New Era

U.S. High Commissioner John J. McCloy arrived in Germany last week and opened a new era in the occupation. The new Western German state should be on its feet in September; then a three-man, civilian Allied High Commission must guide its steps. The destination: full German membership in the family of democratic nations.

Starting with "every hope of working out a solution," McCloy would find his British and French, opposite numbers in a similar mood. General Sir Brian Robertson, now to be in high commissioner's mufti, has been firm and unruffled as British military governor. Scholarly, 62-year-old Andre Franc,ois-Poncet, Ambassador to Berlin from 1931 to 1938, is one of those surprisingly numerous Frenchmen who want Germany as a good neighbor rather than as a chained foe. He has written: "With a little imagination, a little courage and good will, the problem of Germany can be solved. He who risks nothing wins nothing."

The Charter for the High Commission, published last week, cuts Allied interference in German affairs to a minimum. Except in emergencies, the commission will act only through the federal German government and the eleven Laender (state) governments. Occupation troops remain in their present zones, but henceforth may deal with the Germans only through a Lander Commissioner (appointed by the high commissioner of his zone). The new government will join the OEEC and sign an ERP agreement with the U.S. Instead of the past separate patterns in each zone, occupation policy will become uniform throughout Western Germany.

John McCloy saw a long, tough job ahead of him. Said he: "There can be no solution in Germany in three months, six months or a year. Even if progress takes ten years, it is good."

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