 It's time for the Lawn Jean Chronoscope, a television journal of the important issues of the hour brought to you every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, a presentation of the Lawn Jean Wettner Watch Company, maker of Lawn Jean, the world's most honored watch, and Wettner Distinguished Companion to the World Honored Lawn Jean. Good evening, this is Frank Knight. May I introduce our co-editors for this edition of the Lawn Jean Chronoscope? Mr. William Bradford Huey, author and analyst, and Mr. Elliott Haynes of United Nations World. Our distinguished guest for this evening is the Honorable J.H. Van Royen, Ambassador to Washington from the Netherlands. Mr. Van Royen, you of course represent the Dutch nation, which has always been extremely friendly to the American people. Also, for centuries you've been perhaps the most world-minded people in the world. You're great traders, and so we are very much interested in your attitudes toward what's happening in the world today, sir. Now, first of all, how does your country regard the community effort that's being made to oppose Russian expansionism, namely the North Atlantic Treaty Organization? Are you supporters of it? We certainly are, Mr. Huey. As a matter of fact, the NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization is a cornerstone of our foreign policy. And are you also in favor of creating a European army? We are. We are also strong adherents of the European army. We are doing all in our power to come to a ratification of the European Defense Treaty as soon as possible. That means that you are not afraid of Germans being converted into soldiers again. We would welcome German military assistance for the defense of the European continent. Mr. Ambassador, the first European nation to sign this European Defense Community Agreement has been Germany. Hasn't it? The first one to ratify it. Ratify it, rather, yes. Do you see any possibility of your country ratifying this agreement soon? I do indeed, and I think that either immediately before or immediately after the summer recess of our parliament, the second chamber, the lower chamber of our parliament will ratify the treaty. Well, that would leave about four or five other countries to ratify, wouldn't it? Yes, it would. Do you see any possibility of their ratification, early ratification? Well, we in Holland are very hopeful of an early ratification and sincerely trust that it will come soon. Well, that's particularly interesting, I think, sir, because your country shares a common boundary with Germany and our viewers will recall that your country perhaps suffered more from German invasion than any other western nation. And yet, are you saying that that you welcome the economic revival of Germany and you even welcome the military revival of Germany? We are realists, Mr. Joé, and I think that we welcome both the economic revival and the military participation of Germany in a concerted European effort. Well, Mr. Van Royen, for the last month and a half or more, the Russian government has been speaking peace, talking peace, and generally behaving peacefully. Do you think that military arrangements designed to combat possible communist aggression are as important now than they were, say, four months ago? They are certainly just as important, if not for psychological reasons, even more so. We in Holland feel that the worst possible thing we could do would be to let down our guard just at this moment. And we feel that on the one hand, military preparedness and the other hand, unity among the nations of the pre-world is an absolute prerequisite. Do you believe that the risk of war is less today than it was six months ago, sir? I wouldn't say that, Mr. Joé. I think it's probably about the same. It looks on account of the new Russian tactics, as though the danger was receding. But I should say there's about the same possibility of a Russian blunder or a Russian miscalculation and a third world war as a consequence of such a miscalculation. You're not afraid of a similar blunder in the part of the West. You don't think we would set off a third world war by mistake? I think that possibility is much less, but I think it's human to make mistakes. We have to watch out for it, too. We have to watch out for it, but I think it's negligible. Moving on, sir, this subject of trade is something that our people are very much interested in. And since you are the world's great traders, we'd like to have your views on what you're doing about trade now. Now, the Dutch are, of course, dependent on world trade. Are they not? We certainly are. We always have been. I don't know. We're a trader and seafaring nation. And what is the state of your trade? Is it greater this year than it was last year? Has the volume been increasing? Our total trade is increasing, and our exports this year for the first time have equaled and slightly surpassed our imports. But not as far as this country is concerned. You still have a dollar gap, so far. We certainly have. In other words, the number and amount of products and articles which we import from this country are a greater degree larger than those that we can export to your country and pay for them. What do you want to buy from Americans, sir? We want to buy machinery and we want to buy agricultural products. In other words, the necessities of life, necessities for our economic apparatus. And so, in order to do that, you need dollars, and the only way you can get those dollars is to sell us something. We haven't yet discovered another way except by aid. And what do you want to sell us in order to earn those dollars so that you can buy our wheat and our machinery? We also have farm products, dairy products, though of a different nature than those that we want to import from you. But as you know, lately there have been certain restrictions clamped on to our cheese exports this country. And that has not been encouraging for the buildup of a line of exports. Well, Mr. Van Royen, if we keep on prohibiting you from selling cheese to us and so forth, will you be forced to turn to the East Europe and Russia and the general communist area for the wheat and the machinery that you need? Will you be forced to trade with the East? I wouldn't put it so strongly as that, Miss Ains, but I think that if the countries of Europe as a whole are prevented from trading with the United States, the temptation to trade with the countries behind the iron curtain in goods which are not strategic would become very great. Well, Mr. Van Royen, a number of Americans are beginning to think that that might not be so bad, that perhaps instead of letting all these European goods in, let's let Europe trade with the East to some extent. Do you think that East-West trade is necessarily a bad thing? Putting it that way, no, it's not necessarily a bad thing. It depends which side benefits most. If it's the free world that is benefited by that more than the countries behind the iron curtain, and if the free world therefore gets into a stronger position, it's all to the good. And you think it's possible that the free world might benefit more by such trade than communist countries would? Undoubtedly, depending on the kind of goods which we trade in. Of course, the very fact that you are a great trading nation, you are handicapped more by the iron curtain than any other nation would be, aren't you? The fact that the world is divided and that there is an iron curtain handicapped Holland, doesn't it? We certainly are, unless we can find another outlet for our goods. What do you need to buy from behind the iron curtain? Among other things, such necessities as coal, wheat, lumber, things which we need for our national economy. Mr. Ambassador, do you think that in exchange for those, if you got them from those communist countries, you could sell them goods which would not help their military power, which would not aid their war effort? You could give them things which wouldn't help them to fight a war? That is certainly what we've been doing all along, but naturally they are inclined to make higher demands on us all the time and inclined to demand that we ship goods which are strategic, which we have constantly refused. So if you could, you would rather trade with the United States and get the things you need than trade with communist countries? Far rather, without any doubt. Our people, of course, remember the disastrous floods that your country has suffered in the past few months. Now, how is the rate of recovery from those floods? The rate has been very encouraging up to the present. We have prepared about 80% of the dykes that were breached and we have drained and reclaimed almost the same proportion of the area that was inundated. And is that going to affect your commitments to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the fact that you suffered this disaster? Fortunately, we're not. Our government has formally stated that we will honor our commitments to the NATO to the full. And moreover, as you may know, we had just 10 days before these floods struck the southwestern part of our country, renounced economic aid from the United States. And our government has also given it to understand in Washington that we will not again ask for that economic aid during this current fiscal year. Mr. Van Royen, is the standard of living of your country now that you've recovered from the floods a decent one so that people won't turn to communism in fear and distrust of your country? Yes, at present our standard of living is quite satisfactory. Although, of course, there is a certain amount of unemployment, though not on an increasing scale. As a final question, sir, one of the things that we're concerned with in our country now is what other people in the West think of us. And of course, many Americans were in Holland during the Second War, and we've been friendly, and we just wonder if there is a substantial feeling of anti-Americanism in Holland today. Oh, no, I think you will find less anti-American feeling or tendency to criticize America in the Netherlands than in another country in Western Europe. We, as people, know that you are our friends. We are grateful for what the United States has done. We're grateful for your participation in the liberation of our country from the Nazi oppression, for the martial aid which we received, and by which we were able to get back to our feet much faster than we'd have done by our own efforts. Well, thank you, sir, for being with us this evening. It was a pleasure. Thank you. The opinions that you've heard our speakers express tonight have been entirely their own. The editorial board for this edition of The Lawn Jean Chronoscope was Mr. William Bradford Huey and Mr. Elliot Haynes. Our distinguished guest was the Honorable J.H. Van Royen, Ambassador to Washington from the Netherlands. We're pleased that The Lawn Jean Chronoscope is one of the television programs selected by Washington for rebroadcast to our armed forces around the world. And wherever in the world The Lawn Jean Chronoscope may go, it's virtually certain that Lawn Jean watches are already there on the wrists of many members of our armed forces, on the wrists of the citizens of these foreign countries, and in the windows of their fine jewelry establishments. Such is the fame of Lawn Jean, truly the world's most honored watch. For among the world's finest watches, only Lawn Jean watches have won ten World Fair Grand Prizes, twenty-eight gold medals, and so many honors for accuracy from the great government observatories. And Lawn Jean watches are sold and serviced in the capitals and major cities of more than a hundred countries throughout the world. Now some day soon, you may wish to purchase for yourself or as an important gift just about the finest watch made anywhere in the world. Then you will choose well to choose Lawn Jean, the world's most honored watch. And unbelievably, you may buy and own or proudly give a Lawn Jean watch for as little as seventy-one fifty. Lawn Jean, the world's most honored watch, the world's most honored gift, premier product of the Lawn Jean Witner Watch Company, since 1866, maker of watches of the highest character. We invite you to join us every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evening at this same time for the Lawn Jean Chronoscope, the television journal of the important issues of the hour, broadcast on behalf of Lawn Jean, the world's most honored watch, and Witner, distinguished companion watch to the world-honored Lawn Jean. This is Frank Knight reminding you that Lawn Jean and Witner watches are sold and serviced from coast to coast by more than 4,000 leading jewelers who proudly display this emblem, Agency for Lawn Jean Witner Watches. Next Monday night, see the Ford fiftieth anniversary show on the CBS television network.