Evening star., 1950-12-17
Costof Reorming Balloons;
ECA Getting War Look
Suspension Of Aid
To Britain First Step
In Transformation
By Creston B. Mullins

BY Creston B. Mullins
The Marshall Plan is getting q
new look-a wartime look.
A ce-lifting-both in purpose
and administrations in store
for the vast organization which
burgeoned after Gen. Marshall
made his historic pronouncement
at Harvard June 6, 1947.
The surgery is intended to fit
the Economic Cooperation Ad-
mlnistration-and it's overseas off,
spring. the Organization for Euro
pean Economic Cooperation-for
grim tasks ahead in supporting
the war effort of the free world.
Suspension of Marshall aid to
Britain last week was a tWo-fold
fore-runner of that new look. In
the first place. it was major
tangible eVidence-l8 months pre-
mature-that the European Re-
covery Program had done it's job
we'll. In the second, it was a clear
forecast of major changes to come
in our whole approach to assist
ance for other non-Communist
nations.
The new purpose and new func-
tionS OF ECA are under lively dis
cussion in all those government
circles which are concerned with
peacetime aid to the nations Of
Western and Southern Europe.
Out of those discussions is emerg-
ing program which is intended
to do on the economic side what
the mutual defense assistance
program is doing on the military
side.
Statistics Tell Story
The Marshall Plan was inaugu-
rated in 1947 for a specific pur.
pose-to restore economic life in
Western Europe. But it came at
a time of growing consciousness
of the need to resist Communist
infiltration. So the undertone Of
the European recovery program
became one of defense against
Communist advance in the par
ticipating countries. The pre-
yiously frightening trend toward
communism in such countries as
France and Italy was arrested,
Election returns told the result.
And communism has never been
the same Stree.
But it was in Britain that the
Marshall Plan has had its great
est success. 1t not only saved
Britains financial and economic
structure, but it preserved for the
free world live and virile de-
fender of the tenets which all
free peoples hold. Besides that.
!; it held together a group of ma
tionS which grew out of the old
British Empire-all of them still
| a part of the free society of ma
tionS.
Dull statistics tell a dramatic
story. At the end of 1916 British
dollar reserves stood at $685.
100000. Many of Britain's foreign
observation-disclosures from which
: she had always drawn a large
part of her income-had been de-
stroyed or otherwise wiped out.
International trade had not been
restored and she was not receiving
the former income from such
services as freight and insurance.
Her markets had been seriously
disturbed and were not yielding
the profit on which she lived.
The result of these misfortunes
was that in the next three years
Britain's dollar reserves shrank to
little more than half what they
were at the end of 1916. At the
end of September, 1949. they had
fallen to S1,425, 900, 900, more than
half a billion dollars less than
the accepted safe point of. 81 bill
Ion.
Not Actually Cut Off
BY the end of 1949, however, the
tide was turning. Marshall aid Of
$682 100000 in 1948 and $1,196,-
100000 in 1949 was telling the
story. The third quarter of 1850
brought the decision. On Septem-
ber 80, 1850, British reserves stood
at $2,736, 100000 and this gigantic
resuscitation operation was ap-
preaching historic success.
For the first time since 1948
Britain showed in the last quar-
ter of 1949 and the first three
quarters of 1850 a greater increase
in dollar reserves than was ac-
counted for by Marshall aid. That
meant, in effect. that Britain was
banking all of the Marshall aid.
A conclusion of aid on the original
basis was then negotiated by
representatives of the United
States and Britain, With regard
for the demands of the future
the negotiators did not call this
termination. News dispatches in
correctly said the United States
had "cut off" Marshall aid from
Britain. 1t was not terminated
IL was suspended by agreement.
Suspension carries the implca-
ton of possible resumption. And
that is exactly what appears to
be in the cards. In fact. it is not
only the possibility but the almost
certainty that aid to Britain will
be resumed-but for a new pur-
pose. in a new form and probably
greater than ever.
That new purpose is the defense
rearmament of the West, in which
the Marshall Plan will have a new
job to perform. The new form has
not yet been decided and will not
be decided until Congress can act
on the matter.
1t appears, however, that when
the new appropriations for ECA
are sought they will be asked not
for the economic recovery of Eu-
rope, but for the economic re-
armament of the Western world