Evening star., 1945-05-20

me DTOIOn.
Minister Churchill described 1t only AZ
set of general principles to guide the
leaders of the world in the formulation
of their future relationships. In fact,
the charter had died long before it was
buried. The Ambassadors in Washing
ton had placed their signatures on q
shadow
Small Nations Hopes Buried.
With the Atlantic Charter also were
buried the hopes and expectations Of
the smaller nations to resume national
and sovereign existence after the ter
roristic Hitlerian rule was broken.
The Atlantic Charter was replaced
four years later by the Yalta agree
ments signed by President Roosevelt,
Premier Stain and Prime Minister
Churchill. For the rule of equality
among all and respect and justice for
the small as well as the large members
of the United Nations was substituted
the rule of dictatorship of the big over
the small. This was illustrated later at
San Francisco, where the Czechoslovak
Foreign Minister, Jan Massaryk stated
that little nations ought to be seen
and not heard"
The Yalta agreements are composed
of two sections. One, which was given
to the public and hailed as a milestone
in the history of nations by the peace
hungry people of the United States,
contained some generalities which
promised to make the next milestone in
the history of the world, the San
Francisco Conference, real success It
also contained some "concessions" on
the part of Premier Stain in regard to
the formation of national Polish gov
ernment and the re-establishment of q
genuine parliamentary success in Yugo-
slavia. 1t also contained a formal
pledge that after the signature of the
Crimean treaty, none of the Big Three
would undertake any political action
anywhere without previously consulting
and informing one another. The other
section contained unrevealed agree
ments regarding Germany and the Pa
cific.
Yalta Hopes Die Quickly.
While the illusion of the Atlantic
Charter lasted three years, the illusion
over the Yalta agreements lasted only
10 days. Hardly had the ink dried on
the written pledges of the Big Three
when the U. S. S. r. broke them by taking
a unilateral action in Romania. This
was followed later by a similar step in
regard to Austria, which was to have
been a ward of the Big Three until
satisfactory democratic government
could be formed there. Finally the
commission agreed on at Yalta to re-
organize the Polish government reached
no agreement because the Russian del
egate, Foreign Commissar Molotov,
vetoed every one of the suggestions of
his colleagues, the American and British
Ambassadors to the u s. s. r. The Cri-
mean treaty, too. had become just an
other scarp of paper.
Now we are looking hopefully to the
San Francisco agreements. But the
question which arises in the minds of
Unconditional observers is how will these
be justly and impartially enforced if
other treaties signed so recently in
spirit of friendship and unselfish alb
negation Cat least as far as the United
States is concerneO have been thrown
into the wastepaper basket.
From all we have read in newspapers
or heard over the radio, the delegates
of the main European powers, while
talking high ideals and magic formulae,
had their minds turned to more prac-
tical subjects. Foreign Commissar
Molotov was thinking in terms of Rus
Sia's future boundaries and her satel-
htes. He also was thinking in terms
of ideologies patterned after those of
Lenin which are being spread so
rapidly throughout the world. These
are called in Russia "the real new
democracy" as against the more ancient
forms which prevail in the English
speaking countries.
Eden Thinks of Life Line.
Secretary Anthony Eden had his mind
turned to Britain's lines of communi-
cations through the Mediterranean and
the Suez Canal. Dumbarton Oaks and
international security fit the pattern of
Britain's political mind but these are,
in the opinion of her statesmen, empty
words unless the life lines of the
British Empire are solidly secured and
thus the empire kept together.
Mr.. Stettinius was working overtime
trying to reconcile all these points of
view. He had promised himself to
deliver to the United States Senate
Tor Its ratification an instrument TO,
peace and he still hopes to do so.
The small nations of Europe were
nonplussed At San Francisco high.
sounding words about liberty, Justice
sovereign human rights, democracy and
what not were spoken by everybody
But they had their own positive in.
formation about hundreds of thousand.
OF innocent individuals who had moi
yet abandoned the old-fashioned ides
OF what democracy means to persons
being sent eastward into labor camps
Tens OF thousands of families broker
up, never to see each other AGAR
under the new democratic system" ir
which political exiles are sent to diff.
ferent places. The females are sent
to one section of the vast trans IRA
Russian Empire while the males are
sent thousands of miles to the othe,
side.
The Poles were receiving dishearten-
ing reports from what is left of the
underground which fought the Ger.
mans valiantly for 51s years and ar.
now called traitors. And what they
heard was not pleasant. Whole area,