Evening star., 1949-02-04

In Reply 10 Soviet
Attitude Could Convince
.Russion Extremists Thut
War Is Only Woy,Out
By David Laurence
1t is easy enough to join the
chorus which applauds the naughty
rundown that Secretary Acheson
gave to Premier Stalin's bid for
peace negotiations. but candor and
realism compel different analysis.
Spokesmen for the great Govern
ment Of the United States should
never be fiippant or sarcastic no
matter what the behavior or atti-
tude Of spokesmen for other gov
ernments happens to be. There is
more to be gained by a dignified
handling Of such an extraordinary
maneuver as Premier Stain made.
America can never carry a clear
conscience If placed in the position
OF being unwilling to talk peace,
even to q nation which has been
palpably obstructing peace.
Fear that the United States Gov
ernment could not express itself
clearly and politely and yet meet
effectively any propaganda maneu-
vers by the Soviets is baseless. 1t
Is just as easy to meet propaganda
with clear-cut statements couched in
courteous phrases that respect the
amenities of international inter-
course as it is to indulge in satirical
references doubling the validity of
the excuse given by Stain that his
health would not permit q long
journey to Washington.
What Could Have Been Done.
The State Department could have
noted with satisfaction the news
paper interview given by Stain and
could have said that it was an inter-
esting manifestation of high pur-
pose and that the United States re-
eiprocates by pointing out that any
meeting between heads of state
must be preceded by a period of
exploration to determine possible
areas Of agreement. The United
States could have pointed out also
that unilateral action by America
would not be according proper re-
spect to the wishes of other SOW
ereign powers and that hence it
would be advisable to include the
heads of the British and the French
governments and that only after the
foreign ministers had held consulta-
tions, either in person or through
their ambassadors, could it be de-
termined whether q meeting of the
heads of state would be worth
while.
1t is regrettable that even the
possibility Of meeting Of heads of
state was permitted to 60 of on
the tangent Of where the meeting
should be held and who should
come to what place. This Is q
mere detail and by no means the first
question to be decided. If there
were q chance for a real agreement
and some indication through dip
lomatic exchanges in advance that
Russia was ready to end the cold
war, the American people would ap-
plaud President Truman II he went
to the Persian Gulf on a battleship
and met Stain there, or in Alaska
or some other mutually agreeable
place outside the iron curtain. The
place for the meeting is not the
real obstacle. It is whether the
conditions conducive to q successful
accord can be created.
It is the duty Of the American
to assume that, when
government wants to talk
peace, some way can be found to
bring about such a discussion, even
though officials may be convinced
that the talks may not get any
where. A peace-loving nation can
not stand on pride or protocol
when there is real problem OF
peace or war involved.
Danger in Attitude.
The danger in any cavalier atti-
tude assumed by the United States
is that the Russian extremists may
be encouraged to believe that war
Is the only way out and that 1t is
inevitable. Such psychology
means a continuance Indefinitely
of the Berlin blockade, with cost
to the American taxpayers of nearly
81 900 600 900 a year, and continued
expansion of our armed services,
now costing about $4,000, 00,000 a
year. Russia can afford to play the
game of waiting while more and
more expense is imposed on
America.
A sovereign power cannot be
coerced without war or threat OF
war, and that goes for Russia as
well as America. The only way
left Is for full and frank dis
cussion and even meetings between
the heads of all the allied govern
ments and Stain. If it fails. 1t Is
only after such a policy has been
pursued that the peoples Of the
democracies will believe that every
thing has been done that can be
done.
Unfortunately, the attitude as
sumed by the State Department
does not instill the confidence that
America has tried the simple prin-
ciples Of Christian philosophy which
are designed to apply reason in all
forms Of its expression-even in
cluding a little inconvenience and
considerable restraint in utterance
before giving up hope Of settling
dispute.
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