Evening star., 1950-06-20
6. 0. P. Seen MISSING
Biggest Issue-Desire
OF People for Peace
Democrats Have Buneled
Question; stond Points
To Inevitable War
By David Laurence

missed the biggest issue of the
year-the desire of the American
people to avoid a third world war.
The Democrats, on the other
hand, have bungled the same
question and gotten themselves
into a rigid position the logic of
which points to inevitable war.
The other day Republican
spokesmen said they have four
main issues in mind for the COM
ing campaign-opposition to the
Brannan plan of farm subsidies,
opposition to deficits and excess
sive spending by the Federal Gov
ernment, removal of burdensome
excise taxes, and a program to get
rid Of communistic influences in
side the Government.
These by themselves will affect
different regions Of the country in
various ways. and none of these
issues is likely to cut across the
whole voting population as would
the issue of war and peace.
The Republicans by their de-
nunciation of Communists in the
Government have won some votes,
but they also have placed them
selves in the position of being in
different to ways and means of
attaining international peace.
Democrats Sense Issue.
The Democratic administration
is beginning to sense the impor-
tance of the issue, and the official
line which all speakers have just
been ordered to take is to en-
phasize the word peace" as much
as possible. This, however, is
transparency artificial. The truth
is the administration has been
telling the American people now
for several months that any
agreements with the Kremlin are
not worth the paper they are
written on. Last week Secretary of
State Acheson at Dallas said that
when the leaders of Russia were
eventually impressed by our ar
mament and economic program,
there could be "meaningful nego-
tiation." This clearly indicates ne
gotiation some day with the same
group in the Kremlin.
If the Soviet government, on
the other hand, cannot be relied
upon. then all talk of "negotia-
ton" of any kind is futile. This,
of course, is what the military
men in Washington privately be-
lieve and have been saying for
some time. The Kremlin is build
ing up it's armament, and in the
last few days new figures on Rus
sian expenditures for arms have
been published that indicate that
the armament race is on in
earnest.
Where is the administration 60
ing? If it isn't really interested
in the agreements the Kremlin
would negotiate. and if it speaks
OF negotiation in the dim and dis
tant future only as a gesture for
political reasons, it is evident that
the real policy of the Democratic
party is ''watchful drifting" This
is one of the most dangerous of all
policies, since it leads to such
hardening of positions as to make
war seem inevitable.
So interested has the admins
tration been in recent months in
selling Congress on the idea of
more arms spending that it has
not dared to play up the peace"
angle or the negotiation" idea for
fear that Congressman would not
vote the money. With Congress
about to adjourn and appropria-
tions fully approved, there now
can be more talk, at least, of
peace.
Republicans Asleep.
But that's where the Republi-
cans have been asleep. They could
have pressed the administration to
define it's policy clearly. They
could have attacked the over
emphasis which has been placed
by the administration on arms
spending. and. the underemphasis
which has been placed on the
negotiation idea or peace plan
ming.
The Republicans, however. have
become so interested in develop
ing an anti-C Communist crusade
that they have overlooked the big
gest hazard of all-the way an
arms race leads to war and the
failure of the administration to
make any constructive suggestions
as to how. without an actual war,
it can ever get America out of the
dilemma it has gotten into.
The Republicans could have in
sisted on cutoff of all parleying
or jockeying with the Kremlin and
they could have urged, instead,
the formulation of a program that
would appeal to the Russian
people so that the latter would in
due time see the wisdom of re-
pudiating their leaders. The satel-
lite countries are fertile ground
for such appeals.
But nobody-neither the Repub-
licans nor the Democrats-has
come forth with a program that
could really appeal to the Russian
people or to the peoples of the
satellite countries. who in the last
analysis will decide whether they
want to fight another war.
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