CONGRESS WARNED

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27499, 20 September 1950, Page 7

CONGRESS WARNED

“Bullying” Of Marshall Plan Countries NZPA—Copyright Rec. 8 p.m. WASHINGTON, Sept. 19. The Economic Co-operation Administration chief, Mr Paul Hoffman, warned Congress today, with President Truman’s approval, against trying to “bully” other nations into cutting off shipments of military items from the Marshall Plan countries to Russia and her satellites. “Persuasion, not intimidation,” was the best way to cut off such shipments, Mr Hoffman told newspapermen later. “Nations that have been bullied into compliance will not prove to be the kind of friends necessary when the fighting gets tough,” he said. Mr Hoffman’s criticism was directed at a Senate amendment to the pending 17,000,000,000-dollar Defence Appropriation Bill proposing to ban Marshall Plan aid td nations which sent arms or materials to make weapons to the Soviet bloc countries. The amendment grew out of the British action in sending a shipment of American molybdenum to Russia. Mr Hoffman said trade with Eastern Europe was of the utmost importance to the economic recovery of Western Europe. Only an insignificant amount of military goods had slipped through the iron curtain.