EUROPE: Coal Is the Tyrant

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At the heart of Europe's sickness last week, underlying its dollar deficiencies, its currency distempers, its lack of pep and its chronic sweat and tears, was a shortage of one grubby product—coal.

Old King Coal is the economic tyrant of Europe. On both sides of the Iron Curtain, he chills the poor, rocks governments, distorts economies and hampers rearmament. In the West he threatens to undo much of the good done by the Marshall Plan; in the East he blocks Communist Five-Year plans.

In Paris last week, Premier René Pleven gave French deputies a lesson in elementary economics. "I am amazed," he said, "that no one has pointed out the real reason why prices have risen more sharply in France than elsewhere in Europe. The coal price influences the cost of almost everything else."

Some of the symptoms of the disease:

¶Of every dollar France gets in U.S. aid, she now spends 75¢ to import coal from the U.S. at ruinously expensive prices. Coal that costs $10 a ton in Pennsylvania sells for $22 a ton in Europe, after shipping costs are added.

¶Europe's industrial output has increased 40% over prewar, but coal—which industry depends on—is down 7%.

¶Britain, short of 1,500,000 tons of steel for its armament program, last week imposed a strict steel-rationing program. First priority among steel uses went to coal; defense and export production must take second place.

¶Britain, which used to ship abroad 44 million tons a year, no longer produces enough coal to stoke its own fires and furnaces. The new Tory government had laid down the most stringent household coal rationing in the nation's history: an average of less than two tons for the entire winter.

Empty Bank Vaults. The consequences to Western defense are immense and progressive ; they would be disastrous but for a relatively mild winter. But British families do without meat because there is not enough coal to swap for Argentine beef; French steel mills stand idle for lack of coal and coke. The Dutch army all but disappeared over the holidays, when the government gave its soldiers an eleven-day furlough to save precious coal. Sweden sells its high-grade iron ore to Communist Poland instead of supplying its old customer Britain, because the Poles can trade coal in exchange, the British cannot. The Poles, taking advantage of Sweden's need, get ballbearings and generators in exchange, to nourish the Red army.

West German coal production is increasing by leaps & bounds (since 1946, output has jumped 300%). But though the International Ruhr Authority still earmarks 25% of German output for export (mainly to France), French steelmen complain that Ruhr shipments of coke and coal have fallen by 25% since 1949. And German nationalists are whipping up resentment against compulsory coal exports: they accuse the Allies of sending Ruhr coal abroad, and compelling Germany to import more expensive U.S. coal.