III. ECONOMIC INFORMATION
 
A.      PARTISAN RESOURCES
 
     Although Jugoslavia is unusually rich in natural resources,
 
the. war has almost destroyed her ability to obtain any current
 
yield from these resources. Hence, She is alarmingly short of
 
every kind of consumption goods, both necessities and luxeries. Nor is there any reason to believe
 
that she will be able to alter her position in .this respect daring the next few months.
 
Since the country is rich in natural resources, its problem both now and after the war is one of
 
manpower, skills and machinery. Her manpower has been serioasly depleted.. Probably
 
no less than 12% or 14% of her useful employables have been
 
killed so far dining the war; and the post-war effectiveness
 
of the remainder of her employables will be seriously affected
 
by malnutrition, hardship, disease, and the other damaging
 
concomitants of protracted and severe war conditions.
 
thermore, even before the war modern machinery was scarce in
 
Jugoslavia, industrial skills were at low Ievel, and conditions
 
were far from favorable for the improvement of either of these
 
defects. Therein seems to lie the most promising single ele-
 
ment in Jugoslavia's post-war outlook. Whereas her total, population strength has been seriously
 
depleted by the ravages of war, she may approach her post-war economic reconstraction
 
problelas with attitudes on political organization better cal-