RECOVERY IN EUROPE

Press, Volume LXXXII, Issue 24799, 13 February 1946, Page 3

RECOVERY IN EUROPE

GOOD PROGRESS MADE IN .BELGIUM

Belgium was getting back on her feet after the war better than any other country in Europe, said Mr A. M. Satterthw’aite, who has returned to Christchurch after a business trip abroad, in an interview yesterday. She had the labour, coal, and steel, and her people realised that the only way they could get back to a balanced economy was by hard work. Germany had been the economic centre of Europe, said Mr Satterthwaite, and other countries had procured from that source textiles, machinery, chemicals, and hardware. They now had three alternative markets —America, Canada, and Great Britain, as it was considered it would take 10 years for Germany to recover as an industrial nation. Mr Satterthwaite was particularly impressed by the Scandinavian countries. There was a splendidly courageous outlook in Norway, where German oppression was Oslo had been completely denuded, stores stripped of all goods and fittings, and even some of the city tram-cars had been shipped to Germany. But the people had immediately knuckled down to restore their country.

Sweden was extremely prosperous and, unravagCjd by J war, stood out in marked contrast to other countries. His visit had been just before Christmas, and the bountiful supplies of goods in the shops sold freely. Denmark did not show great damage, although some of the major buildings had been blown up. It was Canada, however, which impressed Mr Satterthwaite most—industrially, commercially, and financially. She had wonderful national resources and had expanded her industrial capacity very considerably during the war, he said. She now had the facilities to increase her output for export and would be a very important factor in world markets. The Canadian Department of Trade at Ottawa was the best organised he had seen abroad. It was keen to develop export markets and was most helpful to visiting merchants and traders. At the time of his visit the department was in the charge of Mr C. M. Croft, who was, at one time, Canadian Trade Commissioner in New Zealand. Mr Satterthwaite said he had been told by one British firm that the Board of Trade had been seeking from them some figures for 1913. In reply they had asked the Board of Trade if they had their wars mixed.