Evening star., 1949-10-30

has given the world, a beautiful a
pate de foie gras out of goose livel
Now, however. they hope to
distinction. They expect that the
lished it's headquarters in Stras.
bourg, will become a reality anc
that this city eventually will be-
come the capital of the first Euro
pean federation.
There is plenty of real estate
available in Strasbourg. the city
fathers say, and a new modern
city could be developed in ne
time. All that is necessary tt
make this dream reality is thai
the Council of Europe become the
factual representative of the
Western countries. with full anc
unlimited power to legislate fol
every one of its present members
At present it is a mere toy for the
politicians. 1t is necessary that
Europe have statesmen instead o1
mere politicians and that they
realize fully the meaning of unity
In No Mood to Unite
The whole question of Europe's
survival depends not on how long
the American people remain will
ing and able to foot the bills for
the Economic Cooperation Ad-
ministration and the military aio
program, but on the willingness
and determination of the Euro.
pean people themselves to forget
old hatreds. jealousies and false
pride and to get together for their
common good. Unfortunately
there is no indication yet that the
peoples of this continent have
reached that stage of political
maturity.
Europe is in no mood to unite
There are today, as in the past
people in politics and some hon
est thinkers who talk about this
dream and believe that by per-
sistant talk. by a kind of political
Coueism, their hopes and dreams
will become reality.
The International Court OF
Arbitration established at The
Hague before World War I, the
League of Nations and, finally. the
United Nations all have been the
embodiment OF the fervent desire
Of both Europeans and Americans
to see the nations of the world
united in a spirit of friendliness.
The Kellogg-Briand pact, il,
which all the civilized nations OF
the world agreed to outlaw wal
as an instrument of national pol
icy, was an expression of the same
hope. But none of these devices
succeeded. Governments approved
them, parliaments ratified them
and finally some government
brushed them all aside and threw
the fat into the fire.
The situation in Europe has pot
changed substantially in spite OF
two devastating wars. Now when
the old continent is definitely
divided into two distinct camps
and the threat of another violent
outbreak hangs heavily over the
head of every Western nation
there is about as much strife,
jealousy and suspicion among the
Western nations as there was be-
fore Hitler unleashed the latest
catastrophe in 1889.
Bitterness Persists
The fact that representatives OF
Western Germany will be present
at the next meeting of the Council
of Europe makes some politicians
in Paris. shudder. The idea OF
letting a "boche" sit alongside q
Frenchman or a Belgian seems
preposterous to these people.
This frame of mind is highly
interesting. not because the Coun-
Gil of Europe means anything
tangible, but because it illustrates
the deep dissensions which still,
exist among the peoples of Europe
There are few er-thinkins
persons in politics, OF course, who
realize that whatever America
has done and may do in the fu.
ture for the recovery and de.
tense of Europe eventually will be
of no avail unless all the people
of Western Europe from the
Iberian Peninsula to the Oder
River get together. 1t is unneces.
sary, for the time being, to talk
about one parliament and one ma
tionality. That would be asking
too much. But it is essential and
urgent that the various ideolo-
gies, prejudices and outbursts OF
false pride be buried before the
threat which increasingly looms
from the East.
Gen. Charles de Gaulle. for in
stance, hit the nail on the head
when he pleaded early this month
for a better and more sincere
French-German understanding.
There are some 47,000.0 900 peo-
Piles between the Rhine and the
Oder Rivers. These cannot be
overlooked. Sooner or later they
will assert themselves as a ma
tion. The great question is which
side will they be on.
At the present time there is no
question in the minds of unbiased
Allied observers in Germany that
II we were to take the Germans
into our fold and our confidence
they would jump at the chance
and would, in all probability, be-
come reliable partners for the de-
fense OF Western civilization.
Germany Is Down
Western Europe never gave the
Weimar Republic a real chance.
Suspicious and fears of her pn-
litical and economic comeback
and her probable challenge to
French and British industries i'm
PEELED these two leaders of West
ern Europe to adopt a policy of
holding Germany down economi-