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CALL FOR UNITY BY
PACT NATIONS
ROME, Sun.-Leaders of the Atlantic Pact nations
yesterday called on Western Europe to hasten
towards greater unity as one of the most effective
means of building up security.
Thirty Ministers from 12
nations met in Mussolini's
sports stadium in the greatest
Atlantic Pact gathering yet
held, Reuters said.
Armed police and troops
blocked all the approaches to
the building, but there was no
sign that the Italian Commun
ist Party, the biggest in West
ern Europe, intended to inter
fere.
The meeting of the North At
lantic Council opened with
public speeches from Ministers
representing Britain, Canada,
Belgium, Italy and Denmark.
The British Foreign Minister
(Mr. Eden), speaking at an At
lantic Pact meeting for the first
time, said: "If anyone wishes
to test our intentions there are
scores of ways in which nego
tiations can be taken up at any
moment."
He described the rearmament
programme of the Western
Powers as a policy of restoring
the balance between East and
West after drastic post-war dis
armament among the Western
countries, and said that- the re
armament programme had
been undertaken reluctantly.
British Costs
The British Chancellor of the
Exchequer (Mr. Butler) arrived
by air yesterday to attend the
meeting of the council.
It is expected that he will tell
the conference that when
Britain's £4,500,000,000 sterl
ing three-year rearmament pro
gramme was launched it was
hoped to foot the bill without
American assistance, but soar
ing cdsts and an imminent eco
nomic crisis now made an allo
cation from U.S. miiltary-aid
appropriations essential.
The U.S. Secretary of State
(Mr. Acheson) promised mem
bers of the council yesterday
that the United States would
oppose any suggestion to
weaken or evacuate United
Nations positions in Korea in
the event of a Korean cease
fire agreement, the "New York
Times" correspondent said.
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