Economic Boss Sir Stafford Cripps, more than any of his cabinet colleagues, believes in frankly telling Britons what they face. Last week his White Paper (Economic Survey for 1948) gave them the blackest news yet. Even with Marshall Plan aid, said his report, Britons' standard of living at year's end will be "appreciably, but not disastrously" lower than last year's. Without such aid, Britain would be flat broke (in terms of dollars). Food rations would have to be cut to near-starvation levels. Imports of raw materials would have to be slashed, causing mass unemployment. Britain's whole industrial machine would...
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