Evening star., 1948-06-24
Russiu and Our Election

It is probably more than a coincidence
that the men of the Kremlin have stepped
up their chaos-breeding actions in Ger
many and called special meeting of their
satellites in Europe at a time when the
United States is preoccupied with the
tumult and shouting of a presidential
election year. Just what the latest moves
portend is far from certain but there
seems good reason to assume that they
are calculated to take advantage of our
quadrennial political confusion in an effort
to strike another blow against the free
western world.
The chaos and tension in Germany have
been deliberately increased by the Krem-
Inns refusal to cooperate with France,
Britain and the United States in establish
ing new uniform currency. The result
is that there is now one form of money
in the three western zones and another in
the Russian. Moreover, to make matters
worse and in brazen violation of the agree
ment on four-power rule, the Soviet Union
has decreed that only the currency con-
trolled by itself can be circulated in Berlin.
This unilateral order, however, has been
rejected by the Anglo-French- American
authorities, so that the city, like the
country as whole, will have two types of
money-a situation likely to create an
almost impossible muddle for the 100000
Germans trying to do business and make a
living there.
The German currency tangle, of course,
is merely the latest in long series of
ugly developments brought on by the
Russians to prolong and intensity condi-
tions inviting the spread of Soviet totali-
tarianism. But it strikes with cruel force
against the individuals means of liveli-
hood and it takes on special significance
when linked with the Kremlins decision
to summon the satellites to a conference
in Warsaw. The satellites-all members
of the "Cominform," which is another
name for the Communist International
presumably are to receive orders, along
with the Italian and French Reds, in con-
nection with what appears to be the
beginning of new phase of the "cold
war;" At the moment there is no way
of knowing exactly what those orders are
going to be, but it is safe guess that
they will be aimed at impeding the Euro
pean Recovery Program, upsetting the
effort to unity Western Germany, and
perhaps forcing France, Britain and the
United States to abandon Berlin.
New trouble of a potentially grave nature
thus appears to be in the making in
Europe. Despite its recent peace offen-
sive," the Soviet Union seems as intent as
ever upon doing everything possible to
attain its dark and tyrannical ends
throughout the entire continent. 1t may
not be willing to 60 so far as to risk war
but cur election-year preoccupations and
confusion may tempt it to overreach itself
in way that could strike sparks capable
of setting off deadly explosion.
The prospect is a sobering one. However
heated our presidential campaign may
become, Democrats and Republicans must
remember that they are first of all Amer
leans. They cannot afford for a moment
to let politics obscure the overriding fact
that the safety of our own and other free
lands depends largely on their remaining
united and alert against the new TYRANNY
marching in the world.