The Wilmington morning star., 1947-05-18
Marshall Right
Peace DELAYS
Prove Costly
By DEWITT MACKENZIE
R Foreign Affairs An,l,s.

"iiee weeks ago U, S. Ser.
rotary Of State George Marsb TgI'
Just back il Washington froro 'a a.
deadlocked Big Four fore;on me
%lsters' C ference in Moe ,,1in'
warned the nation that tbo S'o|'
of Europe must be settIed late
out delay. Win
Premier Stain had lola ~
shall that compromises wera Naa''
sible On the great issues diyid goS'
the allies, but the latter in bs
report to the people declared .t alS
the fate OF Europe couldn't u.al
on compromise through wat
haustion.' The secretary Of st sS.
added: ''dVe
"Dlsintegrating forces ara \.
coming evident. The patient w. :.
sinking while the doctors dalih. Is
ate. Whatever action is possih1a
meet til IS e pressing probieno
rlust be taken without DELAYS
Proof of the truth of Marsbsr,.
prophesy was treading on h.
heels. Today the German eo m'
nomic crisis, complicated bv
grave shortage of food. makes !.
Only too clear that the 'disintsa'
grating forces, are working fsSt
For Germany is the epicentar -.
the earthquake which is rockinr
all Europe.
Within the past few days grey.
statesmen of Britain and Frsna.
have echoed General MarsbaM.
thesis. Only Moscow remains =,
ever the sphynx.
British Foreign Secretary Bevin
speaking in the House of CON-
mons, declared that if relation,
between the east and the west Cs
tween Russia and the Weste.r d..
mocracies) aren't improved at III.
November conference of fl.
foreign ministers, mo One ran
prophesy what course the world
will take"
81 regard the London conference
IN November as probably the
most vital in the worlds history"
he said. At another point he as.
serted that the creation of a new
Germany will F'take a long time
to realize" but "by undue delav.
difficulties will get worse rather
than better"
And yesterday French Foreign
Minister Georges Bidault declared
that next autumn's four : power
conference is the world 8 last
chance to achieve "a unified peace
for a united world" and he sound.
ed Marshall's warning:
Zone thing is clear. Time be.
comes more and more precious"
This array of thought wouldn't
have been complete without {.
word from that master Of words.
Winston Churchill. and he came
through with a call to Britain and
France to take the lead in restor.
ing the German national economy
before the defeated people 'turn
their thouohts to revolt and re.
venge." Like his fellow statesmen.
Churchill held that 'the central
and almost the most serious prob.
lem which glares upon the Europe
of today is the future of Germa.
ny"
Churchill was making another
appeal for a United States of Eu.
rope-a subject which is increas.
ingly in the thoughts Of many PEG.
pie. Certainly a unified Europe is
in the minds of statesmen like
Marshall. Bevin and Bidault,
whether it be called a UNITED
States of Europe" or by some
ether name.
1t is a truism which this column
has emphasized often enough that
unity in Europe-at least in cen
trail and western Europe-depends
on the politico-economic rehabf'
tation of Germany. That's not be-
cause Germany's neighbors love
her-for nobody does-but because
she was the keystone Of the Euro
pean structure.
You will note that the emphas'
on "speed'' in settling German al
fairs is common in the decla'
rations of each of the four states
men quoted. 1t perhaps isn't 50
much that the German peopls
might, as Churchill says, .tufi
their thoughts to revolt and re-
lvenge," for we can handle that
But the continent is deteriofatlns
along with the Reich. Their 'a'e'
are inseparable.
The essential for settlement Oh
the grave differences between
Russia and the western allies Is
as Stain himself has pointed ou,
a desire to cooperate. Whether
that desire exists on both SIDES "
the great imponderable upon
which the fate of Europe depenas
We may not find the answer "
that before the November confer
ence, but meantime there a'
growing signs that the western a.
lies intend to go ahead on tnsl
own to try to make peace for nv
rope if Russia cannot e her Wa!
to cooperate.