The Daily Alaska empire., 1949-09-22
THESE DAYS
GEORGE E. SOKOLSKY
THE COST OF ALLIES

What all the conlerrlng ana trading and dealing amounts to is that the United States, fearing a war with Soviet Russia, finds it necessary to contract for allies. This policy has been continuous since the summer of 1941 when Harry Hopkins flew first to Eng land and then to Russia to fix Sta lin in the war against Hitler. Shortly before, Staiin and Hitler had been allies.
 The deal with Stalin, subsequent lv strengthened by the agreements at Teheran and Yalta, cost this country ,O00,0O0,00O in cash outlay to Stalin; our elimination from the east of Asia; and the prolongation of the war in Europe indefinitely. Indirectly, because of a policy of appeasement, we en- outraged the infiltration of Stalin's agents into our government, and from these vermin we have not yet been able to free ourselves.
 Ii the direct and indirect costs, if the money and the intangible costs of this enterprise are ever assessed, we shall probably discover that it would have been cheaper to have gone without that alliance.
 The British have cost us about s5o.OC0, 100000 in direct outlays since 1889. It is impossible to as- ses the indirect outlays. What it comes to is that this country, by one means or another, is under writing the continued existence of Great Britain as a power. The British desire that we shall con- tinue this process, until the British achieve an equilibrium" in world trade. That equilibrium" they are not likely to attain for three req sons:
 1. A large part CT the world, in which British trade used to be im- portant, has been closed through Russian imperialism. Even should Great Britain be able to make a barter agreement with Soviet Rus sia, it would last only until the Russian empire could increase pro- duction. Barter is difficult method of exchange and proves dis advantageous to the country that must export in order to get food stuffs and raw materials.
 2. Great Britain can only rely upon the sacrifices of the United States as long as there is no un- employment and no depression in this country The first signs ot economic dislocation here and pub lie clamor will insist upon protective apparatus to keep out of our coun- try goods priced cheaply by any government as political measure Sooner or later, American labor will revert to its policy of a pro- tective tariff and exchange rate from which it has been led away by One World internationalism This trend is beginning to show now, however slightly. Similarly the Wheat Deal at the recent Washington conference will be chewed over by the American farmer. It will probably wreck the entire transaction.
 3. Unless the United States un- derwrites British deficits, the wei. fare state program was to price British goods beyond competition in the open market. Thus, tht British face permanent dependence upon the United States, if they art to continue to price their goods a competitive levels. In word Great Britain has been making her. self an economic satellite of tn United States. What devaluatiol VIII uO io lO UC SCCi.
 The danger in this condition i greater for the British than for th' United States. In the first place no country can long be an economic satellite without becoming poll tical satellite. The United State will sooner or later come to regart British costs of government as tn business of the American peopl because so much of it is paid b. the American taxpayer.
 When it is recognized that thi huge cost is designed to assure tn United States an ally in time o war, this country may demand o it's government realistic and fact ual assessment of the fightin value of the ally and the cost c maintaining the alliance. It ma prove not worth too much in a wa with Russia, although it's value wa greater in World War I and durinl the first year of World War l than subsequently,.
 In word, how much do we nee' to pay for an ally?
 Copyright, 1949, King Features
 Syndicate, Inc)