Evening star., 1947-11-14

On ExporfaDIe 0Fdlns |
Support Herfer Cut
Figures on grain available for ex-
.rt which convinced the Herter
~, ppor,n,issjon that stop-gap aid to
S.+t, france and Italy will require
unch u less than the $597, 600, 600
n.u n.ued bv Secretary of State Mar
aoa San we're furnished by the Agri-
onIture Department, The Star
learned today.
THE State Departments request
u,os based on the assumption the
Trnited States will have available,
Gnring the current crop year end
;ng next June 80, some $4,000, 900
h,,sbeIs s Of wheat. This is the figure
Dhich the Agriculture Department
now has told the Herter group is
mt sound, apparently without let
ting the State Department know it
was doing so.
representative Herter, the Mas
sachusetts Republican who headed
a special House committee which
toured Europe this summer, said in
a statement last night his commit
tee is making mo specific" dollar
recommendations for the stop-gap
aid program to France, Italy and
Austria However, in a printed re-
port, the committee tentatively
made a cut of $73,600,000 in the
amount needed to cover grain pur-
chases and shipments to Italy alone.
Anderson May Testify.
The committee said these tenta-
tive reductions "are not intended
10 establish a firm figure for author
ization, but to indicate a point be-
yond which additional justifications
are in the committees judgment
needed"
Any such justification, however
would have to be based on Agricul-
ture Department estimates of our
exportable surplus during this crop
year. AS a result, Agriculture Sec
retary Anderson is likely witness
on Capitol Hill during consideration
of the stop-gap aid bill.
Part of the controversy over how
much grain we will have for export
this year goes back to the argument
In September among Secretary An
derson and other members OF the
Cabinet Food Committee-Secretary
Marshall and Secretary of Com
merce Hartman.
The cabinet group estimated 470,-
100000 bushels of all grains woulo
be available for export. Secretary
Harriman's public committee or
foreign aid, however, urged exports
of 57o,000,000 bushels, saying II
would impose no grave hardship
on this country.
Truman Backs Higher Figure.
President Truman adopted the
10000 900 figure-50O ,o00, 900 bushel!
represent wheat-but set up the
Citizens Food Committee undel
Charles Luckman to save" 1OO, ,0O0,'
600 bushels of wheat to make SURE
the export goal is attained.
The Herter committee, in its re-
port last night, referred to Secretar!
Marshan's statement earlier tnl
week that the $597 900, 900 aid flgur'
is based on the assumption that W
have available for export $40, 900, ,OO'
bushels Of wheat alone.
"The highest figure so far sug
gested is 500, 900, 900 bushels OF wheat
rather than 52O0O0,O00 bushels, thu
Herter report says, adding tina
"there is grave skepticism In In
formed agriculture quarters as t.
whether the 100000, ,oo0-bushel goa
can be reached"
The Informed quarters" referret
to, The Star learned, turned out u
be the Agriculture Department. A
Yesterdays hearings before TN
House Foreign Affairs Committee
Mr.. Herter said he would give com
mittee members his sources for tn
lower availability figures only II
an executive session. Apparently
he wished to spare the Secretary o
State the public embarrassment o
quoting one Government depart
ment against another as the basl
for cutting Secretary Marshall'
figures for stop-gap aid.
Increase Was Expected.
In discussing the aid program 10
italy, the State Departments book
let of data brought to Capitol Hi
bv Secretary Marshall said tina
cit seems possible, starting in Jan
uary, 1s48, the level OF Unite
states allocations can be increased
to meet the Italian requirement
II a bread ration cut in that ma
ton is to be avoided.
The State Department addet
however. that "if the supply sit
uation will not permit such an in
crease, or will permit only PAL
tial increase, substitute foodstufl
would be included which would PAL
tially offset the decrease In calorl
intake resulting from a decreas
In bread rations."
The Herter report. however, say
not only that there will be no grail
1Or any Type VI ihSASooS E
than enough available to meet tn
State Departments estimates {
needs to maintain the current ra
ton.
The figures are these: State
asking for funds to send Italy 1,145
900 metric tons of grain (about AZ
365 900 bushels) during the Octobe
1, 1e47-March 81, 1948, period (par
of course, already has been shippe
since October y. The Herter grou
estimates that only $4,000 metrl
tons (about 22,866,000 bushels)' wi
be available. The result is that tn
bill for stop-gap aid to Italy woul
be some STA 100000 less than tn
s227,Ooo, 900 figure asked by Secre
tary Marshall. The difference In
cludes q drop of nearly 100000
for freight costs.
No Similar Data for France.
No comparable figures were give
for France or Austria, but MIR. Her
ter indicated the same situation ar
plies there.
Tn his testimony Yesterday after