Member Governments Refuse to Increase Contributions to I.r.o.; Order Budget Slashes

A majority of the member governments of the Preparatory Commission for the International Refugee Organization have refused to increase their contributions to the organization and, as a result, the secretariat will have to ##lash its original budget, it was revealed here following a closed meeting of the commission this morning.

The secretariat has been instructed to draw up a budget for a maximum of $115,645,000, which is all the commission can expect to obtain if all the governments signatory to the I.R.O. Charter ratify their signatures and pay their contributions promptly. Full and speedy ratification and payment is considered doubtful by observers here. In addition, it was pointed out that among the various payments anti##pated are millions of dollars in non-convertible currency.

The pace at which the Prepartory Commission has been proceeding has led observers to comment that it is unlikely that it will be able to accomplish its assigned mission within the three-year period on which most of its present plans are based.

J.D.C. REPRESENTATIVE CRITICIZES TREND TO BURDEN PRIVATE RELIEF GROUPS

The trend, which is becoming more obvious daily, to throw a greater share of the {SPAN}##rden{/SPAN} of caring for the refugees on the voluntary relief agencies was attacked by Joel {SPAN}##{/SPAN} Fisher, Joint Distribution Committee observer at the meeting. Fisher pointed out to various representatives that their governments were not living up to obligations which they assumed when they signed the I.R.O. Charter.

Later, Fisher, who is the J.D.C.’s general counsel in Paris, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that the voluntary agencies cannot be expected to relieve the I.R.O. of its basic constitutional responsibilities of caring for and resettling refugees. ## said the J.D.C. was disturbed at the trend to transfer inter-governmental obligations, for which the I.R.O. received governmental funds, to the relief agencies which were privately financed and have limited funds.

He pointed out that the I.R.O. proposes cutting the daily food ration for re##gees in Austria to 1,550 calories, leaving to the voluntary groups the problem of asking up the up the daily 2,015 calories which both the I.R.O. and the Food and Agriculture administration, another U.N. affiliate, agree is a bare subsistence ration. “Under ##sse circumstances, unless the United Jewish Appeal is able to raise more funds, ter?ible suffering will ensue among the Jewish DP’s who are spending the third winter in ##mps,” Fisher concluded.