Editorial Note
Secretary of State Marshall discussed problems of postwar reconstruction in a radio address of April 28 on the occasion of his return from the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers at Moscow. Concentrating upon the problem of effecting a peace settlement in “the vital center of Europe—Germany and Austria—an area of large and skilled population, of great resources and industrial plants”, Mr. Marshall urged that “the complex character of the problems should be understood, together with their immediate effect on the people of Europe in the coming months . . . we cannot ignore the factor of time involved here. The recovery of Europe has been far slower than had been expected. Disintegrating forces are becoming evident. The patient is sinking while the doctors deliberate.… Whatever action is possible to meet these pressing problems must be taken without delay.” (Department of State Bulletin, May 11, 1947, page 919.)
Under Secretary of State Acheson, speaking on May 8 before the Delta Council at Cleveland, Mississippi, on “The Requirements of Reconstruction”, described in broad context Europe’s acute dollar deficit, its desperate need for food, clothing, coal, steel, and machinery for relief and reconstruction purposes, the probable inability of the American economy operating at near-capacity to sustain any further substantial increase in the total volume of exports of these commodities, and what “these facts of international life mean for the United States and for United States foreign policy.” (Ibid., May 18, 1947, page 991.)
The drafting history of Mr. Acheson’s speech is shown in the papers of Joseph M. Jones, special assistant to the Assistant Secretary of State [Page 220] for Public Affairs (Benton), who assisted Mr. Acheson on this occasion. Notes prepared for a conference of Acheson and Jones on April 9 indicate that the latter submitted a proposal “to elaborate our Greco-Turkish program into a more comprehensive statement of foreign policy” to be based on the concept of “further extension of aid to foreign countries”. This statement was to draw on the conclusions of the SWNCC report, supra. The Jones Papers are at the Harry S. Truman Library, Independence, Missouri.