Evening star., 1948-01-24
ERp Chief Given
Wide Discretion
New Plan
President Would Have
OVERALL Authority in
Brookings Proposal
By J. A. O'LeoY


which the President would settle
any major conflicts between eco
nomic and foreign policy goals
of the Marshall Plan was pro-
posed today by the Brookings
Institution.
Acting at the request Of the
Senate Foreign Relations Commit
tee, the Brookings research experts
came up with solution close to
the tentative ideas already being
expressed by influential Senators,
including Chairman Vandenberg of
the Foreign Relations Committee,
and Chairman Taft of the Republi-
can Foreign Policy Committee. j,
The administration bill provides
for a single administrator outside
the State Department, but makes
him subject to the direction and
control of the Secretary of State
on question of foreign policy. In
defending the bill Secretary Mar
shall declared there cannot be two
Secretaries Of State"
Paul Porter Testifies.
Meanwhile, Paul Porter, former
price control administrator, predict
ed this country will be forced to
control wages, prices, credit, meat
and essential materials as part of
the European Recovery Program.
He told the Senate committee that
the price is worth paying because
If the Marshall Plan is dropped
I'VE forsake the free people of Eu-
rope and renounce Europe to Soviet
communism or to the throes of civil
war"
The Brookings plan protects the
Secretary of States right to keep his
hand on the helm of the ship of
state by requiring that any step of
the ERP administrator to which he
objects should be deferred" until
the President decides the matter.
Much Of the time of the Senate
hearings has been taken up with the
detailed machinery for administer
ing the four-year aid program, with
witnesses stressing the relative i'm
portance of this or that department
in the overall picture.
The Brookings solution Is based on
recognition of the simple fact that,
no matter what outward form the
administrative machinery takes, the
President is always the final arbiter
in disputes between Government
officials at the major policy level.
Proposal Outlined.
Briefly, the Brookings plan for
administering the program, as sum-
married by Senator Vandenberg,
would:
Set up new ERP agency under
an administrator with cabinet
status, appointed by the President
and confirmed by the Senate. 1t
should have noncorporate form
and the administrator should have
wide latitude Of discretion.
Behind the administrator should
be an advisory board composed of
eminent citizens of broad and
varied experience to be appointed
by the President. The board should
not be vested with administrative
responsibility but should only be
advisory to the administrator, who
should act as its chairman. Sub
ject to the overall authority of the
President, the administrator should
be responsible for formulating pro-
grams, determining financial and
material requirements and in con-
sultation with the departments and
agencies concerned insuring the full
fillement of those requirements.
The administrator should estab-
lish adequate consultation facilities
with other departments or agencies
of the Government in respect to
matters involving their functions.
Speaking generally, the decisions of
the administrator would be final in
economic matters. In case agree
ment could not be reached in major
decisions for example with re-
spect to the ALLEGATION of scarce
materials-the matter would be re-
ferred to the President.
Control of Funds.
The control. and ALLEGATION Of
funds should be the responsibility of
the President. The President alone
should be authorized to enter into
agreements with foreign govern
ments.
He should, in practice, charge the
Secretary of State with responsible
ity under his authority for the con-
duct of negotiations for the con-
clusion Of initial basic agreements
and for subseqent notifications of
them, with such participation by
the administrator as the latter may,
(See FOREIGN AID, Page A-3.)