The Wilmington morning star., 1946-05-27
End War Talk
BY SAvILLE A

LONDON.-"If there is to be peace in Europe
there must be an end to talk of war"
In this corner of the world, there is much
talk of war. We admit it. We don't feel at all
proud of it, and sometimes in the midnight
OF our thinking, it carries us down a dark
passage leading toward a great fear. But
most of us - speaking for those who think
about foreign policy in these parts feel
trapped. Whether rightly or misguidely, we
honestly don't think the danger to peace is
our fault. The threat seems to lie in the
hands OF someone else, someone powerful
and fearsome, who seems opposed to our
way OF life and is trying to overthrow it.
We sense where this talk of war is leading,
and yet in the face of such a threat we
don't know how to stop it.
I put the problem the other day to an
Australian statesman who was here for the
Dominion Prime Ministers Conference. Aus
~tralians, it seemed to me, ought to have the
answer if anyone does. Time and again in the
Security Council sessions they have inter-
vened, between Britain and Russia, between
the United States and Russia, seeming to
feel in their bones that right lay in compro-
mise and agreement, and wasn't a monopoly
OF either side.
I asked about the independence movements,
through the Middle East and Far East, and
commented that Australia had repeatedly sup
R0lk WI - al1S& 49, ~ bIS 4t11o ! q w q / vi
occupation troops which have been washed up
all along these shores by the war. He agreed
that this was a fundamental principle of the
new world order, for which Australia stood.
Then I switched to Suez and straightway
we began to talk In familiar security terms.
The canal had to be defended. Much Aus
tralian blood had been shed for it, during
two wars. The Egyptians couldn't do the job;
obviously, British troops had to be there.
tfThen how about Fpvntian ndenendence2''
He got my unspoken query: Does Aus
tralia support independence movements only
where they do not interfere with security?'
My notes at this point record he looked I'M
comfortable. I must have, too.
There was a long pause. What about inter-
Matchmaking Suez?"
Eventually" he said. But the time wasn't
ripe yet.
What about making an international zone
out of the whole Mediterranean area?" For
eign Minister Bevia has been thinking about
this for the future.
That's quite a way Off"
I was getting desperate. What abou. a
kind of security truce or No Mans Land in
the Middle East created by the general with
drawal Of troops by both sides? This ought
to be possible now that Russia has backed
out of Iran
No, it wasn't time yet to give up British
control of this area.
l played my last card, will We get a fresh
start when the treaties are finished, and all
this postwar struggle for security reaches a
kind OF plateau Of stability, at least for the
moment?'
He seized on this eagerly. All the pulling
and hauling over security which caused much
OF the talk of war hereabouts was really
caused by the treaty struggle. If we but real
lzed 1t, we were agonizing not about the next
war but about the issues involved in liquidat-
ing the last. This liquidation can and must be
completed soon. Yes, a fresh start at that
point was our best>hope.
All this goes to show how hard it is for us
to get at the root of the cause of the war
talk. No responsible statesman feels he can
neglect his country's security, just in case.
It's that in case" that plaques us. How get
the atmosphere for building the peace, when
IN the same breath we must hedge against
war? And when every detail of the hedging
process is seized upon by real warmongers -
those extremists who believe implacablv that
war is inevitable, and who improve everv
opportunity to spread poison, which is used
to strike fear into moderates who might other
wise listen to reason?
There are practical steps for everv indi-
vldual in helping to end war talk. We can
consciously resist these extremists. We can
counteract their talk with positive state.
nents. We can examine and re-examine that
strangely persistent conviction, down inside
our own national emotions, that we are
always right and it is the other fellow who
is threatening the peace. We can remind
ourselves that the vicious cycle of suspicious
gets gong in such cases which often causes
just those ugly traits in the other fellow which
we consider wrong and unprincipled.
me cause isn't always MY actions or
YOURS but the action of an impersonal de-
structlVe force bedevilling us both. That real
lzatlon Will help us as individuals.
Society at large, however, needs sign to
break the cycle of cynicism and p~essimism.
1he completion of the peace treaties could
provide this. When the four Foreign Min
listers resume work at Paris they will not
only be bargaining; they'll be working for
an end to this whole phase of postwar bar
gaining; for a chance to begin talking peace,
again and to make a fresh st~art.-Christian
Science Monitor.
We must now engage in the liberal educa-
ton of everybody, OF all adolescents and all
adults. OF these two adult education is the
more important. - DR.. Robert M. Hutcans
chancellor U. OF Chicago.
IF we want 10 save the world within the nev+