Toledo union journal. [volume] (Toledo, Ohio) 1942-current, 1948-09-10

, are llSIlllIIS OIoluiISIl IOuoJ
are hurt and bewildered, while
.. our enemies, both Communists
and former Nazis, are comfort
ed in their struggle for power
America cannot endlessly pour
its wealth into Europe. The Eu'
ropean Recovery Program ac-
knowledges that plan truth. II
is limited operation, with spe-
cific ends. It's purpose is not tc
place Europe on a permanent
. dole, but to help that continent
through the initial stages OF
; economic revival, up to the point
where the western European ma
tions, working together, can
themselves maintain going &C.
onomy through domestic produc-
ton and international trade.
Germany is the key to Euro
,Ipean recovery, and therefore to
the success of the Marshall Plan
Yet Americans are understand
ably reluctant to permit the re-
birth of a militaristic power
based on the great industries OF
the German Ruhr. And Ameri-
can businessmen do not look
with favor on the possibility of
a revived German industry COM
peting with them in world mar
kets. And so we are facing two
ways in our German policy. We
want to use German industry to
promote European recovery un-
der the Marshall Plan; yet we
are not clear about how this can
be done while at the same time
guarding against the revival of
Germany's war-making power.
We cannot resolve this dilem-
ma until we learn to distinguish
our friends from those who are
not our friends in Germany. A
policy of firmness toward the
Russians will avail us little as
long as it goes hand in hand, as
it does today, with a policy of
foolishnesS toward the Germans
in the western occupation zones.
We, cannot evade our response
bility to distinguish between
democracy's friends and its en-
emies by struggling our shoul-
ders and saying that it is up to
the Germans to make democracy
grow out of the ruins of the
Nazi state. General Clay himself
has made this statement and
l quote: '"The people are find
ing it hard to get the wherewith-
al to live out the day. 1t is diff
ficult for strong political move
ments to develop under such
conditions" End quote.
In other words, if we want
German democracy to grow, we
are going to have to help it
and in order to help it we must
be able to tell a democrat from
a Nazi on the rebound. We must
understand that the tested Ger
man democrats are either in the
trade. unions or working closely
with the trade-unions. And we
must consciously draw these
democratic forces into close and
friendly association; we must
make our daily practices in the
western occupation zones add
up to a defense and not denial
of democracy. We must, in our
treatment of German labor and
industry, make our actions
square with the professed aims
of the Marshall Plan.
Today we are only luke-warm
and unpredictable friends of
German democracy. And be-
cause we are only luke-warm
and unpredictable friends, the
French and the British in their
zones are complacently con-
tinuing with bad practices
which they would soon correct
if we gave them an aggressive
and consistent lead.
Instead of using the power
full level of the Marshall Plan
to insist on economic unifica-
ton of the three Western occu-
patton zones, we are tolerating
the administration of those
areas as separate and sovereign
states, the very condition from
which Europe has so long suf-
fered and which the European
Recover Program is supposed to
end.
Throughout much of this tri-
zone area, the dismantlement
program has gone recklessly on,
breaking up the production
facilities that might have con-
tinued to contribute to the re-
construction of the Western
European economy. Under THIS
dismantlement campaign, skill
ed production teams have been
scattered. a trained labor force
has been subjected to the de-
moralization of unemployment
a m d the rubble of devasted
cities, and the avowed aim of
the Marshall program, the re-
construction of Western Europe,
has been cruelty, senselessly,
and extravagantly defeated.
In some cases, factories have
b e EN- visited by successive
waves of dismantlement, and
thousands upon thousands of
workers have had their jobs
pulled out from under them,