Evening star., 1950-03-24
Successful Diplomacy
Seen as Finding Way
Out Of Controversy
Acheson Overlooked Fact
Russio Has Its Own Way
Of Conducting Cold War
BY David La,grence

ny DHOfd Laurence
KEY WEST, Fla, Mar. "a
While the two major speeches
which Secretary of State Ache
son made last week were ap-
proved in advance by President
Truman, it seems safe to assume
that they were not analyzed in
the way that an overall docu-
ment usually is, for example, by
the British cabinet, where every
sentence of every state paper OF
that kind is subjected to the Sc
verest scrutiny.
Mr.. Truman, Of course, isn't
the kind of man who likes to
become immersed in details or in
techniques of policy formation
He likes to have cabinet officers
come up with an explicit recon-
mendation, briefly stated-and if
the outline or synopsis looks SEN
sible to him, he goes along with
the idea Fundamentally.
Formulation of policy by the
whole cabinet is conspicuous by
Its absence in Washington. 1t
seems doubtful whether the incon-
slstencies in the Acheson speech
on Russia, for instance, would
have escaped the critical eye of a
whole cabinet group.
Good Way to Say It
Thus, after telling Russia what
America thinks should be done to
relieve the tensions" Mr.. Ache
son says all participants would
have to produce unmistakable evi-
dence of their good faith" and
that all would have to accept
agreements in the observance of
which all nations could have real
confidence"
This was good way to say it.,
but the sentences almost immedi-
Rtely thereafter are disappointing
In their blunt reversal of view
polnt-in their brusqueness. For
II you want to reach an agree
ment with the other fellow and
inspire mutual trust, you don't in
one breath say you want good
faith to prevail and then pour cold
water on it all, as Mr.. Acheson
did when he said:
Il feel, however, that I must
warn you not to raise your hopes.
No one who has lived through
these postwar years can be SAN
gulne about reaching agreements
IN which reliance can be placed
and which will be observed bv
the Soviet leaders in good faith. !"
Successful diplomacy opens
doors. 1t assumes good faith. 1t
seeks for agreement in principle.
1t then discusses the application
OF that principle. 1t doesn't make
a single concession, of course, un-
I'll 1t is assured it will get one in
return. But, above all, successful
diplomacy doesn't call names
publicly attribute bad motives to
other governments-even though
IL may be convinced of the exis-
tence of evil. Successful diplo-
macy looks for ways out even
when 1t may fear there aren't any
but it looks for them Just the
same in the hope, remote at times,
that way out of the labyrinth of
controversy may still be found.
What Acheson Did.
What Secretary Acheson did in
his speech was to tell Russia. in
effect. to stop harassing American
interests all over the world. But
he overlooked the fact that this,
after all, is Russia's way of con-
Quoting cold war, just as our
military missions to Greece and
turkey and our Marshall Plan
aid and our Atlantic Pact consti-
tute our way of conducting a cold
war.
Peacemaking is a matter of ex-
pediency alWays-it is a recogni-
ton of realistic facts, often un-
pleasant facts. But the alterna-
tive-total war-is much worse
and is justified only when diplo-
macy has really failed. Unfor-
tunately, the two Acheson speeches
are not examples of a start to-
ward good diplomacy.
Secretary Acheson is a very ca
pable persona man of eXtraor-
dlnary intellect, though lacking
somewhat in the qualities of per-
ception that go with the politically
elected official who can sense cur
rents OF public thought. What is
needed Is not new Secretary of
State but to persuade the present
Secretary that, if there is a real
intent to end the cold war. it can
not be done by speechmaking or
international propaganda but by a
Willingness to sit down and ex-
anime minutely all phases of the
overall situation at the same time
and develop some device for the
peaceful coexistence of the COM
munistic and capitalistic systems
in the two countries most con-
cerned.
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