Evening star., 1947-11-09
By Chalmers M. Roberts

By choImers M. Roberts
A four-year. European recovery
program costing the United
States $5,75O,0O0,000 in 1948 was
recommended last night by the
non partisan Presidents Com
mittee on Foreign Aid. OF this,
$4,000 100000 to $500, ,000, 900
would be an outright gift.
The entire program through 1851
would cost this Nation between $12,-
70O,00O,0O0 and $17,200,00,0 de-
pending on whether prices go up OF
down and on what food and other
goods we have available for ship
ment abroad, the group of 10 dis
tinguished business, labor and edu-
cational leaders under the chair
manship of Secretary of Commerce
Hartman told President Truman.
II Congress acts quickly, the COM
mittee added, about 100000 OF
funds already appropriated can be
used, thus cutting the need for new
appropriations during this current
fiscal Year to IS 900 ,000, 900. A spokes-
man for the group said also that
some Fof the interim aid funds ex-
pected to be voted by the coming
special session of Congress for aid
to Italy and France could be counted
In the IS 900 100000 figure provided
the long g-range-recovery plan gets
under way quickly enough.
Year-to-Year Basis Urged.
The committee said it cannot en-
phasiZe too strongly that any aid
extended to Europe must be on a
-to-year basis" and "it must be
subject to constant, vigiliant review
of the Congress 1t would be ad-
ministered by a new, Independent
agency
President Truman, in statement
released with the report, thanked
the committee members for doing
their job without partisanship." He ,
commended the report to "the care
full attention of members of Con-
gress, officials of the executive
branch and all citizens concerned
for our country's welfare"
The long awaited report went far
beyond the original scope assigned
the committee and 1t is expected to
become a ma jor basis of the admin
istration's program. Secretary OF
State Marshall will go before joint
session of the Senate Foreign Rela-
tions and the House Foreign Affairs
Committees tomorrow to outline
both short and long term aid plans.
The committee insisted on flnanc-
ing the program out of taxes rather
than borrowing and said it could be
done and still have a balanced
budget, leaving something left over
for debt retirement and tax adjust
ment."
Political Reasons Cited.
In a frank discussion of the rea-
sons the United States should help
the Is European nations which had
asked almost $40 100000 of aid
at the Paris Conference. the COM
mittee said we should help for hu-
manitarian, economic and political
reasons. The political reasons it
Cdll6Q IllOSI lI1lpOl bdIlt DCSouoo VilC
European nations may be driven to
turn" toward communism if they
"do not soon obtain an improvement
in their affairs"
"Open theological war has been
declared already by the totalitarian
nations and their satellites upon all
other nations and peoples believing
in individual liberty" the commit
tee said, adding:
ut has been called a cold war.
The first major battle in the cold
war is being fought now in Western
Europe. 1t is cold only in the sense
that guns are not smoking and
bombs and guided missiles are not
exploding In every other respect
the theological war of the Com
munists is as ruthless and as de-
termined a drive to achieve world
domination as a hot war"
The present situation" the COM
mittee contended. contains far
reaching implications which indi-l
cate a do-nothing policy cannot
be considered as an alternative"
If the nations of Middle Western
Europe and the Mediterranean
"sink under the burden of despair
and become Communist, the group
went on, Scandinavia will also fall
followed by North Africa and the
(See HARTMAN, Page A-6.)