Evening star., 1949-05-15
Puris and the Poet

Senators Connally and Vandenberg have
acted wisely in deciding not to attend the
impending Paris meeting of the Big -Four
Council of Foreign Ministers. The decision
-concurred in by Secretary Of State
AcheSon-is based on the common-SenSe
fact that at this particular moment, with
the North Atlantic Treaty still awaiting
action In the Senate, they can do more
good by staying on the Job here than by
going over there to take part in the new
discussions on Germanys future.
Mr.. Connally, as Democratic chairman
of the Foreign Relations Committee, and
Mr.. Vandenberg, as the committees senior
Republican member, still have extremely
important work to do on the home front.
As the senate's chief spokesmen for Amer
lean bipartisanship in the field Of inter-
national relations, their major response
bility right now-as they themselves have
recognized-is to complete public hearings
on the treaty and guide 1t through the
ratification process with as little delay as
possible.
The issues involved in the pact have
already received fairly thorough pro-
and-con airing, and in another week or so
preferably before the Foreign Ministers
meet on May 23-it should be possible for
the committee to bring the hearings to an
end and submit its report to the Senate.
Thereafter, especially If the matter can be
placed on the calendar ahead of labor
legislation, 1t ought not to be too difficult
to get a reasonably prompt favorable
decision on ratification. That statement,
however, presupposes that the Connally-
vandenberg team will be on hand to offer
Arm bipartisan leadership to the debate.
1t labors the obvious to say that the
sooner the pact is ratified, the better OF
the United States and the West In general
will be. There has been some speculation
to the effect that the Soviet Union-having
suffered reverses in the cold war as
result Of the Marshall Plan, the signing Of
the North Atlantic Treaty and related
developments-has held out an olive
branch In Berlin In an effort TO defect
us from our present course. Whether that
Is 80 or not, there can be no doubt that
the Vests position at the forthcoming
Paris meeting will be strengthened If the
Senate, by refusing to waver or drag its
feet on the question Of ratification, makes
clear to the Russians that we and our
friends abroad are not letting down our
guard.
Actually, 1t may be long time, If ever,
before that guard-of which the Atlantic
Pact is an essential part-can be safely let
down. multitude Of issues-ranging
from the peace problems of Europe and
Asia to such things as the Iron Curtain
and atomic control-must be settled be-
tween East and West before there can be
a genuine sense of collective security In
the world. At best, the Paris meeting on
Germany is only hopeful first step to-
ward an overall understanding Ger
tainly 1t has not suddenly done away with
the threat Of possible direct and indirect
Soviet aggression in the future; nor has
1t, by the same token, lessened the need
for the defensive alliance now awaiting
Senate action.
SO it Is a good thing that Senators
Connally and Vandenberg will be on hand
to do whatever they can to persuade the
Senate to approve the North Atlantic
Treaty without dilly-dallying and with as
resounding q vote as possible. If some
thing should happen to demand their
presence in Paris, they will be able-as
they have indicated-to get over there
quickly enough. Meanwhile, barring some
such urgency they will have more I'm
portant work to do here. After all,
historically and otherwise, American rati-
fication of the pact Is . matter Of ever
shadowing world significance at this stage.