Evening star., 1949-04-24
The Pact Must Have Teeth

Inc administration mas acLeQ wisely IN
making known the estimated cost of our
projected program of military assistance
in connection with the North Atlantic
Treaty Since the treaty. In and Of itself,
is separate measure of the greatest his
torical importance, there has been con-
siderable sentiment in favor Of having the
Senate pass upon its ratification without
prior official information on the outlays
needed to back 1t up with armaments aid.
More sensible counsel has prevailed, how
ever, with the result that Congress and
the American people can measure the
significance of the pact not merely In
free world, but also in terms Of its effect
on the pocketbook Of the Nation.
Actually, as revealed to the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee by Secretary
of State Acheson and other authorities,
the military aid proposed for fiscal 1850
would be relatively modest. 1t would add
up to 81 1,450, 100000 OF this total, $780,
600 ,000-most Of which is already provided
for in the Presidents budget-would be
for Greece, Turkey and possibly the Philip
pine Republic. The balance-$1, ,130 ,000, 900
would be for the overseas signatories of
the Atlantic Pact. But since good part
of the latter sum represents the value Of
projected help in the form of transfers
of equipment and surplus materials, the
real budgetary cost to the United States
would be substantially less than the
announced dollars -and-cents figure.
In other words. that figure Is consider
ably higher than the money that will have
to be made available if our friends abroad
are to receive the military aid proposed by
the administration Thus, instead of hav-
Ing to appropriate 81 800, 900, ,000 Congress,
according to some estimates, may have to
appropriate only about half that sum,
perhaps even less. Indeed, because of the
possibility that savings may be made in
number Of other expenditures advocated
by the President for fiscal 1850, 1t is at
least conceivable that the ornaments help
can be extended without adding anything
to the overall outlay OF Sal, 900, 900, 900
called for in the budget he has already
submitted-a fact that should tend to
placate the economy minded.
In any event, whatever its effect on the
BUDGET. the proposed military aid is needed.
1t is not designed to expand the armed
forces of the nations of the Atlantic Pact.
1t Is designed merely to enable those
nations to place themselves in a better
posture OF security by adequately equip
ping their relatively small existing forces.
The pact itself, Of course. is purely de-
fensive, but If 1t is to be effective in that
sense, if 1t is to serve as q deterrent to
new direct or indirect aggressive action by
the Soviet Union, 1t must have some teeth
in 1t. And that means that It's members
must have SUFFICIENT power at their disposal
to cope with any internal or external
emergency threatening their safety and
independence.
At tl1is stage of their slow but encourag-
ing economic recovery, however, our
friends abroad cannot put their existing
forces In proper condition unless we offer
them limited aid of the kind proposed.
That aid, coupled with our full adherence
to the Atlantic Pact and with an ever
increasing effort on their part to act to-
gether as single, community, can tip the
balance of power permanently in favor Of
the free Western world. There is much
evidence that that is how the balance Is
swinging now. and we can accelerate the
trend by extending adequate military help.
Not to do so would be to neglect our own
security interests.