Detroit evening times., 1945-05-03
BEHIND
THE News
BY Paul
MalIon

SAN + thANClSSO,-
~ The lid on inside news has
been sealed out here, but infor-
nation from Washington sug-
gests President Truman has
been deeply anxious about the
Russian attitude. A senatorial
caller came back from the
White House a few days back
with the private report that our
whole relations with Russia
were mot of the best. +"
There is a general fear which
Congress apparently shares with
Mr.. Truman that Russia regards
this security conference lightly
and is embarking upon an i'm
perialistic program which may
not stop with the war.
Thus hardening realism
seems TO be developing at the
top of this government, which is
considerably different from the
superoptimism of the past, when
even the most dangerous devel-
opments threatening our foreign
policy were always interpreted
with the idea that everything
would be all right in the end.
There appears 10 be less in
clination 10 pursue the theory
that everything is for the best
IN this best of all possible
worlds. In short. we have been
forced 10 face developing facts
with which Russia has presented
us in the progressive develop
ment of her foreign policy in
conflict with our hopes.
0THER authentic advices from
" the inside. picture Mr.. Tru-
man as having returned TO the
Atlantic Charter as the basis
for his dealing through State
Secretary Stettinius with the
other nations here. He also has
swung his support to the army
navy program for obtaining out
lying bases for the United
States, perhaps not the whole
way yet. But presumably he
has dropped the original Stet-
tinius idea of international
trusteeShips.
They say. however. he fears
what will happen in the Orient
If the United States reaches out
too far 10 grab bases and he
docs not know how China and
other Oriental nations might
look at such acquisitions on one
hand or how Britain and France
may regard an extension of the
principles of the Atlantic Char
ter in the Orient.
On the other hand. would
France, for instance, insist upon
maintaining her imperialistic
sphere in Indo-China if we take
bases? Will the British insist on
hanging on to Singapore under
its old empire arrangement?
Would the British go back into
Hong Kong?
What would China think Of
that and its application to the
matter of our taking bases
while maintaining our insistence
on the Atlantic Charter?
A PPARENTLY he Is turning
"A these things over in his
mind, and has reached only one
conclusion that it might be
wise to wait until the war is
over before deciding that we are
going 10 turn Two Jima. the
Marianas. etc. over to some
international authority.
Personally I do not see any
inconsistency between the At
lantic Charter, and grabbing
bases. If we believe in the At
lantic Charter, and we do, then
we will need the bases TO see
I Ia our ideals are not SUBJ
merged in this world.
True enough the charter
pledges freedom for all people
. and no territorial aggrandize-
ment but those Jap held islands
would not be taken by us for
empire purposes. They hold no
commercial value which would
make us want them. "Aggran-
dizement" is hardly the word TO
describe what Adm. King and
the other army-navy leaders
have demanded.
We want them for defense. 10
make sure we are not attacked.
and as long as we stand firmly
upon the Atlantic Charter as
the basis for our foreign policy.
we are on sound ground, No
just complaint could possibly be
lodged against us that we are
violating our principles in taxi
ing what we need TO maintain
them.
SCRABBING." is another
VI word which hardly applies.
We already have those islands.
There are a lot of graves out
there to tell how we took them.
Our men went in there fighting
and dying to acquire air and
land positions for the defeat of
Japan, and if you want to char
acteriZe the venture from the
ideallstic standpoint, we went in
there to make the world safe
for democracy and the Atlantic
Charter.
That is what our troops would
tell you. BY no stretch of a just
imagination would other nations
call the action a land-grab.