The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1946-08-23
News "a,
BEHIND
THENE'I@|[,z!$||!||lEI51
Released by Western Newspaper Union
A NEW ATTITUDE TOWARD
RUSSIA is DEVELOPING
By PAUL MALLON :,

O0O1f1 DE INV
WASHINGTON. - Some failers
have rhetorically rolled me over the
barrel for reporting recently it does
not make much difference whether
or not we have treaties of peace
comparatively with Russia. They
also objected to my story about
the old politician whose activities
worked out about the same for an
enemy as for a friend. These
whackers did not understand; they
interpreted too generously a pass
ing reference. For Russia is neither
friend nor enemy. She is something
which exists.
To date she has been co-opera-
tive with some ventures for a joint
world peace, but generally she has
been antagonistic. She cannot be
converted to our way of life and
peace, because she will accept
peace only on her own basis. (See
Brooks Atkinson in the New York
Times, and many others as to why
this is so. Atkinson concluded after
a long and truly objective expert
ence in reporting from Moscow that
''The most we can hope for is an
armed peace the next few years").
Treaties can amount to much, little
or nothing. am reporting on
genuine peace, which is what our
people want.
New thought is developing inside
here on this subject. AS result
of our experiences in Paris and in
the UNO, the thinkers of the adj
ministration are clearing their
heads of their war propaganda that
made Russia out to be something
she was not, and are coming to a
factual, truthful, realistic view
point sooner than the politicians of
the administration.
WILL TRY TO IGNORE RUSSIA.
Their refreshened minds are
working along these following lines:
How do we get along peace
fully in world with a powerful
antagOnistic force? Well, how do
you get along with an antago-
nistic neighbor? Some people
fight him. Most people do not. To
fight him is to waste the ener-
gies Of both in conflict which
may sap your strength and
shorten your life even if you are
victorious. Most people just ig-
more him. They plan their lives
for their own purposes. If he
wants to come i'm on some
things which the community
undertakes, let him come in,
and give thanks to God that he
sees some things right, at any
rate. If he chooses to remain
out or is obstructiOnist of your
community purposes, leave him
out. Go ahead and plan as you
would, and can.
This reasoning is far more SEN
sational than it may appear to you
at first glance. It forecasts a whole
about-face from the war propa-
ganda, from the time when it was
practically treasonous to doubt
that Russia was not our friend, did
not 60 to war to save the world
for our kind of democracy, and did
not believe in all our freedoms, the
freedom of religion, the spirit and
the press being most important. It
projects notion of us running be-
yond treaties to our own full under
standing of the basis of them, to
maintain our part of the victory in
our part of the world, and hope
that others come to tin short, it
would mean IAN armed peace for
the next few years."
Now all the pOliticos may not
hasten to this banner. Mr.. Tru-
man pointed to the marker at
Gettysburg which said: "Peace
eternal in a nation united"
He moved to amend "natiOn"
to "world." So it should be-but
it cannot be. 1t is idle to lead
people to expect this in the face
of what we have encountered in
UNO and at Paris - and are
getting daily from the Moscow
press. Politicos may wave some
treaties saying SO.
The prime minister of Britain
waved one such when he got out
of his airplane from Munich and
announced to the world it meant
"Peace in our time" - just before
Britain went to war, unprepared.
Politicians may pretend the state of
the world today is what they intend
ed all along, and realism will have
no objection, but if they pretend
peace has been established in the
e e. al. Ill kl..