Ext 6116/46(S) 'Secret Weekly Political Intelligence Summaries, nos 356-416, August 1946-November 1947' [‎199r] (405/978)

to the United States to plead Indonesia’s
case in person. Press reports also state
that the Netherlands Government have
instructed their newly appointed Ambas
sador to India to endeavour to contact
M. Sjarir and to assure him of a warm
welcome, should he elect to visit the
Netherlands.
Mr. Marshall’s proposals for the econo
mic rehabilitation of Europe continue to
be the main topic of discussion in Ameri
can press and radio comment—with the
great majority of opinion supporting the
Secretary of State. On the 24th July
Senator Taft, who does not consider that
a special autumn session of Congress will
be necessary, announced that it had been
arranged that Congress could be recalled
“ at the consent of the four (Republican)
leaders ”—Mr. Joseph Martin, the Speaker
of the House; Rep. Charles A. Halleck, the
House Majority Leader; Senator Arthur
H. Vandenberg, President pro tempore of
the Senate; and the Senate Majority
Leader, Mr. Wallace H. White. The Presi
dent, of course, has power under the Con
stitution to recall Congress should he deem
it necessary. Meanwhile Mr. Harriman’s
committee, appointed by the President to
assess United States resources in relation
to the needs of foreign nations (see Sum
mary No. 398), held its first meeting on the
24th July. A number of sub-committees
were set up and it was agreed that the
1 st October should be the “ target ” date
for submission of a full report to the Presi
dent. Mr. Harriman explained that the
report would be written in terms of mater
ials, not dollar value. In this connection
it is interesting to note that Senator Taft,
a consistent opponent of the British Loan,
is recently reported to have stated his con
viction that, in American aid to Europe,
machinery and raw materials should take
priority over food since, in his opinion, the
object of Mr. Marshall’s proposals is to
help European reconstruction rather than
to increase LTiited States expenditure
abroad.
Discussion of the problem of European
economic recovery has concentrated parti
cularly on the change in American policy
towards Germany mentioned in last week’s
Summary. Although the new United States
policy directive for Germany has been
hailed by economy-minded conservatives as
an essential step, liberal and left-wing
observers, who claim to see in it a shift
from the ‘ ‘ Marshall Plan ’ ’ to the
“ Hoover Plan,” express sympathy with
the “ justified fears ” of France and utter
warnings against the danger of a renewal
German industrial domination in
Europe. It was officially announced on
the 24th July that Mr. Marshall has
assured the French Foreign Minister that
no decision regarding a new level of in
dustry for Germany will be taken before
the French Government has been consulted.
In giving this assurance Mr. Marshall is
reported by the press to have acted against
the wishes of the War Department and
without previously informing General
Clay, and there is thought to be a serious
divergence between the policies of the State
and War Departments on the matter of
Germany.
M ith the Anglo-American conference on
Ruhr coal problems expected to begin in
Washington within the next few days,
there has been some discussion on the
question how far His Majesty’s Govern
ment will be willing to compromise with
American “ free enterprise” ideas on the
efficient development of the Ruhr. Con
siderable publicity has been given to a
secret report by Mr. Robert Moses, an
official of the New York City administra
tion, who has recently returned from a
tour of Germany. Mr. Moses alleges,
apparently, that inadequate discipline in
the mines and the British plans for their
socialization have been the main contribu
tory factors in the failure to increase Ruhr
coal production. A second unpublished
report on the Ruhr, prepared for the War
Department by a group of economic
experts, is said to have made similar
strictures on the British Administration
and to have recommended the establishment
of a coal authority financed by the Inter
national Bank for Reconstruction and
Development. Publication of these reports
has been suppressed lest they should prove
“embarrassing” to the negotiations in
Washington. Regarding the vexed ques
tion of socialization, Mr. Raymond Gram
Swing, the liberal radio commentator,
warns that “not to socialize the Ruhr
would be to cut the ground under the
German Social Democratic Party in the
British Zone, which is the only instrument
for keeping the Communists in the zone in
a minority. ’ ’ (See also under ‘ ‘ Germany ’ ’
and “ France.”)
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
of
34024
E