Evening star., 1947-12-18
Red Army Head Hits
Allies for Stand on
Reich Reparations
By Pertinox
North American Newspaper AlIiones


LONDON, Dec. 18.-1n a CONVEX
sation here with French diplomats
prior to their departure for the con-
tinent, Marshal Sokolovsky, COM
mander in chief of the Russian
Army of occupation and Soviet rep
resentative on the Berlin Control
Council, used telling sentences to
express his countrymen's resent
ment at the American and British
attitude toward German reparations.
your American and British
friends" Marshal Sokolovsky said
to the French, complain that they
cannot make both ends meet in
their zones of occupation and must
pay out of their own pockets to
feed their soldiers and their German
subjects. Please mark my words
as commander in chief of the Red
Army, if ever went to Generals
simo Stain and told him I am
unable to make the troops and the
German population under me live
off the land and therefore must
press for importation of foodstuffs
from the outside world to feed them
all in the eastern zone, my fate
would be quickly sealed.
Stain would order me to be shot
on the spot and could not help
but think him right. Do you imagine
that NaH Marshal (Gerd) Won
Rundstedt, when he held command
In France, would have been spared
the gallows had he argued that the
resources OF the French soil were
inadequate and appealed to Hitler to
send him supplies?
Ulterior Motive Seen.
'The truth is that the British and
Americans fail to balance their ac-
counts because they bring to Ger
many all kinds of superfiuous things,
including electric brooms and cakes.
But why do they do this? Surely
they must have an ulterior motive!"
Frenchmen, of course, are inter-
ested in that reasoning on the part
OF Marshall Sokolovsky because it
evidences the widening abyss be-
tween the west and the east. Taking
into account Russian difference in
thought, they feel that, as far as
the reparations issue is concerned,
the Russians can make out a fairly
good case.
But the reparations controversy
is now buried in the. past, with the
dissolution of the ministers con-
ference here. The point of actual
interest is that French re-
lations are deteriorating swiftly and
distinct uneasiness is felt in French
circles at the forthcoming reaction
on the part of Russia to this new
break with the western powers.
Last July, Russian Foreign Min
lister Molotov's refusal to have any,
thing to do with the Marshall plan
led to Tightening of Soviet control
over all the Slav states OF Eastern
and Southeastern Europe. The
French security police now, at any
rate, maintain that the riotous
strikes Of the past month and the
new, bold deeds committed by the
Communist Party conform to a plan
drawn up outside of France, and
governmental quarters fully expect
new outbursts to occur before many
months have passed.
Acting on such belief the Min
istry of the Interior, under Jules
Moch, is determined to find out and
to suppress all instruments Of
cominform influence that it may
lay hands on. BY that token, the
French Russian alliance can well
be regarded as belonging to the past.
France Is ready to stand by America.
But now arises the question which
Georges Bidault, French Foreign
Minister, is bound to put to Secre-
tary of State Marshall soon:
Supposing worse comes to worse,
would the American-British high