Evening star., 1947-04-09
Mood Of Fuiiliiy Rule,
Big |, Heading Into
Fresh German Issues
By Newbold Noyes. j.
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MOSCOW, April 3 The mood
here today, 50 far as this meet
ing of the Foreign Ministers
Conference is concerned, Is one
of complete futility. Everybody
lis wearing the same EXPRESSION.
lit is that of man who keeps
asking himself How long, oh
Lord, how long
Secretary Of State Marshall made
this mood onhcial ct yesterdays
meeting. He clearly indicated that
the main concern Of the American
delegation is now to get finished
with these "interminable discus
|sions" on points of hopeless dis
|agreement--to push on through the
|agenda, establishing our various po-
|sitions on German and Austrian
questions, and then to go home.
IT we can at least cover the
ground and and out where we stand.
he said in effect, we may have bet
ter luck next time.
With strong support from British
Foreign Minister BeYin, Gen. Mar
shall has managed, at least tenn
|porarily, to get the stalled confer
|ence under way again. The Min
listers are moving on today to the
problem OF Germany's future from
tiers.
Lacking any semblance of agree
ment on such basic and immediate
occupation issues as an economic
policy for Germany, the Big Four's
discussion on this problem, as on
all remaining problems on the
is bound to be purely ex-
ploratory. The question our dele
gates are asking themselves, how
ever, is whether it will be possible
to keep the conference going now
that it is started again. Or will
Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov.
who bowed yesterday before the i'm
patient pressure of his colleagues,
go back to the business Of trying
to hold up the Council as long as
possible on each point of disagree
ment?
No one is too hopeful today that
Mr.. Molotov has really reformed.
He succeeded. during the past week,
in creating the clear impression
that his game is to stall on every
point His hope seems to be to
force Gen. Marshall and Mr.. Bevin
into a position where, if they are
to avoid spending another month or
so finishing the agenda, they must
take full responsibility for pushing
things to quick formal conclusion. !
Molofov Plays to Germans.
Meanwhile, looking forward to
The day when we and the British do
take this responsibility, MIR. Molotov
Is missing no chances to play to the
German grsndstand. He apparently
hopes to create the illusion that |
everything would have been rosy in
;he German future had it not been
'or the ''intransigeance,' Of the
American stand here.
Many of Gen. Marshallis advisers I
are worried about the effect Of sucn@
on the German mind,
and this largely accounts for the
meekness with which we have been
putting up with Soviet delaying
tactics.
There is. however, one point 10
our favor as the discussion moves
ahead today From now on, there
are no really good talking points
for Mr.. Molotov. None, that is, on !.
which he can pose convincingly as
the would be savior of the oppressed
Germans.
Must Argue For Poland. /
This afternoon, for instance he
must argue for Poland's right TO
hang onto large slice of Germany's
richest farmland. This argument
can hardly appeal to the Germans
as strongly as has his eloquent plea
for a politically centralized Reich.
Nor is there any real propaganda
value for him in the last three items
on agenda discussion of a proposed
pact, the coal prob
lem and the Austrian treaty
No matter how firm his opposi-
ton to our idea of the four power
pact to keep Germany demilitarjzed,
he will hardly base 1t on the con-
tention that Germany should be
allowed to arm. And his stand on
ccsl and Austria is unlikely mate
rally to increase Russia's popularity
with either the Germans or the
conference on an issue which will
permit him to keep playing his
little game with the German public.
Congress in Brief |