The Wilmington morning star., 1945-09-28
London Meeting Shows Ministers
Unable To Settle Major Problems

W. - ~ -
The London meeting has shown
once again that foreign ministers
cannot work out specific settle.
ments unless there is agreement
m questions which only the heads
~ their governments can deal with.
These are the questions OF pow
or - of how far and for what pur-
nose each of the leading nations Is
to exert influence beyond its own
borders. Specific problems, SUCH as
Triexte and Dardaelles, the
Danube, the Dodecanese, IN {
italian colonies, elections in Bull
oaria and Romania, Persia, OH
nawa. Korea, Port Arthur, are In
soluble by the foreign ministers I'm.
I'll the fundamental relationship o.
their governments is no longer un'
clear and uncertain.
These fundamental relationships
have to do with their postwar mill
tarv financial, economic, ana po'
1itical capacities, needs, intentions
md ambitions. We, for example,
are interested in Trieste because 1t
raises the question Of how far west
the Soviet Union is going to extend
it's power. The Russians are hter-
ested in our interest in Bulgarian
and Romanian elections because
thew believe it raises the question
~ how close to their own borders
the British and Americans are
soins to extend their power. Is
sues Of this kind cannot be settled
by foreign ministers.
Here only Stain can settle Tor
The Soviet Union. For the United
states only the President can set
t1e. For he alone is at once the
chief Executive, Commanoer.m
Chief, and leader Of the majority
party.
We must not, therefore, Jump to
the conclusion that we cannot
make world peace settlement
merely because it has been dem
onstrated again, as it was before
Teheran. before Yalta, and at San
Francisco before the Hopkins mis-
sion to Moscow, that the basic is
sues of power and influence can
be dealt with only by the chiefs OF
rtates. That is no reflection what
ever on the foreign ministers. It is
only another way of saying that
thew do not have final authority
on issues which cannot be settled
without final authority.
The war has ended with the mill
tarv frontier of the Soviet Union
extended westward to the Oder
River. that is to say to the center
of Europe and the suburbs OF Ber-
lin The war has ended with the
military frontier of the United
states extended westward to Oki-
nawa and Saipan, that is to say
1t the near approaches by sea and
air to all the important regions OF
eastern Asia. No power exists on
earth which. could compel either
the Soviet Union or the United
States to draw back from these
new military frontiers. These are
structural changes in the world
situation within which the world
I. "a In odd
The crucial question is wtsat is
to develop behind these new mill
tary frontiers. Now it is OF the ut
most Importance that we should
see this question effectively our
selves if we are to prevail upon the
Russians to see it effectively also.
We cannot, for example, declare,
as we have in the directive to Cen
eral Macarthur, that Sin the event
of any differences Of opinion
among the principal allied powers
sthe policies of the United States
will govern" and then expect Mr..
Byrnes to persuade Mr.. Molotov
that it is wrong for the Soviet
Union to act "unilaterally'' in Ro-
mania and Bulgaria.
The basic issue in Eastern Eu.
rope is whether the small coun-
tries in the Russian orbit are to
be organized for the defense OF
Soviet security or for the expan.
sion Of the Soviet power. This is
sue has taken the form OF a con-
troversy over elections and guar
antics of civil liberty. In London
and Washington the contention is
that while we are interested in
freedom everywhere, we are speci-
ally interested in it in Eastrn Eu-
rope because it affords the clearest
test Of whether the Soviet Unions
intentions are in fact defensive.
But that is not the way it looks
to Moscow. There our interest in
free elections appears as British.
American protection and encour-
agement Of those east European
and Balkan factions which are hos
tile to the Soviet Union. The view
in Moscow is that if the factions
which would benefit by our inter-
vention were to get into power in
Sofia, Bucharest, and Warsaw,
they would become the political
spearheads Of all the anti-Soviet
forces of the western world.
Therefore, just as we are seek
ing to determine whether the So.
Wet Union has a defensive or ag-
gressive intent in it's military orbit,
SO Moscow is seeking to determine