Evening star., 1950-01-13
Mr.. Hoffmon's Warning

MT. mormon VuthiIS
In his address to the Association OF
American Colleges, Paul G. Hoffman, chief
of the Economic Cooperation Administra-
tion, has sounded timely and eloquent
warning at this midway point In the oper-
ations of the Marshall Plan for European
recovery. The warning is meant for two
audiences: Cd For the American people
and their representatives in Congress, and
(2) for our friends abroad who have already
achieved a magnificent comeback with the
help of ECA funds.
Two years ago, before the Marshall Plan
became effective, Western Europe was on
the brink of collapse and the Russians
were sparing no effort to shove it COM
pletely over in order to win control of the
entire continent. Since then, however, by
a combination of their own exertions and
our indispensable ECA aid, our European
friends, after having been virtually fiat
on their backs and wide open to Soviet
subversion, have restored their agricultural
output to prewar levels and carried their
industrial production to new all-time
high. AS result, besides winning back
economic health, they now enjoy real
measure of political stability fact that
has stopped the further advance of the
Red tide and thus served not only their
own security but ours as well.
But here is where Mr.. Hoffman's warning
comes in. Without minimizing what has
been accomplished thus far, he has re-
minded everybody that the Marshall Plan
"a. first line of defense for Western civili
zation"-has yet to be carried through to
completion. It's course is only half run,
with two years still to go, and its effective
operation at this stage Is every bit as
important as ever. For the truth is In
Mr.. Hoffman's words, that freedom in the
ECA area, though much stronger than 1t
was at the start of 1948, is by no means
absolutely secure, and the men of the
Kremlin know that certain things can
happen between now and 1852 to undo
the political and economic recovery already
achieved and change the situation In their
favor.
One such thing-a thing ardently hoped
for in Moscow-would be a drastic con-
gressional cut in the new appropriations
asked for the ECA for fiscal 1851. As sub
mitted by the President in his budget
message, those appropriations call for 26
per cent less than the sum for the current
fiscal year, and Mr.. Hoffman has made
clear that any sharp additional reduction
could be disastrous. Accordingly, his
warning to the United States Is not to
slash the funds recommended, for he is
frmly convinced-on the basis of his
unique knowledge of the situation-that
to do so would slow down the whole pro-
gram, bring back short rations to the
participating nations, and keep them from
making progress in building up their dollar
earnings and laying the groundwork for
Western Europe's economic integration.
Another big Russian hope Is that even
II Congress appropriates the necessary
minimum, the Western Europeans will fail
to take the long-term measures they must
take if they are ever to earn enough dollars
to pay for all the things they need from
us. AS MIR. Hoffman has put it, the Kremlin
knows that as long as the ECA countries
maintain a wilderness of separate and
clashing economies, their outlook for an
enduring recovery will be dim. Hence, his
warning to them-and he has expressed
it in urgent terms-is to start right now,
before 1t Is too late, to take bold and posi-
tive steps toward their integration and
toward doing away with their Choke
weeds of high tariffs, cartels and import
and exchange controls"
Assuming that this double warning Is
needed, assuming that Congress ade-
quately finances the ECA's final two years
and that the recipient countries really get
going on the difficult task of integration,
then there will be reason for all of us
to share Mr.. Hoffman's great hope that
the free world will regain the initiative
and In the second half of this twentieth
century resume its forward march" Such
optimism is not unwarranted. Certainly,
If the West makes the most of the Marshall
Plan, and of other historic enterprises like
the Atlantic Pact, the future is not likely
to belong to the Kremlin.