Milford chronicle., 1947-10-17


AT the request of General Lucius
d. Clay, Commander-in-Ch of
the European Command, q. S. Ar
my Forces, Lewis H. Brown recent
ly made a trip to Europe to study
Western Germany's postwar indus
trial potential Mr.. Brown. who is
Chairman of the Board of the
Johns-Manville Corporation, is pre-
pairing a 250-page report which
will go to General Clay, Secretary
Marshall and other high officials.
In the meantime, he has released
brief summary of his findings.
1t adds up to one of the most thor
ough and realistic proposals yet
made concerning the vexiRg Ger
man situation.
Mr.. Browns purpose is to indi-
cate what must be done if the Mar
shall Plan is to succeed, and a pro-
gram developed which will be ac-
ceptahle to Congress- His basic
point Is that German industry must
be restored and the German people
must be given new hope. That in
wolves a number of specific steps
which include: An end to the rep
aratioRs of capital goods; an end
to the denazification proceedings
except for the $4,000 top Nazis in
Category Il. untying of the complies
financial and bureaucratic shackles
which now prevent German ex-
ports: German participation in
Marshall Plan discussions so fal
as they affect German needs; g
central banking system and new
currency for Germany as soon az
central government with a bal
anced budget can be effected. Thai
program, Mr.. Brown believes
would mark the first effective steI
to stop the spread of communism
west of the Iron Curtain.
The key to the revival of Ger
man industry is coal. The key t.
coal production is adequate food
The average German is living Oh
a starvation diet of 1900 caloriel
a day-a third of the American
level. Mr.. Brown recommends tina
the diet for all Germans be pro
gressixely improved, aud that spe
cial incentive diets be given to spe
cialized groups starting with tn,
miners in the Ruhr. This would b.
accomplished by providing th
miners with coupons enabling then
to get a rs per cent increase il
rafiOns in return for so per cen
increase in coal production. An
nual coal production in the Rub
is now $4,000, 900 tons. Mr.. Brown
plan would increase it to 100000
tons by the end of 194S.
But that is only the beginning o
his solution for Germany's eco
nomic problem. The German trans
portation system, due to terrifi
war damage, cannot haul the Goa
away from the mines. We have beel
attempting to export 100000
tons of coal from Germany to Rus
sia, France, Switzerland and othe
countries. The rail hauls hav
been unnaturally long and hav
tied up railroad equipment that i
already short and is vitality need
ed elsewhere. And this is where
in Mr.. Browns opinion, Great Brit
ain comes into the picture.
Prior to the war. England wa
the principal supplief 0f.aeoal t
Western Europe. The coal wa
brought by water to the large ports
around which major industria
areas grew up Transportation t
other areas was by short rail hat
or by barge. Now England n
longer supplies coal to Wester
Europe, sand that, Mr.. Brown say
is both a barrier to German indus
trial recovery and one of the big
gest contributing factors to tn
British dollar shortage. His solu
tion is to declare q moratorium {
from IL to Is months on the shiI
ment of coal out of Germany S