Evening star., 1947-03-17
BiduuIt's Proposal

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Until it is spelled out in greater
detail, French Foreign Minister
Bidault's proposal for German emf
grafton must be read with consider
able reservation. Secretary of State
Marshall has described it as going
to the heart of things in a realistic
manner, but sound as it may be in
theory, there is some reason to ques-
|, ton whether it would work out in
practice.
What Mr.. Bidault has in mind
is this consideration: When Hitler
raised his aggressive cry for more
living space for Germans in Europe,
Germany had a population density
of $50 per square kilometer; now,
however, with the return of expellees
from former parts of the defeated
Reich, this density promises to grow
to 1876 per square kilometer, as
against Is for France and 81 for
Poland. In Mr.. Bidault's judgment,
such overpopulation, giving Ger
many an immense numerical ad-
vantage over its neighbors, must be
regarded as a factor that could
contribute Importantly to the rise
of new German aggression in the
future.
Accordingly. to guard against this
danger, Mr.. Bidault would have the
victor powers take these steps: Cd
Permit no new transfers of German
minorities from other countries into
Germany; (2) stop any such trans
fers now in progress; 90 forbid nom
German displaced persons to settle
permanently in Germany but ex-
pedite their return to their former
homes or resettle them in other
lands, and (4) disperse a great num-
ber of Germans throughout the
world by an organized reduction of
their population through emigration
from their truncated fatherland.
In certain respects-especially- as
regards ending the transfers of Ger
man minorities-this proposal seems
wholly practical. But the idea of Or
ganizing a great exodus from the
broken Reich runs up against this
question: Just how many Germans
would Mr.. Bidault have emigrate to
other lands, and what lands would
let them in? Speaking for his own
country-which is in need of skilled
manpower for reconstruction-Mr.
Bidault has made clear that France
would be willing to absorb a sub
stantial number. Britain which
also is in need of manpower-might
be willing to do the same. But how
about the Netherlands, Belgium, Nor
way, Sweden, Spain, Italy, Czecho-
slovakia, Austria, ETC.? In some
places, anti-German feeling would
forbid it: in other places, the popu-
lation is too crowded already. The
problem is further complicated by
the fact that there is no easy way
of finding homes for the hundreds
of thousands of non-German dis
placed persons, let alone the Ger
mans. Moreover, If the Bidault plan
is sound for Germany, what of ia
pan, which is even more overpopu-
lated?
1t may be, of course, that room
for all will eventually be found in
numerous parts of the world. Mean
while, however, it is worth noting
that in this part of the world the
Senate Foreign Relations Commit
tee, in approving American partic-
ipation in the International Refugee
Organization, has pointedly empha-
sized that special legislation will be
needed if our immigration barriers
are to be DISQUALIFICATION certain
to run into stiff congressional op-
position. Everything considered, the
outlook thus does not seem too good
for an early, large-scale realization
of Mr.. Bidault's idea.