Evening star., 1948-12-12


Then come to us with your seven
year plan for economic develop
ment.
Mismana9ement Charged
"Renounce totantarianism. Your
government has already assumed ex-
tensive industrial and commercial
responsibilities. Your government
owned railways, factories, mines and
farms have been mismanaged, gen.
orally operate at loss and are, we
are told, In various stages of de-
terioration. Yet, your seven-year
plan in its original form makes prac-
tically no provision for private par
ticipation. This is not the way to
insure capable management or to
stimulate the growth of a free
enterprise system.
Put your financial house in order
You receive oil royalties from the
Anglo Oil Co. and you have
considerable amount of gold and
foreign exchange held abroad, a
windfall from the Allied occupation
of your country during the war. You
are lucky to have these funds, but
they do not mean that your financial
position is sound.
ITO make it sound, you will have
to reform your tax system, balance
your budget show a surplus of cur
rent revenue over current expendi-
lures, and reorganize your financial
administration to insure strict fiscal
control and honest reporting.
Then, too, you must take care OF
your existing obligations, find out
what you already owe, and take
steps to pay your debts. You have
an accumulation of claims against
you, foreign and domestic. Broken
contracts and unsettled obligations
are not calculated to win the conf
dence of American investors.
Feudal System an Obstacle
Abolish feudalism. Your millions
of peasants are incredibly poor, NAL
nourished, poorly housed, disease
ridden, ignorant and exploited. Yet,
they are the backbone of your
country, for your economy is 80 per
cent agricultural. A large part OF
your land is held either by absentee
landlords or by the government.
which is the worst kind Of absentee
landlord. Your feudal system OF
Iland-tenures discourages initiative
on the part of your peasantry.
Your seven-year plan aims to- in
crease agricultural productivity; but
unless you change your system OF
land-tenure, increased production
may bring merely further enrich
ment of the landlords and fasten
this system more tightly on the
country.
"You have another hangover
from the past. Title to much land
in Iran is disputed. You now pro-
pose through irrigation to bring
more land under cultivation. Would
it not be wise before doing so to
determine who owns the land? A
good friend of yours, DR.. Luther
Winsor, an American irrigation
engineer, who worked for you from
1912 to 1916, said:
1.-The title of certain lands now
uncultivated and without value
would probably be challenged were
the government to begin an irri-
cation development
First Things First
Put your army in its place. Your
dictatorial ex-Shah, Reza Pahlevi
saddled you with conscription and
an ever-growing army. You don't
need it to keep order in the coun-
try. In the event of Soviet inva-
sion your army would be overrun
and their equipment, including that
supplied from the United States
would probably fall into Soviet
hands. Your military budget is one
major reason why you have so little
revenue to spend on education and
public health. Moreover, your mill
tary clique has been and probably
still is your most corrupt and re-
dictionary element.
Put first things first. The above
are a few of the first things that
you should put first. Others might
be mentioned. If you do what has
been suggested, your hands will be
full for several years, but you will
have in due time healthier and
a happier nation. Then you may
see your seven-year plan in an
altogether different light"