Evening star., 1951-03-29
Our inter-Americon Problems

Secretary Acheson's address to the Inter
American Conference of Foreign Ministers has
outlined the key problems that the Western
Hemisphere must act upon-with the least pos
sible delay-to cope with the mortal threat"
now confronting and the rest of the free world.
The mortal threat"-which endangers the
Americas as well as Europe and ASia-stems
from the fact that the men of the Kremlin,
with their massive war machine and the sub
versive fifth columns working for them in the
international Communist movement, are reach
ing out for more and more power in freedom
destroying imperialistic drive whose ultimate
objective is to conquer and Sovietize the world.
This is not an imaginary menace. It is real.
And because 1t is real, because it is pressing,
because no continent is safe from it, the nations
of our hemisphere must work closely together
not only with themselves but with all like
minded nations in building defenses mighty
enough to insure their common survival.
To that end, as Mr.. Acheson has said, the
Americas must now agree upon stepped-up
cooperative approach to the politico- military
problems involved in the task of marshaling
their strength, individually and collectively, to
meet any attack This requires, among other
things, that they take measures to enable the
1nter-American Defense Board to work out as
soon as possible co-ordinated defensive plan
armament aid from the United States and a
system of balanced armed forces similar to the
one being developed in Western Europe under
the Atlantic Pact. Further, besides making the
fullest use of the machinery available for the
peaceful settlement of disputes among them
selves, the republics of the New World must try
to find additional ways of improving their safe
guards against the internal threat of Communist
subverson and of strengthening the program OF
collective security in the United Nations.
Beyond all this, it is at least equally i'm
portant that the Americas deal promptly and
effectively with the economic problems created
by the world crisis These problems, in Mr..
Acheson's words, "pervade our whole effort and
touch upon the life of every individual in the
hemisphere"-so much so that they must be
tackled jointly "for the common defense, not
only in one country or some countries, but
throughout our interlocking" inter- American
community What they call for is concrete and
concerted hemisphere action to increase the
output of raw materials, to promote an equl-
table ALLEGATION of essential supplies to gear
production in way that will guard as much
as possible against dangerous strains on civilian
economies, to keep infationary pressures under
control and at the same time to do whatever
can be done to improve general living standards
in terms of nutrition, health, working condi-
tions, etc.
These problems obviously are not easy ones.
Nevertheless, although there are no simple or
overnight solutions for them, they are by no
means too difficult for the wisdom and states
manship that our inter-American system can
bring to bear upon them. Happily, as Mr.. Ache
son has observed the Western Hemisphere
despite the differences and strains within it,
despite the fact that it contains authoritarian
regimes like Argentina's- fundamentally
hemisphere of "co-operators." In sum- no matter
how much it may argue within ITSELF it is still
"a spiritual confederation of peoples as well as
nations" and it feels an almost instructive COM
pulsion-because of its common interests, ira
ditions and cultural ties-to act as unity in
times of crisis.
This is such a time. It is so clearly such
time that the Americas can hardly fail, in the
historic conference now taking place, to arrive
at solid and constructive agreements that will
substantially strengthen the forces of freedom
and send. forth, as Mr.. Acheson has said, "a
: H.