50 Years Ago Today
DIRECTIVE FROM PURIFOY: US Ambassador John Purifoy in a speech today recommended the immediate implementation in Greece of a six-point economic program to enable the country to make effective use of aid from the Marshall Plan. Speaking at a Propeller Club dinner, Purifoy asked Greeks to double their efforts and their leaders to sacrifice their personal and partisan interests in the interests of the prosperity of the Greek people. The government, he emphasized, had an urgent duty to implement a series of difficult and often anti-democratic measures to avoid unpleasant developments. The six main points which the government had to bear in mind for the country’s economic growth and which the ambassador said require urgent attention are: price and wage controls, rationing of basic goods, a reduction in state spending and corresponding increase in state income, a healthy program of imports and investments, a realistic agricultural policy, and finally, credit restrictions. SENTENCES: Yesterday an Athens military court issued a ruling on members of the Piraeus Communist organization. Of the 35 accused, 18 were sentenced, including K. Mavroskotis, who was sentenced to death. BELOYIANNIS: The trial began in Athens yesterday of the Beloyiannis gang, consisting of 93 members of the Communist Party of Greece. Finally, Simitis should take advantage of the reshuffle to form two or three committees that will be under his supervision, for examining and proposing solutions to big issues such as public administration, the educational system, and reorganization of the institutional framework for business activity.
