The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1946-02-20
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80
FROM PAGE ONE

there should be no Illusions in
Moscow and none here that these
questions are parts of a whole
which would become of vital in.
terest to the United States. II
China lost the control of Man
churia, the Chinese would lose the
source of the materials which are
indispensable to the economic, and
therefore to the political, indie.
pendence of China. It Tito ex-
banded his Balkan empire into
Trieste-which is the chief south
ern port Of central Europe and
into Salonika, which is critical for
the independence Of Greece, and if
the Soviet Union not merely IN
locked the Dardanelles-Which is
her right-but projected her mill
tary power across the Mediter-
reanean into Africa and across Iran
into the Indian Ocean: if all these
things happened togethe, then
these would be vital issues which
could not be CLOSED over between
the Soviet Union and the United
States.
For we too have a zone of stra-
tegic security, and the Russians
ought to be the very last people
in the world to pretend that they
alone have to consider or need
to consider their strategic security.
In the region where they are now
exerting pressure, they cannot
claim TO be taking precautions
against the revival of Pan-German
aggression. This region is not the
insecute borderland Of the two
German invasions of Russia or of
the Gordon sanitaire. This is the
buffer and borderline region. be-
tween the massive land power of
the Soviet Union and the sea
power of Great Britain and the
United States.
At this meeting point power will
have to be stabilized or there will
surely be a destructive contest fo1
influence and a DISASTROUS race Of
ornaments. If the Big Three can
not find acceptable limits to their
military power where they meet
then-though there be no war -
there will be no peace. For the
primary concern of each of the
Big Three-and particularly OF ths
U. S. S. R. and the U. S. Anvil
be with strategical advantages ane
with the development of long.
range defensive offensive arma
ment. .., 80
This race of ornaments is bott
the effect and a cause of tn,
worlds disorder. 1t is not yet seri
ously under way. But the serious
discussion and the planning of i
are in fact under way. That is
how the outside world is com
PEELED to read Stalin's speech. Il
he did not mean what we under
stand him to mean-and "Pravda''
says he 6idn't-then the sooner III
explains what he did mean, tn,
better. If the speech does moi
mean that the Russian people art
now being asked to accept fifteer
years of austerity in order to de.
velop more quickly the industrial.
base of military power, then wha
are they being asked to accept?
That, and not the details of the
Bevin- Vishinsky debates, is what
we shall have to discuss with the
Soviet Union if there is to be col
Elaboration rather than a race o
ornaments. In that discussion
the Russians will be entitled to
ask us about the Presidents Nav
Day speech, and to explain our
own military plans - why we wan
the bases we want, why Congress
will be asked to support the kind
Of large amphibious armament
which present plans call for.
But at least we can say that W
have initiated the discussions ane
that possessing the most power.
full of all long-range, weapons we
are seeking not to .monopolize O,
even to exploit it, but to outlaw
it or at least to regulate it. Gu,
invitation to the Russians to joir
us in examining the problem C
the atomic bomb opens up tn
FEASIBILITY Of general discussio
7 Of all ornaments. The resolutio
itself covers not only the atomi
: bomb but all weapons of mass de
! structio11.
+ Moreover, in the Military Com
mite Of the United Nations = i
+ we all send military statesmen :
a we can discuss the whole problem
e of armaments. For in any agree
e ment to provide quotas for polio,
:. purposes, We can at least infor
ma1ly examine all the Other NIL;