LEND-LEASE GOODS

Evening Star, Issue 26029, 18 February 1947, Page 7

LEND-LEASE GOODS

SUPPLIES FOR RUSSIA AMERICAN AGREEMENT STILL STANDS WASHINGTON, February 16: Mr Chester Lane, lend-lease administrator, told a private meeting of the Senate Appropriations Committee that the United States must still send Russia 25,000,000 dollars’ worth of goods under . lend-lease or. “ Violate agreements made in good faith.” The agreements were made before Congress reduced lend-lease or fixed December 31, 1946, as the date after which the use of lend-lease funds for the payment of shipping costs must cease. Since that date the State Department

had asked lend-lease, nations to pay their own shipping costs, and they had •>. already .ipaid the United States 873,000 dollars for them. If Congress de- / dined to sanction that arrangement, the money would have to be refunded and the goods sold as surplus. Foreign countries wou)d then have to take a chance of purchasing goods at the surplus sales, paying all costs. Mr Lane said that would be particularly, offen- - siye to, countries like Australia,, which i had “already paid for all material in its pipe line.” ' Replying to questions, Mr Lane admitted that Russia had ignored four consecutive requests for a final settlement of her 11,000,000,000-dollar bill for war-time lend-lease, whereas all other nations had negotiated settlements.