Evening star., 1945-03-09
Stussen Talk Seen
Lacking Definiteness
1t Does Not Relate to Situation
Since Yalta, Writer Asserts
By David Laurence


By David Laurence
The address of former Gov. Stassen
of Minnesota, who Is to be a delegate
to the San Francisco Conference, will
strike a responsive chord because it Is
couched in generalities. Apparently,
however, it does not relate to the con-
crete situation that has developed
since the Yalta Conference.
If, on the other hand, 1t is really
meant to be applied to the happenings
since Yalta, it can be interpreted as
direct criticism of what the President
did in agreeing to voting procedure
in the United Nations which allows the
five major nations to be above the law.
Mr.. Stassen speaks forthrightly about
American idealism and he expresses
accurately the hopes and aspirations
of the American people. He does not
say when these ideals are to be trans
lated into action and he apparently is
ready to let matters drift until some
future day when the world will get
better than it is today
Mr. Stassen says there may be many
diplomats who do not know it," but the
extreme principle of absolute nation
alistic sovereignty is of the Middle
Ages and is dead" He adds that mo
nation has any right in the modern
world to do as it pleases without re-
gard to the effects of its actions upon
the peoples Of other nations"
Council Formula.
But in the newly announced voting
procedure each of the major nations
is granted the right to do as it pleases
about any international dispute in
which it may become involved. That
formula was sponsored by President
Roosevelt when he learned Marshal
Stain would accept no other. The soon
to-be- created Security Council, there
fore, will have no police power over
the major nations. 1t will not have
much power even over the smaller ma
tions, and everybody knows that back
of the small aggressors usually is the
larger aggressor who can veto action
in the council.
Mr.. Stassen is quite resigned to the
inevitability of war or rather to the
belief that If any one of the major
powers wants to start a war in the
next 25 years, nothing can be done to
prevent it. This is not the belief of
many other persons who all along have
been led to believe in the efficacy of an
international organization capable of
mobilizing an international army, navy
and air force sufficiently large in combi-
nation to prevent any nation, large
or small, from initiating or provoking
a war. If the new league is to start
OH with the assumption that nothing
can be done to prevent large nation
from going to war, it certainly means
that the concept of league TO enforce
peace has been whitfield down to
very weak substitute.
The former Minnesota Governor is
right when he says that America must
be ready ito delegate a limited portion
of our national sovereignty" to the
United Nations organization, which is
to be based on justice and law, and in
sured ty force" But it will be asked
why the realization of that ideal now
must be postponed to the indefinite fu-
ture and why, for instance, freedom of
the press or freedom of information and
freedom of worship are merely goals to
be obtained gradually? Why must any
totalitarian government which denies
human rights and particularly the four
freedoms be given veto power over the
decisions of the new Security Council
of the United Nations?
Silent on Freedoms"
Mr. Stassen discreetly omitted men
tion of present-day violations of the
-four freedoms" His seven cardinal
points are well expressed. The former
Governor assumes unfortunately that
persons who find the surrenders made
at Yalta, when the basic principles of
the Atlantic Charter were discarded,
hard to swallow have no alternative
and that opposition to the Yalta agree
ments means "do-nothing' policy
The truth is that it has always been
traditional American policy to fight for
ideals and to carry the case for ideals
to the court of world opinion. Regret
tably, however, the press and radio OF
Russia Is government controlled and
what is said by people of other countries
cannot be printed there without Mos
cows authority. This means that the
processes of public opinion operative in
a democracy do not function in Russia.
1t means, for example. that the provi-
sion for publishing recommendations
after investigation of disputes by the
Security Council can be rendered mean
ingleSs.
World peace is not matter of an
exact formula, as Mr.. StaSsen has so
wisely said. 1t is matter of common
honesty in the dealings of nations with
each other. And when nations profess
high principles and then condone the
violation of those principles, confidence
in the governments which repudiate
those principles diminishes and the
might-makes-right doctrine holds sway.
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