Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-03-07
Sensible and Realistic


President Eisenhower has acted realistically
in directing that American aid be continued to
Denmark, France, italy, Norway and the United
Kingdom even though they have shipped some
goods of primary strategic Importance" to the
Soviet Union and few of its satellites in East
ern Europe.
Technically speaking, in sending out these
goods, the five nations-all allied with us in the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization-have left
themselves open to provision in the Battle Act
requiring our Government to end all economic
and military assistance to any power knowingly
asserting to the export of embargoed commod-
tiles to the world behind the Iron Curtain. How
ever. in keeping with wise congressional judg-
ment made at the time of its passage, the act
also provides that the President may continue
such assistance to a country which permits
shipments other than arms, ammunition, impe-
ments of war, and atomic energy materials
when unusual circumstances indicate that the
cessation of aid would clearly be detrimental
to the security Of the United States
The President has invoked this discretion
airy power-which has been invoked before-on
the basis of a strong recommendation from
Harold Stassen, director of the Foreign Opera
tons Administration. He has done So more
over, with the full concurrence of the State,
Treasury, Defense and Commerce Departments.
AS he has explained to Congress, with Mr. Stas-
sens accompanying letter, his decision has been
based primarily on the incontrovertible fact
that to discontinue aid to the five countries
aid that is now predominantly military in char
acter-would be a serious blow to NATO,s de-
fensive build-up against the threat OF agrees
sion, and hence unquestionably detrimental to
our own national security In addition, two other
highly important considerations have persuaded
him to act as he has.
One Of these considerations is that most of
the goods involved-a tanker, ball bearings, alu-
minum ingots miscellaneous machines, valves
locomotive equipment, copper wire and the like
have been exported in line with contracts and
commitments negotiated and signed before the
Battle Act became effective in January of 1852
And the second consideration, as set forth by
Mr.. Stassen, is this: That certain of the exports
have resulted from more recent agreements
which, in unusual circumstances, Western
countries have considered necessary or in the
long run beneficial to themselves and to the
free world because of the two-way trade that
was made possible by the strategic shipments"
Thus, in exchange for what they have sent the
five countries have received from behind the
Iron Curtain such items as wheat timber and
manganese ore.
Actually, taken all together, the contro-
verslal exports have not been Spectacularly
large Their total value has been just bit more
than Sc million. This figure is accounted for as
follows: Danish shipments (the tanker, 81, 49,
CAT; French, $l35562; Italian 81 098 700: Nor
wegian, $1,770,000; and British 1898 643
Although there is every reason to worry about
any serious weakening of the Western embargo
against the Iron Curtain, such volume of
goods can hardly be described as a great addi-
ton TO the Kremlin's war-making potential
Worth remembering, too is the fact that our
NATO allies, despite some slippage here and
there, are still doing an effective job in choking
of strategic trade with the Red totalitarians
In such circumstances as these, it is good
that the Battle Act is flexible enough to enable
the President to exercise common sense discre-
ton in this matter Certainly, if he we're obliged
to abide by an inflexible rule, great harm could
be done to the whole concept of our interallied
security.