Evening star., 1949-05-15
OurMethOds
Studied by
Foreigners
knowledge Hunters
Jumping Gun on
Truman Plan
By Sierid Ane


Something like SO 1000 foreigners
have jumped the gun on President
Trumans plan to share American
"know-how" with other nations
That's about the number oi
people who were here, through
1948 seeking information on every
thing from child care to Diesel
locomotives. An even greater
food promises to come this year
They include students, but the
larger portion was adults from
foreign industries who wanted tc
see how comparable American in
dustries work.
Most Of them paid their own
way. Many were helped by thei,
governments or ours. Many are
still scattered about our factories
and universities.
u. S. Agencies Help
It's not a one-way hunt for
knowledge. We have $500 young
people abroad studying. Some
$500 of them on CT grants. All
others are spending their own
money, except for $50 who went
over with United States Govern
ment help.
The estimate that we had so 600
Notwithstanding visitors here
last year Is made by the State
Departments Office of Education
al exchange. which is trying to
tie several programs together.
Right now some foreigners are
here for study with the help OF
four different government agen-
cies.
We are sparkling three kinds OF
developments abroad.
!. We are helping technical
people in efforts to make their
home industries produce more ald
better goods at lower prices.
2. We are bringing key politica
and labor union leaders here te
show them how our democracy
works.
3. We are bringing in demo.
Gratis from Germany and Japan ir
the hope of swinging whole ma
tions from fascism to democracy
Technical people are coming ir
with the help Of both ECA (Mar.
shall Plan) and the Institute oi
1nteramerican Affairs. They come
from the 16 Western European
countries of the Marshall Plar
and from Latin America.
They want help on practically
everything-how to run steel mills
speed transportation. mass-pro.
duce meat, cut down malaria. sur
vey for oil, mass produce machine
tools. run refrigerator ships and
fly helicopters.
Industrial Students
ECA is going into years pro-
gram of bringing about a thou
sand Europeans here-small teams
at a time-to study in specific in
dustries.
Six Norwegian labor leaders
have visited l8 factories and a
coal mine, visited labor classes in
two universities. talked with 80
labor union locals and visited II
Government agencies.
They came here just after a
similar Norwegian group had been
to Moscow and returned with q
gloomy report on how Russian
workers live. The United States
promptly asked other Norwegians
to come here.
AS they left. one Norwegian
said: "We had heard of your pro-
duction records. But we didn't be-
lieve them. Now wes do"
A team Of 20 Danes came to
study four industries-shipbuild-
ing. steel. food processing and
tool-making-living with Ameri-
can families. working in our fact
ories and studying at night.
They were reported amazed at
the number of our autos. at our
special-job machines. the order
illness of our factories.
Clean like a creamery" said
one Dane of a tool and die plant
In Connecticut.
They commented on Americans
friendliness and reported they
constantly ran into strangers who
handed them cards and said Let
me know If I can do anything for
you"
The Army is also bringing some
people in from the occupation
areas. Sixty japanese students
are here now in our universities
to learn of political democracy.
Twenty-Five Korean leaders are
here studying industry. mostly our
power industry and fisheries.
Study Democracy
German trade union and politi-
cal leaders are being brought
over: Both to learn how demo-
cracy works. The Labor Depart
ment is routing these people. Some
went to last November's AFL con-
vention in Cincinnati and left de-
lighted at how much American
trade union people knew of foreign
affairs.
One German visitor reported
on his trip over the Stuttgart
radio. To his propaganda sick
listeners he said: II was deaf in
America. I couldn't understand
the language and what they said,
But can tell you what I saw"
And he told them.
The Institute of Interameri-
can Affairs has been bringing
Latin American technicians here
for some years. In 1850 the in
stitute's most ambitious venture
will flower. All the Latin Ameri-
can nations will take a census. at
the same time we do. and keyed
to ours. This will be the first full
Western Hemisphere census In
history