Evening star., 1945-04-02
Conference Harmony
Called Need of Hour
Problem of Multiple Voting Easy
To Solve, Says Observer
By David Laurence

By David Laurence
suggestions to help the first United Ma
tions conference to get started har-
moniously.
The problem of multiple voting is
really easy to solve If there Is will
on all sides. Thus If Great Britain will
lead the way and announce that she
will be content to have each of her
Dominions a member of the assembly
but with one-sixth Of a vote each, the
way will be open for any nation, large
or small to split It's votes and give
voice in assembly affairs to each of
its component parts.
This whole multiple voting business
started more than rs years ago with
the request of the British Empire that
she be given six votes in the assembly
of the League of Nations. Despite every
thing that President Wilson said In
his speeches to the effect that the
British Empire after all had only one
vote in the Council and that the as
sembly did not have any powers Of
discipline but merely constituted q
safety valve of public expression. the
American public failed to grasp that
point. Instead the anti-league Of ma
tions orators made much of the al
legged "six-to-one" privilege of the Brit
ish Empire.
Logic in Request.
Russia Is not to be criticized for ask
tyon for three votes the assembly
There is as much logic in her request
as in that of the British. Unfortunately
at Yalta the problem was really left
unsolved despite the tacit agreement to
support three votes for Russia and the
United States respectively. The secrecy
Of the Yalta Conference was mis-
take and the incident illustrates better
than hundreds of arguments how dam
aging can be the after-affects OF
secret conference. For if the press had
been admitted to Yalta-not to the
sessions. but to the grounds and build
ings with access to the delegates-in-
evitahlv the subject of multiple voting
would have come into the open long
before this and perhaps would have
pESIl IlSI dIlOlllS ICoCiFSo W POOAAS
discussions
The issue, however ought not to cause
serious friction. A little common-sense
examination on the part of the leaders
Of the American, British and Russian
delegations will soon reveal that since
Russia and the United States and Great
Britain have each been given one vote
on the Security Council there is plain
recognition in that step Of the fact that
in foreign affairs these three countries
act singly and not through the separate
action of constituent parts. Already the
British Commonwealth premiers are
meeting in London to formulate COM
mon policy for San Francisco.
There are many good reasons why
/ Canada, Australia New Zealand, India
| and South Africa should have individual
memberships in the assembly. II Russia
feels that for internal political reasons
she should have three republics repre-
/ sented, there should be no objection
/ Every one comedies, however, that when
it comes 20 voting the Russian votes
! would be cast as unit anyway and so
would the British. The simple answer
would be to allow three or five or six
memberships as the case may be for
any nation but insist that the vote shall
be split into fractions so that only one
total vote is cast for each independent
sovereign state which is the mother or
parent of a group.
Polish Question.
As for the Polish question: It can be
resolved in somewhat the same way. A
half vote can be given to the London
government and half vote to the War
saw government and thus Poland will
be represented and the Polish national
or unity government can later on be
guided by whichever position is taken
by the delegates at San Francisco that
seems to offer the best permanent
course. Presumably on most all ques-
/ tions both Polish delegates would vote
with the major powers any way.
! 1t is vital that the question of Polish
representation and multiple voting
should be freely discussed: but it would
be a misfortune if the Allied govern
ments couldn't develop a satisfactory
formula for the handling of both.
1t is important now to demonstrate
that nations with a will to cHganize a
world league cannot be stopped at the
outset by any thorny problem of pro-
cedure or voting.
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