Evening star., 1946-10-13


or the part Of It dealing with @trustee-
ship" q term neither understood nor
liked by the Korean people) should be
consulted In the formation Of . proU-
sional government.
Freedom Of expression was the clear
issue. American representative held
the conviction that freedom Of express
sion was an important tenet Of de-
mocracy. Soviet Russian representa-
tives held that dissent from unilateral
Interpretation Of an authoritative doc
trine put an individual or group beyond
the pale Of democracy.
AZ was brought out In 4 press releaSe
Of an exchange Of letters in August
between Lieut.. Gen. John r. Hodge,
United States commander In Korea, and
Col. Gen. I. NJ. Chistiakov, commander
Of the 25th Red Army In Korea, In an
effort Of the former to bring about q
resumption of the meetings. the United
States delegation simply refused to ''read
interpretations into the Moscow de-
cisions." TO have excluded all Koreans
who had spoken against "trusteeship"
would have .barred--on technicality
without validity except to Moscow-all
but the Communist Party members and
satellites from any part in helping to
establish . provisional government.
Soviet Refuses to Yield.
Gen. Hodge put the matter trenchant-
ly when he said in this exchange sCf
letters that "the American delegation
can not be q party to arbitrary exclu-
sion or punitive tactics In dealing with
the Korean people nor to evoking other
than the normal usage Of the word"
democracy.
Thus, the negotiations which ended
abruptly on May could. not be re-
opened by American efforts except on
terms inimical to the interests Of the
Korean people and contrary to the
American Interpretation Of democratic
procedures. To put the matter bluntly,
it is clear that at least as late as Sep
tember Soviet Russia put herself on
record as unwilling to take her chances
in an unfettered movement to permit
the Korean people freely to establish
even provisional government, except
on Soviet unilateral terms.
From the democratic point Of view one
ray of hope in the international tragedy
being enacted In Korea today is pre-
sented by the results Of democratically
conducted, nationwide elections Of
township, county and provincial coun-
ellis In South Korea this past summer
where the Communists could muster
less than per cent Of the total vote
despite libel, slander, and coercive meth
ods.
U. s. Position Is Clear.
Insofar as American goals are con-
cerned no clearer or more exact pres
entation Of the situation has been made
than that included in the broadcast
address Of Gen. Hodge on September 8
when he said, America has no claim,
no design, no Interior plot in her co..
operation with the Korean people" And
later. I'VE believe that the cause of
liberty is upheld everywhere when it Is
pursued anywhere; consequently .
threat to freedom anywhere menaces
it everywhere. America desires to build,
not to destroy. We believe in individ-
ualism and initiative as opposed to
regimentation.'
That much has been accomplished in
South Korea BY the energetic and
patriotic Korean people, despite the
yociferous efforts Of the Soviet inspired
segment, may be accepted as fact. Yet,
1t is manifest that whatever else Is
involved, Korea Is stymied insofar as
unifcation Is concerned until there is
q willingness on the part Of the Soviet
to allow Korea to stabilize her affairs In
I hsr own Iway within her traditional
boundaries.
There can be no compromise on prin-
ciples. including that Of self-deternlina-
tion as to the tenets Of Korean political
and economic organization, In connec-
tion with the unification Of North and
South Korea--for the people are one.
The partition OF Korea cannot be j1sti-
fied by any known political philosophy,
and to do so would compromise the
ethical standards Of all democratic goy-
ernments. Control and indoctrination
Of North Korea BY foreign power, re-
gardless Of its value to that power, Is
not the question at Issue, even though
that power might be willing to forgo
domination Of the southern half.
America must be Just 70 the Koreans.
resolute with the Russians, and realistic
Ia dealing with the international prob
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