Evening star., 1949-03-17
THE fourth of fpe articles
By WiIIiom H. Harrison


By WilIiom n. Horrison
On February IL. in a statement
to the Senate Foreign Relation!
Committee. Augustus E. Staley
jr., chief of the special Economic
Cooperation Administration Mis-.
sion to Norway. made a point o1
emphasizing that the Norwegian
people were living at IAN austerity
level that Americans would fine
almost unbearable."
Mr.. Staley did not exaggerate
In prewar days. Norway enjoyed
one of the higher standards oi
living in Europe, but that changed
with the German invasion ir
April. 1910. From then on, the
country was Systematically looted
and not long before We day II
was laid waste in the north during
the Nazi scorched-earth retreat
from the Russians.
Counting its losses as peace
came, it found that about half its
4,S00. 900 tons of merchant ship.
ping had been destroyed in serv-
ing the Allied cause. and that il
was poorer. all factors considered
by about $4,000, 600. .00o-a stag.
gering sum for a nation of little
more than 100000 people.
After what they had gone
through during the war, it woulc
have been understandable if the
Norwegians had decided to forget
the future and treat themselves
to some creature comforts. But
they did not do that. Instead
with the future in mind, with
long term recovery in mind, they
frightened their belts even more
and there has been no loosenine
since, nor is there likely to be, te
any marked degree, in the next
three or four years.
a Store Shelves Are Empty.
The; biggest department stores in
OsloY the capital, and in the his.
toric city Of Bergen are largely full
of empty shelves. Ieather-soleo
shoes are practically unobtainable
II q man buys a pair of sheets fol
his home, he must surrender six
months clothing rations. He Car
get one suit and one shirt a year
but if he does get them. he will have
no coupons left for underclothes
Comparatively. the Swedes, ano
to a somewhat lesser extent
the Danes. are living amid plenty
AS for food-not to mention
fuel for domestic use-hotels anc
restaurants do not require ration
coupons and are equipped to serve
the tourist trade adequately, but
the Norwegian at home. though
his calorie intake Is about as good
as ever, has to put up with a de-
cidedly dull diet made up chiefly
of fish and potatoes. If he lives
in a city he is lucky if he receives
slightly less than a pound of meat
a month. He can have 212 ounces
of coffee and 7 ounces Of sugar
every week, and he lis entitled to
40 eggs q year, though he seldom
gets that many. On top of all
this. he Is taxed heavily. and If he
has q wife and two children and
owns a six-room house. he can
be sure of only three rooms, for
the government can reqWsition
the rest to cope with the housing
shortage.
In fact, according to Erik Bro
foss-Norway's impressive Minis
ter of Commerce. who seldom has
ANYTHING but fish and potatoes
for M evening meal and who
payssas 80 per cent tax on his
$1,S00 s&1ary-Norwegian con-
sumption standards are the low
est, next to Germany's, of any
country west of the Iron Curtain.
They are that by deliberate choice.
Rather than invest in imports
calculated to make life more COM
Portable right away. Norway has
determined to invest in the essen
tials needed for long-ierm recov-
ery-to rebuild and enlarge its
merchant marine. which in pre-
war days earned enough to
finance a third of the country's
total purchases abroad; to repair
and modernize the whaling and
fishing fleets, which are vital to
the Norwegian economy; to de-
velop new hydroelectric plants.
and to increase production in the
wood pulp, electrochemical, met
allurgical, mining and other in
dustries.
Progress Toward Recovery.
With the $104 10000 allotted to
it by the ECA for the 15-month
period from April. 1948. to next
July /, Norway has surmounted
what would otherwise have been a
grave national crisis caused by a
lack of dollars desperately needed
for indispensable imports. With
that aid. it has made definite
progress toward recovery. and
with continuing help on a de-
scending scale. it hopes to achieve
economic equilibrium by 1928.
The hope. however. is based on
several assumptions, including the
assumption that there will be a
healthy revival Of trade with Bri-
tain and Germany. Norway's
most important suppliers and
customers before the war. With
out that revival. of course. the
Norwegians, like the Swedes and
Danes, will be hard put to get
back on their feet before the
Marshall Plan expires.
AS set forth and administered
by the Labor government in Oslo
the long-term recovery program
has not escaped criticism, though
there is general agreement that
it is essentially very good. What
is objected to in many quarters is
the mass Of regulations and con-
trolls involved. Most Of these are
considered necessary. but some