New Charter for West Germany
The new arrangements suggested by the Allied authorities for the economic administration of Western Germany have been warily received by the Germans. It was in any case unlikely that either the Land Governments or the political parties would have rushed to ex- press themselves concerning an arrangement for whose provisions, as they have been most careful to point out, they have no responsibility. But however that may be, they can and should be expected to work that arrangement wholeheartedly. It is yet another attempt to over- come those frictions in the German economy which have so far frustrated the attempt to collect German produce thoroughly and to distribute it equitably. The Charter provides for an Economic Council, with 104 members instead of the former 52; an Upper House of 16 members, two for each Land ; an executive committee of five, one for each of the bizonal departments, elected by the Economic Council ; and a federal high court of ten members, whose seat will be Cologne. The details of the scheme show. evidence of a tacit struggle between the so-called federalist and centralist schools, the influence of the French in last-minute consultations having been clearly exercised to weaken any tendency to central power. Thus the executive committee has been firmly subordinated to the Economic Council, which is in its turn subjected to a suspensory veto exercised by the Upper House, or Liinderrat. For the moment the advantage seems to be tending to the side of the federalists. In the longer run the need to feed all Germans, and not merely those who produce food OT have access to the black market, will work in favour of the centralists, as will certain deep currents in German history. But all the time common sense says that such neat doctrinaire antitheses have little to do with either clear thinking or good government.
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