Evening star., 1948-02-27
Words Are Not Enough


The French American condemna-
ton of the Communist coup in Czecnosio-
yakia is meant merely to keep the histor-
ical record straight. 1t can accomplish
nothing beyond that. It cannot give back
to the Czechs an iota Of their lost freedom.
Nor can it-by itsen-dissuade the men OF
the KrenaIin from undertaking new ag-
gressions, direct or indirect, against the
west.
AS French Foreign Minister Bidault has
inst warned, the free world is up against
a situation of the gravest kind, and mere
words-however solemn or yigorous-can
do nothing to change 1t for the better.
Since the end of the war, advancing step
by step, the Soviet dictatorship has carved
out totalitarian domain far more exten-
sive than the one built up by Hitler before
his attack on the Poles. Wholly apart
from acquisitions in Asia and from the
prewar absorption of Estonia, Latvia ana
Lithuania, the U. S. S. r., through natlVe
Communist traitors, Systematically ana
ruthlessly has forced within It's IRON
curtained orbit no fewer than seven
once-independent lands-Poland, Hungary,
Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Albania
and now Czechoslovakia. Finland, not yet
converted into complete police state,
probably will be the next to go. and IN
addition, of course, there are the Red zones
in Austria and Germany.
All this, quite obviously, has profounoV
upset the traditional European balance.
To use Mr.. Bidault's figure of speech, the
Soviet dictatorship has acquired pawn
after pawn on the chessboard OF power
politics And each one Of these paWns-
each of these Satellites-has become an IN
tegral part of an elaborate system OF po-
litical, economic and military alliances
aimed against. the west and designed to
spread the Kremlin's liberty destroying
dominance over the entire continent and
beyond. In times past. great nations have
gone to war over situations OF this sort,
and although that does not seem imminent
now, there can be little doubt that the
makings of an explosion exist ConcelV-
ably, the Anal spark could be set on by
Moscow. signal to the French and Italian
Communists to try doing in their countries
the dirty work that has just been done IN
Czechoslovakia.
At any rate, as Mr.. Bidault has declared,
"It is unimaginable that the pawns can
continue to advance across the chessboard
without producing situation that may
very quickly become dangerous, and per-
haps that situation may not be very TAR
off," Coming from such a source, these
are highly significant words, made doubly
so by Mr.. Bidault's sonber appeal for in
tensified Anglo French collaboration with
a view to rallying about us what remains
of Europe" Taken collectively, what re-
mains of Europe has economic and mill
tary resources far greater than those OF
the satellite lands, and it can "rely upon
a community of traditions" that recognize
"the same fundamental values OF hu-
manity." If firmly united, therefore, and
If adequately backed by the United States,
such a grouping of nations would be so
superior in strength that Stains New
Order"-an order under which "one shoots
or hangs the opposition" and all liberty
must die-would be stopped in its tracks
and probably be obliged in time to with
draw from much of the area it now
dominates. s"G a>s-
ouG III ID llUU CllOuSll. W Jc1h oDouo uAAAo'
The collective strength of the non-Com-
munist world can be effective against the
creeping advance of Red totalitarianism
only to the extent that 1t is employed col
lectively At present politically, econom-
ically and mlitarily-it Is scattered about
in bits and pieces along with the separate
sovereignties. What Is needed is concrete
progress toward real union of independ-
'ent Europe, with strong and unequivocal
American support through the Marshall
Plan and otherwise.
Confronted with that kind Of concerted
power, the men of the Kremlin could be
persuaded to stop their march and even
tually reverse themselves and cooperate.
On the other hand, II there is just going
to be talk without action, the free nations
including even our own,-will be flirting
with the danger Of being picked OF one
by one. The situation is as simple and as
grim as that, and we ought not to kid
ourselves about it.
Revolt in Viroiniu