The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1948-12-09
European Workers
Hungry For News
About u. S. Labor

Washington (LPA) - Workers
in the Marshall plan countries are
hungry to know what kind of coun-
try America really is" American
Newspaper Guild President Harry
Martin said last week. And, added
the chief labor information man in
the Economic Cooperation Admin
Iistration's Paris headquarters
"they're particularly anxious to
know about the American labor
movement"
Martin was in Washington to re-
port to President Truman and ECA
labor advisors Clinton S. Golden
and Bert M. Jewell, 'on his way
back to his duties in Paris after
attending the convention.
"We'ye been working closely
with the. CGT-FO, the anti-Com-
munist trade union movement in
France" the ANG President said
He explained that the CGT-FO
wants all the information it can
get to convince the workers that
the Marshall plan is not the cap
italist plot that the powerful CGT,
the Communicated labor fedora
tion, labels it.
Recently the CGT-FO devoted a
special edition of its weekly paper
Force Ouvrier, to the Marshall
plan, Martin said, and so great
was the interest in it that $4,000
extra copies had to be run off.
Martin praised the courage of
the CGT-FO leaders, who are con
tinually invading meetings of work
ers under Communist leadership to
tell them the truth about France,
about Communist aims, and about
American aid. "There have been a
lot of heads broken in the course
of this campaign" he said.
In Italy too, the only other
Marshall plan country in which the
Communists control the principal
union movement, the CGlL, ECA
labor men have been supplying in
formation to anti-Stalinist union
lists both inside and outside the
CGIL.
Elsewhere in western Europe,
Martin said, there are no such pro-
blems. The unions are led by demo-
Gratis who fully understand the
of American aid to Eu-
recovery. Real progress to-
wards putting the Continental
economy on its feet is being made.
"The Communists, however, are
their last ditch battle for
France. It's Russia's bid for a place
on the shores of the Atlantic. They
seem to prefer a rightist govern
ment under Gen. DeGaulle even to
the survival Of the third force
democrat regime, just as they |
preferrcd Dewey to Truman here"
Martin remarked.
But even in France, he declared,
.he people take a keen interest IN
he US. "Vive M. Truman" crowds
If Frenchmen were shouting the
lay after the Presidents reelection.
Martin asserted that ECA Paris
read Averill Hartman realizes the
of the labor movement
o the recovery of the European
economy, and to the preservation
# democracy there. "He knows {
hat he's not familiar enough with
he labor movements" Martin said,
and is willing to take the advice
f the US trade union men on his
taft" i
Except i'm France and Italy, {
lagued by strong Communist {
.roups inside the unions, labor has t
chieved a real voice in the admin
'tration of the Marshall plan aid, Z
lartn said. But, he pointed out, c
he degree to which labor's advice G
, needed varies from country to b
ountry, and in some instances the i
Mon men, tho strong for the plan, |
re not completely satisfied with 5
ne way the governments are hand o
ng it, o