The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-05-12

Two years ago, members of the new Presidents own Truman Committee" together with mem- bers of the Senate Military Af- fairs Committee, visited Australia and came back with statement from General Macarthur that thousands of American lives were being lost because Russia did not give up Siberian bases against Japan. EX-Senator Cabot Loc5e aired this statement to Senatorial colleagues and it created bao reaction against Russia - even though General Marshall told Senate that we would not be able to hold Siberian bases Ii Russia gave them to us.
 Today, however, some of peo-
 jle who two years ago were yelling loudest for Russia to iome into the war against Ja- pan are now arguing exactly the reverse.
 This is not true of Chief ot Staff Marshall who believes that any move which will shorten the war and save lives should be talk en. But it is true of many hlgf- ranking Army-Navy leaders who frankly admit in private that they don't want Russia in the war against Japan.
 This is especially true of the Navy. It will be recalled that Commander of-the- Fleet Aom1ral Ernest King opposed Britaln's sending a fleet to help us in the Pacific because he felt we could do the job ourselves and that Brl- tish battleships weren't geared to our speed But Roosevelt over ruled him. Admiral King like wise belongs to the school that believes Russia should not come into the Japanese war.
 Chief argument against Rus
 sia's entrance is that she will
 want Korea and Manchuria, and
 will stir up the northern Chin
 ese armies to fight against Chi
 ang Kai-Shek in the south.
 This is probably true. Unques-
 tionably political complications
 will result from Russia's com
 ing into the Pacific; unquestion-
 ably Russia will want a hand
 in the Far Eastern peace.
 However, against his is the question of wasting a lot more American lives in a longer war And there is no doubt how the boys who have to do the fighting and the dying feel about it. Also there is probably no doubt what President Truman, whose final de- cision it is, will decide about It.
 NOTE-The Russians can back the Chinese northern armies against Chiang Kai-Shek anyway if they want to whether they come into the Jap war or nto.
 LINGUIST VANDENBERG
 Michigan's energetic Senator Vandenberg. who at the start O. this conference slipped anti-Rus- sian stories out to certain news men, is now getting along much better with Molotov. In fact they seem to be excellent friends.
 When the question of recogniz- ing Russia came up in the Sen- ate ten years ago, Vandenber2 voted against it, never has been invited to the Russian Embassy, and always carried an anti-Rus- sian chip on his shoulder. How ever, he has now learned tw word of Russian, while Molotov has learned two words of Eng fish.
 Molotov's two words are OK and Almighty" which he pro- nounces with an FEE" on the end. Vandenberg always enjoys a chuckle and sometimes Slaps Molotov on the back when the Russian Vice -Commissar comes out with these words.
 The Michigan senator, in turn has learned to say "Amerikansky Delegatsia," which means "Amer- ican Delegation" and he also knows the Russian word fol "good", which is "khOrOshaw' Molotov always chuckles wher Van drops these hard-won mug gets from his Russian vocabulary i But when they get into deeper waters, the two men need an in terpreter. Once, when talking privately, Vandenberg is reported by friends to have told Molotov "lf friendly relations could be es tabEshed between the Unise'