Evening star., 1947-03-24

Presidents enunclated pollcy was
much more limited" that in fact
the President had spoken OF aid
only to two countries, Greece and
Turkey, and of Americas interest
in aid to them.
What the President said" Mr..
Acheson said, was that these two
countries should not be coerced and
compelled to give up their tree
DOM"
Senator Smith said he was still
troubled over "our relations in this
whole matter with the United Ma
tions. He agreed that the United
Nations was not prepared to do the
kind of emergency job which the
United States is now proposing.
But" he said, 81 should have
thought that the President, through
our American Ambassador to the
United Nations, would have made
known our intentions" He added
he thought this would have backed
up the principle" of collective &C
ton and security.
Mr.. Acheson admitted this was a
possible way to have proceeded but
added quickly that there were diff
culties in that course. He objected
to "generalizations," and said they
should not be allowed to come up in
the discussion of the development
of the United Nations. It would
have been mistake, he continued,
to have called in the United Nations
agency with "this specific question
coming up," relating to these two
countries.
Senator Smith asked if the State
Department would furnish a break
down of the expenditures to be
made for Greece and Turkey in the
loan by the United States, or
whether the President was to have
in effect a blank check"
Mr.. Acheson said Undersecretary
Clayton would discuss with the COM
mittee the purposes for which the
money would be used. He added,
however, that the nature of the
situation made it essential the Presi-
dent should have "a good deal of
latitude"
Senator Smith asked whether,
when these funds come to an end"
the United States should go on
bolstering up Greece and Turkey, if
they still needed it.
Funds to Serve Is Months.
Mr.. Acheson replied that the funds
were to be used over a 15-month
period, and that if Greece and
Turkey were then in position to
apply to the International Bank
for necessary construction loans,
that could be done.
Couldn't the International Bank
function now in these cases?" Sen
ator Smith asked.
Mr.. Acheson pointed out that the
international bank could make loans
only for reconstruction - actual
building operations-and that IT.
could not make loans to bring in
consumer goods, for relief and for
aid to the Greek Army.
ANY bank" he said, called upon
to make these loans would have to
face the fact that the chances of
repayment might be small. Greek
economy might collapse in matter
Of weeks, If, as a result Of the aid
we give, Greece gets on her feet,
then Greece will be in position
later to borrow from the bank"
Banks Rules Known.
Mr.. Acheson said that it was not
necessary for Greece to apply to
the international bank, for it was
already known that such loans could
not be made under the rules govern
ing the bank. He added that Greece
has applied to the United Nations
Security Council, saying that the
insurrectionists in Greece are get
ting aid from outside"
In reply to questions by Senator
Thomas, Democrat, of Utah, Mr..
Acheson said other countries in the
Middle East and Far East were
faced with serious problems, some
of them antedating the war and
SOIIlG STOWlIlS OuG VI IllC Wo4, dAio
that they would be gravely affected
by what happened to Greece and
Turkey, especially If they were
dominated by totalitarian rule. He
mentioned Iran, Iraq, Palestine,
Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, India,
Burma, Indo-China and China it
SELF, as all likely to feel the impact
of the loss of freedom in Greece
and Turkey, to totalitarian forces.
Although both committees which
were holding hearings today are
planning to move expeditiously, it
appeared certain that congressional
leaders can hardly hope for passage
of the bill before mid-April. March
81 was set originally as the dead
line because Greece, dependent on
imports for every day necessities,
has only enough dollar resources to
cover a few weeks of shipments of
food and other essentials.
During the Senate hearings this