Evening star., 1948-06-03
Fund Approved 10 End
Foreign ExchangeLos
By Firms Aiding U. 5.
by the Assoeiaisd Press

The House Appropriations, Com.
mittee today approved a $4,000, ,00t
fund to absorb currency exchange
losses which American enterprises
may suffer in helping to tell people
abroad about the United States.
The recommendation is part oi
the $6,043, ,710,228 foreign aid bill,
the committee sent to the House
floor.
The State Departments Office od
International Information hac
asked $15,000,0O0 for the fund. IT.
objective is to protect those who
spend American dollars to promote
United States information abroac
and wind up with foreign currencies
which they cannot dispose Of else
where.
Explanation Offered.
The committee received this ex-
planation from J. Noel Macy, assist
ant director of the ONCE Of Inter-
national information:
TT would mean that as to those
newspapers, magazines, motion pic
lures, and books which are now
going into those countries, the pub
fishers and producers of those
products would be able to convert
the foreign currencies which they
get from the sale of those products
abroad into dollars to the extent
Of their cost of production of those
special items. ="
TT will enable them to distribute
through normal commercial chan
nels to meet the existing and present
demand which they cannot now
meet because they cannot get dollars
to meet the dollar cost of the
product that they sell to meet the
demand"
1t will mean, he said, no profit
for American publishers or picture
distributors but they won't be out
of pocket as they now are"
A story distributed by the Chicago
Tribune News Service yesterday said
the $4,000, 900 asked by the State
Department would be used to Sub
sidize and boost" the foreign circula-
ton of certain American publications
and films.
Requests Denied.
The story described the publica-
tons as "a selected few " which
shouted the loudest" for the Mar
shall European Recovery Plan.
Last night all six publications
mentioned in the story denied they
had asked for assistance. They are
Newsweek, Time, Life, Readers
Digest, the New York Herald Tribune
and the New York Times.
The Times said 1t is publishing
editions in Germany and Japan AT
an annual loss to itself in excess o1
100000" and added: 1T has at nc
time sought to recover this loss
under the Marshall Plan"
In his testimony before the House
committee, made public today, Mr.
Macy said American publishers whe
are encouraged to send their pub
locations abroad to help the foreign
information program can't meet the
demand for foreign consumers be.
cause the foreign currency they re.
ceive won't buy the paper fol
printing. That, he said, must be
paiG for in American dollars, be-
cause it is bought in this country
Guarantee Is Limited.
He stressed that the guarantee o1
dollar exchange applies only tt
dollars spent in the actual cost Of
foreign distribution. 1t does moi
apply, he said, to such local post.
as rental, services or material &C.
ouired abroad. Those things are
paid for in local currencies.
Mr.. Macy said the program is moi
intended to underwrite possible
losses on foreign projects but te
guarantee that the investor will moi
wind up with unusuable foreign
money to show for his investment o1
American dollars on Government.
approved project.
Besides the six publications already
mentioned, Mr.. Macy listed these
enterprises as being engaged in the
field of foreign news dissemination:
All producers who sold or exhi.
bited films abroad; the Associated
Press, the United Press, and Inter.
national News Service (all three ir
occupied areas only, the American
Textbook Publishers Institute, Inc;
the American Book Publishers
Council, Inc, and the Association oi
American University Presses. In ad.
dition to many others not identified