Evening star., 1948-08-22
Test Period
FOrAidPlan
Congress Apt TO Chop
Funds If Europe
Loafs Along
By WilIiom MeGoffin

went into effect, the Marshall Plal
Is entering its test period.
To succeed, this program Of Amer
lean aid to European recovery mus
be more than the mere continuation
OF relief, which until recently tn,
16 recipient nations, plus Western
Germany, apparently regarded it.
At long. last, and under the goad
ing of American officials here il
Paris, these II participants are be-
ginning to work seriously towarc
making the plan function as tn,
United States Congress intended il
should.
Long Honeymoon
1t is none too soon for the honey
moon to end. Only five months re-
main before Congress will be asked
to vote funds for another year
There is no doubt that a new ap-
preparation will have tough shedding
unless Western Europe can show
more progress toward cooperation
and recovery than it has so far.
They thought they were coop
Grating like anything, until re-
Gently" said one American who has
closely followed developments here
in Paris, the capital Of the Marshall
Plan in Europe.
They had lain on the table trade
secrets carefully guarded for 20 years
in the interests Of bargaining with
each other.
No customs union has evolved.
There has been no stabilizatior
OF currencies to enable the countries
concerned to trade with each other
instead of all trying to buy from
the United States at once.
Wheels Turning
But at least the wheels have be.
gun to turn.
There is great activity in the two
key Offices directing the administra.
ton of the first 5000 900 900 install
ment of Marshall Plan aid
In one Office sit w. Averell Harri.
man and other American repre-.
sentatives supervising field opera.
tions. Their Office is called the ECA
Economic Cooperation Administra-
tom
In another Office sit representa-
tives of Western Europe who are
attempting to devise and direct the
formula of recovery. Their office is
called the OEEC (Office of European
Economic Co-operation).
A visit by Paul Hoffman, chic
ECA administrator, Is believed ID
have rid them of any illusions that
the Marshall Plan will continue
beyond the four-year period origi-
nally designated.
Mr.. Hoffman's visit also served as
impetus for a new drive toward the
goal Of general recovery. The Euro
FL plan for recovery.
Hoffman Needed Them
First, they will produce a one-yeal
plan. After that they will CONF
through with a four-year plan with
which the one-year plan Is CO.
ordinated.
They insist that they already have
done the spadework on such plan
and would have produced it without
Hoffman's goading. This may be
true. But it's doubtful whether it
would have been done so quickly II
Mr. Hoffman had not come here and
applied the needle.
The OEEC is also now busy work
ing out plans for financing trade
among the various participating ma
tions.
In the three years since the war
ended Europe has made surprising
If uneven. progress toward recovery
Some. nations have surpluses now
But to date these surpluses have
been Of small value to the have-not
nations because no solution for f.
nancing intra- European trade has
been worked out.
French North Africa has a sur
plus Of phosphates. Yet Western
Europe has applied for dollars to
buy American fertilizers.
Italy has surplus freight cars and
Belgium surplus building capacity
for about 5000 freight cars next
year. Yet the Ruhr is short OF
freight cars-it needs $4,000 to meet
next years production targets.
u. s. Dollar Valued
Britain, France and Sweden are
short of labor, yet Italy has 1000 ,00C
unemployed.
Turkey has 4 surplus of $4,000
tons OF tobacco, but Britain con-
tinues to buy tobacco from the
United States. using up dollars tina,
could be spent on machinery.
Norway has a surplus of whale
oil that would be welcome In .
Europe starved of fats.
America, too, has the goods. It.
been easier to borrow from Amer.
lea and spend the borrowed dol.
lars there than try to work out 9
deal among the impoverished ma.
tions of Western Europe.
Some nations already have giver
as much credit as they can af.
ford. Belgium, for example, has ex.
tended itself to the limit by ad
vancing 100000, 900 On credit
Success or Flop?
The ultimate solution OF thi
problem may lie in sn American
dollar. loaned for purchases not il
America, but abroad. If German,
were given dollars, for example, i
could buy freight cars in Belgium
instead Of in the United States
Belgium, in turn, could use th
dollars thus obtained to buy some
&1.t