The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1946-03-18

crisis"
For no sane man, certainly no
responsible statesman in democ-
racy, makes, it his policy to pre-
cipitate the most violent kind Of
crisis. This view is, however, held
by some Of their advisers, and it
may account for the fact that the
State Department has failed to
keep in diplomatic contact with
Moscow during the past three
months. If so, the technical adj
visers have heavy personal re-
sponsibility for letting Mr.. Harri-
man come home before General
Smith was ready to replace him.
For that has meant the virtual
suspension of diplomatic relations
during this most dangerous period.
This procedure can be justified
only if we have written off as
hopeless negotiated settlement
with the Soviet Union. There are
many who think that negotiated
settlement is impossible, that the
Soviet Union does not and will not
keep its promises, that negotiation
can result only in appeasement,
that is to say the sacrifice of the
weak nations and the abandon
ment of our principles. The Rus.
slams have certainly done much to
confirm this view, and mighty
little, indeed practically nothing,
to offset it.
Yet if this is to be our final
judgment, which it may be, Our
people are entitled to feel that it
rests not on deductions from as.
sumptions but upon an exhaustive
effort to negotiate directly and
persistently with the rulers in the
Kremlin. Any fool can set off ''th =
most violent kind of crisis and
hope that a great big exciting
bang will somehow have a fine
healthy effect. But that is not
state; Nanship in great power
which processes to be a. guardian
of the peace, and is in truth a
principal guardian of the peace.
That is little boys playing with
matches.
The worse ones estimate Of the
Russian intentions, the greater the
reason for not dealing with them
verbally, rhetorically, dramatically
and grandiloquently, as we have
been dealing with them, as we are
dealing with them. If, as is the
case, there is an iron curtain be.
tween the western countries and
Russia, then the only possible way
to penetrate it is by ceasing to
crate at long range and to close
IN for direct talk at close range.
At long range nothing gets
through the iron curtain that our
orators want to have get through.
Moreover what they really accom-
plish is to tie Cur own hands in
We ought to under
stand that and act accordingly by
inviting all and sundry to keep
quiet - while we try to negotiate
with the Russians = before we
strike an attitude which leave us
no alternative but to get ready to
fight them.
OF course, it is difficult to nego-
tate with the Russians, and con.
ceivably it may be impossible. But
when we had to negotiate the loan
agreement with the British, who
are Of course much easier to nego.
tate with, we shut off the oratory
and negotiated in private for sew.
eral months. Why? Because an
agreement would have been i'm.
possible if the debates had been
conducted in public. Yet there it
was only a question Of dollars.
Here the question is the life and
death of multitudes Of men, and
we are. trying to deal with this
question without taking the most
elementary precautions which are
necessary if any agreement is ever
% be reached.
1t is not good enough, and it will
lot do, and our people are not
going to like it when they have
been told about it.
-opyri9ht. 1al6. Neu, York Tr;h,,na Inn