Cold Wind from Ottawa
The news that Mr. Gaitskell gave on Tuesday of the state of the British dollar balance and of the possibility, which was discussed at the Ottawa Conference, of an increase in the scale of rearmament for the N.A.T.O. countries was depressing enough. But even more deoressing was his statement that, short of putting the economies of the group jointly and severally on war footing, he did not know the answer. He did something to temper the wind by pointing out that the third quarter of the year is always a difficult one for the United Kingdom in the field of international payments, but the fact remains that stability and safety in the United Kingdom balance cannot be .guaranteed, and in the case of the gold and dollar drain from the sterling area the situation could very quickly become 'desperate. As to the point that the final decision on the Scale of the military effort is "for Governments as a whole," it is of no comfort whatever, for if the present effort in Europe does not guarantee reasonable safety against attack Governments are not left with a real alternative. The fact that, in an international war economy, a still larger American contribution might be needed does not help much either, for the Americans have been rendered extraordinarily cautious on that point by the cuts which Congress has already made in the Aid Bill and the long shadow which next year's Presidential election casts before. We are now beginning to see how important are the issues which must be posed within the complex organisation of N.A.T.O. They are practically certain to have a marked effect on the British standard ofliving, even if a substantial increase in home produc- tion turns out to be possible. If the cut must come, it is to be thoped that all concerned will remember that the need arose out of an international danger for which no British party was responsible, but which ,all parties alike have the duty of meeting.
