The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1935-09-19
American Diplomacy
NATIONAL PRESS; BLDG

WaShington.-For fifty years
American diplomatic methods have
been the subject of tittering among
the trained agents of foreign ma
lions. True they never laughed
openly or in loud guffaw at the
international proctices of the Unit
ed States, but it is a well-known
fact that. American methods were
always mentioned somewhat in a
spirit of mirth. And well they might
be. The American government with
its system of constantly changing
its foreign emissaries has had few
outstanding diplomats and never
has kept those few outstanding in
dividuals on the job very long I'M
der any circumstances. The condi-
ton of American diplomatic capa-
city is show n no better than by the
latest debacle-the Russian recog-
milton case. AS usual, the American
government got licked on the dip
lomatic field. It may reassert itself
yet by breaking off relations with
the Russian Soviet government but
1t is uncertain at this writing
whether that can be done with
safety. ~ =. -...... +.
What I am trying to say is that
In according recognition to the So
viets, American statesmen were not
clever enough to guard against the
more shrewd and better trained ne
gotiators sent here by Dictator Sta
lin. The result is that our protests
about Soviet communistic propa-
ganda in the United States were re-
jected, tossed bodily out of the win
dow with an ejaculation that the
objection had no basis.
Let us go back to the original ne
gotiations, "the events leading up
to the tragedy as it were. It will |
be remembered that in 1888, Pres
ident Roosevelt invited the Russian
government to send a commission
here for a discussion of relations,
or lack of them, between Moscow
and Washington. He told the Rus
slams that he wanted to be good
neighbor to them and wanted them
to be good neighbor to us. He saw
No insurmountable problem or OBJ
stacle to recognition of the existing
government of all the Russians; the
government was functioning and It
was entitled to be regarded as a
sovereign power. He proposed, there
fore, that consideration be given
to establishment of formal relations
between the two powers.
Maxim Litvinoff, a Soviet official
corresponding to our secretary of
state, appeared in Washington and
for recognition were
open.
It was decided early in those con-
versations that the war debt of the
Czarist government to the United
States should be set aside and a
settlement worked out after the two
nations had reached an agreement
on other phases of international re-
lationships. The Soviet always has
disclaimed any obligation in con-
nection with the debt contracted by
Gar Nicholas during the World war
and the United States has had moth
ing to show for the several hundred
millions advanced to the Gear ex-
cept some I. O. US.
Numerous Hitches
The proceedings developed nu-
merous bitches but each was ironed
out in turn and in a series ofecom-
munications exchanged between Mr..
Roosevelt and M. Litvinoff, the var
ious pledges and promises usual be-
tween nations were made. Included |
in these pledges was one which |
since has become the bug-bear of a
controversy and which, if American
recognition is withdrawn, will be !
the crux of the incident.