Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-07-03
Red Despofisrn
Slowly Easing,
Dulles Believes
BY j. A. O'LEARY

Dy 81 IA " LEAN
Secretary of State Dulles be-
lieves the next 10 years may
bring the gradual development
Of a less despotic government in
Russia if the free world adheres
to policies which have proved
successful up to now.
In testimony made public last
night by House appropriations
subcommittee, the Secretary, in
supporting the Presidents re-
quest for $40 billion foreign
aid appropriation, said:
You may say, is this program
going to have to go on forever?
! do not know. 1t is going to
have to go on as long as the
danger exists. There are some
encouraging signs that the dam
ger may be receding 1t has not
'receded yet: but there are signs
within Russia that forces are at
work there which could, in the
course of some years. perhaps
change materially the character
of the Russian government, max
ing 1t less deSpotic government,
making it more responsive to
intelligent and restrained public
opinion. 49,.
If We can hold strongly to the
policies which have proved sue
cessful in the past. while forces
of liberalism which constitute a
Iferment within Russia continue
to work, l believe we can see the
possibility of a genuine change
in the Soviet Union which would
permit us materially to alter our
policies. But that is something
that is not for this year or next:
1T may be another 10 years"
Compromise Expected
The House already has voted
to put ceiling of 1913 billion on
foreign aid for the coming year.
and the Senate has approved
S4.5 billion. The two branches
are expected to compromise on
ceiling somewhere between
these two figures.
But whatever that figure is,
1t will not be binding on the
Appropriation Com nit e'e S.
which will determine the exact
amount of money to be made
available. The House Appro-
prlations group is slated to vote
Friday on the money bill.
Some OF the questions asked
in the hearings made public last
night indicate the Appropria-
tons Committee also is inclined
to cut we'll below the admins
tration's request
If conditions are encourag-
ing. and it looks like Russia may
be to some extent reforming,
then why should We be asking
for more money for fiscal 1857
than we had in fiscal 1852" in
quired Representative Passman,
Democrat Of Louisiana, who VIII
have charge of the foreign aid
money bill Congress appro-
priated only $2.7 billion for
1856
More money is asked, not to
increase the rate of spending,
but to enable the present rate
of spending to be continued"
Mr. Dulles replied.
1t has been brought out earlier
that the current spending rate on
foreign aid is slightly more than
81 billion a year, made possible
by uneXpended balances from
prior years. The administration
has argued that a larger new
appropriation is needed now be-
cause appropriations for the past
two years did not keep pace with
actual spending.
War Chances Recede
Mr. Dulles testified that there
is less likelihood today of Russia
starting a war than there was a
year ago. But he said he could
not report any comparable i'm
provement as regards Commu-
mist China.
Representative Gary, Demo-
crat of Virginia, told the sub
committee that while he was in
Europe with House inyestigat-
ing committee in 1851 President
Eisenhower, then NATO COM
mander, thought that by 1854
conditions would be such that
foreign aid expenditures would
begin to decline.
Some of us are very greatly
concerned over the fact that
this is 1857 fiscal year. and we
are being asked to appropriate
more money than we did last, :"
said Mr. Gary