Evening star., 1952-04-14
A Pretty Dish-But

pretty dish has been set before the numer-
Gus Western businessmen who have ATTENDED
the international Economic Conference" that
the Kremlin has just brought to an end IN Mos
COW. The chief morSel involved is Soviet oner
to engage with the capitalist world in trade that
would amount to between SIS billion and $40
billion during the next tYo or three years.
There can be no denying that the offer, at
first glance, looks tempting and appetizing. To
a Briton for example, it will SAVIOR OF something
that promises to inject much-needed vltamlns
into the depressed textile industry OF Lancashire
And it will seem similarly mountaineering TO
more than a few businessmen in countries Ike
Italy France, Belgium The Netherlands and
Germany Indeed, in general overall sense,
it has certain global fragrance because 1t has
been served up as kind Of luscious entree, the
more flavorful because it might lead to great
and benefcent revival Of EaSt-West trade-a
revival that is undoubtedly essential to the long
term peace, stability and economic well-being
of Europe and the whole world.
A second glance, however, diScloSeS that the
Soviet offer must be viewed with the deepest
suspicion-more as propaganda boopy trap
than as dish of delectable food At any rate,
entirely apart from Sweden'S sad postwar expert
ence with Russian trade agreement and not
to mention the Kremlins economic warfare on
Yugoslavia, there are many reasons why the
whole grandiose business rings hollow. To begin
with in terms of good faith there is ample cause
to wonder why the Stain government, with all
sorts of hoopla, has circumvented the United
Nations in staging its Moscow conference.
Plainly enough the fact that it has done so,
plus the fact that it has heretofore torpedoed
every u. NJ effort to promote international Coop
Grafton along the same line, strongly suggests
that its motives are far from pure.
Further than that and leaving aside the
Kremlins persistent but unsuccessful drive to
sabotage the Marshall Plan for European recov-
cry, the Soviet trade proposal is very suspect
because of the Russians highly dubious economic
capacity to undertake such program at this
time. They say they are ready to exchange, over
the next two or three years, as much as S. billion
in grain timber and certain types Of minor
machinery for an equivalent amount of industrial
raw materials, machine tools, ships, ETC., from
the capitalist countries. Yet, to put 1t mildly,
the evidence indicates that their domestic
economy-which is built on one OF the worlds
lowest civilian living standards-makes them
incapable right now Of carrying out export-1m-
port commitments on scale Of that magnitude.
Above all, the Kremlin's offer has every
earmark of a propaganda maneuver designed
(l) to drive wedge between the United States
and its Atlantic Allies and (2) to hoodwink the
latter into ending the embargo on shipments OF
roachine tools. strategic materials and other
war-potential items to the Soviet Union and its
satellites That embargo-which has reduced
East-West trade to a mere trickle OF what 1t was
in prewar days-obviously is hurting the Rus
SLAMS and it has been made particularly effective
bv the law under which American military and
economic aid is denied to any country sending
such goods to them Needless to say, II the
international Economic Conference" in Moscow
did away with all this, the Stain government
could pride itself on great victory.
But such a victory seems unlikely IN the
extrefse at this stage After ALL as :tong as