Evening star., 1941-08-24
Realists Fear Stalin's Ready
Acceptance of Peace Proposal
Hitler Offer Would Not Be Unexpected After
Capture of the Ukraine; Soviet SHES
at Democratic Allies
Bv Constantine Br0yn

as given by France to Great Britain IN
1899, is useless.
1t is remarkable that the Soviet gov
ernment is still treating the representa-
tives of bourgeois governments with sus-
picion. A British military mission ar
rived at Murmansk late in July and Is
reported to have landed in the local jail.
Apparently the Murmansk authorities
had not been informed by Moscow of the
arrival of the new associates. After a
good deal of telephoning, the mission was
sent under guard to Moscow. where it
was released with the due amount OF
apologies and treated with all the honor
proper toward an ally.
American military observers still are
cooling their heels in the Embassy at
Moscow. Not only are they not per-
mitted to go to the front, but they are
shadowed by the G. P. U. agents. Every
move they make is checked by the secret
service men and, unless they want to get
Russians in trouble, they must maintain
contacts only with people designated by
the government.
These are, of course, minor factors,
but shed peculiar light on the trust of
the U. S. S. r. government in the repre-
sentatives of the United States and Great
Britain-their new comrades in arms"
High-ranking Soviet officers are said to
be grousing because, while the Soviet
forces bear the whole brunt of the Ger
man onslaught, the British and the
American armies ARE having tea and
playing football The leaders in Mos
COW and at the front are reported to say
that if the Germans are checked it will
be because of the bravery of the Com
munist soldiers. The bourgeois armies
have contributed nothing toward the de-
feat of the Germans. Even the arrival
of large British force in the Middle
East, ready to move into Iran, is looked
at askance by the Russian high COM
mand. That force is more suspected
than welcome.
Offer Expected.
In certain diplomatic and political
quarters it is wondered whether at
given moment-in none too distant fu-
ture-the Soviet government will not
listen to German suggestions" Though
fighting valiently, the Russian armies
are being badly hammered.
At present the main German effort is
in the ukraine, the part of Russia the
Reich has coveted since 1918. Many re-
sponsible officials would not be surprised
to hear the Germans offer an armistice
to Stain after the whole of the Ukraine
n "a. ,,,J ,;ot
power drastically curtailed.
1t Is true that Hitler has launched a
crusade against Communism. But he
had done the same thing in the past for
a period of six years. 1t was not difficult
for him to switch in July, 1889, and call
Stain his dear friend When the situa-
ton suited the Fuehrer he called him a
traitor again and menace to civiliza-
ton. If Hitler and the German high
command are satisfied few weeks hence
that the striking power of the Soviet
Army has been annihilated and peace,
with the Ukraine as prize, can be OBJ
tained from the Russian dictator with
out the unpleasant thought of a winter
campaign, there is no saying what he
may do and how Stain may react to
peace proposal. Those who judge the
situation in cold blood maintain that if
the Russian Premier can see possibility
to maintain himself in Office and also
preserving the Communist doctrines, he
may not reject eventual peace proposals
from Germany
Lone Rescue Line.
The resistance of the Soviet armies
is predicated on the amount of war ma
terial it can obtain from the United
States. Nobody questions our willing
ness to provide the Russians with every
thing they need to fight the Axis. But
it will take some time before we can
overcome the physical difficulties Of
sending help to Russia. There is only
one route open at the present time-the
route across the Pacific, by way of Vladi-
vostok, thence by the only existing rail-
way-the Transsiberian - to the Urals.
The second route, by way of Murmansk,
is exposed to the attack of German SUBJ
marines and airplanes pased on the Nor
weglan fjords and the third route -
to the Persian Gulf, thence by road via
Iran to the Caucasus-is chemerica1.
There. are not even dirt roads in that
section of Asia.
At present we are sending small guam