BLAMES RUSSIA FOR MANCHURIAN POVERTY

Northern Advocate, 14 December 1946, Page 7

BLAMES RUSSIA FOR MANCHURIAN POVERTY

j The President's reparations repre- ! sentative (Mr Edwin Pauley) in a ! formal report to President Truman, I said Russia was mainly responsible j for the wrecked condition of Manchur- : ian industry ! He declared that there were long- ! range strategic reasons behind Rus--1 sia's confiscation and removal of foodstuffs and machinery. , The consequent chaos created a condition of instability, both politically and economically, which would take j \ a long time to correct. .j ; It left the populace cold and hungry j and evoked unrest. ; Otherwise, with its abundant nat- , ural resources and industrial plants, Manchuria would have been the logical point to begin China’s rehabilitation. | Mr Pauley's report pointed out that . Russia followed an entirely different I [ line in Korea where there were prac- |

(11.30 a.m.) WASHINGTON, Dec. 13

tically no capital removals or destruction of industry.

He commented: “It is a sad commentary that the small benefits received by the Soviet in the removals from Manchuria could have been readily supplied by reparations removals from Japan at much smaller cost to the world.” The report estimates damages caused by the Soviet occupation of Manchuria at 2,000.000.000 United States dollars.

In addition Russia confiscated 3.000,000 dollars worth of gold bullion. Mr Pauley considered that there was little evidence that the Russians had aided the Chinese Communists in Manchuria. On the other hand, the Russians did nothing to deter them. Large stores of Japanese arms and munitions captured by the Russians had somehow found their way into Chinese Communist hands.