to be a very sound analysis of the overall situation, translated in terms of 1954 fiscal year requirements.

You may well find that in certain instances you will want to attach certain conditions to parts of those appropriations and we might even, from the executive branch, be in a position where we agree that there should be certain conditions. However, I would hope that we would not approach it on a stopgap, or short-term basis. Our thinking is rather along the line of how can we so thoroughly analyze the mutual security and defense outlook that we think beyond 1 year, even though we have to appropriate for 1 year.

Mr. RICHARDS. You do figure, then, that you could come up here with a fixed proposition in May?

Mr. STASSEN. The first week of May.

Mr. RICHARDS. Regardless of what these other countries do?

Mr. STASSEN. Not regardless but under our present appraisal of what is likely to happen between now and the first week of May, our target is to come before you with an intelligent, long-term program for mutual security in the first week of May. It may still have some contingencies.

Mr. ROOSEVELT. How long? You say long-term. I do not understand that.

Mr. STASSEN. The action as you know is for the fiscal year 1954, but I think you will find we will be discussing it on a longer-term basis than you have had for quite some years. We will try to lay before you what it is we hope to accomplish in these countries; how in some instances we will be moving toward further buildup and in other instances we will be tapering off; and how we think each proposal fits into a long-range world defense and security strategy. That is our objective and that is what we are working on very intensively in the Mutual Security staff and in the executive branch.

Chairman CHIPERFIELD. Mrs. Bolton

Mrs. BOLTON. Mr. Stassen, it is very nice to have you here.
Mr. STASSEN. Thank you.

Mrs. BOLTON. To me, Mr. Stassen, it is very heartening to have your word that you do have a sense of the need of long-range procedures. I think that anybody who has contemplated what has been going on in the world for some time must accept the fact that this is not going to be over with soon, but rather that we are up against an adversary who has but one goal and that is to completely take over the world. It will be exceedingly difficult to make headway until we come to a state of mind where we can say that we too have a goal, a twofold one; the complete obstruction of their goal and the building of a world where freedom gives to all a deep joy in the service of Almighty God.

I hope sincerely you will come up with matters we can dig into without feeling that your top secret information is broadcast in the New York Times the next morning.

I also agree heartily with Mr. Vorys, in a sense, about these very charming and delightful people who come over here, I hope you will meet them with the frankness that you indicate you are doing. I have no questions. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Chairman CHIPERFIELD. Mr. Gordon.

Mr. GORDON. Mr. Chairman, I direct my question to Secretary Merchant. In the event the Bundestag or Bundesrat fails for ratification, what is going to be the picture?

Mr. MERCHANT. It will be very gloomy, Mr. Gordon. The contractuals and the EDC are tied together. Of course, the Bundestag has passed now. It is the Bundesrat.

Mr. GORDON. Do I understand that we will have to drop that whole program there?

Mr. MERCHANT. We will have to take a completely new look at the situation. As the President has said, any alternative to the EDC is feeble.

Mr. GORDON. Thank you.

Chairman CHIPERFIELD. Mr. Smith.

Mr. SMITH. Governor, at the present time, does it appear to you that this overall program is an expanding one or a contracting one, or can we look for less economic aid?

In other words, I am thinking in terms of the American taxpayer who wants to know about this program. Can you say at this time, or is it going to require further study in stating just what the the completely full objective of the program is?

Mr. STASSEN. I can say to you at this time that I think the economic defense support will be a lessening; that the military end item support expenditures will be expanded, principally because, due to the long lead time on many military end items, production ordered 2 years ago is expected to start rolling off assembly lines and to be shipped over there right during this next year.

Now how you fit these 2 together, along with certain special problems, such as in the case of the far eastern picture which is, as you know, one of the more intense, and the situation in the Near Eastwe are right in the middle of working on these problems and between now and the first week of May we will get all these elements put together.

We do have in mind very much the American taxpayer and we know that he is also the head of an American family and we are concerned about their future security both from a military standpoint and from the standpoint of their economic stability at home.

Mr. SMITH. Thank you.

Chairman CHIPERFIELD. Mr. Battle.

Mr. BATTLE. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just wanted to welcome Governor Stassen again and Mr. Merchant who has served us so ably overseas for a long time. I thank him for that service. I have no questions at this time.

Chairman CHIPERFIELD. Mr. Merrow.

Mr. MERROW. Mr. Chairman, when we passed the Mutual Security Act last year we wrote into it the general principle that American aid should be given on the basis of the progress that was being made toward integration and unification and it should be given commensurate with the self-help and cooperation that these various nations gave to one another.

Now in these conferences with the representatives of the European countries, has it been made perfectly plain that if there is not a great deal of progress in that direction it may be very difficult to get the Congress to approve funds for further economic and military assistance?

Mr. MERCHANT. In the ones I have knowledge of, Mr. Chairman and Mr. Merrow, that is true.

Mr. STASSEN. I think the Secretary of State when he appeared before you gave a very accurate and rather detailed statement of exactly how he was putting that thought to the representatives of the European countries.

Mr. MERROW. Your report today seems to be optimistic, which I am glad to hear. You think they are making progress toward unification, integration, cooperation and so on.

Do you think it is as rapid as it should be?

Mr. STASSEN. I am afraid that is the kind of a question to which it is almost impossible to give a categorical answer. I am hopeful of more rapid progress than there has been. I recognize there are many, many difficulties in this situation. Therefore, I am not at all sure, if we were in their shoes instead of ours, whether there would have been faster movement. You have the old problems of Europe and it is easy for us to oversimplify them in looking across the water.

I say I am encouraged by what has happened in these last weeks. I think the percentages have gone up. I am very encouraged by the fact that this OEEC meeting which 2 weeks ago many were saying was going to be a sad and gloomy time in Western Europe, has turned out to be a very successful meeting and everybody has gone from it with a feeling of a lift and a forward movement, and they moved right out of the OEEC meeting to the constructive action on the French protocols.

I think with all careful emphasis on all the difficulties involved, there is ground for a measured optimism over these past few weeks. Mr. MERROW. And do you feel from your conferences with the representatives of these various countries that there is a sincere and genuine desire to accelerate progress?

Mr. STASSEN. Yes.

Mr. MERROW. That is all.

Mr. MERCHANT. Mr. Chairman, I didn't mention the developments in the field of political community, which have been moving ahead. The Ad Hoc Assembly which sat for several months in Strassburg drawing up a draft treaty for a political community finished that draft on March 12, I believe it was, and submitted it to the six governments. The six foreign ministers are meeting in Luxembourg on May 12 and will further consider it there on the basis of consultation with their governments.

Mrs. BOLTON. The vote was 50 to nothing, was it not?

Mr. MERCHANT. That is a reflection of the fact that there is a momentum here toward unification and integration.

Mrs. BOLTON. When was that meeting?

Mr. MERCHANT. The ministers met in Rome the last week in February and they meet May 12 in Luxembourg.

Mr. MERROW. The integration from the point of view of the economic life of Europe and from the military point of view, you would, of course, expect to be much more rapid than the political, would you not? In other words, it would take considerable time. You do not expect political integration will occur this year or next, do you?

Mr. MERCHANT. I would not want to put a time on it, but I think it will be slow, sir.

Mr. MERROW. That is all.

Chairman CHIPERFIELD. Mr. Chatham

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Mr. CHATHAM. I want to congratulate both these men. I hope you will send someone up here sometime that we can shoot back at a little and get back at some of the shooting that has been done from the other side.

I refer to some very able people who have come up here.

Mr. RICHARDS. You are in a vengeful mood.

Mr. CHATHAM. I am trying to be, but they have brought two very high-class visitors up here.

I do not feel as John Vorys does on this. When we look at that steel production up there. If that European steel was in the Soviet bloc we would be anxious to get them over here. I think those people are just as valuable to us as we are to them. I take that attitude. Mrs. BOLTON. Your attitude is always delightful and very helpful. Mr. CHATHAM. Thank you.

I understand the Bell report is coming out very soon on Mutual Security.

Mr. STASSEN. It is out, Mr. Chatham.

Mr. CHATHAM. I wonder if that is going to be very carefully looked at by your group before you come up here in May with these things. I believe there are going to be some recommendations in there. For example, they disagreed with this thing of carrying 50 percent of lendlease or military supplies in American bottoms and things of that type. Rather than getting into a wrangle, I hope you will have a definite recommendation for or against the things picked up in the Bell report. Mr. STASSEN. There are items in the Bell report which reflect directly into the overall economic relationship of the United States to the rest of the free world. The President has directed that we send the Bell report to the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Labor, the Federal Trade Commission, the Secretary of Commerce and a few others and ask that each of these departments begin an analysis of the points raised in the Bell report and be prepared in turn to participate in the economic studies under the leadership of Mr. Lewis Douglas which it was decided to carry forward as a result of the United Kingdom talks.

Mr. CHATHAM. I hope, Mr. Chairman, that the members of this committee will also get a copy.

Mr. STASSEN. If you wish we will send it to you right away.
Mr. CHATHAM. I would like to have it very much.

Mr. ROOSEVELT. Will the gentleman yield at that point? If I may make a very humble suggestion, Governor, I think you would save yourself a lot of headaches, too, if you would send copies of this report to the members of the committees in the House and the Senate, corresponding to those agencies in the executive branch; because where you are going to run into trouble on this whole "trade, not aid" measure and reduction of tariffs and so forth is going to be over here. I think you people can resolve your differences very easily but when you get over here, fur is going to fly and the axes are going to drop. Chairman CHIPERFIELD. Mr. Judd.

Mr. JUDD. I am sorry I was not here for Governor Stassen's presentation. I will postpone any questions I may have until later. Thank

you.

Chairman CHIPERFIELD. Mr. Zablocki.

Mr. ZABLOCKI. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to have one terminology clarified. When Governor Stassen brought to our attention the percentage contribution for mutual defense, to the national production and specifically to the production in Germany, you mentioned military divisions, Mr. Stassen. In what respect were you referring to divisions? We were under the impression that Germany had just a border patrol and there were no active military divisions in Germany organized as yet.

Mr. STASSEN. I say we are at a stage where they are not supporting military divisions, and their occupation costs are dropping and their production is coming up and therefore their load that they now carry for defense is a lower load than either the United Kingdom or France.

Mr. ZABLOCKI. You have referred to the fact that their contribution has increased.

Mr. STASSEN. Oh, no. I said it had not.

Mrs. KELLY. Will the gentleman yield?
Mr. ZABLOCKI. Yes; I yield.

Mrs. KELLY. I took the quote down and I was going to ask Governor Stassen that very question. You said the German divisions are formed.

Mr. STASSEN. I said they are not yet formed. In other words, that is the point. France here has been busy since 1951 establishing additional divisions, providing part of the equipment and the expenses of the soldiers, so their defense contribution has been going up from $17 per capita to $74 per capita, to $93 per capita.

In the United Kingdom it has been going up from $54 to $81 to $101. That is as their forces are building up. But in Germany, it was $25, it has gone to $41, and then it only went to $42. In other words, there is not that buildup because they are not pouring money into divisions and air groups and so forth and so they have a much lighter load to carry now than the others do.

Mr. ZABLOCKI. Thank you very much. That clarifies it.
Chairman CHIPERFIELD. Mr. Javits.

Mr. JAVITS. Gentlemen, I, too, am glad to see you here.

I might say to my colleagues interested in the Bell report that I cordially invite them to sit in on the deliberations of our Subcommittee on Foreign Economic Policy who have had witnesses from the Bell group, especially Mr. Linder, the Assistant Secretary of State in Charge of Economic Affairs, and we are having a public hearing on next Wednesday at which time we will have a lot of the private agencies such as the chamber of commerce, and so on, who are going to testify on the same report and the general subject.

Could you tell us, sir, whether we have made or will be asked to make any commitments about keeping United States troops in Western Europe in connection with getting the French into the EDC? Mr. MERCHANT. To my knowledge, we have not been asked for any commitment.

Mr. JAVITS. Have we given them any unilateral assurance or told them what our plans are?

Mr. MERCHANT. No.

Mr. ROOSEVELT. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. JAVITS. Certainly.