Evening star., 1946-07-07
By Newbold Noyes, J.


from one session after DISAGREE
procedural question. To date Russia
has avoided use of the veto unless it is
at least reasonably arguable that the
matter in hand is one of substance.
There is nothing absurd, however, about
the description of how the tactic works
1t happened exactly that way on the
Spanish Issue.
The obvious impossibility of doing
business in Council subject to this
sort of hamstringing has led the great
powers tother than Russia TO a gen.
eral reappraisal of the value of the
veto and a revision of their attitudes
toward it.
China, which has always had low
opinion of the veto principle. is more
willing than ever today to abandon it.
The Chinese have never used the veto,
and say they never will
France has used the veto once, but the
French attitude is about the same as the
Chinese. French spokesnen state fatty
their government would in no way insist
on maintaining the veto right if others
were willing to give it up.
Members of the British delegation ad-
nit that pushing for immediate aban-
donment of the veto is not practical
politics." but assert their intention of
working toward a limitation of its abuses
and add that Britain herself would be
willing to yield the veto right if other
great powers did likewise.
The view of the United States Gov
ernment, as interpreted privately and
frankly-not to say bluntly-by State
Department informants, is approx
mately as follows:
End of Veto Dangerous
The State Department holds that the
Senate would not countenance a move
to abandon the veto this year or any
time soon. and most officials do not
think it should. There is a feeling in
the American delegation in New York
York that it would be dangerous for
the United States to become so impa-
tient at obvious Russian abuses of the
veto as to be swept hurriedly into a de-
it could, through abuse of its power,
ciSion leading to its abandonment
American officials consider that the
! United States needs the veto. They are
aware of mounting sentiment in this
country against this view, but they be-
| lieVe that recent events have distorted
| public judgment in the matter. AS one
OF them put it last week:
John Doe is sore at the Russians be-
cause he thinks, perhaps rightly, that
they are making the U. ~ unavoidable
He thinks the way to stop this is to do
away with the veto. But the question is
being put to him wrong. Ask him some
! time whether he is willing to put the
/ United States In a position where the
rest of the world could vote it into a
war"
1t is awareness of this danger-that
| the Security Council might someday
vote for a war between the only two
| powers that could really fight one
namely, the United States and RusSip-
which lies at the bottom of American
official insistence on retention OF its
right to veto Security Council decisions
American officials are perfectly will
ing to talk in general terms about cir
cumscribing" use of the veto, limiting
its application, cutting out its abuse and
so forth-even about the necessity o1
working toward its eventual aban-
donment. But practical methods oi
achieving these obviously desirable ends
are harder to talk about.
1t has been suggested, for example
that it might help if the great powers
(other than RUSSIA were to renounce
the idea that there must be great power
unity in determining that question is
procedural and therefore not subject tc
the veto. The proposal is certain to be
advanced, in any future airing of the
veto issue, that the Security Council b5
conceded the right to decide by majority
vote what issues are substantive (sub.
ject to the veto) and what issues are not
But from the point of view of the
United States, at least, there is an obvi.
Gus danger in conceding such a right tt
the Council. A great power can now
establish that an obviously procedure
question must be considered substantive
making black white. BY the same
token, if the Council were allowed tt
decide on this question by majority vote
it could, through abuse Of Its power
establish that an obviously substantive
question must be considered procedure
making white black. In so doing, il
could conceivably vote this country int
war.
So there 4 the dilemma, No one ha
yet come UP with suggestion whereof,