Askov American., 1943-12-09
Plan

In view of the public interest
in Ely Culbertson's World Fed
Grafton Plan, and its author, this
newspaper will publish a series
of articles on a discussion of the
plan by Mr. Culbertson, and
Devere Allen. author of stand
ard work on the history of efforts
for world peace, and editor of
Worldover Press.
In opening the friendly and in
teresting discussion Mr.. Allen
asks number of pertinent ques-
tions which will be answered
later by Mr. Culbertson. The first
installment of the Allen article,
as released by Worldover Press,
is published below:
Dear Ely Culbertson:
Off across the River Styx, in the
only region not yet investigated by
geopoliticians, I can fancy an agi-
tated conference of oldtime peace
planners. Here would be gathered
Hugo Grotius, King Podiebrad of
Bohemia, William Penn, Emeric
Cruce, Father Vittoria, the Duke of
Sully, the Able st. Pierre, William
Ladd, and numerous others. In
magnificent defiance of that SOW
ereignty nature has decreed for diff
ferent epochs, and an equal disregard
for the isolationism imposed by meta
physics, addresses from the floor
would reveal a dignified interest in
current systems to prevent war. But
in the washrooms and corridors, one
covert question would be on every
ones lips: What's this Culbertson got
that we haven't got?
Well, you could answer You could
report the benefits of social evolu-
ton, of which you can take advan-
tage. You could tell them that in
stead of starting with an idea and
seeking to persuade the world, you
have taken the world as it is and
attempted to formulate ideas that
would work in concrete situations.
You could argue that in your scheme
for world federation, you have pro-
vided for peaceable changes in the
status quo, for the lack of which
previous efforts at international Or
ganization have failed. You could
say that you have recognized the
need of carrying along a great va
riety of nations in discouragingly
different stages of development, and
set up mechanisms that would en-
able them to maintain an indispensa-
Bile measure of working agreement.
You could insist that your quota
force principle, however modified by
experience, cuts through two dan
gers: the danger of having no gen.
uine international police powers at
all, and the danger of setting up mon
strous supervisory imperialisms to
preserve a status satisfying to half
the world and odiouS to the rest.
These are no mean achievements of
constructive thought. 1 would expect
that, in our Elysian potential twelfth
regional federation, these departed
program-makers would at least have
the ample time to read your plan
before condemning it, which is more
than can be said of some contempo-
rary critics.
Nevertheless, there are certain is
sues with which, it seems to me, you
have not yet dealt in sufficient
clarity. Perhaps 1 have overlooked
something. Perhaps you could con-
vince me, and others, by elaboration
of a few points or by re-shaping your
treatment At any rate, it would be
interesting to some of us, and per-
haps profitable to all hands, to see
your response to specific queries.
/. Have you not vastly underesti-
mated, in your outline of II regional
federations making up an eventual
world unity, the frictions and ami
mosities and sharp divergency of in
terests and policies inside each pro-
posed federation? Or the tendency,
Immediately in some cases or on
future occasions in others, for a
nation to find among its regional as
sociates distressing opposition to what
IL OSeiilS lIS IiSilIS VI HeSSSSlIleS,
while winning encouragement from
members of other regional groups
entirely?
Your plan wisely provides for a
change from the regional federation
to another when the states and peo-
pies all around are willing; but can
such steps ever be taken as fast as
crises might develop and burst out
precipitately into disaster?
Some of the bloodiest and most
devastating conflicts have taken place
between peoples inhabiting the
same territories or speaking the same
language. Civil wars have been more