Evening star., 1945-07-16
Meeting in Potsdum

TIcSlu0IlL truman meeting WIN
Prime Minister Churchill and Mar
shall Stain, which begins in Potsdam
today, will bring what is by all odds
the severest test that the American
President has had to face since en-
tering the White House three
months ago.
The meetings at Teheran and at
Yalta were war meetings. 1t had
become evident even at the time of
the first gathering of the big
Three" that Hitler had failed in his
bid for world domination, but the
German Army was still fighting with
skill and determination. Each day
that the war went on was certain
to cost the Allies heavily in killed
and wounded, a fact which made
for unity in working out agreements
that were essentially military in
character. AT Yalta, although the
Germans had not yet thrown in the
sponge, there was more attention
paid to political matters. But this
meeting, too, was primarily con-
cerned with the military problem of
holding together the Allied coalition
and organizing its military power
for the final blow against the NaziS.
AT PotSdam, much of this basis
for unity will be missing. Germany
is finished, and, so far as Europe is
concerned, the major problems be-
fore the three leaders will be con-
cerned with the reconstruction and
administration of the conquered
and liberated areas. In a sense. the
meeting will be something in the
nature Of preliminary peace con-
ference, a gathering at which there
will be much bargaining for the pro-
motion OF the real or fancied peace
time interests of the victors. It is
hardly necessary to say that it will
be more difficult to achieve agree
ment in an atmosphere from which
the cementing force of the necessity
OF dealing with a common enemy
has been removed. The British, of
course, are at war with Japan, while
Russia'S intentions with respect to
that conflict remain to be disclosed.
1t is fact, however, that for both
the British and the Russians, Ger
many has been the prime enemy.
For them, the conflict in the Pacific
has not had, and probably does not
now have, the same urgency and
grim reality that it has for us.
Hence, when the conferees get down
to discussion of the Japanese war,
the American delegates may find
themselves in a bargaining position
which is less strong than that which
they formerly held.
. Furthermore, President Truman
will go into this meeting virtually
as a stranger to the British and
Russian leaders. The late President
Roosevelt was a firm believer in the
advantages of personnel contact, in
the benefits to be derived from per-
Sonal knowledge and understand
ing of the men with whom he was
dealing. In last years political
campaign this background of per-
Sonal contact was advertised as an
asset and it undoubtedly contrib
uted to Mr.. Roosevelts reelection.
Thus, to the extent that this factor
is important, Mr.. Truman will work
under an additional handicap
throughout the PotSdam discussions.
When all this has been said, how
ever, we can still await with con-
f1dence the results of this meeting.
Mr.. Truman has abundantly demon
strated that he is no novice in the
art of discussion and compromise.
If he receives the continuing sup
port from the American people to
which he is entitled, and which
common sense tells us he should
have, we need not fear that the in
terestS of the United States will
suffer at Potsdam, or in the trying
months that will follow.