Henderson daily dispatch., 1946-08-23
Tension Relaxes


into custody by Marshal Tito's gov
eminent after their plane had been
forced down in his country will ease
considerably the strained relations
between the United States and
Yugoslavia. Now that the tension
relaNeS, however. what has the Tito
regime gained by its bristling at
titudc? 1t could never alone have
prevailed should hoStiliticS have re-
suited, and that status is unthink-
able.
Yugoslavia was prompt in meet
ing the terms of the Washington
ultimatum, backed strongly by popu-
lar sentiment in this country. If the
small Balkan nation was coerced by
Russia, as some suspect, it could
scarcely have had other purpose
than to test the firmness Of the
United States i'll Il crisis. The United
States delivered its ultimatum and
stood by its demands. For once, this
government has shown some in
tcStinal fortitudc in its foreign rcla-
lions. and evidently had determined
definitely against further appcaSc-
ment. Had such stiffness been evil
dent ali along i'll the past twelve
months, it is very likely that there
would have been less bluff and
buster from other sources and that
greater progress could have been
made by now in establishment Of
peace and order in the world.
Other nations, large and small,
ought 10 learn from this incident
that the United States can get tough
the same as they. Americans would
like to see some of that policy in our
international dealings. 1t would win
more respect for American opinion
and American demands, which are
not based upon selfish motives. rs
some others. but are advanced sole
~ i'll the interest of justice and
peace.
While tension is eaSed. the incident
can hardly be said N this stage TO
be closed. Explanations are in order,
and Il new or AT least firmcr dcfini-
ton of United Nations policies would
not be out of place as relating to
just this sort of development. There
is no spirit of bullying here. If any
of that were evident, il was the
rather smart alec attitude of a small
nation which may have desired to
assume the role of David chal-
longing Goliath. Only this time
Goliath did not give ground and lit
tie David made a monkey of him
self.
What many Americans would like
now would be for the curtains to
be pulled aside to permit of a look
behind the scenes To learn the mo-
tive and inspiration for YugoSlavia'S
bristling move. Was she acting solely
on her own responsibility, or was
she tcaSed into this defiance?
NiioN ItiSC VII Alldl u u II might
sncd light in several directions.
II is not probable that the Yugo-
Slav outburSt would have led to war
Even Tito is entitled to credit for
better sense than that. Certainly the
United States wanted no such turn
of events. and Russia would prefer
that a showdown. if ever il should
develop, were delayed for some time
yet.
The situation had reached the
serious stage. however. and was en-
ploSivc in character. After all. IT was
in that very spot. in what then was
Serbia. that occurred the aSsaSsina-
ton of the Austrian archdukc in
June. 1914, the incident which set
off the first World War. No one
wants another war, and certainly
not now, and il is unlikely that il
would have come. AT the same time.
the easing of this tension is welcome
around the globe.