Evening star., 1951-09-16
The Sooner the Better

In announcing that he intends to ask for
prompt ratification of the japanese peace treaty
President Truman has made point of observing
that in the Senate, when it comes to certain
issues, promptness sometimes means action whose
completion may take as long as year. AS far
as ratification is concerned however, there seems
no good reason for any such delay. On the con-
trary, great deal can be said for the idea of
dealing with the matter on an immediate basis,
within the next few weeks or just as soon as the
Parliament in Tokyo has acted upon it.
The drive to adjourn of course, may
require that the treaty be deferred until Congress
reconveneS early next year. But that ought to be
avoided if possible, and the sentiments expressed
by Senator Knowland and very large bipartisan
group of other members indicate that there is
at least fair chance of avoiding it. At any rate
judging from the nature of those sentiments and
the fact that they have been expressed by dozens
of Democrats and Republicans in the Senate.
presidential request for ratification at this time
probably would give rise to no debate Of any
consequence and might we'll receive virtually
unanimous affirmative vote prior to adjournment.
1t has been suggested in some quarters that
from the military standpoint as long as the
Korean situation remains critical, poStponemert
of ratification might be wise. Presumably this
view is based in part on the idea that formal
effectuation of the treaty might somehow provoke
Moscow and Peiping into violent counteraction
under their 30-year pact for mutual armed
assistance against aggression by Japan or any
country allied with Japan. The propagandistS
of Red China and the Soviet Union, describing
the peace settlement as a Tokyo Washington
alliance to unleash a new war against Asia, have
on several occasions-both before and during the
San Francisco Conference-hinted darkly at such
a possibility. But no fewer than 48 nations, by
signing the settlement, have treated the implied
threat-whether an empty bluff or not-with the
contempt it deserves, and the same spirit should
certainly animate the ratifying process.
Further, beyond the fact that an unwar-
ranted delay in ratification might spread the
false impression of Americans being intimidated
by threatful Red propaganda. the logic of the
situation demands that the Senate act on the
treaty as soon as it can. After all, the treaty
itself has been negotiated and signed by the
overwhelming majority on the very sound
assumption-as effectively emphasized by our
representatives-that its prompt coming into
force is vitally needed to promote not only the
safety and well-being of japan but also the
security of the Pacific area as whole. That
argument still stands 1t applies as much to
ratifying as it has applied to the now-competed
negotiating and signing.
Moreover the United States needs to act
as promptly as possible on this matter to avoid
the kind of delay that could be misinterpreted
abroad as vacillation or irresolution. Since our
country has been the prime mover in working
out the treaty, the other signing nations will
UNDERSTANDABLE be looking to us to be in ,the
vanguard of the ratifiers. The sooner the matter
is dealt with-along with our bilateral security
pact with Japan and our similar pacts with New
Zealand, Australia and the Philippines--the
better off the free world will be vis-a-vis the
Kremlin in Asia Every effort should therefore
be made to complete this historic work before
Congress adjourns. Maybe that is expecting too
much, but the Senate should strive for it anyhow