANTIC CITY, Mar. 18-Di-
rector General Herbert Lehman of
UNRRA said today that failure to
furnish relief for the worlds hun
CRY millions can we'll SOW the seeds
OF further armed conflict
In an address before UNRRA's
fourth council session the retiring
director said, I'VE have demon
strated that the men and women of
many nations can work together in
| harmony for the common good of
mankind"
The organization is not perfect"
Mr.. Lehman added, nor have the
results been perfect, but the United
Nations should recognize the basic
fact international cooperation is
possible and can be effective"
Cites Accomplishments.
Mr.. Lehman told the delegates
from Al nations that UNRRA had
accomplished the following:
l. BY the end of March more
than 100000 tons of supplies will
have been shipped "and the scale
OF our operations is increasing
daily"
2. Since the first of September
approximately $4,000 displaced per-
sons have been repatriated with the
help of military authorities.
3. Were it not for the present
food crisis UNRRA could undoubt-
edly have claimed an even greater
record during the battle of the WIN
ter of 1885,"
COllaborators Admitted.
Mr.. Lehman acknowledged that
despite vigorous efforts by the ad-
mlnistration, it has not been pos
sible" to keep out of UNRRA's
camps for political refugees many,
who, it is believed, may be collab-
orators"
Lest there be some misunder-
standing" he added, II desire to
state emphatically that the respon-
sibility for determining who among
the displaced persons are collabor-
ators rests squarely with the
Allied military authorities
Earlier the United States served
firm notice on delegates that it
did not contemplate that UNRRA
should continue beyond the end
of this year in Europe and the
middle of 1947 in Asia.
In a statement issued by C. Tyler
Wood, acting American delegate, the
State Department declared that "of
no one has ever contended
that UNRRA alone could solve all
the economic ills of a postwar world
or that large-scale programs of re-
lief could be continued indefinitely"
Then it added:
Our expectation has been that,
with the funds now pledged to
UNRRA by the contributing govern
ments, the receiving countries would
find it possible by the maximum de-
velopment and use of their own re-
sources, and with the assistance of
the international fund and bank
which have just been organized, to
carry on without further UNRRA
aid"
Drive Appears Spiked.
The statement appeared to spike
at the outset a growing drive here
to perpetuate the life of the organi-
cation, rather than push through
plan to turn the functions over to
the newly born United Nations Or
ganiZation.
Out of Mr. Woods conference
came the first official word that
Russia was planning to sell France
100000 tons of grain, and the dis
closure that Liberty ships already
have been diverted to the Black Sea
to handle the first shipments.
Mr. Wood said the Russians had
agreed to supply France with 500,-
900 tons of wheat and 100000 tons
Of barley, and that the United States
hoped to transport at least 100 1000
tons of it from Russian Black Sea
ports to Marseille, France, by
April Is.
He said the ships assigned to the
Job already were in the Black Sea,
or close by, and that if other ships
were needed they would be supplied.
He expressed hope that 1T will be
possible for Russia to furnish addi-
tlonal food supplies to other >coun-
tries.
He told neWsmen, too, that Italy.
as a co-belligerent nation, would be
given the same treatment as the
Allied countries.