The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1946-02-06
TODAY and TOMORROW
OUR PLEDGED WORDS
by WALTER LIPPMANN

OUR PLEDGED WORDS
Enough peace in the Pacific is
SUI lar away, we have made re-
Kaole progress in clarifying
ana strengthening our own policy.
we nave made up our minds what
IL is we do not want and what it
is we do want to have happen on
the mainland of Asia, and we have,
II seems, succeeded in persuading
ootn ~ Chinese and the Russians
lhat mis- Is the best possible ar.
rangement for them as well.
The main points in this develop
ment, which began in the autumn,
nave ben a reorganization inside
the State department, the resig-
nation Of Ambassador Hurley, a
thorough reconsideration of our
own military position in China, the
Far Eastern discussions at the
Moscow conference of foreign
ministers, a well-planned diploma
tic action in Washington and in
Chungking, the mission Of General
Marshall.
What we decided we wanted is
politica. unification of China so
that there might be no civil war
In which China would become a
gigantic Spain, the Russians
backing one faction and we the
other. 1t would have been only
too easy to drift, and to be pushed
and pulled, into a horrible mess.
The Administration deserves the
highest credit for seeing the dam
ger clearly, and of acting swiftly,
skillfully, and sincerely to prevent
it.
It is not, I think, too soon to
say that they have prevented it..
For while there is as yet no GER
tainty that China is out Of the
woods, it looks very much as if the
United States were. We have got
ton free of ENHANCEMENT as the
supporters of one. of the Chinese
parties; we have recovered our
historic position as the supporters
of China as whole, and therefore,
we are far better able to play our
natural and proper role as friendly
mediator between China and the
Soviet Union.
The next big phase in the es-
tablishment of peace will come in
the Southern Pacific - in Indo-
China and in Indonesia. Though
this region is not our primary re-
sponsibility, it seems clear that
we shall in the end have to partic-
ipate in the settlement. The Brit
ish, the French, and the Dutch,
separately and collectively, have
not sufficient power and moral
authority in this turbulent settle
|ment unless in some way or other
it is also underwritten by the Unit
ed States. We have the greatest
strength within reach of the re-
gion and we have a different his
tory in respect to colonies and en-
pire.
But before we can contribute
effectively to settlement, we must
clear up the confusion about our
own claims in the islands north
of the equator. Until this has been
cleared, we can make no firm
plans about our own armed forces.
Moreover, our moral position will
be weakened.
1t will not be easy to clear up
our moral position. For we have
cotton ourselves snarled up in a
series of conflicting moral prin-
ciples, thanks to our habit of pro-
claiming great and high sounding
generalities without stopping to
think whether we mean them in
concrete cases. Thus we have the
first two principles of the Atlantic
Charter which, if they mean what
they say, should debar us from
claiming any new special rights
no ACKNOWLEDGMENT, territorial or
other'-in any of these islands.
We have all the principles of the
trusteeship proposals. And we have
our own claims, on the grounds of
national security and by right of
the blood shed to conquer the is
lands, to undisputed domination.
This is very embarrassing, and