Evening star., 1948-02-23
Stimson Sees Ruhr
Wrecked If u. ). Used
korgenthau Plan
By the Assoeiofed Press

Henry L. Stirnson says the first
Morgenthau plan for Germany
would have stripped all industry
from the huge Ruhr area and
thoroughly wrecked" the mines.
He recalls that President Roose-
welt and Prime Minister Churchill
initiated the plan at Quebec in Sep
tember, 1914. But later, he says,
when he read the exact words of
the agreement to the President "he
(Roosevelt) was frankly staggered
and said he had no idea how he
could have initiated that; that he
had evidently done it without much
thought"
About that time Mr.. Stimson says
he began to notice that President
Roosevelt appeared fatigued and
unwell.
The former Secretary of War re-
calls the cabinet struggle over the
Morgenthau plan in the Ladies
Home Journal.
Cabinet Meetings Held.
Work on occupation plans for
Germany began in July, 1914. Sew
eral cabinet meetings took up the
subject in September. In m1d-Sep-
tember Mr.. Roosevelt met Mr..
Churchill at Quebec, where former
Secretary of the Treasury Morgen-
thaus ideas were approved, 1t is
related. Two months later the plan
had been shelved.
The intervening moves, Mr.. Stim-
son writes. constituted the most
violent interdepartmental struggle
of his career. During that time the
public got delayed and incomplete
reports of the argument.
At the first Cabinet meeting, Mr..
Stimson says, Hull (Cordell Hull,
then Secretary of State, was as
bitter as Morgenthau against the
Germans He and Morgenthau
wished to wreck completely the i'm
mense Saar-Ruhr area, and turn 1t
into, second rate agricultural land"
he says M .sHull shortly changed
his mind.
Agreed .on Several Points.
The Cabinet agreed on several
points: Punishment of war Grim
inals, the breaking up of both the
Nazi Party and the German army,
controls over education and COM
and German repara-
tions, Mr.. Stimson went on.
But the actual character of the
future Germany caused violent
Mr.. Stimson says. He
that for 80 years German
industry had both bought and sold
so much to neighboring nations that
70 wreck it would dislocate Europe
Is we'll as Germany.
Just before President Roosevelt
eft for Quebec, Mr.. Stimson re-
oeated his arguments. But he says
le' found the President "obsessed"
oy Admiral William D. Leahy's
warning" that there would be
evolution in France. Admiral
.eahy, Mr.. Roosevelt's chief of staff,
1ad been Ambassador to France.
Mr.. Stinson says that he did not
hink Admiral Leahy's advice
good"
Foresaw Russian Threat.
Mr.. Stimson says that in 1945 he
oresaw in the iron dictatorship of
Russia the greatest single threat to
N effective postwar settlement"
He writes that Mr.. Roosevelt's
lotes for the last two weeks of his
ife show that the President was
hanging his attitude toward the
,oviets. Mr.. Roosevelt, he says,
lad outlined a policy to make clear
o the Russians American disap-
,roval of their failure to carry out
he Yalta agreements (only two
months old for a fusion govern
nent in Poland.
He also planned to protest Yu-
oslavia's S aggressive attitude toward
trieste, Mr.. Stimson notes.
Temperatures in excess OF 140 de-
rees Fahrenheit cannot be tolerated
" the human body for any length