Evening star., 1945-10-07
World Peace Requires
Time and Patience
Former Conference Veterans
Warned of Long Negotiations
Bu Raun1ond MoIeu.

By Raymond MoIeg.
The average Americans impression of
what happened at the London Peace
Conference depended on what corre-
spondents dispatches he read. Some
were pretty gloomy and, at times, alarm
ing To read them was to get the i'm
preston of searth-shaking conflicts and
insoluble deadlocks.
One day correspondent described as
"the day of despair" Reading down
in his story We find that the despair
was occasioned by the exclusion of the
Chinese and French from a considera-
tion Of what should be done with,
Romania. Not very serious rc.,Ih;
it might seem to { calm c.. 1T
these who believe a durable Eeace Is
! possible need only take little time TO
get the whole thing in perspective. The,
| damage is not serious.
| We were warned by wise people long.
ago that this peace would be, or should
! be, long time in the making Herbert.
! Hoover and Hugh Gibson, veterans of
! the first peace conference, wrote, three:
| years ago, that the peacemaking should
! be divided into three phases: First, a
! conditional peace which would include
the settlement of certain urgent prob
! lens" such as dsarming the enemy.
repatriating prisoners temporary res
toration Of prewar commercial treaties
designation of provincial Boundaries
feeding the needy, and the like. Much
OF this was done at Potsdam. So far
this good advice was followed.
But the second Hoover Gibson step
has been ignored. 1t suggested that
! after the first step, there should be
! breathing spell to permit the rebuilding
/ OF political life and economic recovery.
! Instead of that, the Council of Foreign
| Ministers rushed pellmell into matters
which involve policies and arrangements
to last hundreds of years. After his
return from PotSdam, Secretary ByrneS-
hardly had time to get his striped
/ trousers pressed before he rushed off
to London. There the ministers met,
breathless and unbriefed.
Bevin was new to his job. Byrnes was
/ inexperienced. France was in The con-
fusion of local elections Only Molotov
was veteran of many conferences and
MolotoV, for many reasons, including
I his belief that delay was important,
prevented haSty decision by his extraor-
binary demands. We may be irritated
by his calm obstructionism, but We shall
live to rejoice that this slap-dash con-
/ ference met the fate it deserved.
So let's keep calm and take plenty Of
time before We try again. Let's take
what HooVer-Gibson described as "a
further period for settlement of long
view problems, which require the cooling
off ofeemotions. without such a period
we cannot hope for elaboration and
careful development"
There are those voices that are now
calling for another pell-mel attack on
the long future by the Big Three-Tru-
man, Stain and Atlee. The Big Three
would have no greater success. And if
they failed, there would indeed be,
worldwide wailing and gnashing of
teeth The time has come for reflec-.
ton None of the nations wants trou-
BILE. Everywhere, governments are
struggling with domestic crises. We
have our strikes. Britain has her new
Labor government, trying to think CT
good reasons why campaign promises
cannot be fulfilled Immediately.
And Russia, behind her veil of censor )
ship, is also having plenty OF trouble
There is more trouble there about de-
mobilization than the Russian press is
permitted to admit Winter is coming
and that SharpenS every domestic prob
lem. Food is short in many parts Of
the Soviet and transportation is in
dreadful shape.
And Russia is more fearful of the fu-
ture than the impassive face Of Molotov
is permitted to reveal. The atomic
bomb is on the mind of every statesman.
The long and desperate desire of Rus
Sla for adequate outlets to the sea and
to world commerce and intercourse is
pressing down upon the Soviet govern
ment. They fear a resumption of the
political and economic isolation which
has been Russias fate for centuries.
And Russia frankly and openly believes
that Britain, once more, is seeking to
re-eStablish that isolation.
Russia, moreover, is distrustful and
somewhat contemptuous of the eternal
squabhles which are part of European
life. AS the London Economist said re-
Gently: Fer Russia, Germany is merely
the most obnoxious part of a noisy.
dynamic, aggressive and alien sub
continent which has devoted a LARGE
part of its resources to invading Russia
under the leadership now of one and
now of another nation Russia wants
TO use its present advantages to stop
that forever. 1t is merely trying to Or
ganize security among the same nations
in Eastern Europe which Clemenceau
organized at Versailles. That may ac-
count for Russia's desire to bar France I.
from Balkan discussions.
\
To say that Americans, for the mo-
ment, might well try to understand
these Russian fears and suspicious runs
counter to loud and persistent anti
Russian outcry in this country. But it
ought to be said and said again.
Russian diplomacy is clumsy. Its
timing is bad. Its isolation has kept it
from understanding American and Eu-
ropean psychology. 1t is irritating and
1t ought to be talked back to. But to
foment fear here that in our time
Russian policy will resemble that OF
Germany and Japan is to make matters