Evening star., 1947-05-18

/ AllPO4 t2klt. al Coo Al eAAO oSAAA1 ~
, about ready to climb back onto tn,
trading merry-go-round.
Poland Sells Coal.
Here are some the bright spots:
i l. Poland is an important source
of coal, and the world is short o.
coal. At first, most of Poland's Goa
\ had to go to Russia under q trade
agreement. But six months ago Rus.
STA released half of her take.
This made it possible for Poland X
sell coal In Western Europe.
| That meant Poland could earn ths
money of other nations and coule
begin to buy elsewhere than in Rus.
sia.
| Now Poland trade has loosened ur
so much that she has just signed q
trade agreement with the British
The British will send her cotton
machinery and chemicals. She will
send back long list that includes
eggs, berries, sugar, mushrooms
furniture, porcelain, some textiles
and, later, zinc.
/ Pacific Picture.
2. Czechoslovakia, which started
out shipping vast amounts to Russia
now has this balance for her ex-
ports: IL per cent goes to Russia and
88 per cent to other nations.
3. The Philippines are getting
around to such a healthy selling
position that it won't be long be-
fore they are good bet for foreign
investors. So says . Commerce
Department official.
4. The East Indies-Java, Sumatra
and Borneo-from which we once
bought a good many necessities
have had such "an orderly little
revolution" Gas the Commerce mar
says that they are about to settle
down enough to make hard-and-fast
trade commitments. When that
happens, say one Government ex-
pert, they will also be good bets
for private investment.
, Railroads Busy. ~
5. Last year. Europe's railroads
moved more goods and people than
before the war. And it was done
with very much less rolling stock.
How? Everybody got together.
The cooperation grew out of those
dreary years of exile when men from
all over Europe sought refuge in
London. Exiled cabinet ministers
then plotted a share-and-share-
alike program, once the war ended.
so that all Europe could get going
at an even pace.
just about that has happened.
On a voluntary basis. Governments
made decisions on just how many
boxcars, how much coal, electricity,
gas, there were to go around. Then
they shared them proportionately.
They had to throw government
owned and private4y-owned plants
and railroads to do 1t. They did,
with no major fuss.
They did it for coal through the
European coal organization. Europe
has been getting coal from Britain
(Which is producing more than pre-
war;, Germany, France, Poland and
the United States. The coal-owning
nations could have monopolized
their supplies. But the coal was
shared with no noticeable advantage
for any single nation.
Electric Power Shared.
They did it for electricity and gas
by setting up European "grids."
Power and gas come from only a few
spots on the European map. But
they have been pumped all over on
sharing basis, through government
agreements.
For example, big European power
sources lie near the German-Italian
border and in Austria. Power has
been sent from there all over Eu-
rope. Poland and Czechoslovakia,
presumably in the Russian orbit"
belong to the grids.
And, just to put frosting on the
cake, 5000 trains crossed Germany
every month last year, right through
the iron curtain.
Some Possibilities.
The Europeans are trying to solid
ify this cooperation for the future
The new economic mission for Eu-
rope is meeting in Geneva to lay
more plans for reconstruction. The
United States is sitting in.
This doesn't mean, Government
experts say, that Europe's troubles
are over, that she won't need more
American dollars, that Europe viii
60 back to laissez-faire capitalism
that the United States will stor
hucking the spread OF communism
But it can mean this, the experts
Isay:
/. Europe is already living under
various forms of socialism, but u
trade continues to grow there is
LESS danger that the continent viii
turn to the Russian type Of CON-
munisrn.
/ q. It viii probably mean that the
/ free enterprise of the United States
viii have to learn to buy and sell
with a mixture of Government
owned and privately owned con-
icernS.
j 8. That can be done. providing
the worlds workers stay on the jot
lat wages high enough to buy wha1
there Is to buy.
K distributed hy the Associated Press.) /.