AMERICAN CRITICS

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 69, Issue 265, 22 August 1949, Page 3

AMERICAN CRITICS

ATTACK BY SUNDAY PAPERS Coming Financial Talks (N.Z.P.A. -Copyright) LONDON, August 20. Touched off by the “donfc twist the lion’s tail” speech by the Secretary of State for War (Mr E. Shinwell), the national Sunday newspapers to-day launched a full-scale counter-offensive against American critics of Britain. • Protesting that the Government is fed up with the latest, most virulent anti-British campaign in the American press, the Labour paper “The People” regarded fyhe campaign as a preparation for next month’s financial talks in Washington, when the “United States Government hopes to put Sir Stafford Cripps on the carpet for opposing the devaluation of sterling.” “The People” says: “But Sir Stafford will not fall for it. He is prepared to say that the sterling countries will turn to Russia and Canada for goods now bought in America with our dwindling supply of . dollars, while cqtton will he sought from Egypt and tobaceo from Africa.” The Socialist “Reynolds , News,” arguing that Britain is the only great Western European country that has kept clear of post-war social upheaval and threats of revolution, said: “In the short run the American Tories and their screaming press may triumph. They may succeed in stampeding the Administration into seeking to interfere in Britain’s internal affairs and external trade relationships. The next few weeks will decide, but' whatever the co'st, the British people will not buy aid at the expense of principle. We have not thrown our own Tories into the political dustbin to accept American ideas as dollar imports.”

Strong Line Taken

The strongest line was taken by the popular “Sunday Pictorial,” whose editor, in an “open letter to the American people” asking for a fair hearing, said: “Too many of you Americans are being fooled by grasping, bigoted tycoons, by brash, politicians, and by your lying anti-British press.” The Conservative “Sunday Times” said: “To find a way of living within our means at home and abroad will require drastic, swift action. If Mr Ernest Bevin and Sir Stafford Cripps go to Washington as the spokesmen of the nation, determined to solve the problem regardless of party, they will have the nation behind them and can count on the Opposition’s support; but if they go as partisans or moral beggars relying on the offers of others they will fail as they deserve, and Britain will wreak upon their Government and party a just retribution.” “The Times” to-day called on the Government to announce its remedies for solving Britain’s economic difficulties before the British spokesman left for the Washington economic talks. The newspaper added, that American sympathy could easily dwindle if the British Ministers and experts arrived with nothingto offer but the hope of more aid.

Unofficial financial quarters suggest that British proposals for discussion at the dollar-sterling talks will include : '(1) International commodity agreements which would ensure a fair and steady price for the sterling area’s dollar-earning products, notably rubber, tin and cocoa. (2) Increased American stockpiling of sterling area goods, such as rubber and tin. (3) Extended United States investment in overseas countries, including those of the sterling area, which would have the ef- ' feet of raising the living standards of those countries and enabling them in turn to buy more from the dollar area. (4) Aj reduction of American tariffs against British goods. One of the most serious aspects of the present British financial crisis was internal bickering among the sterling bloc, said Mr Herbert Matthews, London correspondent of tho “New York Times,” in a dispatch to his paper, states a New York message. “Australia and New Zealand,” he says, “are very critical and show; signs of wanting to go off on their own. South Africa wants to sell gold direct to the United States instead of through the sterling area dollar pool.”

Pess-imistic View

Mr Matthews declared that British officials took a pessimistic view of the forthcoming talks on sterling in Washington. “There is unanimous agreement that no simple, easy short term solutions are possible. Nobody in London expects any dramatic definitive agreements to emerge from the talks. Mr Matthews said that some experts in London believed that Britain could carry on with little or no United States help. “It would mean terrific internal and world repercussions and would be bad for the United States, too, but experts think it is feasible,” he added. ‘There would be grave hardships in Britain, including unemployment, but there would be no starvation and no economic collapse. It would, however, represent the greatest Soviet victory since the elimination of Nazi Germany and the strain on Anglo-American relations would be catastrophic, according to high opinion in London. One of the highest priorities of Soviet foreign policy is considered in London to have been to cause a split between the United States and the British Commonwealth and to concentrate its maximum attack on Britain as the weaker of two enemies.”

Australia Seeking Loan The Canberra correspondent of the Sydney “Daily Telegraph’” says that Australia is certain to ask the International Monetary Fund for a loan of 48,000,000 dollars',to stave off a serious dislocation of industry and avoid more severe cuts of imports from lhe United States and Canada. Political observers expect the Government to annouce the loan decision after the Washington talks on the dollar crisis next month. It, is believed that, Australia will seek an even bigger loan- before the end of the year from the World Bank. The Australian Federal Cabinet has approved a. 25 per cent, overall cut in dollar imports. The Minister for Postwar Reconstruction (Mr J. J. Dedman) made a report on the London dollar talks rccommendimr Hie cut. Cabinet also decided to ask the Government’s Dollar Committee to investigate and intensify the efforts to in-

crease Australian exports to dollar countries. It is understood that, the Prime Minister. (Mr .T. B. Chifley) regards a dollar loan as a'last resort, and it is clear from the attitude of Ministers that a dollar loan'would not be popular. CHANCELLOR’S ILLNESS / MAY DELAY TALKS 2fCS LONDON, August 20. A decision by the Chancellor of the Exchequer (Sir Stafford Cripps) to postpone his departure for the Washington dollar-sterling talks from August 27 to August 31 may delay for one day the opening of the conference scheduled for September 6. Sir Stafford, who is not fond of flying, will remain the extra days in a Gloucestershire home convalescing from the digestive ailment for which he underwent medical treatment in Zurich.