Evening star., 1952-11-09
Lend-Leose and Russia

In note to the new Soviet Ambassador,
the State Department has once again called
for settlement of the Krefnlin's lend-lea debt
to the United States. What the note says, in
effect, is that our Government will have fresh
terms to offer-possibly even more generous
than those offered in the past-if the Russians
demonstrate willingness to negotiate in good
faith by promptly returning 1856 Of the many
vessels they received from our country during
the Second World War.
It has been several months since the last
discussion of this subject with the Russians.
At that time, in June, they. proposed to cancel
out their debt with payment OF $500 million,
but they refused to return the vessels (smal
naval craft on the ground that the United
States had once agreed to sell them to the
Soviet Union. Our Government then declared
in reply that the payment should be $500 mil
lion and that the selling agreement had been
invalidated by the Kremlin's failure to meet one
of the agreements specific conditions namely,
the prompt conclusion Of a satisfactory lend
lease settlement.
This later point now has been re-emphasized
in the note to Ambassador Zarubin. But at the
same time the note suggests that the United
States, if the vessels are returned may be
willing to close the account for less than $500
million. AS it stands, that figure covering the
value of American shipped civilian goods re-
manning in Russian hands after vi day
represents only small fraction of our lend-lease
aid to the sovets during the war. For the aid,
all told, added up to approximately $11 billion
about SAT billion of it in the form Of aircraft,
tanks, naval vessels, merchant ships, and military
land vehicles $3.7 billion in things like indus
trial equipment for expanded arms production:
$l8 billion in food and farm products; and the
balance in various types of services"
As Stain himself once acknowledged it is
beyond dispute that all this help played q
decisive part in enabling the Soviet Union to
stop and hurl back Hitler's invading legionS.
Nevertheless, early in the postwar period, unlike
every other ally who had undertaken such OBJ
legations with u.s. Russia's rulers declined to work
out debt settlement in keeping with the solemn;
agreement they had signed prior to receiving
our vast shipments. Instead, not very long
after VI day, they began their monstrous
hate-America propaganda, and they have ever
since been making mockery of our lend-leaSe
negotiations with them
Against such background it looks doubt
full in the extreme that our latest note will move
them to favorable response. OF course, rela-
lively speaking, the 1876 vessels involved are
not things of immense value, but their prompt
return, followed by speedy lend-lease settle
ment would help to promote some easing Of
present American-Soviet tensions Judging from
the signs, however, the men of the Kremlin have
no intention Of making any such gesture OF good
faith or conciliation. On the contrary, they
SEEM determination dark reasons known only
to themselves-to let this issue, like every other
issue dividing their world and ours, keep on
fostering. Certainly, they are not acting as If
they wanted to make even the slightest progress
toward decent peace.