Evening star., 1944-12-21
Week Of Tragedy
In Government Seen

4
In Government Seen
Writer Questions Senate Silence
On Reports From World Capitals
By Dapid Laurence
This has been week OF tragedy In
government. For in the midst of war
being fought to establish the -Four
Freedoms" democratic government
acquiesced In what may be termed the
cruciixion Of principle.
Whether the plan for the partition
Of Poland proposed by Marshal Stain
and defended by Prime Minister
Churchill is right or wrong, and
whether the forces of dissension In
Belgium and Greece should have been
handled by military government
instead Of by political puppets all
these questions are being debated in
the House Of Commons. But should
the Senate Of the United States, as .
coordinate branch of government in
the matter Of advice on foreign policy,
remain silent?
The American people must, indeed.
be bewildered as they read the press
dispatches from world capitals today.
First, the British Prime Minister makes
an extended speech to the House of
Commons in which he plainly and
openly introduces . violation of what
the whole world had understood to be
the principles Of the Atlantic Charter,
then . day later the Prime Minister
says he had q lapse Of memory" and
was referring to q different document
which apparently was in conflict with
the Atlantic Charter.
Root Of the Trouble.
On top of this, when the whole coun-
try is waiting for some expression from
President Roosevelt in comment on
the Prime Minister'S speech, the Presi-
dent indulges in half Humorous dis
cussion of how the actual Atlantic
Charter was never signed, how it con-
sisted Of number of scribbled state
ments by himself and the Prime Min
lister aboard warship in the Atlantic
in August, 1891, and how, when an i'm
portant treaty embodying the Atlantic.
Charter was to be signed, nobody could
find the document, and there was no
ink in his fountain pen to sign it, etc,
etc.
Certainly when anybody wants to
wiggle out of contract dozen ex-
cuses can be found. The President gave
the impression that maybe the exact
language of the Atlantic Charter wasn't
so important after all because it was
not signed by anybody but was merely
press release" containing principles
that could now be variously interpreted
or applied.
The war has gone on for three years
so far as the United States is concerned.
and our casualties have passed the
500, 600 mark, and mothers and fathers
OF the boys who are making the sacri-
fees are being told, in effect, that our
war aims really never had any binding
basis on our Allies and that the prin-
ciples could be altered to suit the whims
or the ambitions of the statesmen OF
/ other countries.
| The root of the trouble is that three
men-Churchill, Stain and Roosevelt
/ are handling the worlds affairs withou,
regard to parliaments, legislatures O,
| congresses. Discussion has been dis
couraged on the theory that it would
hurt the solidarity of the Big Three
heads of state. But much more i'm
portant than this is the morale of
peoples, especially the American people
whose manpower and whose resources
are bearing the brunt of the struggle.
Senate Also Failed.
If, however, the President failed to
see his true responsibility this week, the
Senate failed also. Jealous about its
power Of treaty making and ready and
willing to oppose any change in its au-
thority, the Senate nevertheless did not
have session of its Foreign Relations
Committee to formulate and present to
the President and the Secretary of
State its advice as required by the Con-
stltution in the making of interna tional
! understandings.
/ Territorial arrangements and shifts
OF population abroad are very much q
matter OF concern to the Senate. II
would be a grave mistake if the Senate
waited until after these executive agree.
ments had been made and disappoint.
ments had been engendered Shroughou
the world, sowing the seeds of a thirt
world war, before saying anything abou
the circumstances now being unfolded
One-man government plunged Ger
many into the war after one-man gov
ernment had made treaty of allianc
between Russia and Germany in 1895
One-man government is the root of al
the tragedy this week because nationa
legislatures are not being informed an,
hence peoples are also in the dari
The indifference of the Congress is In
comprehensive. 1t may or may not b
the result of the indifference of tn
American people themselves to wha
is happening before their eyes
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The New Secretary