Evening star., 1945-05-31
Conference al Odds
Over Method for
Selecting Secretary
BY GOULD LINCOLN,
Star Staff Correspondent.

Star Staff Correspondent.
SAN FRANCISCO, May 81.
Notwithstanding commission
approval of uncontested agree
ments in report of the Com
mittee on Structure and Proce-
dure OF the general assembly of
the projected world security
organization, the United Nations
Conference has made little prog
ress in the last "a hours.
Even at the meeting yesterday of
the Commission on the General AS
sembly, which was open to the pub
Tic and therefore expected to go
through without a hitch, a contro-
versy arose over the election of a
secretary general
A member of the Russian delega-
ton, K. v. Novikov, opposed the
right Of the general assembly to
reject a candidate for the post who
had been recommended by the Sc
curity council.
The committee report proposed
that the secretary general should be
elected to the assembly on recon-
mendation of the security council
When this proposal was reached, a
Netherlands delegate, K. Van Vre-
denburch, said that in the opinion
OF his delegation it was unanimously
understood in committee that the
secretary general be elected by the
assembly on recommendation of the
security council, but that the gen.
eral assembly should De free to re-
Ject any name submitted to it,
Put in Form of Motion.
Australia's S Foreign Minister, Her
bert V. Evatt, seconded the Dutch
opinion and put it in the form of a
motion. Mr. Novikov asked the
president of the commission, Field
Marshal Smuts of South Africa, to
postpone vote and refer the matter
to the conference Steering Commit
tee. A Belgian delegate, Victor de
Laveleye, opposed this request, de-
clarlng that the commission was
competent to decide the issue with
out further delay.
Field Marshal Smuts ruled in
favor of Mr.. Novikov and cut short
the debate.
And so the controversy between
the great nations and the lesser.
over powers of the security council
as contrasted with the powers of the
general assembly, has broken out at
fresh point.
A kind of CLOSING agenda" for
the conference is being worked out
by Alger Hiss, secretary general OF
the conference, undertaking to show
what issues remain to be disposed of,
what must be referred back to home
governments before final APPROVAL is
given - particularly whether the
whole charter must be transmitted
to Moscow for final check and low
the charter is to be signed and by
whom.
Until this list has been developed,
it was said today, any certain esti-
mate of closing date for the con-
ference is impossible 1t is becom-
ing more and more obvious, however,
that firm steps will have to be taken
to limit debate, especially in COM
mittees, to get down to action.
Answers Awaited.
The conference still is waiting to
hear reports of some governments
on the Interpretation CT the voting
formula for the security council,
drafted by representatives Of the
f011r cv,0r,cNri,,o No
States, Britain, Russia and China
and in which France has been con-
suited. No word has yet been heard
from Moscow, it was said. Until
this matter has been cleared up,
much of the work of the conference
remains at StandStlll.
The medium and smaller nations
are continuing their fight to modify
the veto power in the voting for
mula. They are aiming their barbs
particularly at the use of the veto
power to block proposals to amend
the charter of the world organiza-
ton being drafted here
More than dozen proposals deal
ing with this matter of future
amendment have been submitted.
In an attempt to work out a COM
promise, they have been assigned to
subcommittee composed of repre-
sentatives of Belgium, the Ukraine,
Saudi Arabia, Britain, Russia. the
United States, China, France, Nor
way. Venezuela, Australia, Brazil,
Ecuador, Canada and Mexico
Australia has demanded moditl-
cation which would permit charter
amendments on agreement by two
thirds of all the member nations,
with three of the five permanent
members of the security council con-
curing. Australia contends this
would eliminate the possibility of
Just one of the permanent members
blocking amendment.
Until the interpretations of the
voting formula are available, how
ever, this matter of amendment of
the charter and many other sub
jects are hanging fire.
At a meeting of the Committee on
Enforcement Arrangements last
LOST.
BICYCLE, erls, blue and white. Schwinn.
with straw basket. Lawrence license plate