utch to Tell Dulles
Floods Hamper Plans
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Britain Stands Firm
Planes 'Bomb' Dikes
By united press (see story, Page 15; editorials, Page 32.)
THE HAGUE, Feb. 6Secretary of State John Foster Dulles met today with Dutch officials
who were prepared to tell him disastrous floods have forced them to hold up a definite pledge
on Holland's contribution to western defense.
—United Press Photo.
Leaving flooded Canvey Island in Thames Estuary, the pedaling
Britisher, left, has a spare for emergencies. At right, cattle huddle
near a shattered farmhouse on one of the few tiny dry spots on
flooded Foulness Island at the mouth of the Thames. The floods today
were reported receding both in Britain and the Netherlands. The
official death toll reached 1352 in Holland and 423 in Britain. New
high tides will swell the North Sea again on St. Valentine's Day. In
England fresh troops joined the battle to close some 350 breaks in
the 1000-mile North Sea coastline before the Feb. 14 tides. Planes
dropped vaccines and medical supplies over the wastelands of Holland
to help prevent an outbreak of typhoid. Rubber gloves dropped^ from
planes will be worn by workers hauling cattle out of the contaminated
water. Planes also dumped rocks and 250,000 empty sandbags for dike
repairs. Workers immediately began filling the 100-pound sacks with
sand and mud left behind by the sea. The ruined town of Nieuwe
Tonge on Goeree-Overflakkee Island was evacuated by halictopter.
Mr. Dulles and Mutual Security
Administrator Harold E. Stassen
arrived here from Bonn, Germany,
on the last stretch of their nine-day
fact-finding tour of Western
Europe.
Before leaving Bonn, Mr. Dulles
announced that West German Chan
cellor Konrad Adenauer will visit
the United States this spring. Dr.
Adenauer said the visit will come
"either the end of March or the
beginning of April."
Dutch officials were reported
ready to tell Mr. Dulles they still
hope to fulfill their defense pledges
and to ratify the six-nation Euro
pean Army Treaty as soon as
possible.
Informed sources said the finan
cial blow dealt the country's econ
omy by the floods would delay a
definite commitment until the full
cost of the disaster is analyzed.
The same also holds true for
dollar aid which the Netherlands
recently announced it was prepared
to forego as a result of its greatly
improved economic situation.
Holland because of the floods
was expected to appeal for more
American "off-shore" purchase
orders and lower U. S. trade bar
riers to imports from Europe.
The European Army Treaty
which Mr. Dulles has been urging
European countries to ratify is well
advanced in Holland. It already has
been submitted to Parliament and
is expected to come up for debate
before the end of the month.
Mr. Dulles and Mr. Stassen ar
rived in Amsterdam by air at 11:10
a. m. and drove at once to The
Hague for conferences with Premier
Willem Drees, Foreign Minister Jo-
han W. Beyen and other officials.
Mr. Dulles said he saw some of
the flood zone on the flight from
Bonn.
"It is a terrible thing," Mr. Dulles
was heard to say three times.
Informed sources said Mr. Dulles
told the Germans:
April 1 is the deadline by which
European countries must show
"very definite signs" of ratifying
the six-nation European Army
Agreement. That's when the U. S-
Congress starts hearings on foreign
aid.
If the six-nation army treaty
is not ratified before the NATO
meeting in Paris on April 23 U. S.
military and financial aid to West
ern Europe will certainly be cut.
There is no alternative to the
European Army Pact.
The U. S. regards as complete
ly unfeasible the possibility of a
national German army participating
as a full member of NATO.
There is no enthusiasm in the
U. S. for any defense project that
does not tie the French and Ger
man military potentials together.
Mr. Dulles was reported "rather
encouraged" by his talks in Rome,
Paris, London and Bonn.
LONDON, Feb. 6 Britain
pledged today to give close support
to a united West European Army
including loans of men and planes
but held out in her refusal to be
come a full military partner.
Proposals announced today pledge
Britain's willingness to lend help in
joint air defense, training opera
tions, exchange of plane squadrons,
and other matters.
AMSTERDAM, Feb. 6—Low-fly
ing American military planes speed
ed repair work in Holland's flood
zone today by dumping rocks and
sandbags, bomb-style, directly into
gaps in dikes, the Dutch Radio re
ported.
