Evening star., 1945-05-25
Big Powers Reported
Gaining Enough Votes
To Safeguard Veto
BY JOHN M. HIGHTOWER,
Associated Fress stad Writer.

SAN FRANCISCO, May 25.-
The big powers are reported to.
day to have lined up enough
votes in the United Nations Con.
ference to block any change ir
their absolute kontrol of worle
machinery designed to preserve
peace.
This issue-the veto power of any
Of the Big Five over settling inter.
national disputes or using force tt
smash an aggressor-is the most
critical remaining for this assembly
Of 10 nations. The decision houl
comes as the conference enters it.
second month and Secretary ol
State Stettinius returns from talk.
in Washington With President Tru.
man.
Many committees are striving te
wind up their work by this week
end in order to allow public dis
cussion of their reports to begin ir
the four big conference commits
sions early next week.
Agree on Two More Issues.
Among their latest accomplish
rents are agreement on provisions
designed to strengthen the economic
and social work of the new league
and to outlaw secret treaties, once
the world organization is function
ing.
In the veto dispute many small
nations are demanding that the
authority of the big powers in the
projected world organization be re-
stricted sharply so that an l1-nation
security council could try by peace
full means to settle troubles between
nations even over objections of the
big powers.
The British delegation has pro-
posed a compromise to meet that
demand. Some United States dele
gates like the compromise idea, but
say that in view of commitments
already made to Russia at Yalta
they can not press it. Russia has
been standing firm on the Yalta
formula which provides that any
one of the big powers can veto" a
council decision to take action.
Their judgment of what the Sem
ate's reaction may be also has in
fiuenced American delegates to shy
away from any major alteration in
the Yalta formula They are re-
ported to estimate that probably
more than one-third of the Senate
or enough to defeat ratification
are opposed to giving an interna-
tional organization authority to
involve this country involuntarily
in ap attempt to settle world
disputes.
Gives u. S. Freedom of Action.
That's where the veto gives the
United States freedom of action. AS
the Yalta agreement now is inter-
preted, this country alone could stop
any action by the world league in
the Western Hemisphere. If it
couldn't, there would be many in
the Senate who would say the
CIlltC0 OCdCCo lldu dUdllOOllCu VIC
Monroe Doctrine.
Last night a committee of United
States, Russian, British and Chinese
officials drafted a statement in re-
ply to small nation questions about
the voting formula. This statement
promises that any nation. great or
small, may bring dispute before
the security council and that the
council may discuss it. without tax
ing vote. Thus the veto could not
be used to prevent the airing Of
charges and countercharges.
Beyond that point-When the
council was deciding whether to in
vestigate the dispute or what other
action to take-a vote would be re-
quired and any one of the five big
powers could prevent council ac-
ton by voting no
The only limitation under the
Yalta formula is that if one of the
Big Five, or any other of the II
members on the council, was itself
involved in a dispute, it could not
vote as long as only % investiga-
ton and CD peaceful settlement de-
cisions were being made. Once it
came to a question of using force,
however. each of the powers, ac-
cused or not, would have a vote.
The statement worked out by the
Big Four technicians now goes
before Mr.. Stettinius, Britain's Earl
of Halifax. Ambassador Andrei
Gromyko of Russia, and Foreign
Minister T. v. Soong of China-the
chiefs of their respective delegations.
They could change it drastically, but
there is no indication that they will.
Once they have put it in final
form, it goes before a conference
committee which has been debating