Evening star., 1947-11-23
China and Europe

Like Senator Taft but in more extrava-
CANT terms Governor Dewey of New York
has raised hollow issue in declaring that
the Communist threat in China is 'even
more urgent" than in Europe and that
"the President either does not know Of
the situation or deliberately ignores it."
Mr.. Dewey has based this remarkable
assertion on the fact that China was not
mentioned in the Presidents message
opening the special session of Congress.
But that is hardly enough to support his
curious and strangely timed thesis. AS
far as the awareness of the White House
and the State Department Is concerned
the record simply does not justify the
charge that the Chinese situation has
been somehow overlooked, forgotten or
neglected.
Actually, as Secretary Marshall has
made clear, additional aid to the Chinese
is to be asked for in connection with the
long range European recovery program.
This is but one piece of evidence con-
tradicting Mr.. Dewey There are other
pieces. There is, for example, the Amer
ican policy being pursued in Japan. There
is also our policy on Korea-a policy that
has resulted in United Nations decision
to esta blish a special commission to pro-
mote the independence of that country.
These and similar undertakings have an
important bearing on the kind of peace
to be established throughout Asia as
whole, and they thus have a significant
relationship to Chinas future-a fact that
does not jibe with the charge that "the
President either does not know of the
situation or deliberately ignores it,"
AS for Mr.. Dewey's argument that the
Chinese problem is even more urgent"
than Europe's it amounts to little more
than peacetime version of the wartime
minority view that favored giving priority
to the battle against Japan instead OF to
the battle against the Nazis. But the
strategic choice was to defeat Hitler first
on the reasonable assumption that our
Far Eastern enemies would collapse soon
after he fell, and that is what happened.
The situation today is not Identical, of
course, but similar choice has been made
by the administration and there is every
reason to believe that it is an altogether
sound one for countering Russia's political
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democracy.
After all, strictly in terms Of the world
balance of power, China, despite its po-
tentials, still is predominantly agricultural
and. hence not of the same immediate
significance as the highly industrialized
European community of Independent
nations-a community where the Krem-
lin-directed activities of the French and
Italian Communists have created dangers
that seem far more immediate and press
ing than those confronting the Chinese.
Our projected emergency aid and long
range recovery program are calculated to
cope with those dangers and prevent
Soviet domination of all of Europe; If that
objective is attained, then the menace of
a Red Asia will rapidly diminish.
To say these things is not to minimize
the fact that the Chinese are threatened
and need help. 1t is simply to say that
the situation calls for a irst-things-first
type of action at the most decisive points
and that Europe, in this instance and at
this particular moment in history, Is GER
tainly more decisive than China. To
argue otherwise Is to be less than real
istic. Whether politically motivated or
not Mr.. Deweys views on the subject are
scarcely impressive.