AT LOWEST LEVEL

Evening Star, Issue 26038, 28 February 1947, Page 7

AT LOWEST LEVEL

LIVIKS CONDITIONS IN GERMANY

ME AID FROM ALLIES ESSENTIAL

(Rec. 12.30 p.m.) - WASHINGTON, February 27. Mr Herbert Hoover, reporting to President Truman on the recent food survey of Germany, recommended that food costing 384,000,000 dollars be sent to Germany in the next six months and a 567,000,000 dollar food programme be carried out in the fiscal year beginning July 1. The'] cost of both projects would lie home equally

by the United States and Britain, but the expenditure should be first charge oil German economy; repayable from German net exports, before reparations or any other payments were made.

Mr Hoover said German living

conditions had sunk to the lowest level known in 100 years of western history, and housing was the , worst modern civilisation had ever < seen. Mr Hoover reported that one reason "for the food shortage in the American and British zones was that areas from which the zones formerly received about 25 per cent, of their food were now held by Russia and Poland. The British and American armies were fed entirely from home, but “ the large Russian army is fed upon their zone.” Moreover, Germans expelled from the Russian and Polish zones had swelled the British and American zones’ population from 34,000.000 to about 41,000,000. American taxpayers might be shocked at having to pay large,sums to feed a conquered people, but, if western civilisation was to survive in Europe it must also survive in Germany, which must be built into co-operative membership of that civilisation. Mr Hoover also recommended, first, lending Germany 75 Liberty, ships for carrying food and' raw materials, and lending her fishing boats; secondly, removal of restrictions on German, export trade. He added that restoration of trade was inevitable, and delay in removing barriers simply added to the burden of the British and American taxpayers. No one could say that Germany in her utterly shattered state was at present an economic menace to the world. .