Evening star., 1945-04-23
Public Seen Confused
On Conference Aims
Writer Lists 6-Point Program
Which Delegates Hope TO Set Up

NIliSI AiStS O'I ollt IoSi ALI
Which Delegates Hope TO Set Up
BY David Laurence
The public apparently has a con-
fused impression Of what the United
Nations conference is supposed to do.
For one thing this is not peace
conference in the sense of settling
matters between the United Nations
and Germany or Japan.
This is not conference to award
territories or fix boundaries.
This is not conference to deter
mine how the peoples of liberated areas
shall be fed or governed or rehabili-
tated or financed.
This Is not conference to deter
mine the punishment that shall be
meted out to Germany and Japan or
This is not conference to set up
a superstate or world state.
What, then, is the conference to do?
1t is, first of all, to write charter
which will be in the nature of treaty
or a contract between all the govern
ments that sign it.
Military Alliances.
Second, this conference is to form a
military alliance which will police the
small nations and keep them from
breaking the peace. All measures Of
armed coercion as between the great
powers Great Britain, France, the
United States and China-are to be
omitted. Moral force, which means de-
bate, publicity and the mobilization Of
worldwide public opinion. are to be
depended on to keep the peace as be-
tween Britain and Russia and France
and the United States and China or
any two of them who may have serious
disputes with each other.
Third, this conference Is to set up
an assembly open to all nations, large
and small, where their delegates may
talk about threats to world peace but
they cannot take any corrective steps
to enforce peace or coerce aggressor
states.
Fourth, this conference Is to set up
Security Council composed primarily
Of the big powers who are expected to
form military committees to enable
armed force to be applied quickly but
only as against smaller nations. This
presumably means an end to such war
fare because small nations usually do
not attack one another if larger ma
tions are likely to intervene. The as
sumption has been that small wars
breed big wars.
Fifth, elaborate machinery for eco
nomic and cultural development of
backward areas and for improvement
in standards Of living will be set up
but execution will depend largely on
what individual nations care to do
toward the fulfllment of these OBJ
jectives.
Sixth, system of trusteeships will be
| written into the charter so that the
United Nations organization will main
tain some sort of supervision over areas
which were under mandates after the
last war or which are to be internation-
allied after the present war ends.
Primary interest at the moment cent
ers on the extent to which Russia,
Britain, China, France and the United
States can agree here. The viewpoint
of Moscow has been leaning toward the
notion that the Dumbarton Oaks plan
should be accepted as it is written but
the American delegation has decided
that some amendments are essential,
especially provisions for the modification
of the charter itself over period Of
years.
No Boundary Argument.
Many interests are represented here
by consultants and unofficial delega-
tions which have special causes to plead.
| They may be given hearings out Of a
sense of politeness but this conference
really has nothing to do with most of
the controversial questions that are so
close to the hearts of the special groups
which have sent representatives here.
There will be no chance for instance to
argue formally about the Polish boun-
diaries or the Palestine question or the
| future of strategic bases or the demil-
tarization of Germany.
This is not to say that the conference
is less important than has been as
sumed. On the contrary. the confer
ence is the first international gathering
in many years and represents sincere
effort to set up machinery to preserve
peace and as such deserves the world
wide attention and sympathetic sup
| port it now is receiving on every side.
The conference will be a success even
| If it merely sets up the framework of
| an international organization outlined
at Dumbarton Oaks. For behind such
an organiza ton in due time will come
the pressure of a war-weary world to
make the machinery function. America
has more reason to want to see this
machinery set up than any other nation
for we want nobody else's resources or
population and we want only to see
adopted a workable formula for pre-
vention of world war three.
Anything that contributes even to a
limited extent toward such an objective
is a step in the right direction and in
the interest of the people of the United
States.
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