Evening star., 1947-04-27

with some attractive proposals Of
his own attractive both to the Ger
mans and to American taxpayers.
Whereas Mr.. Molotov has bid for
German favor with advocacy OF
strong central government, Ger
Marshall has urged a tightening q
the reparations burden, which
showed appeal to the Germans,
Gen. Marshall is desirous to see
rebirth Of q peaceful, self supporting
Germany, unburdened with heavy.
longtime reparations, whereas Mol
otov proposes $4,000, 900 900 bill
to the German nation.
secretary Marshall's motives.
however, should not be misconstr1aed,
Propaganda value is only an Incl.
dental by-product of these propos.
ais which Marshall sincerely feels
constitute the only sound founda-
ton for a new and peaceful Ger
many.
Courtship With France.
In pondering the results Of the
conference some delegates have ex.
pressed satisfaction with our sue.
cessful courtship Of the French.
They feel that is ,hould help Bidault
in his struggles with the French
Communists, who have had many
OF their arguments dissipated by our
concessions.
Delegates wonder, however, II Il
will help Bidault with Charles dc
Gaulle. Some feel that the former
President has chosen an unfortu-
nate time to make his re-entry into
French politics through his rally Of
the French people. It will be q
disastrous day for France, it is said,
If Frenchmen ever are compelled to
choose between de Gaulle and tho
Communists. Certain delegates find
de Gaulle SO far to the right that
he may force the French socialists
into an unhappy wedding with the
Communists.
Because of the ticklish political
situation at home, Bidault has not
been able to play the role Of great
conpromiser such as French states
men have played in the past. He
has walked a precarious tightrope,
attempting TO be neutral as much
as possihle within the limits Of
French requirements and to avoid
giving offense to either the Soyiets
or the Americans.
Anslo-U.s. Harmony.
Presumably, France will continue
such a foreign policy in the future
as long as the present political ball
ance Is maintained in France.
This conference has shown Brit.
ain and America to be perhaps
closer than ever in agreement ON
foreign policy and If the Soviets
have any ideas about breaking up
this harmony, they have been disap-
pointed. Future Soviet policy in
Europe, as near as can be predicted,
would seem to be based on seeking
further PRONUNCIATION of the Com
munist type of democracy" Ger
many undoubtedly will become more
OF pawn than ever, with both East
and West intensifying their efforts
in that country.
Against this background will bs
tested the effectiveness Of the new
American policy toward Soviet Rus
sia which has crystallized with the
march Of momentous events here
and elsewhere during the period Of
the Moscow Conference.
! During the war our whole policy
was directed by Franklin D. Roose-
velt and Cordell Hull to assuring
Russian support in conflict with
Japan. OF course, the phenomenal
success of the atomic bomb made
Russian assistance unnecessary
there, but American leaders could
not know this in advance.
Power Politics.
The honeymoon" strategy was
continued by Truman and Byrnes
in the first few months after the
war. The theory was that the Rus
slams would respond favorably If it
were demonstrated that the rest
of the world was genuinely friendly
to them.
This policy broke down, in Amer
ican opinion, at the time Of the
London Conference OF Foreign Min
listers in the autumn of 1945.
| outspokenly disappointed that
this conference failed to reach an
agreement on peace treaties for
German satellite nations, Byrnes
bitterly put the blame at Molotov's
door. Since then America has pur-
sued a policy Of sticking firmly to
basic principles.
I Power politics have burgeoned.
The Americans have announced that
they still hope to be friends with
Soviet Russia--to live and let live
in world of peace and prosperity"
But this friendship now Is being
pursued in a world where brute
force seems to be the primal gov
erning factor.
| Still Room for Laughs.
/ Despite it all, the Foreign Min
isters, after long and acrimonious
debates, are still able to laugh to-
gether. Bevin can get laugh with
his ironic quip that he Is happy to
see the Big Four united on agree
ments and disagreements. Mar
shall can evoke chuckles with his
Ehomely thanks to Molotov for the
iprodigious quantity Of Russian
cigarettes consumed by chain
smoking Ben Cohen of the Amer
lican delegation.