Evening star., 1946-10-10
Text Of Vondenberq Address

Il Text Of Vonde
| Dy The AsseeIossd Press
PARIS, Oct. 10-Tert of the
statement OF Senator VandenberD
at the Peace Conference today:
The economic clauses Of the treaty
with Romania raise vital issues in
volving the ability Of Romania, and
of countries whose commerce must
pass through Romania, to trade
freely In the markets Of the world.
and the ability Of other countries to
trade with Romania. These ques-
tons 60 directly to the degree Of
progress and Of peace which this
conference shall encourage, speak
briefly on this phase Of the pending
treaty.
First, the United States delega-
tion desires to bring Article XXXIv
In the Romanian treaty to the urgent
attention Of the conference because
LIT believes q free Danube is indis-
Ipensable to the economic health,
and therefore to the peace, Of Cen
tral Europe.
The United States has no direct,
commercial interest Of its own in the
Danube. Therefore 1t believes 1t can
deal effectively with this problem.
It has q heavy temporary response
bility because, so long as it is In mill
tary occupation, 1t must act as an
economic trustee for parts Of Ger
many and Austria; and it is COM
pletely convinced that q free Dan
ube, under unified control, is as in
dispensable to their welfare and
progress as is the economic unity
required by the Potsdam agreement
for Germany as a whole.
/ But the larger problem of the gen.
eral peace is our greater concern
and we again assert the conviction
that this peace, which is the re-
sponsibility of every nation In this
conference, is substantially related
to the avoidance Of international
trade barriers which invite discrim-
nation and dangerous frictions.
The Danube, the longest navigable
waterway IN Europe west OF the
Soviet Union, is the perfect example
Of these necessities.
Division Causes Trouble.
It Is historically clear that Dam
ubian commerce cannot prosper If
1t Is at the mercy Of various unco-
ordinated, restrictive and discrim-
| inatory administration which re-
spond to the local judgments OF the
eight national jurisdictions through
which the Danube flows. Some OF
the current troublesome problems on
the Danube are the result Of thus
dividing the Danube into unrelated
watertight compartments-in con-
tempt of the lessons Of history and
experience. .-
Article "a proposes to restore the
wisdom of history and experience.
It asserts the general principle that
navigation on the Danube shall be
free and open on terms of equality
to all states without discrimination.
It then RENTS to the riparian states
themselves, In consultation with the
four powers, the establishment OF
an operating regime during the
i next six months. One Of the four
powers, Russia, is also riparian.
Another, America, is riparian by
proxy-so long IS it is in German
and Austrian occupation. There
fore riparian states will be in COM
plete control of the establishment
of this new unified regime. Thus a
maximum Of "home rule" is pre-
served while, at the same time, this
conference exercises its rights and
duty to require the application Of
general principles which 1t deems
essential to the peace for which we
all made our common sacrifice.
7 emphasize and underline the
vitally significant fact that this is
no new concept. These are old
truths, as persistent as the Danube
itself, which ! repeat today. They
have been recognized by the main
tenance Of international administra-
tion Of the Danube since 1856-and
even back of that in Napoleonic
days. For instance, the Treaty
lof Versailles internationalized the
Danube from the head of naviga-
ton to the sea, and established free
navigation throughout the rivers
length, with q. control commission
including other than riparian states
as q recognition of the breadth OF
interests involved.
It is needless to trace the fluc-
tuating fortunes of the various
Danubian commissions since 1856.
The important point, in the Ameri-
can view, is that this relative free
dom Of navigation on the Danube
has been accepted, In one form or
another, as essential for 80 years.
I venture to say that the general
principles, reasserted in Article "a,
have been inherent in the Danubian
regime throughout these 80 years.
They have been acknowledged as
the essential formula for peace and
progress-rao matter how lily imple-
mented-for almost century. They
are more essential than ever today
Silence Would Be Retreat.
It seems to the United States dele
CATION that 1t would be tragic and
reactionary mistake for this confer
ence to turn its back upon all his
tory and experience reinforced, as
they are, by the obvious need for
nondiscriminatory unity as dis
closed by the limping, stagnant
economy of the Danube today.
Worse: Our silence on this subject
would be an actual retreat - an
abandonment Of freedoms long
established before we all fought
World War II for greater freedoms.
It seems to us that the world Is
entitled to know that its peace
makers are at least holding their
own" and not slipping back into
darker ages.
Article "a was approved by the
Balkan Economic Commission by a
vote Of to with one abstention.
The United States delegation is