Evening star., 1949-04-17

chances are that they will have
Thereby they will have the unex'
pected effect Of increasing unem'
ployment in this country.
These facts come out Of docu.
ment which French Foreign Min
lister Schuman presented to Secre.
tary of State Acheson during hi
visit in Washington to sign the
Atlantic pact. Because of its ex.
plosive content the document still
is being kept top secret.
Although the great proportion
of ERP funds have been utilized
to provide consumers goods, what
machinery and equipment we have
sent to continental Europe to re-
habilitate its light industries have
been used effectively.
Luxury Production Up
AS a result, the luxury indus
tries" of France, Belgium ano
Italy have reverted to their pre-
war level of production. French
perfume, Belgian lace and Italian
French and Belgian textile indus
iris, which had a place Of their
own in the worlds prewar econ
omy, now are back to what they
used to be before 1899.
Lyons and Milan again are pro-
ducing their fine fabrics. used
principally for luxury purposes
and Bruges and Brussels once
more are In full swing turning out
lace and similar commodities
French vineyards are ready to
provide the world with excellent
wines. champagnes and brandies.
Before the war a large part of
the production of these goods was
consumed in Europe itself, but now
financial and currency crises in
those countries prevent former
consumers from purchasing them.
Under the ERP this contingency
was taken into consideration when
1t was provided that the surplus
of one nation should be absorbed
by the other members Of the Mar
shall Plan organization.
French and Italian economists
went to London to discuss their
problems Of overproduction, which
within a few months may become
acute and cause a scale Of un-
employment which would play
into the hands of native Com
munist agitators.
Unfortunately, according to the
report presented by Mr.. Schuman
to Mr.. Acheson, they found little
sympathetic response from the
British government and particu-
larly from Sir Stafford Cripps, the
British economic dictator.
Grips Explains Austerity
The representatives of the
principal continental European
republics urged the British to relax
somewhat their austerity program
and accept some of the luxury
goods being produced. They ex-
pressed their willingness to accept
in exchange some of the heavier
goods produced in the United
Kingdom, including whisky, which
normally has only a limited mar
ket in continental Europe.
Sir Stafford was adamant. He
explained. according to the French,
that austerity is necessary to
Britain these days and the British
people are not ready yet to make
use Of the fancy" goods produced
by the Latins. Not only was Sir
Stafford unwilling to accept luxury
and semiluxury products from the
continent, the French say. but the
British government even placed
obstacles in the way of exports of
butter and fresh vegetables, OF
which there is superabundance
In France today.
It appears that the harshness
and predatory policies of the Nazi
occupation forces did not seriously
deplete Normandy's stock Of cat
tie, and today their number ex-
ceeds that of 1888. Paris and
other large cities which could
purchase such luxuries as butter,
eggs, cheese and fresh vegetables
in adequate quantities only on
the black market have them now