AMERICAN ACTION

Greymouth Evening Star, 27 May 1946, Page 5

AMERICAN ACTION

Forcing a Four-Power Decision . .. . GERMAN REPARATIONS (Recd. 1 p.m.) . . BERLIN, May 26 America has stopped reparations deliveries from its occupation zone, except for factories already allocated, in order to hasten the Four-Power decision whether 'the Potsdam agreement shall be. implemented by administering Germany as an economic whole. The deputy American military governor, Lieutenant-General Clay, announcing this, said the Americans had taken action to “safeguard the economy of our zone” in case the Potsdam agreement should nevei be implemented and Germany remained divided into the Russianoccupied Eastern half.and the Allied-occupied Western hall. H Germany is to be permanently divided, our denuding of industry m oui merely give us the dubious pleasure of having to'suppoit General 11 Clay l added that the delivery of 15 or 20 plants so far allocated to reparation claimants would be completed. The remaining 150 which are reported to be available for reparations, would not be dicmnntled or crated until something was done to implement the Potsta? nrotocofs Mowing pointsi-First, the administration ot Germany as uneconomic entity with the establishment of the necessary central agencies secondly, the. establishment of an export and import programme for Germany to provide credits to pay. for imports of food and raw material thirdly; the establishment of free inter-zone trade to help the crippled American zone and check the downward spiral of mduswas announced only a few days after General McNarney, the American military governor, had revealed that.thei Americans were considering an alternate plan, envisioning a peimanently dlVl<^l C AssScilded Press expressed the opinion that the British and French authorities are likely w announce a similar reparations embai - go soon. .... „