The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1951-01-05

ing gulf between the Two Cities
cities that really do need one gov
eminent. 1t is true that man shall
not live by bread alone, but should
this particular statement by Jesus
Christ be quoted between meals to
those who have had no meal at all?
Another way to state the prob
lem of the Two Cities is to say that
through law and order have to be
enforced in human communities by
means of government, no govern
ment enforces them for long that does
not bother about justice.
POINT A FIRST TIMID STEP
Today the City of the Poor might
well wish to know whether the City
of the Rich really cares, before set
ting up political housekeeping with
it. Nothing would reassure it more
quickly than frontal assault by the
whole City on the unspeakable mis-
cry of most of it's inhabitants. That
is why President Truman's "Point
Four" remarks, even though timid and
vague, briefly stirred not only the
consciences of Americans but the
hopes of men throughout the planet.
This discussion which followed those
remarks has now begged down, be-
cause the false assumptions on which
it was based could not sustain its
weight.
SO Point Four" has become
gimmick in the cold war against Rus
ris; and the problem back of the cold
war, back of the Korean catastrophe,
and even back of Warld War III, if
hot oh
words are in print-that problem has
not been tackled
How can it be tackled? Not by
the American government, for rea-
sons we have seen. Not by Ameri-
can business, for reasons even easier
to see. Not by the common govern
ment of mankind, for mankind has
no common government. The nearest
thing to common government that
mankind has is the United Nations.
Can the United Nations tackle the
job?
1t might. 1t would stand bet
ter chance if it's delegates were elect
ed directly by the people of the world
and not appointed by national govern
ments with national policies 1t would
stand a better chance if it had some
way of getting the money it needs,
directly from the people and not
by begging it from the national gov
ernments. This way, appropriations
remain laughably small, and many
governments stay in arrears even on
these small appropriations. And False
Assumption Number Four is that
the job can be done on the basis of
small yearly appropriations.
FOURTH FALSE ASSUMPTION
World War II cost mankind, in
money spent and property destroyed,
about two trillion dollars-plus blood
and tears. Mankind gives the United
Nations each year about one fifty
part of that sum. Still,
it is a straw in the wind that job
we are talking about is one of the
few things America, Russia and ev-
cry other member government in
The United Nations have agreed on,
even though their appropriations for
hat job have been absurdly small.
The chief trouble with the United
Nations has been that, on the one |
hand, too many people thought it |
could prevent war by police action, |
,eed it could not do; and too few peo-
Die realized that it could, in economic |
md social matters, do very great |
leal.
AS a result, we fastened our eyes
N the Security Council, where the
lame calling goes on; we starved the
Economic and Social Council; and
We starved its specialized agencies.
But even if we took "Ecosoc" and
he agencies off their diet of peanuts
md gave them money to work with,
here would still remain tough prob
EN-.
"Ecosoc," like the rest of the
United Nations, is a creature of ma
ional governments, responsible to ma
ional governments, and therefore
ubj ect to the whims of National gov
1t must live from hand
o mouth, as national governments
= - But the job of getting the
,orld's economy in motion must be
one by a stronger more stable agency l.
nan that. | believe that this coun-
-y's experience with the Tennessee
alley Authority is the key to our {
:" A"fN ,
lust PLAN WITH, NOT FOR,
EOPLE t~1a ,