Evening star., 1947-08-31

However, disclosure Of these dis
patches would have an immediate
effect on the high officials who ham
die the Nations most delicate af-
fairs. They would be required to tell
why, the American people had not
been given the whole truth before.
There is some reasonable cause for
such secrecy in wartime, but since
August, 1945, there has beer no
plausible reason for concealing the
facts from the people vino ultimately
have to foot the hills-the American
public.
1t is true that some Washington
reporters have been able to write
occasionally about Russia's misbe-
havior,, about the humiliations
which our official representatives
have suffered at the hands OF our
Allies" about the tricks played on
us, and of repeated double le-crossing
by the Russians. But, reported by
newspapermen, these facts carry
little weight.
The American public Is pretty
skeptical after the heavy dose Of
pro- Russian propaganda it digested
during the war. The tendency Is to
attribute articles critical of Russia
to a desire for sensationalism. II
the administration happens to re-
pudiate particular story, because
| it works against the official concept
of the nations best interests" the
reporter is discredited and the Of
fetal version necessarily Is accepted.
Many in the administration would
nkt to see drastic reversal of this
policy. They are certain that If
President Truman were to propose
publicly that the expansion of our
air force from 1900 first-line COM
bat planes to $4,000, and if he were
to accompany the recommendation
with q clear statement of the facts
of our relations with Russia, the
country would indorse his program
overwhelmingly.
Administration Uneasy
On the other hand, many Of
President Truman's advisers fear an
unfavorable reaction, not against the
idea of expanding the air force, but
against the administration. They
fear they will be asked why all these
facts have been concealed from the
public and why the people have been
lulled until 1947 into a feeling that
we can do business with Russia.
The secret files of the White
House, the State, War and Navy De-
partments and even UNERA bulge
with reports and kilograms which, If
made public, would stigmatize the
Russians as the designers of the
present acute situation. Existing
tension is bound, sooner or later. to
lead to another confl2 grafton unless
Russia is checked soon.
However, the lik:iiilood of the
American people hc- ,g tie truths,
even partially, is praSty slim. Some
of the facets OF the situation have
begun to appear recently because
they cannot be concealed any longer.
But with their disclosure has come
soothing statements that we might
still avoid the inevitable calamity
by spending more billions in Europe
and Asia. Only by implication does
it appear that Russia is to blame
for the present chaos, which reigns
from the British Isles through
Europe and Asia to the Pacific. But
this, we are told officially, can still
be corrected if the American people
spend another 20 or 80 billion dollars
on world economic reconstruction.
Russia wants no economic recon-
struction, except possibly for the
countries which are under her heel
and then only on Moscow's terms.
Conditional Cooperation
The extent to which the American
people have been lulled into feeling
of false security is chiefly RESPONSE
BILE for Our total unpreparedneSs to
meet the Russians on their own
ground. While our armed forces
were being broken up in the months
following VI day, the U. s. S. r. got
busy to reconstruct its ground, air
and naval forces and to make them
more efficient.
When our disarmament was almost
completed and Russian armed re-
construction was well on its way,
the Soviet leaders threw down the
gantlet to us, fully confident that
America would not be able to re-
arm in time to meet the challenge.
If the American people had been
told frankly the facts at the dis
posal of the Government, it is doubt
full that they would have approved
the hasty disintegration of their
national defense.
| Today we are looking for support
from other countries. So long as
we are willing to peel off billions
of dollars they accept our co-opera-
tion. When we talk about acting
against Russia, they ask: "What
do you have in terms OF men ana
planes to oppose them? We nave
nothing. We spent everything we
had in the last war. Looking over
your military balance sheet we are
convinced that before you could
make the slightest move the Rus
slams would be here
| Open diplomacy may have Its
drawbacks, particularly in times CT
highly sensitive diplomatic negotia-
tions. But it serves the interests
of no one but the Russians to con-
ceal the facts as the Government
knows them today and to suppress a
story which, If it had been told