Evening star., 1946-08-25

of those who hope and believe it can
be avoided. That 1t should be have
not the slightest doubt, for neither we
nor the Russian people can be benefited
by it.
We might be able to win the war;
we probably would, especially II 1t came
before the Russians developed the atomic
bomb. But it would be only another
such victory as we have already Won,
leading to worse chaos and other con-
f1icts. What would probably follow
would be a succession Of minor wars
throughout Europe and Asia. You cam
not expand disorder, intensity famine,
and, at the same time, reduce strife.
We could at best spread the flood of
catastrophe into many minor channels.
The first Great War led to the worst
series of revolutions the world has yet
known. 1t shattered the stability Of
Europe. We Americans, at the time,
regarded the change as promise of prog
ress. We welcomed the widespread proc
lamation of republics. But we were soon
Iisillusioned. We soon saw that what
took the places of the monarchies were
not cabinets in the sense we under
stood, but relationships. The people
nowhere came to rule. What we had
not realized was that the sufferings and
disorders resulting from such a war were
bound to lead to revolutions and seizures
of control by good or bad leaders.
The second Great War was begun by
pf ho
of authority people ever had; and the
consequences were more disastrous. The
destruction of life and property was
much greater. More nations were
wrecked and ruined, new revolutions
started and worse famine conditions
prevailed. There never was such wide
spread devastation. both morally and
materially, as now exists. We ourselves
are suffering from it.
Impatient People.
The effect upon the United States
was serious. 1t was far more serious
than many of us fully realize. The war
not only cost us the loss of many lives,
but caused us to reverse our long stand
ing policy of nonparticipation in the af-
fairs of nations overseas. 1t caused us
to assume the role of a world power.
We have become an Asiatic as well as
European power. We have entered the
vast extension of chaos in an effort to
reduce the sufferings and at the same
time to prevent repetition of the con-
flicts. This is a colossal undertaking,
and it is one for which We are not tenn
peramentally qualified.
We are an impatient people, inter-
ested primarily in our own affairs
and unwilling to waste time bothering
ourselves with those of others. Yet
time and patience are essential to
the solution Of the tremendous con-
fusion of problems that beset the
continents of Europe and Asia. There
are no short cuts. You cannot have
general peace and famine conditions
at the same time, and if the age-old
fanines of Asia are brought to an
end In a century it will be an unprece-
dented achievement. We have got to
watch our step lest we get into another
great war and make those conditions
still worse.
Though we may not like the ways
of the Russian dictatorship, we still
improve the lot of no people by opposing
it with force. We will not improve
our own.
We cannot fight Russia without grave
injury to ourselves. BY using the atom
bomb before her scientists perfect 1t, we
could probably destroy her cities and
kill enough millions of her people to
bring about their unconditional sur
render, but even if we were quickly and
completely successful, the consequences
would be frightful. They would be this
to the United States. We would not
have a moral leg to stand upon, and
without morality this Nation cannot
endure. We cannot go about the world
destroying nations because they may
become potential enemies.
The atom bomb and germ warfare
are weapons too horrible to be used by
any people except in unquestionable
self-defense. We would not resort to
such measures individually; we would
not blow up the house or spread disease
In the family of our bitterest personal
enemy; and we should not do so as a
nation. What we have done with one of
these instruments already has shaken
our confidence in ourselves 1t has also
shaken the confidence of others in U.s.
1t Is one Of the reasons why the Rus
slams distrust us. The fact that some OF
us are speaking of using 1t again is one
of the req sons why the Dropress of the
United Nations is slowed down to a
crawling pace.
Confidence Shaken.
We had reason to be proud when, at
the end of June, 1945, the Charter of
the United Nations was proclaimed at
San Francisco, and we rightly acclaimed
that achievement as largely to our
credit. But our rejoicing was of short
duration; 1t lasted only five weeks. On
August the announcement came that
We had dropped bomb on Hiroshima
which the great majority Of us did not
know we possessed. Only few men at
the top In our Government knew. The
bomb brought the weakened Japanese
to quick capitulation, but it also did
something to us we did not expect.
1t did several things. For one, 1t shat
tered our own confidence in future Sc
curity, and for another, 1t shook that
OF other nations in us. If we would use
the weapon once, we might do SO again.
When any government in future dispute
with another came to the conclusion
there was no recourse but resort to