IJc : More & More

When the Marshall Plan was launched two years ago, U.S. policymakers took a long look at the problems of Europe, gulped, and said the rehabilitation job could be done by 1952. This week, $11,461,438,000 later, a presidential task force headed by onetime Army Secretary Gordon Gray broke the news to Harry Truman that Western European nations would need economic aid until 1953 or 1954.

Europe's problems were a lot different from what they were in 1948, Gray reported. Industries were humming, trade (in most cases) was sound, and dollar balances were far beyond expectations. But now the demands of rearmament threatened to undo all the good by creating inflation. Gray's prescription was the same old one: only a dosage of U.S. dollars (separate from military aid) could save the day.

Furthermore, the U.S. should make some changes at home if it wanted to keep the international economy in kilter, said Gray. Sample suggestions: cut farm subsidies (so that Europe could afford to sell grain in U.S. markets), lower import tariffs, and stop giving special treatment to U.S. firms in shipping of goods abroad. Also, Congress should allow dollar aid to be spent in places other than the U.S.

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