The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-06-21

US-USSR relations were at a most serious impasse. Not only was American public opinion aroused over the whole Polish question, but Russian generals were becoming high-handed and almost ready to throw aside AL lied cooperation.
 This column carried a series of articles describing our relations with Russia at the time, em- phasizing the dangerous deadlock and attributing it partly to Red
 batting by anti-Russian diplo- mats, plus Chuchill's policy of keeping the United States and the Soviet at swords points, plus the State Departments old-fash- toned policy of writing in- stead of talking things out face- tO-face.
 Writing notes was the worn- out method Joe Grew used when he got into hot water with Mexi- co and Nicaragua when he was Under Secretary of State in the Coolidge Administration. However, as with Mexico and Nicaragua, hurling written notes at Moscow only got Stalin's back up.
 STALIN WRITES TRUMAN
 For instance, here is one reply which Stalin threw back at Presi- dent Truman regarding Poland just little over a month ago, at the time Grew and Stettinius were drafting notes for Truman to send Stalin.
 "I am ready to fulfill your
 request to reach harmonious
 solution" Stalin wrote back to
 Truman, but you demand too
 much of me. In other words,
 you demand that I renounce
 the interests of security of the
 Soviet Union. However, I can
 not turn against my own coun-
 try.
 "In my opinion" Stalin con-
 tinued, ''there is one way out
 of this situation: Adopt the
 Jugoslav example as a pattern
 for Poland. believe that this
 would allow us to come to
 harmonious solution.
 This was very strong diplomatic language. When the head of a nation says he will not turn against his own country it means that he won't budge another inch. Also, the Jugoslav pattern was not much of a compromise, since the State Department had already complained to Stalin about this situation and alleged Russian failure to carry out the Yalta Agreement in Jugoslavia.
 It was at this tightly dead locked moment that Harry Hop- kins finally advised Truman that the thing to do was stop writing notes and have someone put his feet under the same table with Stalin and talk things out in stead.
 Result: Hopkins persuaded Stall in to reverse his previous firm stand from which he had said he could not budge an inch.
 Motel: Chief trouble with our older diplomats, and with Ed Stettinius, who takes his cues from them, is that they don't realize this is the day of air. planes, not sailing ships. Diplo- matic underwriting dates from the horse-and-buggy days of diplo- macy when it took six weeks to cross the Atlantic and We could not send Ambassadors speedily to talk things out face-to-face. Now we can get an Ambassador to Moscow in one day.
 Note-2: Soviet policy is seldom and while Polish rela- tions are much improved, a very serious situation confronts US- USSR relations in Bulgaria. LAPS YEARN FOR USA
 Naval officers who talked with hard-hitting editor Palmer Hoyt of the Portland Oregonian after his trip to Two Jima got some interesting ideas on Jap psycho- logy and what it may take to persuade the Japs to surrender.
 Hoyt had the unique experience of interviewing 2G0 Jap Navy landing troops just taken pris- oner on Okinawa. They were crack troops, especial ly selected for their size and in- telligence, and Hoyt was amazed to hear that what they wanted most was to go to the United