The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1943-09-23
RUSSIAN ACCORD
VITAL TO WORLD
Continued From Page One)

1t can be shown, I think, that
both the Free Germany proposal
from Moscow and the uncon-
ditional surrender formula from
Casablanca beg the question. Thus
we may ask the Russians what
guarantees they intend to take that
a free German government will
not be a Democratic facade be-
hind which the military caste, the
Nazi party, the Pan-Germans, the
secret police, conspire, as they did
during the Weimar Republic, for
the revival of German military
power Is or 20 years hence. The
Russians, on the other hand, may
ask us how we propose to end the
military government we mean to
set up, and how we propose to
find German government which
We can rely upon when our troops
are withdrawn.
A thorough search for an ma
sWer to these two difficult uues-
tons must bring us to a common
ground. The Russians are bound
to seek military guarantees which
make it certain that a Democratic
German government cannot be
undermined by an underground
militarist conspiracy and propa-
ganda. For a free Germany can
remain free and hope to become
strong and reliable only if it is
certain that, for at least a gener-
alton, it cannot be subverted.
We, on the other hand, are bound
to seek the constituent elements of
free and reliable Germany with
in the framework of our military
guarantees. We do not wish to be
bothered forever with the govern
ment of Germany, and we could
not be even if we now thought so.
The two fermulae are, there
fore, complementary. the Rus
slams emphasizing a free Germany
and we emphasizing the guaran-
ties against the revival of mill
tarist Germany. The CO m m n
ground is to promote a free Ger
many within the framework of in
disputably adequate military guar
antics.
What are adequate guarantees?
In the last analysis they are the
firmly agreed conviction in Rus
STA. Britain, and America that they
will unite in enforcing treaty of
peace which forbids the reconstitu-
ton of German militarism.
If the three great powers write
such treaty of peace and if we
and all the other United Nations
ratify it, we shall have. I submit,
the one military commitment nee
essary to establish peace in the
Western world. Upon that founda
ton we can erect larger asso-
citation for the settlement of Sec
ondary disputes. for the develop
ment of international law and the
promotion of commerce and well
fare.
We must fix it in our minds that
the paramount issue is whether
we unite in order to make certain
that Germany does not make a
third bid for world domination. If
we do unite on this issue, we shall
all have the reality Of the alliances
we need for our security and the
assurance of peace that must be
had before any larger and looser
association can be set up. For the
larger association cannot prevent
war: it can flourish only if great
wars have already been rendered
If we do not unite with the Rus
slams on the German question, then
Germany is bound to return to
For our failure to
agree will mean one terrible and
thing: that we shall
bid against each other in the post
war era for the military support
of Germany. 1t would mean that
either the Russians or the British
and ourselves will favor the re-
vival of the German military pow
er in the disastrous attempt to
win the new Germany away from
each other.
That would be the absolutely Ger
tain prelude to a third world war.
We should then have squandered
OUR victory, and the only possible
gamers would be those Germans
who will dream of revenge and
will plot for another chance at the
domination of the world.
This being the essential truth, it
will prevail once the heads of all
three governments put their whole
minds on the problem and make
sure that the current conversa-
tons are conducted by men who
deal in the realities rather than
in the incidents, who know that
the world is round and not flat,
who see the forest as we'll as the
trees, the shrubs and the weeds.
--V-
j