Evening star., 1949-04-05
II Nations Siqn Pact in Solemn Atmosphere
4fContinued From First Page.)

~ N0IIOnS ~
Continued From First Page)
Canada, Belgium. Holland. Lux
embourg, Norway, Denmark, Por-
tugal, Italy and Iceland-rose to
express their hope that peace
would be the upshot. And, one
by one, they stepped forward then
to sit at a f1oodlighted desk and
sign, for their peoples, a defensive
alliance designed to safeguard the
freedom, common heritage and
civilization" of the West.
They ranged in age-these men
who had come to Washington
from a burly Icelander of Al to a
tall Italian of rs. In politics and
social background they ranged
from rightist nobility to socialist
toilers. Yet, strangely, in the cool
purposefulness of their approach
to the business at hand, they
seemed all of q cut-all of one
piece.
The document to which they
affixed their signatures-some 20
sheets of gold-edged paper, neat
ly bound in blue. gold-tooled
leather and tied with red, white
and blue ribbon was simple enough
in design. 1t provided formal ex-
pression-what President Truman
called "tlnmistakable proof'-of
an idea which already had come to
be accepted in our half of the
world as a basic fact of interns-
tional life.
All for Any One. ..a
This was the fact:
That an attack against any one
of these Western nations would
be an attack against all of them.
Only that-a simple PROPOSE
|tion today. even am obvious one.
Yet one which. viewed against the
long sweep of American history,
was nothing short of revolution
ary. The United States. surely,
had come a long way. Thirty years
ago, after World War I. President
Wilson agreed to such treaty
with Great Britain and France
treaty which never was sub
mitted to the Senate, because even
it's hackers in this country knew it
could not be approved there.
President Truman and other
speakers yesterday made the point
again and again: Had there been
North Atlantic Treaty after
World War I. there would never
have been a World War II; had
Germany known for certain that
the whole weight of the North
American continent would be
brought against her, she might
not even have made her first at
tempt to dominate Europe.
Means u. s. Has Learned.
The West was not ready In
those days. Particularly. the
United States was not ready. She
had not yet learned that peace
was indivisible; that war any
where meant war for all; that no
country could isolate itself from
the one world which, for good or
for evil, mans ingenuity had pro-
duced.
If Yesterdays ceremony meant
anything to the 1900 or so on
lockers in the high-columned
auditorium off Constitution ave-
nue., it meant that America had
learned. The whole significance
of the event was in this change
| of ideas-not in the formal act
of signature. Many an older par
ticipant could remember that the
last time a big treaty was signed
| In Washington. the winter OF
1921-l922, the powers agreed to
limit naval armaments and safe
guard China's integrity. President
Harding called 1t "epochal. II
came to nothing at all.
So what was important yes
terday afternoon, when the last
'i' was dotted and the last name
underlined, was not what the big
men on the stage did and said
What mattered was the thoughts
and understandings of the ordinary
people of North America and
Western Europe. And If they did
not think and understand. there
was no substance whatever to the
goings-on.
Ratification Next Step.
Not. of course. that the effect
of the treaty could be Judged en-
tirely in terms of the attitude OF
the peoples of the West. 1t would
| not have effect, unless the Senate
of the United States-and the
proper authorities of at least six
other signatory nations, mcluolne
/ the drafting powers - authorized
its ratification.
/ The prospect was that the SEN
ate would approve the pact after
1 due debate. But 1t must approve
too, of plans for military aid tc
Europe-plans to give the alliance
teeth by building eventually. with
this country's help. a European
army capable Of halting any pos
j sible aggression from the East al
j the Rhine. There were predictions
of strong Senate opposition to this
sort Of implementation Of the
;. treaty itself.
i And there remained the sreai
shadow of doubt IN the back
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