U.S. OPTIMISTIC ON RECOVERY DRIVE IN EUROPE

Greymouth Evening Star, 12 October 1948, Page 6

U.S. OPTIMISTIC ON RECOVERY DRIVE IN EUROPE

WASHINGTON, Oct. 10. Europe’s drive for recovery under the Marshall Plan was succeeding admirably, in spite-of Soviet resistance, said, the, Economic t Co-operation Admihistrator (Mr Paul Hoffman) today. .„;..He added that Russia had, exposed her position with horrible clarity when she and her satellites withdrew from, the recovery programme at its inception. ...... “Russia wants no, European Recovery Programme,” he said.“ She wants confusion and chaps, as .a basis for the advance of totalitarian dictatorships.” , ’ . \ , Mr Hoffman said that in. the first six months of, the Economic Co-op-eration Administration programme the 16 Marshall Plan countries had increased their 'output of coal,, steel, electricity, manufactured goods and fertilis’ers. . . ■

“THeir crops are better, not only because of good weather but because of -the millions of t’bhs of fertiliser being produced in Europe this, year, compared with 750,000 tons before the war,”, he said. “The participating nations will soon have a currency clearance programme operating. The barriers to the movement of goods, services, and people are gradually being reduced. “Finally, for the first, time in mod-' ern history, representatives of the free nations of Europe sat round the conference table for • months- and came out with an overall'recovery programme for . all Western Europe. “This is further, evidence that more progress has .been made toward European unification since the programme of foreign assistance was proposed,-, than. had been made in several centuries.? ..