The Wilmington morning star., 1944-10-03
TODAY and TOMORROW
By WALTER LIPPMANN
Success at Dumbarton OAKS

Success at Dumbarton Oaks
BY any reasonable standard the
work OF the Dumbarton Oaks con-
ference must be judged both eff
fective and remarkably rapid. Let
US take as a measure the work
of the Philadelphia Convention
which drafted our own Constitu-
ton.
The. Philadelphia Convention was
in secret session for four months,
from May IA to Sept. 10. 1887.
During this time the convention
agreed on a frame of government.
1t agreed also on an ALLEGATION OF
powers, but here it's decisions were
not final, and they were modified
and supplemented by the first ten
amendments which constitute h e
Bill of Rights.
The Dumbarton Oaks conference
has been in more or less secret
session not for four months but for
six weeks, from Aug. 81 to Sept
20. During this time it has reached
an agreement, which will not be
seriously criticized when it is laid
before the other United Nations. on
those matters which correspond to
a frame Of government-that is to
say on tn institutions through
which the nations are to act in
preserving the peace.
There is also substantial agree.
ment, or will be when we have
recognized the French Provisional
Government and have drawn h e
smaller European states into coun.
Gil, on the most Immediately i'm.
portant aspects Of the question oil
power-namely where responsible.
ty is to be vested for settling with
our present enemies. There /.
agreement beyond that on all es.
sential questions except one hypo
thetical question: What happens
when one of the great powers re-
sponsible for maintaining the peace
is itself charged with violating the
peace. Let us remember that the
Philadelphia Convention did not set
tie h same kind of question
namely, what would happen in thu
future if an irreconcilable issue
among the states caused some O.
them to secede and rebel.
We shall be judging Dumbartor
Oaks correctly, and we shall Sc,
the future more clearly, if we d.
not let ourselves become fixed ane
fascinated by conundrums a b
how force is to be exercised thee
retically in all conceivable circum
stances everywhere a d forever
The overwhelmingly important
thing which can come out of Dunn
barton Oaks is the agreement o
the powers to make every effor
to keep on trying to agree, ane
the establishment by them of or
gans, Of institutions. and of pro
cedures, by which they can an,
will consult in order to agree.
To spend our time devising yer
bal formulate to govern what woul,
happen If they disagree, and be
come 1rreconci1ah1e and ante gonis
tic, is to put our emphasis in tn,
wrong place. We can do no bette
than to follow George Washington
who wrote to his nephew ate,
the adjournment at Philadelphia
If evil is likely to arise iron
the ''imperfection of the Constitu
ton," those who come after "wil
have the advantage of experience.
on their side. L do not thinl
we are more inspired, have NOR,
wisdom, or possess more virtue
than those who will come after us. ;
And we might also follow Frank
lin who wrote to a correspondent
'I>disliked some other articles thai
are in, and wished for some thai
are not in the proposed plan;
nevertheless hope it may be adopt.
ed"
Let us remember too that as
compared with the formation of a
union of nations to prevent war
the formation of the federal union
was much less difficult. The, thir.
teen states had always been united
in a common allegiance, and the
problem at Philadelphia was not,
l8C.-Legal 's4f*
office in the City Of Wilmington, in