Likely U.S. Admission of Displaced People on Large Scale

Grey River Argus, 23 May 1947, Page 5

Likely U.S. Admission of Displaced People on Large Scale

WASHINGTON, May 21.

The United States Secretary of State (General Marshall), in a statement to a delegation of representatives of private and religious welfare organisations, said: “The United States should take the lead among the democratic nations in offering sanctuary to displaced persons. It is the fixed policy of the United States Government to oppose any forced reparation of displaced persons. It is also the Government’s policy to facilitate the reparation of displaced persons who want to return to their homeland”.

General Marshall’s recommendation that the United States should throw its doors open to displaced persons follows an agitation both in the American press and at Washington. The “New York Times”, in a leading article this morning, said that the United States immigration quotas had been unfilled for years.

“If the quotas had been completely filled from 1940 to 1946, for instance, 1,076,733 immigrants would have entered the United States”, it said. “Actually we received 161,971 —-914,762 quota numbers were never used, but there are still 834,000 persons in the displaced persons’ camps”. Many Congressmen at present are urging the immediate admission of displaced persons, but legislation, notably the Stratton and McMahon bills, is languishing in sub-committees. The Stratton bill would admit 400,000 displaced persons over the next four years on a non-quota basis. The McMahon bill plans the admission of between 700,000 and 1,000,000 displaced persons in ten years on the unused quotas of 1940-46. The Stratton bill is said to have the approval of the White House and the State and Justice Departments.

MR NASH ATTENDS REFUGEE TALKS LONDON, May 21. The New Zealand Minister of Finance (Mr W. Nash) this morning attended a session of the Preparatory Commission of the International Refugee Organisation at Lausanne. The chairman of the commission, M. Henri Ponsot, welcoming Mr Nash, referred appreciatively to the contribution made by New Zealand during the war. The subjects discussed included refugees in China, of whom it whs stated there were 20',000 in Shanghai alone. The conference approved recommendations regarding the transfer of the work and facilities of U.N.R.R.A. and the Inter-Governmental Committee on Refugees to the International Refugee Organisation, and discussion took place on food and living standards of refugees. Mr Nash has returned to London. He said the International Trade Conference was progressing satisfactorily. All the delegates had expressed the hope that things would turn out extremely well. He noped to have talks with British Ministers before travelling to Canada early next week. GENEVA, May 2'o.

The United Nations Trade and Employment Conference appointed two special commissions to study the amendments’'to the draft charter of the International Trade Organisation.

Mr Nash cNew Zealand) told the executive committee of the conference’s preparatory committee that the countries with a favourable balance of trade should accept the international responsibility to spend part of the balance.

Mr Nash will leave for England tomorrow on his way back to New Zealand.