Evening star., 1946-05-29
By GornettD. Homer

oAeFASASaA OAA0v ASAooAo may SS
using German war plants for
secret arms production was
raised here today by Soviet eff
fort to block a joint Big Four
checkup on the demilitarization
of Nazl industry.
The new controversy with Mos
COW was disclosed by Secretary of
State Byrnes late yesterday at a
news conference during which he
struck back sharply at Soviet For
eign Minister Molotov's charges of
Anglo-American bad faith in efforts
to make European peace settlements.
! Mr.. Byrnes said the Russian rep
resentative on the Allied Council in
Berlin had taken the position at a
meeting few days ago that Joint
investigation of the progress of Ger
man demilitarization should be
confined solely to the disarmament
Of soldiers.
The United States. Britain and
France, he said. insist that the in
vestigators also be empowered to
check up on whether OR not war
weapons still are being manufac-
tured in any OF the four occupation
zones.
He emphasized that the three
western powers want to find out
if any German plants are being
used to produce arms. and, if so,
by whom and for what reason. This
is just as important, he said. as de-
termining whether weapons have
been taken from individuals.
Mr.. Byrnes recalled that the plan
for having the four power Allied
Council in Berlin appoint deputies
with the right to go into every zone
and report on the progress OF Ger
man demilitarization was agreed on
at the recent Paris conference OF
Big -Four Foreign Ministers.
Reading at length from the rec
ord OF that and other conferences
to refute charges made by Mr. MoIo-
tov in statement published in
Pravda Monday, Mr.. Byrnes:
l. Flatly denied existence of any
Anglo bloc against Russia.
2. Said Mr. Molotov must have
been misouoted when he ta) ques-
toned the accuracy of Mr.. Byrnes
statement that Prime Minister
Stain had agreed in principle to
the American proposal for 25-year
treaty for German demilitarization
and tb' contended that it had been
suggested as mutual assistance
pact
/ 3. Asserted that American pro-
posals for military bases in Iceland
far from being an expansionist
move, were deliberately framed to
strengthen world as we'll as Amer
lean security by providing that fa-
clllties built in Iceland by this
country could be made available to
the United Nations Security Council
Furthermore, he said. details of the
proposals were supplied to the Rus
sian and British governments before
their submission to Iceland last Oc-
tober.
4. Insisted that Mr.. Molotov is
wrong in describing Americas will
ingness to discuss peace settlement
issues dividing the Big Powers with
other nations in a general peace
conference or in the United Nations
General Assembly as an effort to
impose its will on Russia. On the
contrary. he said. it is q willingness
to submit world problems to world
opinion
/ Mr., Byrnes said, however. that
with MIR. Molotov he hoped the Big
Four foreign ministers could agree
on the peace terms for Germanys
former allies when they resume their
meeting in Paris June Is because
that would facilitate the work of a
general peace conference.
The Secretary devoted most of his
40-mlnute news conference to
painstaklng review of the history of
his proposal for Big Four pact to
keep Germany disarmed for IS years.
He said he had initiated the pfo-
posal because he was deeply i'm
pressed by statements of Stain at
the Yalta Conference last year, ex-
pressing fear that, as it did after the
First World War, the United States
would withdraw from European
affairs and so raise the danger Of
revival of German aggression.
Mr.. Byrnes said he first mentioned
the treaty proposal to Mr.. Molotov
in London last September 20. asking
whether he believed it would be a
real contribution to removing fear
Of renewed German aggression.
Mr.. Molotov said he could not give
the definite views of his govern
ment then. but personally thought
it a very interesting idea. Mr.. Byrnes
recalled
On December "a in Moscow. Mr..
Byrnes said, he suggested the treaty
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