Evening star., 1950-11-19

primarily to enable Western Eur
opean countries to remain effec-
lively functioning partners while
undertaking their full and neces-
sary contribution in the joint ef-
fort to build adequate defenses for
the free world.
Silent on Costs
AS to the cost of such program,
the report is silent: at least it
fails to give concrete figures.
Rather, it says. the magnitude of
the required assistance cannot be
firmly estimated until the size of
the rearmament effort by indi-
vidual countries becomes clearer,
That the cost will be huge, no
one should doubt. That the mag
nitude of this cost will cause the
specter of imitation again to raise
its ugly head. every one should
fully realize.
Aside from the danger OF a
deadly form of currency imitation
developing, there is the danger
that we may spend ourselves into
destruction (Which is an avowed
objective of Soviet Russia. accord
ing to a tenet Of Leninism) only
to find that countries we believed
would be fighting with us in any
shooting war that might develop
had been made impotent through
a capture of the people of those
countries in the realm of ideas
long before the shooting begins.
That those responsible for poll
icy IN the United States are be-
latedly coming to appreciate this,
may be seen from the Gray report,
which says:
In many areas Of the world and
among large groups of people, the
Soviet Union is making a desper-
ate effort to capitalize, even
though cynically and with false
promises, on the swelling social
and economic pressures now DOM
inant throughout the world" It
is, therefore, necessary for the
United States ito win or
strengthen support among peo-
Piles everywhere for the interna-
tional objectives shared by the
free world. and the ideals which
underlie them; and, at the same
time, to develop our understand
ing of other peoples. This coun-
try has probably never partici-
pated in so complex and difficult
a task. 1t is the area in which
we have been and are now the
weakest"
Can't Underestimate Reds
In any realistic appraisal of the
attitude of peoples in much of
the world on this side of the iron
curtain it would probably be
found that our objectives are not
understood by other peoples, and
for this reason they are not sup
ported. We. who are perhaps the
best statesmen in the world, OBJ
viously have failed to sell our
superior way of life. The fact
that many governments may at
the moment support us should
not deceive us regarding the ex-
tent of this basic weakness" the
report warns. We cannot lightly
dismiss the fact that the Eastern
zone of Germany is Communist,
that France is approximately Is
per cent Communist, and that
Italy also has serious Communist
problem. We must not underesti-
mate the power and influence Of
these fanatical minorities.
Be that as it may, one fact is
clear-Western Europe is the most
critical area from the standpoint
of our security and the security
Of the free world. Its Importance
and strength lies in its great in
dustrlal capacity Qarger than that
of Russia and her satellites), its
large number of highly skilled
workers and its moral and cul-
tural traditions. which are the
same as ours. It's weaknesses are
its inadequate military defenses.
its political apathy and weak
morale. and its extreme depend
ence upon national economies and
on imports from other parts Of
the world.
Initiation Threat Abroad
True, the ERP countries did not.
in fact, require the full amount
of ECA aid of finance dollar i'm
ports last year. Indeed, many
countries in that group were able
to build up substantial dollar re-
serves. A very substantial part Of
this Improvement was, of course,
the consequence of increases in
productivity and an improved
competitive position. On the other
hand, considerable part of this
improvement was due to various
temporary factors, such as in
creased restrictions on dollar i'm
ports, particularly in the sterling
area, and the devaluation of
various currencies which took
place last year, especially the de-
valuation of the British pound.
For example, between September,
1949, when currencies were de-
valued, and June, 1850, the gold
and dollar reserves of ERP coun-
tries increased by SIS billion, 10
per cent of which was accounted
for by the United Kingdom.
All of this has had the effect.
of reducing Western Europe's
dependence on the United States.
Even today this improvement
lis continuing. Last week, for
example, Britain reported that it's
exports for the month of October,
exceeding $500 million, broke an
all-time record. But, in view Of
the greatly changed outlook since
the Korean incident, this trend
toward improvement is likely to
prove rather short lived, for West
ern Europe obviously has not as
yet felt the full impact of higher
raw material prices which will