THE CAPITAL: A Word for the Taxpayer

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To the unknown American taxpayers to whose tax contributions the Austrian economy owes the millions contributed in good will toward its reconstruction.

So reads the-dedication of a book presented to President Eisenhower last week by Austrian Ambassador Wilfred Platzer. The book: an Austrian government study of how U.S. aid, a total of $1.4 billion since 1948, enabled Austria to recover from the ravages of World War II and postwar Russian plundering, and build out of the wreckage one of free Europe's most thriving economies.

"It is to the U.S.'s historic credit," the study says gratefully, "to have recognized the vital importance of creating healthy economic conditions as an essential prerequisite for a lasting peace." Wrote Austria's Chancellor Julius Raab in a foreword : "The generous aid of the American people ended the seemingly inevitable decline of the old continent. Today there is no doubt that without this aid Europe would have been engulfed by poverty, suffering and chaos . . . Whenever and however we celebrate the anniversary of Austria's rescue from economic collapse, we should remember that the means for our reconstruction were contributed by the American taxpayer ... To him Austria owes its thanks."