The midland journal., 1946-12-06
News; ). "a
BEHIND - 60
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RUSSIA STRIVES TO WRECK
u. N. PEACE DISCUSSIONS
ByhUL MALLON ).
Released by western Newspaper Union.

u. N. PEACE DISCUSSIONS
WASHINGTON.-The patient cour-
age of Messrs. Byrnes, Vandenberg
and Bevin is holding the United Ma
tions peace discussion together in
the face of persistent Russian pres
sure to reduce it to babble. Those
who know the ms and outs here rec
ogniZe the personal courage of these
three men is responsible for keeping
the peace ideal aloft-a courage
such as Byrnes displayed in resist
ing the Wallace boring within his
own administration, the Vandenberg
refusal to take up and make sound
political capital out of the Democrat,
ic drifts toward the Communist-dom-
mated American Labor party, and
now the Bevin resistance to a pro-
Communist appeasement drive led
by an Oxford professor in his own
British parliament. These men are
sincerely fighting for fair way Of
life, and they will not let go, or
give in, even when it hurts. Such
diplomatic courage is rare thing.
The tribute is more appreciated
by those on high as the new Russian
line of friendliness without abandon
ment of antagonism has come into
affect-a sort of attempt at social
grace while scuttling the common
theory of world justice.
TERRIBLE NONSENSE
Without these three men the peace
movement would fall to the unbe-
lievable level of Russian world nom
sense, to wit: Albania, controlled
by Communist dictator, actually
proclaims the right of murder of in
nocent men. 1t refuses to let its
internationally used waters be
cleared Of mines which already have
sunk several British naval ships and
killed British seamen. Any govern
ment of any hue, desiring the SIM
plest human justice, would have de-
manded those straits be swept after
the first accident to save lives, but
not Albania, which stands somewhat
as Yugoslavia did in the shooting
down of American airmen.
And Yugoslavia has sent to
Jail religious man, a Roman
Catholic bishop, who fought
against the Nazis and in the de-
fense Of Jews, simply because
he refused to accept a repug-
nant Communism. Tito proudly
proclaims the Catholic fear
Communism! just exactly as the
Nazis tried to make all Jews
fear them by concentration
camps.
But perhaps the most serious
current Russian attempt to
make the world accept nonsense
as policy is on the question Of
American bases.
Now Russia got all her bases out
of the Jap victory completely as her
own. She took the Kuriles and
Sakhalin Islands north of Japan as
Russian territory, as well as a part
of Korea. She gave nothing to the
world organization to be put under
trusteeship.. Yet when President
Truman comes forward now with
a proposal to let the United Nations
have an international trusteeship
over those vital air bases, the islands
southeast of Japan (Which we con-
quered with American blood alone),
if only the trusteeship will let us
manage them and not veto us-Rus-
STA arises in opposition. She wants
the right Of veto over our own bases!
OUR FIRST DEFENSES
The generous Truman offer is sup.
posed to have been worked out by
the state, war and navy policy COM
mittees. 1t was so generous some
authorities enormously thought it
was campaign gesture to the left
lists and their Communists because
it was made just before election. The
Marshall, Marianas and Caroline is
lands were won by Americans alone
just as surely as Russia won her ter
ritory on the eastern front of Europe
(but not japanese territory because
she did not enter that fight until it
was won).
GNOM DEAtdku mas UucTCu 10
put under trusteeship three re-
mote African regions, the Cam
eroOns, Tanganyika and Togo
land, but she did not offer Glib q
raltar. The Pacific islands are
our Gibraltar as far as future
peace and protection against
Communist revolution are con-
cerned in the Pacific. With an
International trusteeship, Russia
will learn all we are doing there.
The Truman proposition was
simply that we decide ourselves,
without Russian veto, what to do
there in the future air world,
while letting the world keep in
touch with what we do through
its trusteeship. -.-a
The Russian position is even worse
nonsense than these facts imply.
Actually Il she defeats the Truman
proposal, we will keep the islands
and can veto any U. N. action about
our actions. We can keep them and
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