Roanoke Rapids daily herald., 1948-10-03
Assembly Falls
To Make Sobol
Deliberations
THOMPSON
DOROTHY THOMPSON

One always looks forward with
apprehension to the meeti1g of
the General Assembly of the
United Nations. Again we read
mutual accusations and never
that sober and candid delibera-
ton which the magnitude Of the
crisis requires.
Mr.. Vishinsky opened the meet
ing with a demand for a reduc-
ton of all ornaments by one
third. There is nowhere on earth
an objection to this or more radi-
cal reductions. But his accom-
panying speech was a haransus
against the United States as a
scheming aggressor, and an at
tack on the American viewpoint
(also held by Roosevelt) that
disarmament without effective
controls repeatedly has been
tried and failed.
"If," sneered Mr.. Vishinsky,
eve take into consideration that
the American plan provides for
the transfer to an international
control body not only enterprises
but whole industries IL il not
difficult to understand what the
American plan may lead to-"
We can only see that it would
lead to the international sociali-
cation Of the greatest potential
source Of energy mankind ever
is likely to have. We cannot see
why an international Socialist
should oppose it except that II is
inconsistent with the veto, the
Iron Curtain and the plan Of any
state for world domination.
Mr.. Vishinsky quoted articles
from the American press deserib-
ing how another war would be
fought, as proof of American
plans for aggression. But to
describe a perspective is not to
champion it, and what is dis
cussed privately in Russia y
printed openly here. The So
viets certainly have plans-as we
do-in case OF war with any
specific enemy. Both states main
tain war colleges. But these are
not a cause OF war, but 4 symp-
tom that no effective system of
collective security-nor any en-
forceable law to deter aggres-
sors-exists.
The Soviets are the unfortunate
prisoners of their own "princi4
Pies which include the "princi.
ple' of the "inevitability" Of Var
as long as Communist" and
capitalist" states exist, and as
expressed by Lenin whom Mr..
Bevin quoted. Lenin has been
dead a long time, but unfortun-
ately there is apparent return to
this theory-if the Soviets ever
veered from it.
The same view is expressed in
a recent book by the Soviet De-
putty President of the Courtil of
Ministers (Stalin's add, N. A.
Voznesensky. Again the "princi-
ple' is repeated that imperialist
expansion is inherent in capital
list states, that the U. S. A. is the
most powerful contemporary ex-
preston of such a state, that
therefore war is inevitable and
could be prevented only by the
military and economic disarm-
ament of America and the world
hegemony of the U. S. S. R. Voz-
nesensky refers to the identical
passage quoted by Bevin:
"Lenin taught us that the
fate of all revolutions has
been decided by a long Sc
quence of wars and that with
the civil war we ended only
one series and had to be
prepared for the next Sc
ries."
Now, state that believes war
is inevitable can only be preach
ing disarmament without con-
troll as means of making the
disarmed it, victims.
The most dangerous thing in
the world is for a state to belive
it knows the certain outcome OF
history. 1t thereby puts on blind
ers. Lenin knew nothing about
atomic energy, which upsets all
his notions of matter. Marks
predictions about the ''inevit-
able" development of capitalism
have not been sustained by
events, as the Soviet economist,
Yevgenij Varga, pointed out and
for which he was purged.
World War II did not develop
according to Stalin's anticipa-
tons and the Soviet ystem hasn't
freed the country Of cyclic prob
lens arising from imbalance
between production and consum-
ers' goods, capital goods and
savings-as Voznesensky admits
in the same book. The Soviet !
Communist mind is simple to in-
anity, and for that reason dan
gerous. The Iron Curtain be-
tween West and East is a result
of an Iron Curtain in the Soviet