U.S. Answer To Challenge Facing Free World

Greymouth Evening Star, 5 April 1948, Page 5

U.S. Answer To Challenge Facing Free World

WASHINGTON, April 3. President Truman today signed the Foreign Assistance Bill, providing assistance worth 6,098,000,000 dollars to 16 Western European nations and to China, Greece, and Turkey. “This signing is a momentous occasion in the world s quest lor enduring peace,” said Mr Truman. “Those who are sceptical of the effectiveness of a democratic system should ponder the lesson ot the enactment of this measure.

“Our programme of foreign aid is perhaps the greatest venture in constructive statesmanship that any nation has ever taken,” said Mr Truman. “The Foreign Assistance Act is the best answer this country can make in reply to the vicious and distorted misrepresentations of our efforts for peace which have been spread abroad by those who do not wish our efforts to succeed. This measure is America’s answer to the challenge facing the free world today. It is a measure for reconstruction, stability, and peace.” Mr Truman’s signature makes immediately available for the first emergency operation of the longdelayed Marshall Plan an advance of 1,000,000,000. dollars from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation. Congress has still to pass an- Appropriation Bill t'o make-available the- balance of the amount mentioned in to-

day’s new act. A skeleton interim organisationwill start work in the State Department on Monday on plans for the procurement and shipment of goods. At the end of 30 days this skeleton organisation will be replaced by a new Government agency. Yesterday Acting-Secretary of State (Mr Robert Lovett) said m Washington that operations under the Marshall Plan would start on Monday. . __ Speaking with enthusiasm, Mr Lovett told a press conference: ‘Everything is set to go.” Commodities were already moving towards ports and a skeleton Marshall Plan organisation had already been set up and was waiting for Mr Truman’s authorisation. The entire programme will cost every American man, woman and child 42 dollars for the first year.