Evening star., 1945-02-21
De GouIIe Act Seen
As Mojor BIunder
Writer Says American People
Will Dislike Gesture Of Pique'
BY Dapid Laurence

Will Dislike Gesture of Pique'
By Dapid laurence
Though there had been rumors Of it.
the news that Gen. de Gaulle had
snubbed President Roosevelt came as .
distinct shock. Certainly there is no
misconstruing the note of keen regret
which Mr.. Roosevelt voices when he
tells the world:
Questions of mutual interest and
Importance to France and the United
States are pending. wanted very much
to see the general before leaving for
home"
This is an extraordinary announce
ment and, knowing Mr. Roosevelt's fine
sense Of timing and his method of
often using the public press to convey
his thoughts by inference, there can be
no doubt that the President wanted the
people Of France to know that their
leader had made grave mistake
The friends of Gen. de Gaulle will,
Of course, insist that the latter had a
right to refuse to meet Mr.. Roosevelt
oAAA eAAdt tilS 1lCcldC1lt dlltdSOIllLEu
him for long time by withholding
recognition of the provisional govern
ment.
But the fact remains that Mr. Roose-
velt is the head of the United
States Government and Is the oficial
spokesman in foreign affairs for the
American people, who have just given
substantial amounts of their treasure
and their young manhood to hberate
France. 1t is doubtful, indeed, whether
history, on reflection, will judge Gen.
de Gaulles act as anything but
major blunder.
French Affairs Suffer.
For, while Mr.. Roosevelt says "ques-
tions of mutual interest and impor-
tance to France" are at stake, it would
appear that Gen. de Gaulle preferred
gesture of personal pique to the dis
cussion of affairs of his own country
There is only one possible explana-
tion-not justification for Gen. de
Gaulle's act. He may have felt that if
he saw Mr.. Roosevelt he would have to
make decisions then and there on pro-
posals on which he had had no FORE
knowledge. Many heads of state prefer
to get things on paper and to consult
with colleagues before making decisions.
But the answer to this is that he need
have made no commitments. He could
have listened politely and promised
decisions after his return to Paris.
Some news dispatches from Paris
speak of the fact that Gen. de Gaulle
didn't want to go to Algiers and that
the President should have come to
France Anybody with the most meager
knowledge of our Presidents movements
in wartime knows that security ar
rang ements cannot be made suddenly
for visits that involve appearances in
| public or that involve trips to areas
| where conditions are unsettled.
France has not cleaned out her own
collaborationists yet, and if Mr.. Roose-
velt picked Algiers, it was because his
| associates felt that was a safer place
| for the conference.
The news that Official business did
not permit the general to come to
Algiers" will be taken with a grain
of salt. There is no official business
more important to the government and
people of France at this time than q
conference with the President of the
United States on his return from
meeting with the British Prime Minister
and the head of the Soviet government
Explanation Difficult.
This certainly is not the way to
restore France to the place In the
family of nations which she so richly
deserves. This is not the kind of
leadership that augurs well for the
peace of Europe. 1t is the Sort of
thing which is difficult to explain to
the many Americans whose sons or
relatives have been given always pic
ture Of France as one Of the democra-
cies that believes in the closest kind of
cooperation with the United States.
General de Gaulle's portrait of a
new French government will be hard to
explain to. Americans and perhaps also
to his own people.
1t will be argued that Mr. Roosevelt
made matters worse by disclosing that
the snub had occurred The answer to
this is that the widest kind of publicity
is necessary when the relations between
states start to deteriorate from an,
cause and it is best to expose to tht
healthful air of discussion all such Incl.
dents.
One may predict that Gen. de Gaullt
will retrace his steps. He might ever
come to America for a conference. That
seems the only way out at the moment
because not for a single week or month
| should the relations between France
and America be allowed to remain as
they are today.
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