Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1944-04-15
COP Role il Treaties
Republican Leaders Must Help
Shape Peace Policies
BY Dapid Laurence


Shape Peace Policies
By David Laurence
The responsibility Of the Republican
party in the Congress Of the United
States to help shape American foreign
policy is 20 great that 1t is doutfw
whether the Republican leaders them.
selves are aware Of the Significant
role they are about to play.
This time the procedure with refer.
ence to an association Of nations or
international organization Is going to
be entirely different from what 1t was
In 1919. Great Britain and the other
powers dealt then with President VIII
son assuming that he had SUFFICIENT
support in the Senate to ratify any
treaty he made. But now Great Britain
and Russia are believed to have come
to the conclusion that there Is no use
bothering about an international or
ganization If the American Senate, for
example, is unwilling to participate In
the actual making Of the nav or
ganization 30 that American adher-
ence is assured.
We Determine the System"
This attitude is only natural. II
system Of collective security Is TO b
followed which will permit huge arma-
ments to be scaled down, then Britain
and Russia will follow one type Of
policy. If the participation OF the
United States in world organiza-
ton is to remain football Of Ameri-
can politics, then Russia wants free
hand and Britain a free hand in
Thus, in sense, what the United
States does will decide whether there
is to be a return to the system of
balances Of power and special alliances
or whether the four major powers are
sincerely going to try to build an inter-
national organization to which all
sovereign nations will be given q
chance to contribute military force to
maintain peace.
The, idea of a superstate or an
international police force made up OF
a separate organization at the COM
mand Of superstate has never had
much support here, though the term
international police force" has been
loosely used to denote the idea Of
strong backing for any future league
or association, which, of course, has
always been regarded as an important
objective.
It will be recalled that Prime Minister
Churchill indicated at one time that
he favored regional organizations for
the maintenance Of peace, and this was
interpreted as meaning that he did not
favor system Of collective security It
develops that the Prime Minister was
urging the regional plan primarily be-
cause, knowing American politics, he
doubted whether the United States would
adopt an attitude any different from
that which she exhibited In 1920. Britain,
in any event, has had to make plans on
the assumption that the negative infiu-
ence OF American politics would super
sede the broad considerations Of human
betterment that must apply II the next
world war is to be prevented.
What Will Senate Think?
The truth is the Europeans have been
in all sincerity saying again and again
to officials Of the United States, when.
ever postwar plans are mentioned, some-
thing along this line: Eyes, but what
does your Senate think? What II Mr..
Roosevelt isn't in office, what will the
Republicans do?"
Secretary Hull no doubt has had In
mind that the American people would,
If given the facts, insist that politics
be ecbewed and that q bipartisan
committee begin at once to show the
foreign governments that the United
States will take an active part in an
international organization. In fact, tbs
Senate may actually agree in advance
on the draft Of a proposal for the other
nations to accept. This would be the
greatest contribution that could be
made to world peace and one that
would hearten the members of our
armed services overseas to whom such
an achievement could then be pointed
out as the realization Of one of our
principal war aims.
When the international organization
Is established, the City of Washington
IS the logical place for its seat instead
OF Geneva or any other place in Europe.
The conflicting influences of European
countries and their persistence in a
form OF censorship of what Is printed
even in peacetimes makes it dificult for
public opinion to function helpfully.
BY holding sessions of the new interna-
tional organization in America, the OPP
portunity for discussion in the free at
mosphere Of free press would un-
questionably keep secret treaties and
special agreements from creating the
cleavages that lead to wars.
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