Evening star., 1944-07-23

Thousands Of typewriter pages ethno-
graphical. political and strategic maps
exist in voluminous files In the State
Department. They deal with the Amer
ican postwar plan. For the time being
the public knows little or nothing about
them. The fighting Is still going on
and although an Allied Military victory
Is well in sight, the American Govern
ment must keep quiet about its plans
because the American blueprints have
not yet met with the approval of the
governments of Russia and Great
Britain.
There are frequent exchanges of views
between Washington and London. Con-
versations between these two capitals
and Moscow are less frequent. Prime
Minister Stain has made 1t very clear
what Russias postwar aims are, and Is
In position to enforce them.
While no definite information re-
garding Americas plans is available it
is known that they range from the idea
OF an armed peace" with the strong
est restrictions on all our foes to lib
eral peace" conforming broadly with the
basic principles of the Atlantic Charter.
1t is also recognized by the intimate
collaborators and advisers of President
Roosevelt that the winning Of the peace
will be an even harder job than the win
ming of the war.
Military victories require tremendous
ehort on the part of the men who are
fighting and producing behind the lines.
They require intelligent leadership in
the field and at home and above all, the
will to win on the part of the nations
which are involved in the struggle on
which their very existence is depend
ing.
Peace Plan Difficult.
The establishment of durable peace,
however, is placed in the hands of the
statesmen on whose wisdom and fore
sight depends whether the world will
be given good or bad" peace. When
the military victory is the result of the
efforts of a coalition the problem be-
comes complicated because each men,
ber of the coalition seeks some definite
advantages and retribution from the
victory obtained by the united efforts
Of all its members
This was true unquestionably in the
past when the defeated party had to pay
heavily for its inability to win a war.
The result of most peace treaties be-
tween the perennially warning European
nations was the sowing of the seeds of
another conflagration on that strife
ridden continent.
1t may be that had the logical ideal
ism expressed by President Woodrow
Wilson in his Fourteen Points" peace
plan been accepted in its full meaning,
the Second World War might have been
averted. But no sooner was the armi-
stice with the Central Powers signed
than power politics made their appear
ance and Mr.. Wilson'S sincere attempts
to create peaceful world were emascu-
lated.
OF course, an ideal peace in which the
victors divest themselves of prejudices
and hate is not possible. The wounds
OF the nations which are involved in a
war are too deep to permit their rulers
to adopt an attitude of forgive and for
get" This is particularly true in the
present war when the civilian popula-
tions in Europe and in Asia have suf-
fered about as much as the men at the
front. No elected government could re-
main in power "a hours If it adopted
such policy.
The Germans must pay otherwise
than in cash for the devastations per-
petrated by their armies in Russia and
in England. There can be no good will
or forgiveness toward the German peo-
pie on the part of the Poles or the Yugo-
slavs or the other Western European
countries which have suffered under
NaN domination for four long years. But
there is room to bring about an equi-
table and lasting peace If Europe could
be organized in a manner in which
power politics and territorial aggrandize-
ment could be eliminated.
Secretary Hull's reluctance to give out
even hint of what the American peace