Browning chief., 1943-10-22
WNU Service, Union Trust Building
Washington, D. C.

WNU Service, Union Trust Building,
Washington, D. C.
Through the past days, Washing
ton has been anxiously watching a
very trying, very delicate and diff
ficult operation - the attempt to
break in a stubborn three-horse
team which has never pulled togeth-
er before.
The difficult journey toward an un-
derstanding to be reached by per-
sonal conversations across the table
between Britain, the United States
and Russia has begun. Following
perhaps secret tripartite conferences
between representatives of the three
nations is the planned meeting of
the heads of the three foreign Of
fees. Questions frankly discussed
with unsolved problems left open (if
plans don't 60 amiss) will then be
taken up between Roosevelt, Stain
and Churchill personally.
It is a tremendous undertaking
This three-horse team has never run
in harness together before. America
has never been harnessed at all !;
Soviet Russia has had only one short
and violent experience-that with
Germany-which ended in disaster;
and as for Britain, she is accus-
toned to being lead-horse; there
fore, lot of patience will be needed
to hitch all three abreast.
There is a whole library of docu-
r,totiNY n fhof oil for
one, one-for-all agreement among
these three nations is impossible.
But it must be remembered that
there were 13 powerful reasons once
why United States of America was
impossible too.
The present goal is not the forma-
ton of triple alliance. The present
problem is simply to get common
sense agreement between three ma
tons without which postwar situa-
ton is bound to arise which Prime
Minister Churchill described as
"confusion." And when he used that
word, he made a new high for Eng
Gsh understatement. Few doubt that
he meant war.
Arguments Against
AS said, there are plenty of rea-
sons which can be cited why the
United States and Britain and Rus
sia cannot possibly agree but there
are other reasons why they can.
There are two things which stand
out in most peoples minds as evil
dences that Stain is not playing ball
now and doesn't want to. One is the
recurrent complaint in the official
Russian press and earlier statements
by Stain himself to the effect that
Russia is decidedly displeased with
the Allies for not having built a
second front by invading Europe
from the British Isles. The other is
the Moscow sponsorship of a Free
Germany committee which appears
to hold out better terms to Germany
than unconditional surrender which
the Allies demand.
Recently, talked with a military
man who suggested that perhaps the
call for second front after the in
vasion of Italy was part of an agree
ment with the Allies to confuse Ger
many. Churchill has said that he
was assured by Stain, when the Rus
sian drive began this summer, that
the Russians were confident that
they could withstand German at
tack. AS things have turned out,
the Germans have not been able to
counterattack. They have ordered
a general retreat 1t was admitted
by military experts at first that this
is planned and orderly retreat.
After the invasion of Italy, the Ger
mans admitted that it was a general
retreat. Now it looks like a rout.
In other words, the creation of the
third front" in the Mediterranean
has forced the Germans to give up
the idea of attempting counter
offensive. But since the slender
hope of Hitler lies in dissension
among the United Nations, why
should Russia let him know that she
was satisfied with any Allied action?
Free Germany Committee
AS to the Free Germany commit
tee, Russia itself has not made any
direct official statement concerning
it, has not officially backed up its
program. 1t is composed of German
prisoners in Russia who demand OF
their fellow-countrymen that Ger
many get rid of her present rulers
and surrender. That in itself is
something everyone wants to see.
How much short of unconditional
surrender that is, certainly is open
to friendly discussion. We know that