Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1945-05-11
Opportunity to Debate
Regional Pocts Urged
Issue Cannot Be Settled Now
in Amy Case, Says Writer
By David Laurence


BY David Laurence
SAN FRANCISCO, May 1.-THE
American people should have an oppor-
tunity to debate the question of re-
gional pacts. It cannot be settled here
anyway.
The most that can be done with the
issue is to postpone its solution, because
Foreign Commissar Molotov has left here
after having taken the position that
the regional pacts made by Russia with
other European countries cannot be
touched by the United Nations organi-
zation or it's charter. If that applies to
the Russo French and Russo British
and Russo Czechoslovakian pacts, there
is no reason why the n-American pact
should be subject to restraint by the
Security Council in which the big
powers each have a veto and can nullify
any needed action.
The British Russian pact differs from
all the others in that 1t specifically pro-
vides that it is to be superseded when
the United Nations charter Is adopted
and takes over the task of preventing
aggression. The French and
the Russian-Czech treaties contain no
such provisions.
Comment by Molotov.
Mr.. Molotov in a formal written
statement announced at his conference
with the press two days before he left,
made this pointed comment:
"One cannot fail to see, either, that
an attempt to submit these treaties to
the international organization for con-
sideration would be tantamount to vio-
lating the sovereign rights of the sigma
tory states. Besides these would run
contrary to the Dumbarton Oaks prin-
ciples recognizing forcefully the SOW
ereign rights of the members Of the
International Security Organization.
Naturally the idea of revising treaties
was rejected as untenable"
While it may be conceded that the
Russians had reasons that seemed to
| them proper for refusing to allow these
regional pacts to be subordinated to the
United Nations charter, it Is difficult to
see why the Russian envoy takes the
position that to place the charter above
existing treaties when they are incon-
sistent with the purposes of the United
Nations is to violate" the sovereign
rights of the signatory states.
Nothing, of course, would be done to
subordinate these treaties except with
the consent of all the powers concerned.
Whatever the revision, 1t would be done
by voluntary action. In fact, every
thing done at San Francisco has to be
on a voluntary basis and in every agree
ment or concession each nation con-
cedes a point in It's conception of un-
limited sovereignty. If Mr.. Molotov's
theory were to be accepted, it would
mean that any existing treaty could
never be changed even though it con-
tradicted the provisions and purposes
of the charter.
Thus, the Security Council Is to be
set up by the charter as the instrument
! for handling the use Of armed forces.
If Russia, however, takes the view that
she and France at any time may decide
| when to take military measures against
| the return of aggression, the peace Of
| Europe can be upset at any moment by
one-sided action. Likewise, If these
treaties are to be absolutely exempt
from consideration by the Security
Council, then at any time France and
Russia or Czechoslovakia and Russia
may decide that something happening
or some propaganda activity in q neigh
boring country threatens to encourage
German aggression and hence separate
action independent of the Security
Council can be validly taken.
Latin American Fears.
The Latin American countries have
fear of the Russian veto If the Security
Council may at any moment prevent
the Latin states from taking action
against a would-be aggressor. II. for
instance, some Latin American state
becomes communistic and starts acts
of aggression against neighbor, Rus
sia's vote in the Security Council, under
the Dumbarton Oaks limitations, may
veto any action by the pan-American
states. So the Latin American coun-
tries want the charter to read in such
a way that if the Security Council
| doesn't act to prevent aggression, the
several states in this hemisphere may
do so on their own initiative as pro-
vided in the Act of Chapultepec. But
If such a proviso is included here,
should not Russia ask tkat If the
United Nations do not act to prevent
German aggression in Europe, she and
her regional allies may do so?
These are some of the fine points Of
| the discussion that has arisen and
hence no harm can be done for the
time being by freezing the status of the
| pan-American pact, just as Mr.. Molotov
| has frozen the status of the regional
| pacts Russia has made in Europe. The
next conference of the United Nations
| could once more tackle the whole
| problem.
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