Evening star., 1948-05-09

S moved slowly and carefully to pick
cies or to private trade channels
The emphasis will be to shift to
private channels though the Gov
ernment seems certain to be in the
food purchasing business for a long
time to come, especially in the oc-
cupied zones of Germany, in Greece
and probably in Italy. For one
thing, Government controls are
necessary in these areas to limit the
black market until better crop con-
ditions take off some of the pressure
for food.
The people who have something
to sell have been flooding ECA with
offers of everything from textiles
| to drugs to horses to canned and
frozen food. All are being told ECA
will buy nothing.
1t will work this way. The l6 ma
tlons, meeting in Paris as the Or
ganization for European Economic
Cooperation, will screen the re-
quests of all nations for spec ilic
items and pass them on to ECA
here, through the office in Paris
soon to be set up by Mr.. Hartman.
! Many Special Pleas
| ECA here will approve such items
as it thinks properly come within
the aims of Congress in setting up
ERP. Those aims are broad and
leave considerable latitude in judg-
ment to M. Hoffman and his asso-
ciates.
| Once approved, the individual for
eign governments will buy either
through an existing United States
Government agency, such as Asri-
cultures Commodity Credit Corp
for food, or through private trade
channels. Private deals will be sub
ject to further checks at the Com
merce Department to be sure the
price charged the foreign purchaser
is not exorbitant and a waste OF
precious dollars.
ECA went out of it's way last week
to point out to businessmen that it
will not decide which exporters are
to do bus mess with Europe These
decisions FCA said will be made by
the European importer who buys the
goods he considers the best for his
money"
The special pleaders, too, are busy.
Mr.. Hoffman was asked last week
about a report that the cotton in
dustry was going to have one of its
men named to big ECA job" Mr..
Hoffman carefully replied he would
have a cotton man somewhere in
our setup."
Then there is the case of the Rio
GranGe Valley fruit and vegetable
shippers. They are complaining
that Canada, which has put an en-
barge on American fruits and vege-
tables. will get United States dollars,
ERP dollars, for wheat to be shipped
to Britain and then turn around
and spend them elsewhere, without
buying our fruit and vegetables.
To this one, which came down
from Capitol Hill. Mr.. Hoffman re-
piled that he was sure Canadians
would prefer Rio Grande fruit to
any other type of product.
Major Headaches Ahead
Mr.. Hoffman has submitted to
Congress a long list Of what ECA
expects to send abroad in the next
fiscal year. He has been subjected
to the searching questioning that
only Chairman Taber of the House
Appropriations can give an admins
trative official.
But these figures, ECA officials
know, mean little because of con-
stantly changing conditions abroad.
They were prepared by State De-
partment planners before ECA was
established and ECA had to seize
on them when Mr.. Taber demanded
his usual Justification for money
to be appropriated.
Mr.. Hoffman has yet to appear
before the Senate Appropriations
Committee. His reception here will
be more polite but about as search
ing. These hearings are due to
begin late this week.
There are many major headaches
ahead for the one-time auto sales
man who rose to head his own
company. Among them is the prob
lem of integrating Germany into
the European Recovery Program, a
program involving the Army as well
as the State Department.
But at least Mr. Hoffman is build
ing himself an organization designed
to outlast a change of administra-
tion next January, if such should
occur. And now he is about ready
to 20 ahead with the major policy
decisions which will shape ECA into
the mighty European, and world, re-
covery weapon it was designed to be.