Askov American., 1943-12-30
Must Police World

The tasks and duties of the
World Police Force under the
Ely Culbertson World Fedora
ton Plan are discussed by Mr..
Culbertson in the article below
which concludes discussion by
him and Devere Allen, editor of
Worldover Press, which has been
published in this paper.
Through National Contingents
the police force world operate a.
mong nations to maintain peace
and order in the same manner
that a police force functions in
municipality, Mr.. Culbertson
states, and it is necessary that
such a system be established to
make further wars impossible.
The Culbertson article follows:
Your third question actually poses
a number of queries. You start
by asking, How can we hope to
create an international society if we
are only neutral on the major
issues of economic reform ?" I am,
you assert, mot neutral" since my
plan "calls for civilized work to pro-
mote free trade and economic ad-
vances toward higher living stand
ards. But where" you ask, ''is the
instrumentality to guarantee that
work toward these ends can be
carried on through the regional and
world organizations directly 20
1 think 1 can answer this question
by setting out in this respect, per-
haps more clearly than l have done
in previous writings, the nature
and structure of the World Fedora
ton Plan. In the first place, my
play is neutral on the major issues
of economic reform" It is a non
theological plan whose principle aim
is the abolition of war. and it is
neutral on economic as we'll as pol
itical issues for the simple reason
that, in this world of conflicting
ideologies, any plan subscribing to
one in particular theology would be
unacceptable to the partisans of all
other doctrines and would therefore
stand no chance of being put into
effect. And we cannot afford to
wait for the millennial theological
unification of mankind before putt
ing through a plan to stop war: for
if men do not eliminate war, it will
very soon eliminate them.
With regard to economics. the
fundamental purpose" of the World
Federation Plan is stated in the
Summary as being "to raise the gen.
eral living standard of the nations
of the world, and to eliminate ex-
cessive trade barriers" Certainly,
there is nothing theological or un-
neutral in calling for a higher -liv-
ing standard - something that all
men desire. Nor is it in any way
theological to call for the elimina-
ton of excessive trade barriers"
This does not even, as you imply,
advocate the establishment of free
trade, but only the removal of super
fluous tariff walls.
But although the World Fedora
ton Plan is neutral on the economic
issues, it does provide-contrary to
your apparent implication-''the in
strumentality to guarantee that work
toward the general end of higher
living standard "can be carried on
through the regional and world Or
ganizations." The instrumentality is
provided in the various economic
agencies specified in the Constitu-
ton of the World Federation Plan.
Furthermore, there are a number of
special instruments - Priority Trea-
ties, Sealed Highways, etc.-which
are provided for the solution of par
ticular economic problems.
But the essential point that must
be understood is that all these in
strumentalities are merely provided
for the use of countries if and when
they desire to utilize them. The
World Federation Government has
no power to force their use on its
constituent nations.
1t is through these agencies too, as
well as through the normal means of
propaganda and democratic change,
that men can work to Secure basic
changes in the economic and social
order" You should remember that
such changes would most likely be
far harder to effect if-aS you seem
to suggest-the World Federation
should adopt a definite theological
stand on these matters. This would
entail great danger that one ideo-
logy might be frozen" on the world,
and since it is impossible to accom-
plish such a freezing" with abso-
lutte effectiveness, and since world
conditions change, and in changing