The Wilmington morning star., 1946-12-29

The News
BY NORMAN CARIGNAS
AP Foreign Affairs Anal

Ar Forelsn Affairs ANALYST
The old ghost of U. S.-ArgeT';n.
relations is stalking the paie grns
corridors of the State denar+noa|
again.
In Washington, apparently for
full review of the question: IL FL.
eran carer diplomat George Mos
sersmith, U. S. ambassador
Buenos Aires, bearing ideas ~
what should be done about Argen'
tina.
His views repeatedly are at vari.
ance with those of Assistant Sccra.
tary Of State Spruille Braden
burly 230-pounder who has cooroa
of U. S. relations with Latin Arner.
lea.
The problem b~asicallv is IL.
same that has ranked many a din.
lomat before and split the STAT.
department wide open on a numbar
of occasions.
Crudely stated, the question is.
,"SHould the United States for,
give what it ses as the sins o. il,
sister republics for the sake NJ
maintaining unity?"
AS applied to Argentina and he,
president, Gen. Juan Domlngo
Peron, Rraden doesn't think 50
Messersmith, according to his
friends, has his own views.
Byrnes Will Referee
Secretary Of State Byrnes Is Stat.
e d toreferee the dispute next week
when he returns from his South
Carolina vacation. ByrneS recentlv
called Messersmith home for con.
situations.
Briefly stated, the cur argv.
ment springs from these ,e!op.
ments:
The administration has repeated.
ly charged and sought to prove
that Argentina collaborated with
the Axis during the war and that
Axis agents, firms and institutions
flourished there.
Argentina subscribed to various
inter-American resolutions contain.
ing pledges to wipe out all Nazi
influences. The U. S. claims-and
Argentina denies-that these prom
Uses have not been kept.
Last April Secretary Byrnes tod
Argentina the U. S. would include
her in a proposed arms swapping
arrangement and a mutual defense
treaty provided she first got i'd
of Nazi influences.
Subsequently Ambassador Meg-
sersmith was sent to Buenos Aires
to see whether Argentina came
through with her end of the bar
. gain. Shortly afterwards, reports
began filtering back from Argen-
tina to the effect that the ambassa-
dor had a different Interpretation
of Byrnes' April statement from
that of Braden.
In letters to various friends in
the U. S., Messersmith suggested
that this country shouldn't be
tougher on Argentina than on Other
Latin American countries when it
comes to cleaning house of Nazis,
He also insisted that unity OF the
hemisphere is paramount.
Brade MAS stood fast on his con-
tention that Argentina should com
oily substantially because ! nmost
cases the Nazi agents within her
borders are more dangerous than
all the others in Latin America put
together.
He has also made his belief clear
that ''whittling down. principles
for the sake of unanimity is worth
less.
It is this question Of "what price
hemisphere unity?' that mas 50
often divided the State department,
In 1914 Secretary of State Hull
abandoned the hope of achieving a
working hemisphere unity and oe-
nounced Argentina.
Only a year later, his successor,
Edward R. Stettinius, Jr., revived
the principle and gave Argentina
another opportunity for the sake o.
unity. However, this opporfunl'yl
expired shortly after Byrnes TOOK
office.
Byrnes has consistently backed
Braden on his administration o.
Argentina policy. But with the cur
rent dispute raging around Aln'
Byrnes eventually will have 10 sep
in again and either reafflrm me
policy Or change it once again.