Evening star., 1952-03-17
Germ-L0den Lie

The United Nations Disarmament Commits
sion has begun its first session in New York to
the accompaniment Of typically venomous OUT
burst from Jacob A. Malik, the Soviet Deputy
Foreign Minister. Besides attacking our ma
jority- supported plan for arms control, he has
in effect placed the Kremlin officially on record
as accusing us Of waging germ warfare not only
against the Communist forces in Korea but also
against Red China. The same charge has for
many days past been the main feature Of violent
anti-American propaganda, throughout the world
behind the Iron Curtain, and now that one of
the Stain governments chief spokesmen has
mouthed it, every effort should be made to expose
It for what it is-a vicious fabrication.
AS exploited by the Communist propagandists
of Europe and ASIA the idea behind all this has
been to make hundreds of millions Of people
believe that American planes have been bombing
Chinese and North Korean areas with bacterio-
logical weapons (which incidentally are not yet
outlawed) designed to wipe out great masses Of
men. women and children-as well as troops
with deadly scourges like cholera and bubonic
plague. Speaking for the United Nations COM
mand both General Ridgway and Secretary OF
State Acheson have vehemently denied the accu-
sation, and u. N Secretary General Trygve Lie
has been at pains to back them up by branding
it as utterly false. But that has not deferred
the spreaders of the lie. Even though differing
in their versions of it, they have kept right on
spreading it.
In an effort to cope with this vile business,
Mr.. AcheSon has called upon the international
Red Cross to conduct an impartial on-the-scene
investigation, and the International Red Cross
has responded that 1t will do so If the Communist
side like the U. N. side, viii guarantee co-opera-
tion in advance. Such guarantee, however,
is not likely to be forthcoming Evidence of that
can be found in the way the Red propaganda
has been contradicting itself since the announce
ment of Mr.. Acheson'S challenging proposal.
When the propaganda started, it gave the i'm
preston that epidemics we're sweeping the areas
allegedly hit by our archaeological weapons, but
now the Peiping radio-disputing its own earlier
broadcasts and the broadcasts from Moscow and
other points behind the Iron Curtain-haS sud-
denly denied the existence of any epidemics of
any kind whatever.
Such contradiction has all the earmarks
of line hurriedly worked out to justify refusal
to cooperate in an impartial inquiry. If there
are no epidemics what can the International
Red Cross investigate? The question speaks for
itself. Nobody should be surprised il the Reds
respond to Mr.. Acheson's challenge by saying
that they have surrounded and captured our
germs before those germs could do harm and
that the little creatures have been too thoroughly
Equidated to leave behind them any traces OF
their presence. But the Kremlin and its stooges
should not be allowed to get away with dodge
of that sort. BY every means possible, we ought
to keep pounding at the emptiness Of their accu-
sation. That may not shut them up. but u we
counterattack vigorously, we can take. much of
the poison out of their propaganda and make
them objects OF further scorn and ridicule wher-
ever men are free to have access to the truth.