Letter from Edwin Pauley to President Harry S. Truman

THE WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON June 9, 1947 . The President "NATIONAL RECORDE AND Washington, D. C. 2 SERVICE* My dear Mr. President: I have heard that my letter to you of April 15, 1947, discussing the proposals of Mr. Herbert Hoover with regard to the reparations program and the future of Germany, has been regarded by some as supporting a pro- gram of "pastoralization" -de-industrializing and converting the nation into farm land. It has consequently occurred to me that some of the aspects of my letter may have lost connection with the context of my original recom- mendations to you on the subject of reparations. I should like, therefore, to clarify a few points, and to recall the official basis for the position taken by the United States Government in this matter. I am definitely not in favor of the so-called pastoralization of Germany. My only insistence, in my letter of April 15, 1947, was against departing from the philosophy of the Potsdam Agreement in favor of the philosophy apparently advocated by former President Hoover, namely the philosophy of rebuilding Germany, without regard for long-range economic or political implications, ostensibly in order first, to counteract commun- ism, and secondly, to meet the needs of Europe. There is no reason, except the keeping of a faith inherent in all international accords, to cling to the statistical letter of the Potsdam Protocol and its supporting agreements. The actual level of industry to be maintained in Germany, and the specific nature of the reparations to be taken from Germany are and should be subject to amendment, by international agreement, as experience dictates. Secretary Marshall has indicated his willingness to consider such a modification. I am, as you know, now engaged in an intensive study, at Secretary Marshall's request, of such a possible modification. The objective of our current study is to determine what changes need be made in the first place to call a halt to the drain on the American taxpayer to support the German economy, in the second place to meet the needs of Europe for food and commodities, in the third place to bolster up the sagging structure of peace, and in the fourth place to insure the in- ability of Germany again to wage war against us. However, there is no tendency on my part to advocate the strip- ping from Germany of all her industry, or the conversion of Germany into grazing land. Germany can and must fit into the pattern of European economy and assist in the filling of the commodity needs of the continent.