Evening star., 1947-09-28

swallowed many insults and humilia-
tions which we would have answered,
in the old prewar days, with a total
break In diplomatic and economic
relations.
The stories of calculated insults
hurled by Russia and her satellites
at our diplomatic and military rep
resentatives in the iron curtain areas
fill many pages and are still kept
top secret by the responsible Gov
ernment departments. How these
men were pushed around and denied
the elementary cotfrtesies which are
extended even to enemy representa-
tives has never been told, because
it is the policy of the administration
to avoid rousing the public.
The stories of beatings inflicted
on some American representatives
abroad have been carefully hushed
up. After World War I ended, an
American passport caused red car
pets to be unrolled in every country
in the world, including Russia. FIRE.
quently today it means in the iron
curtain" areas a few days in Jail
prior to expulsion. Under the best
circumstances, the American who
has diplomatic immunity is sus-
pected character, whose movements
are carefully supervised and dras-
tically restricted.
Our relations with Russia have
been bad since the fall of 1943,
when the Soviet government for the
first time threatened to make a
separate peace with Hitlerite Ger
many. The information concern
ing these peace overtures was con-
tanned in papers which we captured
in Germany will be given these
facts.
Facts Unpleasant
These secret documents are in
the possession of our Government,
but for reasons of high politics a
thorough editing by the State De-
apartment may eliminate such in
eliminating revelations. After the
fall of 1943 we swung over to policy
Of appeasement of Moscow to keep
the Soviet armies fighting on our
side.
Our relations with Yugoslavia and
Poland followed the same path from
the time we sacrificed Gen. Draja
Mihailovich and the Polish govern
ment-in-exile. In the same vein of
appeasement we yielded Romania,
Bulgaria and Hungary to the Rus
slams. who placed their own stooges
in these former enemy countries
and carried on a relentless fight
against the people in those countries
who believed in western democracy.
j Instead of improving the situa-
ton the end of the war in 1945 only
aggravated 1t. While Stain and
his underlings made sport with the
United States by talking and acting
Extensively, we continued to be mild
in our attitude and frequently sub
missive. The confidential reports
from Walter Bedell Smith in Mos
COW, Maynard Barnes in Sofia and
Burton Berry in Bucharest, telling
the story of their stays as "honored
guests in the iron curtain capitals,
would make very unpleasant reading
if the public were given even a
cursory summary, high lighted by
actual stories of incidents.
Public Would Awaken
). Those who have the oportunity to
deal with the Russian problem
which Is as much a world problem
today as Germany was eight years
ago-agree about one thing: Russia S
drive for world power cam be stop
ped only by a show of force. No
arguments or inducements in the
form of economic aid will move the
men of the Kremlin.
The administration is inclined to
agree with this point of view. But
it also realizes that it would be sub
ject to severe criticism from the
American people if it reversed its
policy abruptly. For six years it
has drummed into the public mind
that Russia was pure as lily and
that once Hitler, Mussolini and the
Tokyo gang were destroyed we might
not only establish lasting peace but
achieve the millennium.
There is still great deal of op-
position in this country to any dras-
tic increase in our military expen-
. diture. A program of rearmament
for the air force alone would cost
the taxpayers about half what the
Government Is now asking to help
Western Europe. The country, ad-
ministration spokesmen say, is not
prepared for such a revision in our
policy. 1t would mean, they say,
bankruptcy for the peace organiza-
ton which was set up in New York
and received such overwhelming ap-
: proval from our citizenry.
This is all probably true. But If
President Truman we're to brush
away all diplomatic niceties he could
awaken the public. In a desperate
effort to bring about world reace
the administration has swallowed
humiliations and insults which our
) forefathers never would have &C
tcepted
President Truman could, if he
J would, give the public mere dozen