Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1945-02-05
Letters to The Star
DR.. Brown Sees Nothing Evil
In Power Politics % Such
% tho Iditor Of Tho star;


In Power Politics o Such
To the 1ditor Of Ths star:
The ungenerous critics Of the har-
raised Statesmen now trying both to
win the war and plan the peace are
crying out excitedly against power
politics." As II politics could ever be
divorced from powerl As II the peace
Of Europe from 1870 till 1914 had not
been maintained by power politics! Al
II any nation had never been Justified
In seeking Understandings and ALL
ances to protect It's own securityl
What Il wrong with power politics u
not the fact Of their employment but
their occasional misuse. Bismarck,
though believing In policy Of blood
and iron" also believed IN friendly al
uances OF the nature Of insurance
and reinsurance" He thoroughly dis
approved Of the truculent and clumsy
use Of power politics by Kaiser wilhelm
II. Hitler made the most cynical use Of
power politics and never to make
friends or ensure peace.
Stain, following closely the tradi-
tions Of Czarist Russia, has been much
concerned about the Baltic and the
Balkan States. Great Britain likewise
has been gravely concerned about the
Mediterranean and the route to the Far
East. Neither Russia nor Great Britain
know Of any other existing safeguards
than power politics.
The alternative policy apparently adj
vocated by these critics OF power poll
tics Is to rely on some plan Of universal
security through world organization
not yet created or able to function eff
fectively. They seem to ignore the ex-
istence Of regional interests such as in
Central Europe, the Balkans, Asia, and
In this Western Hemisphere. There are
special neighborhood interests which
compel nations to enter into arrange
ments Of mutually protective nature.
To ignore these by denouncing power
politics would seem strangely myopic or
naive.
There need be no incompatibility be-
tween . system of world security and
power politics. On the contrary, the
recent agreements between Great Brit
ain and Russia, between Russia and
France, or between Russia and Czecho-
slovakia. may prove in the near and
the longer future to be the necessary
augmentation Of universal organiza-
ton such as Is contemplated by the
Dumbarton Oaks proposals. They prop
erly might be likened to the flying but
tresses Of cathedral which relieve the
pressure on the walls from the great
weight Of the roof. The superstructure
OF q world organization may be sub
mitted at any moment to dangerous
pressure. particularly by smaller ma
tons which may not be able to meet
the immediate responsibilities OF the
greater powers in maintaining calm and
order in time of stress
No institution or system will work
automatically. All depends on the good
faith and good Intentions Of men and
nations. Power politics are always in
volved and are inevitable. What we
must hope and plan for is their right
use for noble ends.
PHILIP MARSHALL BROWN,
President, The American Peace Society.
Argues Fate and Responsibility
To the Editor Of The Star:
In his sermon. II Shall Not Die" by
Rabbi S. H. Metz. he says: God 80
cannot be Indifferent to the injustices
Of fate"
. Fate is understood to be that part Of
ones life over which one has no con-
troll
In q recent novel another author
says: What you are depends on three
factors: What you've inherited, what
your surroundings have done to you,
and what you've chosen to do with
your surroundings and inheritance"
BY inheritance" of course, the au-
thor means the physical and psychical
characteristics Of a person.
1t is to be inferred from these two
statements that the individual is not
wholly responsible for his conduct in
life. The rabbi speaks of "the injus-
tees Of fate; the author Of the novel
speaks Of what you've inherited" and
what your surroundings have done to
you" All of which are factors infiu-
encing ones conduct by forces beyond
personal control.
While the novelist's third factor,
what you've chosen to do with your
surroundings and inheritance" leaves
one free to make choices, that freedom
is conditioned by the '1njustices" Of
fate, Inheritance and environment, and
therefore varies In scope and quality
with the person.
As well Is tending to challenge the
prevailing idea that man is fully re-
sponsible for his conduct, It seems also
to conflict with the suggestion that all
men are born free and equal.
If the quoted statements stand, no
one Is born entirely free, and all are
born unequal. Since to be free implies
total absence of restraining condi-
tons within the law, and to be equal
all factors of heredity and environment
should be identical, which, in both In
stances, Is not true.
FRED WENDELL.
Recruiting Nurses Aides
To the Editor Of The Star: