Harvard
5 June 1947
|
The
Marshall Plan speech
by
General George C. Marshall,
Secretary of State of the United States
I'm profoundly grateful and touched by the great distinction and honor and
great compliment accorded to me by the authorities of Harvard this morning.
I'm overwhelmed, as a matter of fact, and I'm rather fearful of my inability
to maintain such a high rating as you've been generous enough to accord
to me. In these historic and lovely surroundings, this perfect day, and
this very wonderful assembly, it is a tremendously impressive thing to an
individual in my position.
But to speak more seriously, I need not tell you that the world situation
is very serious. That must be apparent to all intelligent people. I think
one difficulty is that the problem is one of such enormous complexity
that the very mass of facts presented to the public by press and radio
make it exceedingly difficult for the man in the street to reach a clear
appraisement of the situation. Furthermore, the people of this country
are distant from the troubled areas of the Earth and it is hard for them
to comprehend the plight and consequent reactions of the long-suffering
peoples, and the effect of those reactions on their governments in connection
with our efforts to promote peace in the world.
In considering the requirements for the rehabilitation of Europe, the
physical loss of life, the visible destruction of cities, factories, mines,
and railroads was correctly estimated, but it has become obvious during
recent months that this visible destruction was probably less serious
than the dislocation of the entire fabric of European economy. For the
past 10 years conditions have been abnormal. The feverish preparation
for war and the more feverish maintenance of the war effort engulfed all
aspects of national economies. Machinery has fallen into disrepair or
is entirely obsolete. Under the arbitrary and destructive Nazi rule, virtually
every possible enterprise was geared into the German war machine.
Long-standing commercial ties, private institutions, banks, insurance
companies and shipping companies disappeared through loss of capital,
absorption through nationalization, or by simple destruction. In many
countries, confidence in the local currency has been severely shaken.
The breakdown of the business structure of Europe during the war was complete.
Recovery has been seriously retarded by the fact that two years after
the close of hostilities a peace settlement with Germany and Austria has
not been agreed upon. But even given a more prompt solution of these difficult
problems, the rehabilitation of the economic structure of Europe quite
evidently will require a much longer time and greater effort than has
been foreseen.
There is a phase of this matter which is both interesting and serious.
The farmer has always produced the foodstuffs to exchange with the city
dweller for the other necessities of life. This division of labor is the
basis of modern civilization. At the present time it is threatened with
breakdown. The town and city industries are not producing adequate goods
to exchange with the food-producing farmer. Raw materials and fuel are
in short supply. Machinery is lacking or worn out. The farmer or the peasant
cannot find the goods for sale which he desires to purchase. So the sale
of his farm produce for money which he cannot use seems to him an unprofitable
transaction. He, therefore, has withdrawn many fields from crop cultivation
and is using them for grazing. He feeds more grain to stock and finds
for himself and his family an ample supply of food, however short he may
be on clothing and the other ordinary gadgets of civilization. Meanwhile,
people in the cities are short of food and fuel, and in some places approaching
the starvation levels. So the governments are forced to use their foreign
money and credits to procure these necessities abroad. This process exhausts
funds which are urgently needed for reconstruction. Thus a very serious
situation is rapidly developing which bodes no good for the world. The
modern system of the division of labor upon which the exchange of products
is based is in danger of breaking down.
The truth of the matter is that Europe's requirements for the next three
or four years of foreign food and other essential products -- principally
from America -- are so much greater than her present ability to pay that
she must have substantial additional help or face economic, social and
political deterioration of a very grave character.
The remedy lies in breaking the vicious circle and restoring the confidence
of the European people in the economic future of their own countries and
of Europe as a whole. The manufacturer and the farmer throughout wide
areas must be able and willing to exchange their product for currencies,
the continuing value of which is not open to question.
Aside from the demoralizing effect on the world at large and the possibilities
of disturbances arising as a result of the desperation of the people concerned,
the consequences to the economy of the United States should be apparent
to all. It is logical that the United States should do whatever it is
able to do to assist in the return of normal economic health in the world,
without which there can be no political stability and no assured peace.
Our policy is directed not against any country or doctrine but against
hunger, poverty, desperation and chaos. Its purpose should be the revival
of a working economy in the world so as to permit the emergence of political
and social conditions in which free institutions can exist. Such assistance,
I am convinced, must not be on a piecemeal basis as various crises develop.
Any assistance that this government may render in the future should provide
a cure rather than a mere palliative. Any government that is willing to
assist in the task of recovery will find full cooperation, I am sure,
on the part of the United States government. Any government which maneuvers
to block the recovery of other countries cannot expect help from us. Furthermore,
governments, political parties, or groups which seek to perpetuate human
misery in order to profit therefrom politically or otherwise will encounter
the opposition of the United States.
It is already evident that, before the United States government can
proceed much further in its efforts to alleviate the situation and help
start the European world on its way to recovery, there must be some agreement
among the countries of Europe as to the requirements of the situation
and the part those countries themselves will take in order to give proper
effect to whatever action might be undertaken by this government. It would
be neither fitting nor efficacious for this government to undertake to
draw up unilaterally a program designed to place Europe on its feet economically.
This is the business of the Europeans. The initiative, I think, must come
from Europe. The role of this country should consist of friendly aid in
the drafting of a European program and of later support of such a program
so far as it may be practical for us to do so. The program should be a
joint one, agreed to by a number, if not all, European nations.
An essential part of any successful action on the part of the United
States is an understanding on the part of the people of America of the
character of the problem and the remedies to be applied. Political passion
and prejudice should have no part. With foresight, and a willingness on
the part of our people to face up to the vast responsibility which history
has clearly placed upon our country, the difficulties I have outlined
can and will be overcome.
I am sorry that on each occasion I have said something publicly in regard
to our international situation, I've been forced by the necessities of
the case to enter into rather technical discussions. But to my mind, it
is of vast importance that our people reach some general understanding
of what the complications really are, rather than react from a passion
or a prejudice or an emotion of the moment. As I said more formally a
moment ago, we are remote from the scene of these troubles. It is virtually
impossible at this distance merely by reading, or listening, or even seeing
photographs or motion pictures, to grasp at all the real significance
of the situation. And yet the whole world of the future hangs on a proper
judgment. It hangs, I think, to a large extent on the realization of the
American people, of just what are the various dominant factors. What are
the reactions of the people? What are the justifications of those reactions?
What are the sufferings? What is needed? What can best be done? What must
be done?
Thank you very much.
|
