Evening star., 1943-11-19
Mr.. HuII's Report

Through his memorable report and
unprecedented personal appearance
at the joint session of Congress yes
terday Secretary Hull has added
new strength to the momentous work
of the Moscow Conference.
No secret agreements were entered
into or even suggested at Moscow
Nor were the principles of the Allan
TIC Charter compromised. Mr.. Hull
has made that so clear that we
should in the future hear no more
loose talk about it. Certain problems
such as those having to do with the
boundaries of Eastern Europe, could
not by their very nature be settled at
this juncture in the war, but there is
substantial ground for the belief
that when the time is ripe for settle
ment, satisfactory solutions will be
possible through frank and friendly
discussion"
Mr.. Hull's confidence in this re-
spect is based on the fact that
the dominant thought" at Moscow
was that when the shooting stops,
"co-operation among peace loving
nations in support of certain para
mount mutual interests will be al
most as compelling in importance
and necessity as it is today in sup
port OF the war effort" These COM
mon interests, for all the nations
concerned, will be "in national secu-
rity, in world order under law, in
peace, in the full promotion of the
political, economic and social well
fare OF their respective peoples-in
the principles and spirit of the At
lantlc Charter" 1t is worth noting
that Mr.. Hull emphasized to Congress
that the historic four power Decla-
ration of Moscow adopted as the
Foundation stone" of collective Sc
curity the principle of the sovereign
equality of all peace-loving states,
large or small. 1t may be fairly as
sumed from this that the border
questions of Eastern Europe will not
necessarily be disposed Of so sum-
marily as some commentators are
inclined to suggest.
"Of supreme Importance" in Mr..
Hulls words, 'is the fact that at the
conference the whole spirit of inter-
national cooperation, now and after
the war, was revitalized and given
practical expression. The confer
ence thus launched forward move
ment which, I am firmly convinced,
will steadily extend in scope and
effectiveness" Mr.. Hull is a man
who measures his words. 1t is all the
more significant, therefore, that he
has returned from Moscow confident
enough to say unequivocally to the
Senate and House that as the provi-
sions of the four-poWer declaration
take effect, there will no longer be
need for spheres of influence, for
alliances, for balance of power or any
other of the special arrangements
through which, in the unhappy past,
the nations strove to safeguard their
security or to promote their inter-
estS."
In saying this, Mr.. Hull has lost
none of his hard-headed realism. He
does not mean that a beautiful new
world is going to be born because of
what has been accomplished at Mos
COW. He means merely that the pro-
cedural groundwork for an effective
system of international collaboration
has been laid and that if we, if Rus
sia, Britain, China, the United States
and all peace-loving states capitalize
upon it to the full, there need be no
repetition of the kind of tragedy now
tormenting nearly the whole of man
kind.
The eff" here is big one. What
course we and other nations may
take ten, fifteen or twenty years from
now, no one can say. But to the
extent that Mr.. Hull has argued
eloquently and unanswerably in
favor of world cooperation and to
the extent that the work of the Mos
COW Conference shines as a great
beacon along that road, we have good
reason to hope for the best.