Newspaper Page Text
Russia's War of Attrition Is Hard on America's Purse Politboro Holds Back Its Armies in Hopes That Our Economic Structure Will Collapse By Constantine Brown The Federal budget for the current fiscal year will reach the formidable sum of $69 billion. The Defense Department estimates that, even if a war does not break out in Europe in the next nine months and the present combi nation “cold-hot war” which Russia has devised continues, the neces sity of maintaining an alert defense will require some $90 billion in the 1951-2 fiscal year. Thus the war of attrition which Russia has threatened against us since 194b appears to be in lull swing. All the Russian leaders, from Stalin down, at one time or an other have stated that only the collapse of the American economic structure will enable the U. S. S. R. to achieve its plans for world domination. The Politburo believes now that this economic collapse cannot be very far off. It is this belief alone which prevents Russia from un leashing now a shooting war in which her military power would be engaged. The Russian pattern of weakening the United States by attrition is obvious. It applies po litical pressure in Western Europe —in what is commonly known as the cold war—which forces us to pour out tens of billions of dollars in cash and raw and manufac tured materials to Western Euro pean nations. At the same time 'it uses military aggression by one of its satellites in a shooting war in the Far East. The North Korean aggression is about to end in disaster for the aggressors. Tens of thousands of Russia’s puppets have been killed and the country devastated. The U. 8. 8. R. haa lost nothing. But w# hive suffered heavily in Ameri can casualties and billions of dol lars already have been spent, or are about to be spent, on the re construction of that country. The second "push-button war” now is on the way in Indo-China. The French are not capable of defending themselves and are call ing steadily for greater American help. So far we are engaged only in providing them with military equipment amounting to some $200 million—a mere trifle com pared to the billions which must be spent this year and next on our Western European Allies. Objectors Denounced It is true that, on paper, the other members of the coalition which defeated the Axis were sup posed to participate in this good Samaritan work. Actually, the United States provided more than 90 per cent of the billions spent on relief for the hungry world. This was followed within the next 20 months by the Marshall Plan, which was to prevent the penetration of the Communist virus into Western Europe. In three years the American tax payers provided some $15 billion for that purpose, in addition to a "loan”—which will never be re paid—of $3,750,000,000 to the British Labor government to en able it to put into effect its in dustrial nationalization policies. We were going through an era of apparent prosperity, and the dance of the billions did not ap pear too important to the rank and file of American people. A few far-sighted lawmakers saw a real danger in these ex travagant handouts. Their ob jections were drowned out, with out trouble. The powerful Gov ernment propaganda machine, which has been developed since 1939, denounced them as isola tionists and thus endangered their political existence. They were denounced as favor ing the Communist conquest of Europe by default. High-ranking administration officials, newspa permen and radio commentators produced "tangible proofs” that France and Italy, the pivots of Western resistance to Russia’s drive, would become Communist satellites unless American billions made their peoples happy and prosperous once more. But no sooner had Western Eu rope begun to recover its pre war prosperity than we realized that a militarily powerful Russia was threatening the West phys ically. The Marshall Plan had to be implemented by the Atlan tic pact, a military alliance between a select number of Euro pean nations which, from the mili tary viewpoint, were even weaker than during World War II. For the first time in our history we entered into a military alliance with a continent where wars were Billions Go Abroad There is no saying, however, what will happen if the French government presents the Indo Chinese case to the United Na tions and shows that the campaign is inspired and abetted by the Chinese Communists, behind whom stands Moscow. Although the Government in Washington is opposed, at this time, to sending American troops to Indo-China, its present stand could be reversed by a decision of the U. N. to give us another man date to re-establish law and order In Indo-China. The Russian plan of attrition against America is well on its way. Since the end of World War II we have spent unbelievable amounts of wealth to bring the world back to "normalcy.” Imme diately after the war we spent some $4 billion in all kinds of re covery projects, including UNRRA. Then we proceeded to a large scale plan by adopting Gen. Mar shall’s recovery program. Although the Government was engaged, between 1942 and 1947,; in political appeasement of Russia, the State Department had de cided, even before V-E day, to use economic assistance to pre vent Communist ideology from making inroads in Europe and Asia. We proceeded on the theory that communism thrives on hun ger, which in turn causes unrest and revolutions. American legislators were per suaded to appropriate billions of dollars to alleviate, through an International organization known, as UNRRA, the inevitable eco nomic difficulties of the world out side of the American hemisphere. as much to be expected as tiuee meals a day are in this country. But political conditions and Rus sia’s threat to the democratic way of life made this otherwise unpal latable move necessary. Moscow Pushes Buttons The Atlantic pact was only a piece of paper, however, without any actual military importance unless our European allies were provided with arms and military equipment. The military aid program then was devised and rammed down the throats of the same legislators who earlier had the fear that money spent so lav ishly on the Marshall Plan might boomerang against our own eco nomic structure. The sums re quired at first were modest—only $1.2 billion for the first year and somewhat more the second. Meanwhile, Moscow started pushing buttons and the cold war became more active in Europe. Previously concealed friction with Moscow became an open strain in relations. Reports poured into Washington that the Russians were cooking up something for Western Europe. We knew that they had the capability of doing anything they wanted. The original estimates of the Allied general staffs that Russia could not be ready for action un til sometime in 1955 had to be revised. The consensus of mili tary men in Europe was that she might be ready to strike, either directly or through her East Ger man puppets, sometime in 1951 or 1952. This required the stepping up of Western defenses. And while the governments of continental Eu rope indicated—somewhat vaguely —that they would raise the neces sary manpower to provide some 25 divisions in the next 18 months, we were called on to send the necessary equipment immediately across the Atlantic. As a consequence, MAP appro priations for this fiscal year total ing $1.2 billion had to be raised by another $4 billion. Thus, from V-J day to the present the Amer ican taxpayer has provided the outside world with some $30 bil lion. Administration Arouses Concealed items, such as the $182 million spent on the Italian election two years ago, are not in cluded in this figure. There may oe other such expenditures from secret funds which are still kept secret. It was only when Moscow began its shooting war in Korea that its plans for American economic at trition really came to light. The Korean aggression aroused the administration from its deep slumber. The defense budget had to be drastically revised. Neces sary funds were appropriated for the immediate emergency in Korea, which called for the mobil ization of several National Guard divisions immediately. The mili tary effectives of the Army, Navy and Air Force were raised to near ly 2 million men. The current budget of $34 bil lion now is considered insufficient. Soon after the return of the 81st Congress on November 27 the ad ministration proposes to present a supplemental budget of $35 billion, devoted exclusively to military ex penditure at home and abroad. The administration has come to realize that prosperity in Europe, to which we have devoted more than $30 billion, does not raise an adequate rampart against Russian plans for world domination. It has come to realize that guns, not butter, are the answer to Russia's threat. Meanwhile, however, the foun dations of our economic structure are beginning to feel the effects of the lavishness which our Gov ernment has practiced since the beginning of World War II. The administration realizes that un less some miracle happens and the Kremlin and the Politburo disappear, many more billions must be expended for arms, am munition and the mobilization of the armed forces. Today, despite economic recov ery in Western Europe, the bulk of the military equipment for the Atlantic pact must be provided by the United States. In addition, since the continental members of the pact are not eager to mobilize their own manpower, we are called to add at least 10 more American divisions for tlie defense of West ern Germany. Tension Pays Off All our pleas to France to agree to our plans to organize an efficient German army so far have been in vain. France expects the ut most assistance from us in Europe and in Indo-China. But the pol iticians at the head of the govern ment are unwilling to help us by overlooking old hatreds, prejudices and fears. France does not seem to realize that our resources are not inex haustible. We are saddled with an expenditure of $69 billion for this fiscal year. This is at a time when the national debt totals $260 bil lion and nobody can foresee how much more we shall have to spend on our own and our Allies’ arma ment in the next four years. All this is good news to the Kremlin, however. Its plan for a war of attrition against America appears to be succeeding. The tension which the Politburo has created in the last four years to undermine our economic system is paying dividends. If this ten sion continues—and there is no indication that Russia will mod erate it—the American budget will bqpome astronomical. i A I Europe's Tiny Countries Have Troubles—But No Wars \ — — ■ —' ♦ . _ Here's How They Fare While Rest of World Worries Over A-Bonjb Newspapers today are filled with the trials and tribulations of the great nations of the world. But what of the little fellows, the real little ones, that, is? How are they faring in these days of hot and cold wars? There are four tiny countries in Europe—Andorra, San Marino, Leichtenstein and Monaco. The ^Associated Press asked its Eu ropean correspondents to find cut what is going on in them. The four have a total land area of only 348 square miles, less than New York City’s 365 square miles and far less than the 452 square miles of Los Angeles. Their total population is 54, 000, barely more than the nhm ber of persons who live in New York City’s largest housing de velopment. Following are front-line re ports: MONTE CARLO UP).—This tiny, sun-drenched flower-be decked principality on the shores of the blue Mediter ranean is on its uppers. The war in Korea has kept away the rich Americans, and postwar hard times in Europe have thinned the stream of wealthy European gamblers to a mere trickle. The days of dramatic suicides by beautiful, red-haired Hun garian girls and devil-may care Englishmen attempting to “break the bank at Monte Carlo” are gone. A simple statistic: Back in the careless ’30s, the Monaco government took in about 120,000.000 francs a year from the gaming table, its major source of revenue. These days tjie figure is down to 20.000,000 francs. But Monaco still is an ideal place for getting away from it all—if you can afford it—for these reasons: 1. Wonderful warm climate. 2. The principality calls itself one of the cleanest areas on earth, due to a determined sys tem of washing the streets three or four times a day. 3. No industry to speak of. There's a beer plant, and five dockers work in the port. 4. No Communist Party. 5. No overcrow'ding for the total population of 25,000. 6. A constant series of exclu sive showings of films, periodic $1,500 fireworks displays, glit tering balls, symphony concerts, showings by the famed Monte Carlo ballet. 7. No labor strife. Except for a 10-day strike of Casino em ployes last April, there never has been a strike that lasted more than 24 hours. Monaco officials deplore the absence of the 200 English who used to come for a three or four months’ stay before the war. and religiously dress for dinner each night. They also deplore the many Americans who have stayed away, despite the effort to at tract them by introducing the game of craps in the Casino. Commissioner general of tour ism, Gabriel Ollivier, has gone all-out to make the wealthy feel at home. All visitors of note find their hotel rooms crowded with free flowers, and have a secretary at their disposal. The swank Hotel De Paris has rooms from 1,600 to 3,500 francs <$4.50 to $10) and 140, 000 bottles of wine, champagne and brandy in its cellars. A Pigg. ' '<£N31AN& U. & S.R. i $:j: ^_1: 11 : i:j 1ARTIFICAL TFFTH-t \ STAMPS /—\ h ‘ | |BIMIIIHi pot_A no . C ■;;; •: ■ I “"VwBa^ FRANCE /1/ sso\C^ '4'~'J ' SMUGGLING ^ f-C j?Sw"V^«rmiA-r .... • ** V :. \-/«UNGA*Y/ . ! f rfAur - . MONACOV 1 .&& — i tt/H INF $l§|p'ij! ! | HI {GAMBLING * client who comes back 10 years ' later will find his favorite dishes served him without even having to ask. due to a special system of card indexing kept by the hotel. Monaco, ruled by young Prince Ranier, isn’t really very independent from France, and her position in international af fairs is the same. Actually, only 3,900 of the 25,000 inhabitants are Monaco citizens. Of these 1,000 are men, and all would do their duty for the West. SAN MARINO UP). — The 1,650-year-old mountain repub lic of Sarj Marino is feuding 1 with Italy, by which it is com pletely surrounded. This tiny state, situated on a mountain slope 10 miles from the Adriatic Sea, has a Com munist government which does not get along too well with Italy’s Christian Democrat au thorities. Its officials complain that Italy not only is five years in arrears in payment of the amounts due under a customs agreement, but also is sabotag ing its tourist traffic. The San Marinesi are also somewhat displeased with the British who bombed them dur ing the last war on suspicion that German troops were lurk ing in their citadel-like moun tain. y The republic boasts it has no public debt but its leaders admit times have been hard these last years. To bolster the public treasury, the government re cently opened a fancy gambling casino. San Marino's citizens are proud of their socialized health program which entitles all to free medical service, including hospitalization and, if necessary, accommodation in the republic's insane asylum. Funds come from the nationalized movie theaters, which also provide enough extra revenue to support an old-age pension plan. Most of the 12,000 inhabitants are agricultural workers and the state's principal export— aside from stamps, which are popular with collectors—is Its famed Moscato wine. About 1,500 are employed in industry, which includes tanneries, pot teries and soap, cement and macaroni factories. Bread for ' the entire population is pro duced by a single state-owned bakery. Another of San Marino's products is divorces, which are unobtainable in Italy. A council of 60 governs the republic, with the executive au thority being exercised by two "captains regent” chosen from among the councilors and changed every six months. VADUZ, Liechtenstein (JP).— Liechtenstein is a tiny, 60 square-mile state sandwiched between Switzerland and Aus tria in the upper Rhine Valley. The present ruler, Prince Franz-Josef II, married beauti ful Vienna-born Countess Georgine Wilzcek in 1943. The couple has three children, all boys, the eldest of whom is 5 year-old Prince Johann Adam Pius, heir to the principality. Franz-Joseph II became rul ing Prince of Liechtenstein in 1938 His role in the govern ment is limited by a democratic constitution dating from 1921. The 15-member Parliament is elected every four years and nominates five of its members as the country’s “government.” Deputy Premier Ferdinand Nigg says proudly: "There is not a single Communist in Liech tenstein.” In fact, only two political parties exist in the country, and both are conserva tive. Political differences are limited to strictly domestic matters. Liechtenstein has been in a customs and monetary union with Switzerland since 1924 and is now virtually incorporated in the Swiss economy. Outstand ing among the local industries is the production of artificial teeth, of which millions of pairs are exported annually. Most of the country’s power is produced domestically in hydroelectric stations in the Alps along the Austrian frontier. Taxation is low and many foreign corpora tions maintain European head offices in the principality. "Reg istration fees” paid by these corporations and the sale of fre quently issued new series of postage stamps form the coun try’s principal revenue. Liechtenstein has no army. Its last soldier died in 1939 at j the age of 95 and Nigg explains: ' “Our foreign policy, like that of Switzerland, is based on abso lute neutrality.” ANDORRA (#).—Five thou sand feet high in the Pyrenees Mountains live 5,000 people, un touched and untroubled by the world’s strife. The inhabitants of this tiny principality have no Commu nist problem and pay no taxes. Although the nations of their co-princes, the President of France and the Spanish bishop of nearby Seo de Urgel, have fought wars, the Andorrans go on with their main trade and largest source of revenue: ! Smuggling goods back and forth between France and Spain. Smuggling is bound to flourish in Andorra which nestles among mountain peaks more than 10.000 feet high. This tiny country of 191 square miles was left over by Cardinal Richelieu's treaty of the Pyrenees in the early 17th j century because neither coun try could agree on its future. The inhabitants insist they have the only true democracy in the world. Local politics are handled by a 24-man council which is elected every four years by male heads of family. Any , inhabitant has redress for griev- | ances to the council and may convoke it into session at any time by paying about $25 to cover the expenses of the meet ing. Chief executive officer is the “Syndic,” who is elected by the council from among its mem bers. Main legitimate source of in come is Radio Andorra, a French-owmed concern which, by agreement between the French and Spanish, has only music programs and advertising. Through a Spanish-owned com pany, Andorra supplies electric ity to Barcelona. World War II had little or no affect on Andorra’s cattle-rais ing peasant economy. The gay Catalan inhabitants read of the world's turmoil in the few French and Spanish newspapers reaching them. Their 800-year-old country has always been at peace. Life goes on pretty much as it always has. _(Dletrlbuted by the Assoclited Preen.) THE SUNDAY STAR, Washington, D. C. C—5 SUNDAY, OCTOBER 22, 19S0 F i nns I rked by Government But Change Might Irk Reds Have Been Able So Far to Refuse Soviet Any Power Over Their Internal Affairs By Richard Lowenthal HELSINKI.—Finland today is in danger from within. One week'! visit has confirmed the picture of a country that has amazingly re gained complete internal freedom. Despite complete military de pendence on Russia, Finland is now the only country in Eastern Eu rope where the process of “people’s democratic” penetration has not only been stopped but reversed. This was achieved, thanks to a com bination of fighting faith and the? ~~ high degree of national unity! against the Communist danger. But today this unity is largely gone and the country is in a state of unrest. The chief responsibiltiy for this change lies with the head of the present government. Urho Kek konen—a clever lawyer from the Agrarian Party, who thinks he can afford-to secure Russian good will by concessions in internal Finnish affairs and still determine the limit of such concessions. Other people have thought that before, to their cost. Finnish military dependence on Russia is, of course, complete. Under the peace treaty, the Rus sians are Hike the British) en titled to know everything that is done in the Finnish Army and to control its size and armaments. They have a base within gun range of the capital; trains from Helsinki to Turku, the only Fin nish harbor that stays ice-free all through the year, have to pass through that base and can do so only by Russian leave, with steel shutters blocking out the train windows, and a toll of $50 paid each time. No Iron Curtain Reparations to Russia, not crushing but considerable, em ploy the best part of the metal industry and the Soviet Repara tion Mission has Inspection rights in the factories concerned. All this means that Finland could never dream of joining any mili tary group directed against Rus sia, and the Russians are in a position to occupy the country at any moment at will. But whether and when the Rus sians do so is more likely to depend upon the international situation than on anything the Finns do at home. That is why the Finns have been able so far to refuse them any power over their internal affairs. There is no Communist influence whatever in the Finnish police. Its mobile police units, specially created to give the Communists concealed power under the first postwar government, were first disarmed and then purged by the Socialist government in 1948, and the political police has been abolished. ‘Finland's foreign news comes overwhelmingly from Western sources. There is no censorship of any kind; the only news agency is government-controlled but it does not suppress news. Its maxi mum intervention is to advise edi tors to consider carefully whether publication of items which might offend Russia is advisable in the Finnish interest. Most editors voluntarily tone down such items; the Socialist Democrats generally publish them and nothing hap pens to them. Western news papers are on sale; in the shops there is a wealth of American picture magazines, American flags gayly flutter from hotel en trances, sometimes side by side with Soviet flags. There is no iron curtain of any kind against either the East or West. Yet there is not a solid unshak able front for the defense of this Merchant Marine Trims Ship Under 'Shirt Sleeves' Admiral By Francis P. Douglas A ‘‘shirt sleeves admiral” has taken the top job in the Federal Maritime Administration with the result that the Nation’s merchant marine affairs, at one time seem ingly operating with a compass that had gone haywire, appear now' to be getting back on course. Vice Admiral Edward L. Coch rane, U. S. N., retired, has been chairman of the Maritime Board and maritime administrator- for a little more than a month. It did not take the administra tion’s staff long to learn that a new hand was at the helm. Nor did it take the admiral long to learn who his staff members were. His method was to walk into an office, introduce himself and ex plain that he wanted to know with whom he was working. Expert on Design Nowadays, in the vernacular of the Navy, the agency is described as a tight ship but a happy one. Admiral Cochrane is widely known throughout the Navy—and among warship builders of other countries—for his long service with the Bureau of Ships. From 1935 through World War II h* was concerned with the design of prac tically every ship the Navy built during its period of greatest con struction. The admiral retired November 1, 1947—but not to play golf or raise dahlias. He went to the Massachusetts Institute of Tech nology as head of the department of naval architecture and marine engineering. The agency he now' heads was formerly the Maritime Commis : sion. After the war it was plagued i by troubles that aroused exas peration in Congress and produced caustic reports by the General Ac counting Office. Perhaps it was inevitable the agency then had five skippers since there were five members on the commission. The first step to meet the situ ation was taken when President Truman prevailed on Maj. Gen. Philip B. Fleming to move from the Federal Works Agency to the chairmanship of the commission. Then, this year, came the presi dential reorganization plan which divided the functions of the board and established a straight line of command. The commission became the Maritime Board, with duties to 1 administer the regulatory acts and r determine the construction and operating subsidies paid ship op erators. Construction and oper ating functions are now the re sponsibilities of the martime ad ministrator. Gen. Fleming was made Under secretary of Commerce for Trans portation and Admiral Cochrane was called from MIT to take the dual post of chairman of the board and administrator. It took war in Korea to get him to leave his duties at the institute where the Navy sends promising con struction officers for training. He has described his situation at MIT as "gratifying and happy.” There he was found frequently— in his shirt sleeves—in the shop working with students on models of ships whose design they were concerned with. What impelled him to take his present job he described this way in a recent speech: “As the Korean situation de veloped the very strong conviction began to grow upon me that this is by no means a simple job nor one which will be closed finally with the success of the armed forces in Korea. "I have long had the feeling that our generation cannot give too satisfactory an account of its stewardship in the world to the generations which will succeed us. As this conviction grew so did the strength of that voice within me. the voice of conscience, until I was compelled to agree to come back to Washington to do what is within my power to further the state of readiness of the West ern nations against the eventu alities which unfortunately seem so certain to develop.” Flexible Type The transition from warship construction to merchant ships is not so great as it may seem. To day merchant ships are built with their possible use in war kept in mind. Also, there is this remark by Rear Admiral Charles D. Whee lock about Admiral Cochrane: “He is a young-minded man who can change and reorient his position.” Admiral Wheelock, now deputy and assistant chief of the Bureau of Ships, worked under Admiral Cochrane when he was chief. An example of Admiral Coch rane's ability to reorient to de mands came during World War II M. Admiral Cochrane —Sketch by Newman Sudduth. when need developed for two types of vessels the Navy had not been building. One was large landing craft— the LST (landing ship, tanks) and the LCI (landing craft, infantry). The LST became well known as the workhorse of amphibious op erations. The other type was the destroy er escort. In September, 1940, Ad miral (then Capt.) Cochrane went to England and studied bat tle damage to British ships and surveyed the anti-submarine war fare. He came back with an under standing of the necessity for small anti-submarine vessels. The DE was the result. Almost all of Admiral Cochrane’s career has been devoted to ship construction. After graduating from the Naval Academy in 1914, second in his class, he joined the U. S. S. Rhode Island and served aboard her during the occupation of Veracruz. Soon, however, he was assigned to the Philadelphia Navy Yard and construction. He is, incident ally, rated as one of the compara tively few real authorities on sub marine design. He served in the submarine design division of the old Bureau of Construction and Repair in the 1920’s, and later at the Portsmouth (N. H.) Navy Yard in connection with submarme con struction. The Bureau of Construction and Repair and the Bureau of A Engineering were consolidated in 1940 into the Bureau of Ships. In 1935 Admiral Cochrane was ordered to Washington for con struction work. The long lull in shipbuilding was coming to an end. The carriers Yorktown and Enterprise were then building and the keel of the Wasp was laid down the next year. The Navy was working on the plans for the North Carolina and the Washing ton, the first battleships since the three Maryland-class vessels of 1916. The greatest naval con struction of the world’s history was developing and Admiral Coch rane was destined to be in the middle of it. Sees Another Crisis In the design division he had a hand in most of the vessels used during World War II. Practical ly all of the major vessels of that war, destroyers and larger, were begun in peacetime. An ex ception was that a few of the destroyers started in February, 1942, took part in the Okinawa operations. In November, 1942, Admiral Cochrane was appointed chief of the Bureau of Ships. Construc tion and repair work already had become a crushing load and there was no letup. Good design and good workmanship in a ship meant reliability and ease of mainte nance. These factors were ap preciated by Admiral Cochrane who, early in his career, had adopted the habit of leaving off his coat with its gold stripes and going into the shops in his shirt sleeves to see how the jobs were going. Now, in the fall of 1950, Ad- j miral Cochrane again is involved in seeing how the job of building and operating ships is going. And he is deeply concerned over the possibility of a letdown in the feeling of urgency after the Ko rean war is concluded. He said he is convinced there will be an other crisis. “And the next may be less convenient as to location and more embarrassing as to time,” be added gravely. One of his first steps on taking his new job was to call for work ing plans for a 20-knot cargo ship, useful in peace and in valuable in war. The Nation has a lot of cargo 1 ships but most of those still in reserve are the plodding, 10-knot Liberty ships. There are more than 1,500 of them in the reserve fleet. “While they served a very use ful purpose in World War II they are not suitable for carrying vital cargoes in forward areas,” Ad miral Cochrane said. Then there are the 15-knot Victory ships. Of these, 136 have been withdrawn from lay-up and passed in active service. Twenty five more are being made ready for service and only about 75 are left. Of the projected new 20-knot ship to carry 12,000 tons of cargo Admiral Cochrane said: “I am convinced that the con struction of some such vessel is sound, not only from the military point of view of mobility and im proved security but that it is fully justified on the simple basis of conservation of national material resources.” He pointed out that faster ships can reduce the volume of critical materials that must be at sea to assure the supplies at the beach head when needed. This is in addition to reducing the chances of ships and cargoes being sunk and to greater flexibility in attack. Last summer Admiral Cochrane was engaged with a group of sci entists in a study, as he put it, "of the possible effects of scientific developments since 1945 on the wartime security of sea trans port.” The year 1945 saw the ex plosion of the first atomic bomb. The studies were convincing that ships have to have more speed. Admiral Cochrane might be said to have been born into the Navy when he was born 58 years ago at Mare Island, a California naval station. His father was Brig. Gen. Henry Clay Cochrane of the Ma rine Corps: his maternal grand father was a naval officer. Admiral and Mrs. Cochrane have two Navy sons, Lt. Comdr. Richard L. Cochrane, executive officer of a destroyer, and Lt. Ed ward L. Cochrane, jr., now serving on a cruiser in the Formosa straits. The admiral’s work has brought I him membership in scientific so-| :ieties and numerous honors, in- j sluding the Distinguished Service, Medal. I freedom. That is due to two fac tors. First, the Finnish labor movement is split right down the middle; second, an important group of “bourgeois” political leaders now favor certain conces sions to Russia in internal affairs, and that group includes the present Prime Minister. Labor Movement Gains Finnish communism is a gen uine native force, not a sect of Russian puppets as are the Com munists elsewhere in Scandinavia. It does not dominate organized labor as the Communists do in France and Italy, but it has been a formidable rival of the Socialists in the struggle for trade union control throughout the last 30 years. The roots of this struggle go back to the 1918 civil war when an undivided Finnish labor move ment fought for power with Bol shevist support and was defeated by the “whites” with German sup port, and to the repression that followed. The labor movement then split and the Socialists turned to demo cratic legality. The Communists, though always on the verge of suppression, retained control of the unions until 1930, and until 1939 the employers refused to ne gotiate. collective agreement. Not until then, in the resistance to Russia’s unprovoked attack on Finland, was national unity largely restored; not until then were Finland's home guards open for the first time to Social Demo crats. The effect of this history is that since the last war the labor move ment has become far more power ful than ever before. The result is that Communist propaganda can ascribe this increased influ ence to the Russian victory and can put forward absurd economic claims without losing its follow ing. To this day, the Communists control the unions of the food and textile workers inside the trade union federation; the transport and forest workers’ unions have remained outside the federation since their expulsion for partici pating in last year’s Communist inspired general strike. The metal and wood workers, who were on strike, were won over by the So cialists only recently. One pow erful motive of the present strike is the Socialist leaders’ desire not ! to lose control again. What it all amounts to is that the Communists are in a position constantly to endanger Finland's economic stability. Last year the general strike attempt would have paralyzed all Finnish harbors but for the readiness of Socialist workers to break the strike in order to save their government (then headed by Karl Fagerholm, a Social Democrat). The Kek konen government, which has allowed prices to riee and has antagonized the Socialists to please Russia, has no such re serve of loyal support to call on now. Here is the second cause of disunity. After Juho Paasikivi, the man who three times negoti ated peace between Finland and Russia, was re-elected President last March, he called on Kek konen, leader of the Agrarian Party, to form a broad coalition government, including the Com munists. The move seemed plaus ible. The Russians showed strong dislike of the Socialist minority government of Karl Fagerholm and were holding up the signature of a long-negotiated trade agree ment. The Socialists, however, took the line that on no account must the Communists be admit ted back to government positions, Russian displeasure, they argued, could not do more to Finland than a voluntary decision to hand the keys of the country to the enemy within the gates. Country Drifts After the Communists joined the government, the Socialists would not. Faced with this re fusal. Kekkonen decided, appar ently with the backing of the President, to form a government without either of the working class groups. This finally led to the Conservatives staying out as well, and leaving Kekkonen’s Agrarians alone with the support of some minor splinter groups. Since then the country has been drifting. Kekkonen and all his government have signed the so called “Stockholm peace appeal,” sponsored by Communist-domi nated “Partisans of Peace,” except for the Minister of War, Mr. Tiitu. Periodical suggestions that it is time to include the Socialists in the government are rejected by Kekkonen on the grounds that “Russia would not like that.” Meanwhile, economic stability is sacrificed, although the country is prosperous and the standard of living slightly above that of pre war. Yet this year, with exports booming and foreign payments balanced, the vicious spiral of in flation has been restarted. The reason is simply because the Agrarians (representing farm ers) and trade unions here each put forward arbitrary economic demands and the government has neither the will nor the power to get them together. Yet it is also clear that the fundamental instability of the present situation can only be ended by a government recon struction, which seems unlikely without new elections. Finland's choice appears to be either to drift on under Kekkonen while Communist influence gets strong er, or to change the government now at the risk of displeasing her powerful neighbor. (Copyright. London Observer Foreig* Newt Service.) * , ^