‘sents their interests,

by EUGENE VARGA

HE economic crisis in
Britain is of a distinc-

tive, peculiar character.

“It is not-one of under-pro-

duction, as is the case in
Germany, Italy and Japan,
where output is at present
only half of that of the pre-
war volume.

In the Economic Survey for
1947 we read that by the end
of this year the rate of national
output will probably not be so
signficantly below the pre-war
level.

What kind of crisis is it then?

It is mainly and fundamentally
a crisis of balance of payments,
a refléction of the fact that Bri-
tain is unable to secure for her
export trade sufficient funds to
purchase abroad the further raw
‘materials she needs.

The critical stage of Britain’s
balance of payments is a con-
sequence primarily of the fact
that her ruling classes, and the
Labor government which repre-
are deter-
mined -—— notwithstanding the
fact that her economic basis is
weakened—to continue the old
imperialist policy as the junior
partner of the U.S.

@

UT there is another political

reason for the British crisis.

American monopolists took ad-
vantage of Britain’s difficulties
during and after the war to make
her economically and politically
dependent upon the USS.

From the outbreak of war
down to the middle of 1941 the
U.S. sold war material to Britain
at high prices, drawing in return
on Britain’s gold stocks and her
assets in the U.S. and Canada.

When Britain’s gold reserve
and dollar assets were nearing
exhaustion, America continued to
supply her under the Lend-Lease

agreement,
At the same time American
firms systematically squeezed

their British competitors out of
the South American markets.

American goods also increas-
ingly invaded Britain’s dominions
and colonies, and this was a€-
companied by» a demand for
abolition of preferential tariffs.

The U.S. stopped Lend-Lease
deliveries to Britain as soon as
the war ended, before she had a
chance to reconvert her industry
and build up her export trade,
and thus acquire funds for the
purchase of food and raw mater-
ials abroad.

The British government found
no other alternative than to
apply to the U.S. for a loan.

The decision to grant the loan
was deliberately delayed, and
since Britain’s position was 80-
ing from bad to worse, the US.
Was able to dictate terms which

ATAU

u

° Austerity — for whom ?
by Leslie Morris -—-----

@ Here's why ten cents is high
by Emil Bjarnason --

@ Who's behind ‘The Iron Curtain?’

~ by Mark Frank --------

AMER. eS

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have eed a substantial part
in the development of Britain’s
present economic crisis.

e
~ is now quite obvious that.
[ the Marshall Plan, which is

a plan for the economic and

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ettlhve S fest vi EN iS

[ued |

4
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Friday, December 5, 1947

NN

political subjugation of Europe
to American imperialism, is no
solution of Britain’s difficulties.

The sum requested from the
transatlantic usurers on behalf
of the 16 West European coun-
tries was reduced at the in-
sistence of American advisers,
from 20,000 million dollars to
16,300 million: over a period of
four years, or 4,000 million dol-
lars per annum.

Granting that Congress con-
sented to a loan of such dimen-
sions, how much would Britain
get of it?

Assuming even that the dol-
lars are distributed in accord-=
ance with the size of the pop-
ulation of the individual coun-
tries, Britain would . receive
only one-quarter of the . total
sum, that is, 1,000 million dol-
lars.

This sum would not cover
even half this year’s trade defi-
cit.

The British government has
made overtures to the U.S. for

~ the preferential

a new loan, independent of the
Marshall: Plan.

Consent has not yet been giv-
en, but the American monopo-
lies are already advancing new
demands.

As regards one of the most
important of them, they have
already got what they wanted;
the Labor government has
submissively agreed to the Am-
erican schemes for the Ruhr.

YSTEMATICALLY working

for the realization of its plan
of world supremacy, the U.S.
is out to liquidate Britain as
a world power.

American credit; granted to
Britain on condition that she
abolish or substantially reduce
tariffs, would
enable the U.S. to seize a still
greater share of dominion and
colonial markets.

And this, in turn, would mean
the* economic break-up of the
British Empire, the end of Bri-

’ several

© At the heart of
economic crisis is her govern-

Britain’s

ment’s commitments to Wall
Street which inevitably refiect
themselves in “deferment” of the
aspirations of such _ British
workers as this coal miner.

tain as a first-class power, her
complete subordination to the
US. and, in the long run, ‘her
conversion into a 49th  over-
seas. state of the USS.

By delaying the -granting of
a new loan, the U.S. is com-
pelling Britain to use up her
gold reserve. She has also taken
scores of millions of
dollars from the International
Monetary Fund | in exchange for
gold.

The squandering of the gold
reserve and the inability to ex-
change sterling for dollars nulli-
fy all hopes of restoring ‘the
pound’s pre-war role as a first
class currency medium of inter-
national trade and credit.

(Continued on page 11)

RMAC aN Taha

CA
4