Toledo union journal. [volume] (Toledo, Ohio) 1942-current, 1943-11-26

Clayton w. All this is
Fountain to the good.
But there is one point that
seems to be generally overlooked
in the sound and fury of ap-
plause. Our attention has been
focused all too sharply on the
tools, to the neglect of the ma
terials with which we have to
work.
The Moscow pact is not an end
in itself. 1t is no more an as
surance of peace than was the
Versailles Treaty which ended
the last World War. 1t is SIM
ply a very rough outline of an
agreement on a set of principles
by which, under continuing ia
vorable conditions, guarantees of
permanent peace may be worked
out in the future. This some
thing to remember.
TOUGH TRIUMPH
Triumph that it is, in the art
of diplomacy, the Moscow pact
has been a tough one to achieve.
Years of painful education of the
American public-plus Pearl
Harbor-went into the making
Of this four-power agreement.
We had to learn, under and end
less humping of hard, historic
experience, that Podunk and
Main Street were not the bouu-
daries of the world.
And the learning is still not
finished.
There are still among us those
hard-shelled isolationists who
cannot see beyond the boards Of
the back fence. Hearst, McCor-
mick and Patterson, the jour
nalistic trio of moss-backs, are
pouring out pecks of poison in
denunciation of the Moscow
agreement.
1t will take more than a pro-
longed patting of Mr.. Hull's ag-
ing back to make this thing work.
PRODUCT OF PRESSURE
The Moscow pact is largely a
creation of public pressure. Those
progressive forces in America
which honestly believe in work
ing with the Soviet Union for the
good of all humanity deserve
praise for their tireless applica-
ton of heat to the pants of the
State Department.
But the toughest part of the
job, that of making he pact work
to attain the desired results, is
still ahead Of us.
Blind hatred of the Soviet
Union, from which substantial
sections of America still suffer,
stands as one huge stone in our
road. Mr.. Churchill's determina-
tion to preserve the status quo
of the British Empire also pre-
sents a serious obstacle in the
path to permanent peace.
These are blockades to success
full pursuit of the principles ar
rived at in Moscow. The pact
will be meaningless unless true
progressives everywhere continue
to assault these barriers to eff
fective international cooperation.
TASK FOR LABOR
Labor has a vital part to play
in the job of making the Moscow
pact work out for the good of the
common people the world over
The thing we have to realize
is that the agreement will only
be as effective as the American
government participating in it
permits it to be. A government
representing the industrialists
and bankers and landlords of this
country would certainly not lend
itself to honest cooperation with
the Soviet Union. A government
sympathetic to Imperialism
British, American or otherwise
would not make the pact work
either.
We must also beware of the
American Communists, whose
silly sallies at revolution in this
country, coupled with their mania
for flip-flopping, have prejudiced
many people against Russia.
The Moscow pact will only
work for peace and world secur-
ity if we organize and maintain
a government representing those
of US who honestly want to make
it work.
ed to serve them as their serv-