For rearmament, and for civilian construction, what Western Europe needs most is steel. Britain needs 800,000 tons from the U.S. alone; France wants an extra 150,000 tons; Italy 194,000 tons.
The Ruhr has a capacity of 15 million tons a year, but the allies, remembering Hitler, hold down Ruhr production to 11,100,000 tons for domestic use and export. Recently, the August-Thyssen Huette Steel Works asked permission to increase production from 117,000 to 1,000,000 tons. Last week a joint U.S.British-French board turned Thyssen down. The Germans were baffled. Does the West need the Ruhr badly enough to run the risks of...
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