Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1945-05-25
Molotou Lives Up
To His Name

To His Name
First, to evaluate the I'm" in our
equation, it is necessary to take a
look which goes back to Paris 1919
and even reveals faint images of
Vienna, 1915.
There is no question that IN"
(standing for Molotov) was the
conference at San Francisco in the
early period, at least, but there was
a vast difference between his opera
tons and those of Clemenceau.
Clemenceau could and did unloose
bag OF traditional diplomatic tricks
on Lloyd George and Wilson and
soon proved that his white-gloved,
gallo hands were quicker than two
pairs of anglo-saxon eyes.
Clemenceau wanted security for
France and elimination of Germany
as a competitor, in world industry.
Molotov wants security for Rus
STA, elimination of any danger of
political competition from the "capi-
talistic" countries. But he wears no
gloves, kid or otherwise. This, per-
haps, is not because he, personally,
is lnept in the amenities of diplo-
matte relations, but rather because
he is under orders, with no latitude
of compromise whatever unless
Stain grants it. And Russia, an out
law among nations after the Bolshe-
vik revolution, has only begun to
take its first faltering steps beyond
the pale of its own prejudices and
prescriptions. And the bear steps
furtively, blinded by suspicion, hy-
persensitive because of well-justified
past doubts and fears.
BY the second day of the confer
ence Molotov had deeply grieved the
Latin Americans. When the suave
and persuasive Ezequil Padilla,
Mexican foreign minister, in urging
the election of Secretary Stettinius
as president of the conference re-
marked that it was merely following
diplomatic procedure and courtesy
to elect the representative of the
country playing host to the confer
ence, Molotov is said to have re-
piled that he hoped no one was try
ing to give him lessons in diplo-
matte procedure and as for courtesy
this was not tea party.
Molotov is the commissar's NOM
de-guerre." 1t is an old communist
custom to take pseudonyms, e.g.
"Stalin," man of STEEL" Molotov
means hammer" And that is what
the benevolent-looking gentleman
| from Moscow Yields, not the rainier
of the diplomatist.
Thus, when he controlled the
conference, he did it as a man
swinging hammer might-the rest
had to get out of the way. But
hammer swinging is not always sue
cessful. The rapier wielders in the
case l mentioned quickly circum-
vented the issue of the conference
presidency by obtaining an agree.
ment that there would be four presi-
dents as the hammer-swinger de.
manded but-their powers would all
be delegated to Mr.. Stettinius to con-
duct the business of the conference.
Today's Talleyrand has much to
learn in the school of soft gloves.
And so we come to the delta, the
strength of the spirit of the people.
AS I write these lines within the
building where the committee meet
ings take place, the fate of the con-
ference has not been settled but
am assuming it is about to conclude,
having achieved its job which was
merely to complete a blueprint
for world organization. Its later eff
fects cannot yet be assayed. But
can say at this point with absolute
assurance that if the blueprint is
not produced the peoples of the va
rious representative will igurative-
ly fall upon their delegates and tear
them limb from limb. If the blue
print is produced and if the organ
ization operates effectively and sue
cessfully the credit goes to the
demos, the "absent voters" at San
Francisco, who had no vote at Wen
ma and didn't know how to use what
they had at Paris.
| And so the task of our mathema-
tician becomes the task of the meta
| physicist. He must discover the