Evening star., 1950-10-15
Stain Doesn't
Like Crowds
By Siqrid Arne

By Sigrid Arne
Three times in the cold war
Russians have suggested that the
Soviets and the Americans settle
world problems just between the
two Of them.
The latest suggestion came
when the Russian United Nations
delegate, Jacob A. Malik, in re-
plying to questions from the Mary
land Committee for Peace, said he
would favor a meeting of the top
leaders of the United States and
the Soviet Union.
Suggestions Of big Two" meet
ings always create problems for
the State Department. which has
always refused to deal alone with
Russian negotiators on such ma
jor problems as peace treaties for
Germany, Japan and Austria, an
atomic energy control program
and SO on.
People around the world, hun
CRY for peace but untutored in the
ways Of diplomacy. wonder why
the United States doesn't make a
try at 1t.
At first the State Department
made just one objection: The
United States could not presume
to settle problems involving other
nations unless the other nations
were represented.
Positions Differ
Now United States foreign pol
icy makers look beyond this.
They see the possibility of a
Russian plan to wreck the Ameri-
can world position.
Should the United States nibble
on big Two" meeting, State De-
partment experts point out, it
will find that the Russians can
easily speak for the Communist
bloc tsince Moscow can use the
firing squad to put down rebel
lion).
But no nation could hope to
speak for the whole Western world
and please every one. If the United
States took on sach a RESPONSE
bility, it would antagonize some
nations, perhaps drive them out of
the Western bloc.
In May, 1948, the Russians made
their first move to squeeze a world
talk down to just United States
U. S. S. R. meeting.
That month the United States
Ambassador to Moscow, Bedell
Smith, made a routine diplomatic
call on Russian Foreign Minister
Molotov to stress again that the
United States would not start a
war and had no aggressive in
tentions.
In the course of his talk Mr..
Smith said "the door always re-
mains open for discussion and set
tlement of differences.
Several days later Molotov was
quoted on Radio Moscow as saying
that he had agreed to proposals of
the American Ambassador for a
to settle differences.
The Radio Moscow version of
Smiths statement caused three
day furry in the worlds foreign
Offices.
Washington had a busy time
explaining that the United States
had no notion of sitting down
alone to a Soviet CAB fest with
the implications that the two ma
tions would carve up the world
between them.
This incident was followed less
than year later, in January,
1949, by another.
This time the Russian sugges-
tion was made in answer to oues-
tions from Kingsbury Smith, Eu-
ropean manager for the Interna-
4NCWO kOC1t1CG.
Mr.. Smith asked, among other
things, whether Russian Premier
Stain would be willing to meet
President Truman at a mutually
agreeable place" Stain said yes
That was a cheap Eyes" Stain
would have to agree to the place
and he maintains his health is
too delicate to go very far from
Russian soil.
Three times an American Presi-
dent has Travelled thousands of
niles to accommodate himself to
5talin's reported illness.
President Roosevelt went to
Teheran and Yalta. President
Truman went to Potsdam in 1945.
Since then, convinced that dicker-
ng with the Russians gets no.
where, he has said he'd be glad
20 see Stain any time he comes
20 Washington.
Communists apparently always
'ry to reduce any political situa-
Ion to two antagonists-the Com
nunists and some other party-in
;he hope the Communists will
eventually wreck the second party.
distributed By the Associated Press.)