Evening star., 1944-03-23

a new international organization.
President Roosevelt has never said
specifically in public to what extent
he agreed with the Churchill ap-
proach, and it has been left to the
realm of speculation whether the
four major powers intended tndef-
initely to run the affairs of the
world while putting number of
other nations on probation, SO to
speak, for many years to come
In contrast to this plan. there
has been the insistence of liberals
IN many countries that the new
world organization include all sover-
eign nations not now at war with us
and that the international agency
to preserve peace should not be
kept Indefinitely in the background
as q pious hope, but started as
concrete plan now.
Bridges Points of View.
Secretary Hull's pronouncement is
a skillful statement which, in
sense, bridges the two points of view
though 1t does lay more stress now
than ever before on the Atlantic
Charter as an ultimate goal rather
than as formula for immediate
application.
The Hull statement says: "As the
provisions of the four-nation dec
laration are carried into effect there
will no longer be need for spheres
of influence, for alliances, for bal
ance of power or any other of the
special arrangements through which
in the unhappy past the nations
strove to safeguard their security
or to promote their interests"
There Is nothing, however, to
indicate how long 1t will take to
carry such provisions into effect.
whether it will be or 10 or 20
years. Also, in the interim, it is
apparent that Russia is beginning
to rely on these special arrange
ments" and that a school of thought
with which Gen. Smuts expressed
concurrence recently is thinking of
special arrangements" in Europe
for Great Britain
Vague Formula.
Meanwhile, what kind of world
order is to be founded? The Hull
statement declares, of course, that
an indefinite surveillance must be
kept over Germany, Japan and
Italy, land their satellites" to de-
termine when their peoples will
have rid themselves of "the mon
strous philosophy of superior race
and conquest by force and have
embraced loyalty the basic. prin-
ciples of peaceful processes"
This is a rather vague formula
which also might take to 10 to
20 years to carry out. For II 1t be
assumed that education" is neces-
sary, especially of the younger gen.
erations in the Axis countries. 1t |
will be a long, long time before
huge ornaments can be reduced on
the Allied side and big standing
armies and immense naval and air
forces demobilized.
AS far as the Atlantic Charter is
concerned, each nation, in order TO
enjoy the charters benefits, must
demonstrate its capacity for stable
and progressive government. fulfill
scrupulously its established duties to
other nations, settle its internation-
al differences and disputes by none
but peaceful methods and make its
full contribution to the maintenance
of enduring peace"
Long Period Implied.
This could mean long, long pro-
baton period for various nations
and 1t could imply that the four
master nations are to sit in judg-
ment on the rest of the world for an
indefinite period of time. Maybe
that's what the American youth are
fighting for. Maybe it's a formula
whose very indefniteness is a mat
ter OF current expediency. But 1t
also may have in it the makings of
a hodge-podge ca friction and
perennial chaos. The true alterna-
tive, of course, IS not 10 postpone
Indefinitely the creation of an inter-
national organization, but to set 1t
up at once or to use the machinery
OF the League of Nations which is
already in existence.
The Hull statement seems to i'm
ply, during rather long and un-
certain transition period, an over
lordship by Britain, Russia, the
United States and China in the af-
fairs Of the world. These matters.
1t is being mistakenly assumed al
ready in some quarters, can best be
administered by four supermen who.
presumably, are to live forever or at
least stay in public Office indefinite