EUROPE AWAITS ECA 1952 DEADLINE

GOLDEN, CLINTON S.

Europe Awaits ECA 1952 Deadline . . . By Clinton S. Golden WHEN SECRETARY OF STATE George C. Marshall, in his famous address at Harvard in June, Ishy, outlined the Plan that bears his name and...

...This is an outstanding record, especially when it is remembered that Europe had to rebuild her bombed-out factories, modernize her equipment, and use a labor force exhausted by the strain of long years of war privation and tension...
...The upshot is that American workers in those industries which export will find themselves out of work...
...Lynd to your hostility), but they did not wear any political 'stripe,' if I understand what you mean by this unhappily vague term...
...European recovery and expanded foreign trade which were debated and adopted at the recent AFL and CIO national conventions constitute impressive evidence of labor's awareness of these new responsibilities and obligations...
...Thus it will be seen that American labor was a participant in this great effort from its very inception...
...This is the area where the European Recovery Program is meeting its biggest challenge...
...Schlesinger pointed out that Dwlght Macdonald had offered to review The Vital Center and Strategy for Liberals, but that the offer had been declined...
...Eleanor Roosavelt begins writing an international bill of rights March 27...
...The vague consciousness of the importance of internationalism en the part of the humble charcoal burners of Italy, France and Spain a hundred years ago has been given new meaning by the course of world events since...
...Without sufficient food to sustain themselves, workers could not be expected to produce...
...Louis Lorwin points out in Labor and Internationalism, "the tradition of the Carbonari passed to the Nationalists of Italy, Poland, and Ger"many...
...Golden's recent experience...
...production to only a limited extent because they lack a mass market...
...The high prices on goods which Europeans must Import from us make it necessary for foreign buyers to earn ,a larger number of dollars, aggravating the trade balance still further...
...The unity of purpose demonstrated by the AFL and CIO representatives at the world labor conference in London which created the new International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, is further impressive evidence of organised labor's determination to help create the conditions that will assure the future peace of the world and the well-being of mankind...
...HOW WELL has the Marshall Plan succeeded...
...As long ago as the second decade of the 19th century the "Carbonari" or loose associations of charcoal burners in Italy Spain and France established contacts with each other on the basis of their common occupational interests and desire . for greater freedom and improvement in their conditions of hie...
...UPON HIS APPOINTMENT as Administrator of ERP, Paul Hoffman immediately enlisted the aid of American labor organizations in the task of recruiting personnel to staff the administrative organization both in the United States and in Europe...
...Our country has been thrust into a position of world leadership and that of a creditor nation...
...military supplies begin to arrive...
...Dockworkers at Cherbourg, Naples and a dozen other ports, members of Red unions, have voted overwhelmingly to reject the orders of their Stalinist leaders...
...As interested onlookers, we can only applaud those important moves, but at the same time we must keep urging Western Europe to even greater effort if it is to beat the 1952 deadline when the Marshall Plan is due to end...
...The plates are flown over and are cheaper because European engraver wages, according to union ojficials, ivho have already made representations to ECA, are one-tenth the wages of American artisans...
...It looks like after all these years Jimmy Petrillo may become a member of the AFL Executive Council...
...It is as though sixteen hungry adults were handed a small pie and asked to divide it among themselves peaceably—the task is that difficult...
...The bulk of our expanding needs will, of course, continue to be supplied from domestic sources...
...policy is against such a right...
...Furthermore, the tone of your letter leads me to believe that you are attempting to force me to review the-books in question and I do not respond very well to that kind of pressure " Would Mr...
...The report answers that removal of specific obstacles—export and import quotas, fees, excessive, documentation and the like which impede travel and trade between countries —would go a long way toward freeing trade...
...These cpnditions nat¦ urally make for the development of a so-called "isolationist" attitude at the very juncture in world development that calls for increasing international understanding...
...The article we publish here is the fruit of Mr...
...After 1830," Dr...
...If we refuse to buy from Europe, Europeans will not be able to buy our machinery and raw materials...
...I have heard Paul Hoffman say many times that the amount of goods Europe must export to us before she can earn her own way comes to only one per cent of our total gross national income...
...On the other hand, if we accept Europe's goods, the American public stands to gain through better goods and lower prices...
...How can we Increase our imports...
...Unless we are prepared to give goods to Europe indefinitely, we have got to figure out some way by which Europe can earn enough dollars to pay for those goods she must continue to import from us...
...His views on the importance of labor participation are expressed in this statement of policy published in the ECA Manual of Operations: "Over 30 million men and women are organised in the trade union movements oi the participating Marshall Plan countries...
...and without production, lasting recovery would be, of course, impossible...
...raw materials, and manufactured goods designed for specialised purposes or requiring special skills or Unique raw materials for their production...
...But before she can do this, she* must break down the trade barriers that separate her into a score of countries...
...Therefore, in the first period of Marshall Plan operations, nearly 60 per cent of the total sums allocated were for foodstuffs and other essentials designed to sustain life itself...
...As a matter of fact, by buying mere of each others' goods, both Europe and the United States stand to gain from increased production and lower prices...
...Expansion in the United States import trade with Europe and its dependencies is most likely in the fields of: services, such as travel...
...NR's editorial director and second in command to Michael Straight, replied that he had turned over the letter to Robert Hatch, in charge of the MR book department, find concluded: "Since I have nothing to do with the detail (sic...
...European manufacturers can take advantage of mas...
...The Commission hopes to submit a draft to the UN Economic and Social Council by July and to the Assembly by September...
...It is no wonder, therefore, that the Economic Cooperation Administration has placed so much* emphasis on developing a United States of Europe...
...Bliven...
...Representatives of both the CIO and AFL were selected along with those from farm and other social and occupational groups to serve on this committee...
...International House, the Riverside Drive dormitory for foreign students studying at Columbia, recently witnessed a Chinese Communist rally with a huge portrait of Mao-Tse Tung and a Chinese Communist flag as" decorations...
...Watch for bloodshed on the docks of France and Italy during coming weeks, when shipments of U.S...
...In the lead for the appointment so far is former Assemblyman John J. Lamula, a young Republican district leader with a rare liberal streak, who has mustered wide support...
...and unity rests upon their democratic institutions, among tha most Important of which is tha nonCommunist labor movemant...
...THE SECOND MAJOR OUTLET for European production is the United States...
...t * * NOW IN A DEMOCRACY it is one thing to participate in public discussions and debates over national policy but quite another, from a labor viewpoint, to participate in the specific tasks of implementation and administration of such policies, particularly in the field of foreign affairs and international relationships...
...The very first problem that had to be faced was that of providing food for hungry, undernourished people in the war-devastated Marshall Plan countries...
...In addition to the labor people serving as ECA Staff members, the Economic Assistance Act provides for a Public Advisory Board to meet regularly with Administrator Hoffman for the purpose of reviewing the operation of the program and its relation to the goal of recovery...
...A few weeks ago ECA issued one of the most important economic documents of our times, based on observations made by an eightman team during an extended trip to Europe...
...The chronology: Schlesinger wrote Bruce Bliven on January 26 that he was pussled over NR'h book review policy, pointing out that The Vital Center, as well as Strategy for Liberals by Irwin Ross, had not been reviewed...
...By ne stretch of the imagination," contends Mr...
...Because the war left Europe devastated, the United States was the only nation from which she could obtain the necessary imports to keep her people alive and begin the backbreaking job of recovery...
...I have already indicated the most important way: The more goods we buy from Europe the more she can buy from us...
...Mazzini, who had begun his political career as a member of the Carbonari and who broke away in 1831 to form 'Young Italy,' took the initiative in forming the organization of 'Young Europe' which for a while loomed large in the public eye...
...Let no one underestimate, however, the difficulty of this task...
...The first job Europe had to tackle was production, and that meant putting her factories back to work...
...Hoffman, "can our absorbing that one per cent of goods hurt us...
...Ross was an error, and I do not propose to defend it...
...THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR maintaining a high level of world trade rests squarely with the United States...
...Ross and myself...
...That, plus the wide expanse of our country and bountiful natural and other resources, together with the development of a dynamic industrial society, has tended to keep us preoccupied with domestic rather than international problems...
...had a running battle recently over the magazine's refusal to review the Pulitser prise-winning writer's The Vital Center...
...European statesmen mus,t exert a herculean effort to bring a Western union into existence...
...Western European trade unions, except for those dominated by tha Communists, have been among the leading champions of the Marshall Plan...
...Considering that the Marshall Plan is only a little over a year and a half old, and that two and one-half years still remain in which to achieve its goal of European recovery, the record shows a number of remarkable achievements...
...He has been a high-ranking officer in the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen, International Association of Machinists, and United Steel Workers...
...I could of course begin the search for a reviewer once again, but I do not think I shall do so...
...First, Western Europe must look to herself to develop the great potential market that exists among her 275 million people...
...Subsequently, American trade union members were selected to serve as advisors on the formulation of labor and other policies in the Washington organization...
...He has co-authored two books, Dynamics of Democracy and Soil and Steel...
...Still others possessing special skills and talents—such as economists, statisticians, production specialists, labor relations, and labor information experts—were likewise selected to serve in the European headquarters in Paris and with the various country Missions...
...The Human Rights Commission under the chairmanship of Mrs...
...This simple fact seems to be overlooked by those who would protect American industry through high tariffs...
...In Mazzini's mind the idea of nationality was combined with a vague and mystical ideal of international solidarity...
...Granted that the omission of your book and Mr...
...This bit of early history -has a particular significance to those who today, under quite different concepts of human rights and international solidarity, are struggling to perfect an international instrument that will not only assure future peace in the world, but safeguard the rights of the human individual and promote the wellbeing of mankind...
...The resolutions dealing with foreign policy, international trade...
...THE SOLUTION lies in two principal areas...
...Unless this problem is solved, Western Europe cannot hope to become independent by 1952...
...In turn, the dollars we pay for those European goods will find their way back to us...
...but certain problems have also appeared which call for very frank discussion...
...High American tariffs need to be reduced and our customs procedures overhauled to encourage more imports...
...On this Board are Secretary George Meany of the AFL, Secretary James P. Carey of the CIO, and A. E. Lyon representing the Railway Labor Executives...
...With that production must come markets to absorb the increased output, and these markets must in large measure, for the present at least, be found abroad...
...But, unfortunately, Europe's recovery cannot be judged solely in...
...Schlesinger asked: "Am I to assume that the New Republic wants the book to be rev'ewed only by someone of the political stripe of Robert Lynd, who I understand was actually sent the book by your book review editor (but, of course, declined to be smoked out by it) ? Or is it the New Republic's policy to let Mr...
...Thorniest problem—should individuals have the right to petition UN for redress of grievances even against their own countries...
...The only qualification expressed in labor's endorsement had to do with the importance of not only recognizing, but safeguarding the right of the people* of the countries who were to be the recipients of Marshall Plan aid to make their own political and other decision...
...In recent weeks a number of European countries have announced lower tariffs...
...ud no group has a more important part to play in making the ERP a success...
...It is also true that, in the case of The Vital Center, my request for a review was declined by several persons whom I judged competent for the task...
...But much more still remains to be done in the area of coordinating their economies one with another...
...We might protest a few industries that cannot survive European competition, but what happens to those which depend upon foreign markets to keep their workers fully employed...
...They are examining the role they too must play...
...The hot fight on rent control will begin after the NY State Rent Law is passed by the Legislature, meaning—who's going to be its administrator...
...Two of the country Mission labor advisors, Michael Harris of the United Steelworkers and John Gross of the International Association of Machinists, have been recently advanced to the posts of Mission Chiefs in Sweden and Norway, spectively...
...The fact* that they have come to an agreement is a tribute to their statesmanship...
...The Commies are scheduled to get the worst beating of their lives...
...Yet this, in effect, is the situation that prevails in Europe today...
...The first step toward translating Secretary Marshall's proposals into action was the appointment by the President of the Harriman Committee to survey our resources and estimate the extent of possible aid required and its impact upon our own economy...
...Because she eouldn't pay us for these goods, the United States donated over 7 billions to Europe...
...In a historical sense we are still a young nation...
...He and his fellow enthusiasts gave an international stamp to the nationalistic movement of the day, stressing the political and cultural value of all nations, large and small, and the need of concerted international action for the freedom of all nations...
...To discharge our responsibilities in this new role, we are forced to depart from time-honored attitudes, practices and customs...
...No group has a oreatar stake in the success of the ERP...
...To this...
...That solution, the report states, can best be found by expanding United States imports...
...6. To Include labor's views and experience in the establishment of ECA policies and programs...
...This, too, must be remedied...
...This unique, extensive and unparalleled participation by American labor in foreign policy formulation and administrative operations of our government has served not only to relieve the apprehensions of European workers as to our motives and purposes in extending aid, but to forge new bonds of international friendship and solidarity of incalculable significance...
...But the alternative is even more formidable: Without economic cooperation the countries of Western Europe face growing economic and political isolation and with it a severe cut in their standard of living once the Marshall Plan ends...
...He has served as a regional director of the National Labor Relations Board, vice-chairman of the War Manpower Commission, and chief labor adviser of the American Mission to Greece, and is now a labor adviser with the European Economics Administration in Washington...
...Our labor organizations are aware of the new role our nation must play in world affairs...
...Dwight MacDonald did offer his services, but my recent exchanges with him have not been such as to tempt me to accept...
...to encourage with appropriate safeguards, programs for manpower utilisation, including vocational training, •migration, and resettlement of workers from surplus to shortage areas, and the improvement of public employment services...
...Through the Organization for European Economic Cooperation, representatives from each of the ERP countries sit down together to divide the Marshall Plan funds among them...
...Straight care to s=>y why two of the most important books on American liberalism published in lha p*sl year have been ignored by the Neiv Republic or docs H^tch represent the New Republic point of view...
...5. Through an active labor information program, to help develop and maintain the understanding and active support of the European Recovery Program by free trade unions in the participating countries and by United States labor organizations...
...The fact that Norway and Sweden have socialist governments gives special significance to their appointment...
...Others were selected to serve as Labor Advisors to the Chiefs of the ECA country Missions in the more important participating countries...
...This is likewise true for such products as wines and perfumes whose individual qualities depend upon their being made from raw materials found only in particular European localities...
...Most of our labor organizations immediately and almost without qualification not only endorsed his proposals but undertook to use their great political influence to assure political and legislative support for them...
...The International Transport Workers Federation will have "vigilance committees" on the docks ready for the Commies...
...I shall not give you their names because I consider their decisions confidential (I regret that I exposed Dr...
...McDonald review books like Viereck's Conservatism Reinsited, but not books on liberalism like those by Mr...
...The report, not unmindful of the traditional fear held by - many Americans that lower tariffs will mean flooding our markets with European goods, continues: "There Is existing and potential demand In the United States economy for a larger volume of goods and services than is now or has ever been available...
...Bliven had written Schlesinger earlier that he had had dihiculty in getting anyoone to review the book...
...The report and recommendations of this committee formed the basis for the legislative program that authorized expenditure of public funds and established the Economic Cooperation Administration to administer the U.S...
...He has lectured at Brookwood Labor College, Antioch College and Harvard University...
...Schlesinger then received a letter from Hatch which said in part: "It is quite true that our failure to review the books by you and Mr...
...Tha Joint affori oi tha fraa paopla of Europa toward tha attainmant of economic stability, aalf-ralianca...
...AFL photo-engravers arc feeling serious competition from European engravers, particularly the English and French ivho, using ECAequipment, are underselling American companies on color plates...
...terms of production...
...In general...
...They have mobilized their membership, their organizational facilities, and their press to give effective and aggressive help to the program...
...of this department, it seems pointless that you and he should conduct a debate via me...
...The European governments have already made a notable step in the right direction...
...There is every reason to expect, however, that increased American consumption will also depend upon foreign resources...
...THE LABOR POLICY of the ECA regarding the duties and responsibilities of the labor members of the staff consists of the following six points: 1. To cooperate with the democratic elements In the trade unions In participating countries In securing their support and counsel la the operation of the recovery pro2. To share knowledge and experience with European labor In tha field of labor-management relations toward the end of furthering industrial stability and democracy...
...In the special-skill industries, however, which Include the menufaicure of specialized tools and machinery, as well as handicraft, artistic, and artisan products, the advantage frequently lies with Europe...
...3. To enlist labor's cooperation In each country in promoting industrial productivity leading to a higher standard of living In the participating countries...
...side of the recovery program...
...Heard on the Left THE SEW REPUBLIC and Arthur Schleeinger...
...4. Through the Office of European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) and appropriate International organitions...
...Aged ex-AFM head Joseph Weber now sits on the Council but he's planning to resign, which would give Petrillo his chance...
...European countries are not well adapted to compete successfully in the fields served by American mass-production industries, where American techniques, traditions, and capacity for mass consumption give domestic industries a tremendous Initial advantage...
...This is whit we mean when we speak of creating a United States of Europe...
...Whether the law will actually control rents or be a landlords' bonanza will depend on whom Governor Dewey appoints as administrator...
...Europe Awaits ECA 1952 Deadline . . . By Clinton S. Golden WHEN SECRETARY OF STATE George C. Marshall, in his famous address at Harvard in June, Ishy, outlined the Plan that bears his name and declared that "our policy is directed not against any country or doctrine but against hunger, poverty, desperation, and chaos," he evoked an immediate and favorable reaction from the American labor movement...
...As industrialization has moved forward in various countries of the world, labor organizations have sought increasingly to come together into international association and fraternity...
...Any move on our part to increase our tariffs so as to shut out European* goods can only lead to an economic crisis for Europe once the Marshall Plan ends...
...But Western Europe has difficulty finding sufficient markets abroad...
...I think the American people probably appreciate this point more keenly than the Europeans, because we know from firsthand experience what it means to have one vast market that stretches from Maine to California...
...This report notes that "the trade of the United States with Western Europe, and with the world as a whole, is so badly unbalanced that in our own interest we must seek a fundamental solution of thiB recurring problem...
...Can you visualize what would happen to our mass production economy if each of the 48 states had its own currency, its own trade barriers and customs...
...The Whip...
...Thus it will be seen that organized labor in the United States has been brought into active participation both in the formulation and actual administration of some of our most important foreign policies...
...in the international economic arena...
...The net effect is certain to be a mutually higher standard of riving for the people on both sides of the Atlantic...
...CLINTON S. GOLDEN'S CAREER in the labor movement has been a distinguished and unusually varied one...
...Within this setting our labor qrganizations have perhaps had a greater interest in international affairs than most other social groups...
...Ross's from our pa^es was regrettable and clearly an editorial failure on my part, I yet believe that I must devote the very limited space at my command to more recent books...
...The first cargo on the French aircraft carrier, Dlxmude, has sailed...
...Here the responsibility rests more with the United States than with Europe...
...Now, five years after the war, Marshall Plan countries are producing 15 per cent over and above what they did in their best prewar year...

Vol. 33 • March 1950 • No. 11


 
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