The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1944-05-29
Mr.. Welles Should Clarity

4v4As vvCACS JAUu1u Nkd1Ay
The central argument of Mr..
Sumner Welles's address last week
is not clear to me, and since it
is evidently not clear even to THE
New York Times, which sponsor
ed his address, it would be useful
if he clarified it. The editor of
THE Times says Mr.. Welles
urges the immediate creation of
a United Nations council, in which
all the nations whose future is now
being decided should participate. !"
There are sentences in the address
which seem to say just that.
Yet Mr.. Welles does not, in fact,
believe that all the nations whose
future is now being decided should
participate Immediately. He does
not believe that France should par
ticipate. He is himself one of the
authors, and is still the ardent de-
fender, of the policy of not recog-
nizing the existence OF any gov
eminent capable now of represent
ing France. He knows that the pres
ent Polish government cannot par
ticipate, because the Soviet Union
does not recognize it. He knows
that there is not now Yugoslav
government which can participate,
and no Greek government. When
he tried to be specific and name
the European governments which
ought to participate, he could think
of only two, the Netherlands and
the Norwegian.
1t is, therefore, pulling to find
him saying, as he did, that "al of
the United Nations should have
been represented in the political
decisions about 1.-The cases" of
France, Italy and eastern Europe.
The fundamental question which
had to be decided in all these cases
has been what government, if any,
was to be recognized. The French
ease has been: shall it be the
National Committee? The Italian
case has been: shall it be the King
and Badoglio? The Polish case has
been: shall it be the present gov
ernment-in-exile, or this govern
ment purged n d reconstructed?
The Yugoslav case has been:
shall it be Tito or the Kings old
government. or some new forma-
ton? The Green case has beer:
shall it be the Kings old govern
ment or a different one?
How then could there have been
a council which "represented'' all
the United Nations in regard to
Europe when the question was I'M
decided as to who had the right
to represent the leading United Ma
tons of Europe? Without France,
without Poland. without Belgium,
without Yugoslavia and without
Greece as members of the council,
how could the council be represen-
tative? Surely Mr.. Welles is beg
ging the very question to which he
demands an immediate answer
Mr.. Wendell Willkie was the first
prominent American to call for the
creation of a council which in
cludes others besides the great
powers. But Mr.. Willkie stands on
firmer ground tn n Mr.. Welles.
For he has opposed the French pol
icy which Mr. Welles still upholds,
and it is only by altering our
French policy, only by recognizing
a French provisional government
capable of representing France,
that the narrow circle of the three
great powers, dealing with Europe,
of the four great powers dealing
with the world, can be enlarged
A United Nations council cannot
exist without governments which
participate in it. 1t is idle to argue
that the Netherlands and Norway.
Mexico and Brazil, could, or would
presume to, represent France,
or the peoples of eastern Europe
and the Balkans. Certainly it
would be better, surely it would be
safer. as Mr.. Welles says, if con-
tinental Europe were represented
in the decisions which affect the