ITALY’S WINDFALL

Manawatu Standard, Volume LXV, Issue 226, 23 August 1945, Page 6

ITALY’S WINDFALL

SURPLUS AMERICAN STORES. (Rec. 9.30 a.m.) LONDON. Aug. 22. A priceless windfall lor Italy will be well over 200.000 tons of surplus military stores which the American army authorities are leaving behind, says the Rome correspondent of the Times. The stores include 07 Diesel and 248 steam locomotives and 22,000 motor-vehicles ranging from jeeps to 2J-ton trucks, mostly in good condition and capable of another two years’ service. The Allied Commission has announced that Italy’s steel industry, which is described as the keystone oi Italy’s recovery, will be able to operate to at least 50 per cent, of its capacity, and employment will be found for many people in related industries as a result of future coal deliveries. The coal allotted to Italy for the remainder of 1945 will probably amount to 350,000 tons a month, making possible steel production at the rate of 1,000-000 tons a year. In the next six months 505.000 tons of steel will be produced. The Chief Allied Commissioner (Admiral Stone) said that the shipments of coal, together with the Italian Government’s well-conceived plan, should see Italy turn the first corner on the long road to eventual recovery.