Evening star., 1944-10-23
Fucinq the Issue

| NJ
When President Roosevelt told
the Foreign Policy Association that
our representative on the postwar
security council must be endowed
in advance with authority to act, he
took a position that is coura-
geous and which, it is believed, will
eventually be accepted as the COR
rect one.
This is the first time that the
President has faced this momentous
question squarely and stated his po-
sition in unequivocal language. Gov
ernor Dewey has yet to declare him.
self with respect to it in words that
are plain and unmistakable. He
has indicated that he agrees with
Mr.. Roosevelt's view, but he will serve
his country we'll if, before the elec-
ton, he states his own views in
such fashion that no one can be in
any doubt about them.
This question is not a mere detail
in the building of a permanent Or
ganization for the maintenance of
peace. So far as this country is
concerned, at least, it. is the para
mount issue, the point on which our
really significant decision will have
to be taken.
1t is important to note the Ian
guage of the Presidents proposal
Our delegate to the council would
be "empowered in advance by the
people themselves, by constitutional
means through their representatives
in Congress, with authority to act"
There is no purpose to be served
by blinking the real import of this
proposal. The security council, If it is
to function effectively against ag-
gressors, must be able to act with
reasonable speed when the need
arises. The nations with whom we
propose to associate ourselves in
this undertaking will want to be
assured that the United States will
make its contribution to the mainte-
nance of peace in all proper cases,
just as we must be assured that they
will make their own. But there
cannot possibly be any such as
surance if our delegate to the
council should have to secure con-
greSSional authorization in every
instance to vote for the use of force
or other sanction against a would
be aggressor, or If the delegate of
another nation must follow a COM
parable course. That would be
time-consuming and uncertain pro-
cedure-a procedure that would play
directly into the hands of a future
Hitler.
In approaching this step we
should face the fact that Congress,
as practical matter, would have to
yield its exclusive right-as we have
known it in the past-to declare
war. There are those who believe
differently, who hold that our dele
gate to the council would never
commit this country to war unless
he knew that Congress and the
President approved. Yet it is not
certain that this will be so, and,
lacking assurance, we ought not to
assume that the Presidents proposal
involves no risk and changes moth
ing. 1t would change a great deal
and there are risks involved. But
the answer to this is that such risks
cannot be avoided, except at the
price of even greater ones. We have
had to fight two world wars because
no adequate machinery for the
preservation of peace existed. If
there is to be no adequate machinery
in the future, it is quite likely that
we shall have to fight another war.
OF course, no one can promise
that any plan for peace will pre-
serve peace. The effectiveness of
the organization now proposed will
depend as much on the attitude of
the other great powers as on our
own. And there is already some rea-
son for misgiving on this score. But
we should be candid with ourselves
and recognize that other nations
have reason for skepticism, some of
which would be removed by accept
ing the proposal which the Presi-
dent has advanced. That would es-
tablish our own good faith, and we
would then be in a strong position to
insist that the other nations estab-
lish theirs. If we are in earnest in
our expressed determination that
this must be the last great war, we
cannot expect to make lesser con-
tribution than that for which the
President has called.