THE NOME NUGGET
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Entered as second class matter October 14, 1943, at the postoffieA
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Wednesday, August 20, 1947
The Revival Of German Industry
(The Rockv Mountain News) j
IT IS NOT EASY to accept in good faith, Polish,
Czech and French contentions that a revived German
industry in the Ruhr would threaten European peace.
Such talk sounds suspiciously like a Mctecow propa
ganda line.
We are not dealing with the old German Empire, norj
with the Germany of Adolf Hitler, but only with western
Germany—that part under American. British and
French control.
Prewar Germany had an area of 181,699 square miles i
and a population of 67 million. At Potsdam, this area
was reduced to 142,200 square miles when East Prussia
was divided between Russia and Poland.
The new Germany today is divided by a Soviet iron
curtain which to all practical purposes has brought
46,400 square miles and 20 million people into the Soviet
Union. So western Germany, which includes the Ruhr,
contains only 95,800 square miles, with a population of
46 million crowded into the area.
A revival of German heavy industry is essential if
these people are to become self-sustaining.
Russia objects to American plans to revive this indus
trial region unless it is given a vdice—and a veto—in its
administration. We can’t consent to that, of course.
The Russians would come in only to dominate or de
stroy any program. We have had enough of that.
German recovery is vital to European recovery—
meaning that part of Europe not under Russian police
control.
Before the war, the Netherlands got 21.3 per cent of
its imports from Germany, Denmark 24.2 per cent, Bel
gium and Luxembourg 11.3 per cent, Norway 16.9 per
cent, Sweden 21.2 per cent, Switzerland 23.2 per cent,
Italy 18.6 per cent, Greece 28.8 per cent.
Exports to Germany were in approximate balance.
The German market took nearly all of Greece’s export
tobacco crop. The loss of that market is a major factor
today in Greece’s economic paralysis.
Success of the Marshall recovery plan will depend
largely on rehabilitation of Ruhr industry because most
of Western Europe must look to that area for its coal
and steel. Poland’s coal is no longer moving west. Bri
tain isn’t producing enough coal for its own consump
tion.
Industrial fuel must come from the Ruhr or there
will be no recovery.
Magyar Responsibility
eV I J
(Denver Post)
THE SMALL REGARD in which the Hungarian
government holds the United States has been aptly
demonstrated bv the arrest recently of an American
citizen in Budapest.
'/‘hen Hungarian police arrested Stephan Thuranszky
they violated the surrender agreement signed by their
government, for Allied citizens are not liable to arrest
by this former enemy nation until such time as the Hun
garian peace treaty is ratified and becomes effective.
The Hungarian government knew this, and the Com
munist-controlled police clearly violated their obliga
tions. Moreover, Thuranszky wras never released, he
was about to be taken to the headquarters of the Hun
garian political police when he was virtually kidnaped
by an American legation official.
This action reflects Hungary’s attitude toward the
United States since she became a full-fledged member
of the Soviet bloc. Yet the Hungarians have asked that
the United States supply them with heavy industrial and
IT TAKES JUST ONE LOADED SUN
_ _____ _^
road-building equipment, and have already received aid
from the United States.
But the arrest is even more significant in light of the
failure of the Allied control commission to act. That
commission has long been-little more than a liaison or
gan for the Americans and British, as the Soviet mem
ber actually controls the commission, and the Soviet
Union is the only power which has occupation troops
in Hungary.
Although the arrest of an American citizen was di
rectly prohibited, the commission was unable to act. No
explanation or even reference to this is made in reports
from Hungary, but it is probable that the American
member of the commission was unable to get direct ac
tion, as he has been unable to get action on other mat
ters pertaining to American citizens and property.
By the illegal arrest and detention of an American
citizen—when he had committed no crime but denun
ciation of the Communist regime—the Hungarian gov
ernment has added more proof to the obvious thesis that
it wants contact with the United States only for possible
handouts. The United States government should take
action soon, through the United Nations, to assure the
safety and well-being of Americans in that country.
Joe Isn't Santa Claus
THE SOVIET UNION has announced it will export
from 40 to 50 million bushels of wheat from its 1947
crop.
Britain has been negotiating for 17 million bushels of
Russian wheat, but balks at paying a price above the
world market.
In the face of this, the Soviet puppet government in
Poland has denounced as “unjust” a United States de
cision to eliminate the Poles from our European re’iof
program this year. Poland, its spokesmen assert, will
need a million tons of grain in 1947.
The question naturally arises, why doesn’t 'Polar
get is grain from its good friend, the Soviet Uni or?
Why? Because we are giving American grain away,
a relief measure, while the Russians demand cash o
goods for theirs.
Soviet charity, if any, is a one-way street r...:
east—behind the iron curtain.
China's New Chance
• ■■ * ■'i—
*
(By Barnet Nover)
The mission which Lieut. Gen.
Albert C. Wcdemeyer is carrying
out in China at the behest ol Pres
ident Truman is a pood deal more
than the fact-finding o\
it is supposed to be. The Tin;to.1
States government is not troubled
by any lack of data regarding t e
state of China. Facts about that
country’s economic and political
situation pour into the state de
partment in an unceasing flood.
They tell a very unpleasant story
of administrative incompetence,
great corruption and spreading
civtl war.
The Chinese picture is. indeed,
. j black that many have come to
the conclusion tha: the situation is
hopeless that the United States
has no chance but to wash its
hands of China.
Ii mUst be admitted that the
temptation to do just that is very
g:ca.. Vet such a course would be
self-defeating. The war has placed
this country in the very front rank
of Far Eastern powers and, re
gardless of her internal situation,
China is a vital part of the Far
East.
But what can we do in China
and for China more than we have *
already done? Unrestricted aid to
that country would mean pouring
the American taxpayers’ dollars
down a bottomless well.
Such unrestricted aid has been
ruled out and, we can assume, will
continue to be ruled out so far as
American policy in China is con
cerned.
But what else is there for the
United States to do?
An answer is to be found in the
proposal made by General Mar
shall regarding European rehabil- ‘
itation. That calls, first of all, for
self-help and mutual assistance by
the various European countries.
Once they have demonstrated their
readiness and capacity to carry
out such a program the United
States will be prepared to move in
to provide that additional aid
which may be needed to put Eu
rope on the high road to recovery.
The real intent behind the Wede
meyer mission is to hold out to
China a similar promise of assist
ance, contingent on China putting
her own house in order.
There are reasons to believe
that, until recently. Generalissimo
Chiang and his government have
assumed that the United States
had no choice but to help China;
all they had to do to secure that
aid was to make a few gestures
of reform.
Now they are under notice that
while the United States does not
intend to wash its hands of China,
the extent of the aid we may be
willing to grant China will depend
on the extent of China’s readiness
to help herself.
Wedemever is right. There are
•'selfless and patriotic” Chinese.
Some of them are in the govern
ment, although they are outnum
bered there by corrupt and incom
petent time-servers belonging to
the die-hard wing of the Kuomin
lang.
The more honest liberals are
brought into the regime and given
positions of power the speedier
China will recover, and the easier
it will be for the United States to
help.
General Wedemeyer has never
himself harbored the once-preva
lcnt illusion that the prime essen
tial was the creation of a coalition
government that would include
the Communists.
It is doubtful whether any such
coalition would have worked bet
ter in C’hina than it has worked
anywhere else. Yet only if an hon
est. progressive government comes
into being in China can the ground
be cut from under the feet of Chi
nese Reds.
Council Will Meet
Without Atcheson
TOKYO, (>P)—The Allied coun
cil for Japan is slated to meet to
day with William J. Sebald acting
for A ibf sador George Atcheson,
Jr., missing and presumed dead
in a Pacific plane crash. It will be
;.ve council’s 39th session.
Sebald was a counselor to
Atcheson, who was council chair
man. Also absent from the meet
ing will be W. MacMahon Ball,
British Commonwealth delegate
who resigned Sunday. Tom Eck
ersley of Australia is expected to
replace him.
The Russian delegate, lit. Gen.
Kuzma Derevyanko, who was
called to Moscow recently, will be
replaced by Maj. Gen. A. P. Vis
lenkt.
There are no official matters on
«
the agenda.