Evening star., 1952-06-06
Compromise on Foreign Aid

There is reason for a croSSed-hngers attitude
toward the compromise worked out by Senate
and House conferees on the Mutual Security Pro-
gram for the fiscal year beginning July l. The
compromise calls for total outlay OF bit under
$65 billion, or almost SIS billion less than the
$7.9 billion originally requested by the President
The conference figure represents a split
Indifference" reconciliation between the drastic
slash voted by the House and the more moder-
ate one voted by the Senate. The responsible
committees, after having themselves reduced the
Presidents request by roughly 81 billion, had
strongly recommended against any further
"economizing" but their pleas went unheeded.
The result is that the aid bill-as it now stands
is at least $500 million short of the minimum sum
that many experts regard as essential to the de-
fensive build-up of the free world.
One of the experts is General Eisenhower.
Although he has conceded that cut Of 81 billion
in the Presidents figure need not be critically
upsetting in relation to the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization, he is on record as declaring as
follows: "Any cut materially greater than this
would create such difficulties that drastic re-
vision of the whole program" (meaning specid-
cally the strengthening of the NATO alliance)
"might well be indicated and might therefore
endanger the proposed military build-ups now
visualized, and which consider essential In the
interest of United States security" Yet the ina
terially greater approximately $500 million
has been made, and it may even be increased
If the House membership fails to follow the Sen
ate in supporting the conference bill, or II Con-
rress as whole later on decides to appropriate
less than the total authorized by the compromise
The authorization of SIS billion covers arma-
nnents and economic aid to countries throughout
the non-Soviet world, but the great bulk OF 1t Is
earmarked for our Allies in the Atlantic pact
Assuming that the legislation becomes effective
in its present form, our European friends will
receive the equivalent of roughly $34 billion In
direct military assistance made up OF American
produced planes, tanks guns, ETC., and $lZ Dillon
in defense support" consisting OF raw materials
and other items calculated to promote further
expansion of arms output in the NATO nations.
The Presidents original request IN the same TWO
caterories called, respectively, for approximately
Sal billion and $18 billion-hgures that add up
to considerably more than what the Senate and
House conferees have agreed upon as necessary
for the continuing Western build-up against Red
aggression.
AS far as direct military aid is concerned,
the compromise bill tends to Offset the slash by
granting discretionary power to transfer to the
Mutual Security Program-h the need arises
I'M to 81 billion worth Of ornaments built Tor our
own Army Navy and Air Force. There Is also
proyison allowing for some iexibility in handling
the cut in funds for defense support" Even 80
that cut can hardly be described as sound econo-
mizing, for its effect is to hold back assistance
designed to enable our Allies to step up their
own ornaments production and steadily reduce
their dependence on receiving weapons from US
In the long run, the money saved here u likely
20 prove much worse than Nlusory.
The surgery on foreign aid thus seems u