Evening star., 1948-07-19

Dewey, who calls Charles S. De,Dep
himself agent general of the joint committee.
The committee itself, provided for in the
act setting up the Economic Cooperation
Administration to run the multi-billion dollar
Marshall Plan, is patterned after the joint
committee provided for in the Atomic Energy
Act. 1t includes five Senators apd FIVE Fe"re-
sentatives, headed by Senator Bridges Re-
publican, OF New Hampshire.
Senator Bridges said yesterday Mr.. Dewey
is going abroad ito make a personal check on
the efficiency and progress of the European
Recovery Program during its initial three
months" He said the watchdog committee
will undoubtedly report to the Eighty first
Congress shortly after it convenes'' next
January.
Joint Committee Is Sympathetic.
With the possible exception of Representa-
tive Taber, chairman of the House Appropria-
tions Committee, the joint committee Is
friendly to ECA's purpose, the economic re-
covery Of Europe and the Far East. It Is not
interested in hamstringng or hampering ECA's
Republican boss Paul G. Hoffman. Mr.. Hoff-
man has carefully built himself a staff of
men who can pass muster Of Republican,
controlled Congress and who certainly would
have the backing OF Thomas E. Dewey should
he become President next January 20.
The other Mr. Dewey, the agent general
Of the joint committee, falls into the same
pattern. A kindly graying banker and former
assistant secretary of the Treasury, Mr.. Dewey
served two terms in Congress, 194l-45.
Since the committee was set up, Mr.. Dewey
has been having daily staff meetings-he calls
his staff "a little task force"-and he sends a
semimonthly report to the congressman, based
on 24-point check list. This list contains the
congressional restrictions written into the
ECA legislation, provisions that ECA must ship
so much of its goods in American vessels, OBJ
tain strategic materials for stockpiling, swear
none of its employees are Communists, and so
FORTH
Thus far Mr.. Dewey has had time to do
little more than get organized, keep a simple
check on the more obvious problems posed by
the law itself and wait for ECA to get under
way. ECA is now entering it's second quarter
of the first years operation and is beginning
to make the decisions that count.
So Mr.. Dewey feels, this is the time to go
have look at what ECA is doing abroad,
the place where it really makes a difference
Hence his trip on the Mauretania which will
keep him abroad for several weeks
Quick Look Abroad.
Mr.. Hoffman, thus far tied to his desk in
the Andrew Jackson Building, is himself going
over this week for quick look around. He
plans to go by air and be back in a week. how
lever, leaving the main job in Europe to ECA's
rowing ambassador, w. Averell Hartman, and
his growing staff in Paris and the other Euro
pean capitals.
Mr. Dewey'S advance men in Europe are Roy
]. Bullock, German expert; D. Vincent Hur-
lev hoth in, Do
They are called agents" of the committee,
but not as a title indicating their investiga-
tory powers
Mr. Dewey expects to have look around, to
find out what Europeans know about Ameri-
can sacrifices to make this program success"
and to see how welt ECA staff members are
doing their jobs.
The comparatively easy part of Mr.. Dewey S
job will be to keep an eye on the ECA staff
and the way 1t Is carrying out its Congressional
mandate, for there is an obvious will among
ECA's top staff to do just that to the letter.
The tough part will be to explain to Con-
gress, and in way to the Nation, the hard-to-
appreciate things about ECA such as East
West trade. This headache already has be-
gun, not without help from the staff of one Of
Mr.. Dewey's Bosses Mr.. Taber.
The foreign aid law provides that no ECA
goods can be shipped to any of the Western
European Marshall Plan nations which, either
directly or indirectly, go to Soviet areas and
which would not be given an American ex-
port license for direct shipment.
Jet Engines VS.. Mining Machinery.
This is an involved way of saying that no
steel can be shipped to Britain which would
be turned into jet engines for Russia Such
case is simple. The tough ones involve mining
machinery, railroad equipment and such bor-
derline items which have military potential
in these times of total war but which are not
in themselves military goods.
One of Mr.. Tabers Investigators it has been
reported, has charged that Britain is asking
for much more strip mining machinery than
it can possibly use in its coal fields, the impli-
cation being that the British will sell part Of it
to the Russians for use in the gold fields of
Siberia. This is considered nonsense" by
ECA officials who point out that, even if there
were a surplus of mining machinery in Britain,
it would be useful in such British dependencies
as the tin mines of Malaga. There is a world
shortage of tin.
Mr.. Dewey was particularly unhappy over
this report of House committee investigator.
What made him most unhappy was the state
ment that the investigators findings have
been turned over to appropriate congressional
committees for action"
We're the responsible congressional COM
mittee' under the Foreign Aid Act he said,
"and nothing has been turned over to u.s.
The committee called in the reporter MEM
Der of the New York Sun staff, who wrote the
article, to learn more about the charges. 1t
was unable to find out any details from the
congressional employe who wrote the original
report, however.
This is the type Of criticism that will cause
Mr. Dewey Sis biggest headaches. Fortunately
the joint ct lmittee has on it such level headed
men, In tE matter of the Marshall Plan, as
Senators Smith of New Jersey and Lodge
Of Massachusetts, and Representatives vorys of
Ohio and Fulton of Pennsylvania. all Republi-
cans.
The joint committee headquarters here in