The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1953-02-09
The World Today
By JAMES MARROW

oSAhOWCA anu OCSIctdIy Vi Sldl6
Dulles have finally expressed
bluntly what has been an attitude
among many people in this coun-
try for a good while: That if West
ern Europe wants American help
| it had better do more about help
ing itself.
Western Europe, and France in
particular, has been acting like a
tired old man. He likes to doze
and would rather not hear the feet
creeping along the hallway al
though he's still capable, under the
spur of final fright, of jumping up
and barring the door if he hears
an unwelcome knock.
Frightened Western Europe got
anxious and busy about arming
when the Communists took over
Czechoslovakia and then when they
began the war in Korea. They
couldn't help but think: Are we
next?
France, West Germany, Italy,
Belgium, The Netherlands and
Luxembourg, under A m e r n
prodding, agreed among them
selves, for their cwn protection,
to set up what they called the Eu-
ropean Defense Community.
1t was a fine burst of energy.
They agreed, or their statesmen
did, that they should have a single
European army. But that was just
the statesmen agreeing. 1t couldn' t
be final, and he army couldn't be
created, unless the parliamentS of
each country approved.
So far not one parliament has
approved. When the Korean War
dragged on, the Russians didn't
attack, and the Communists no.
where took over more territory,
the French and West Germans be-
gan to quarrel at home about hav-
ing united army.
The French have reason to be
concerned about the Germans who
overran them three times in less
than 100 years. They dread seeing
Germans under arms again, al
though West Germany's Chancellor
Adenauer says a single army is
the only solution and he himself
breads ever again seeing national
armies.
But the French factions have
been arguing among themselves.
So have the West Germans. In
both countries there is some oppo-
sition to the edo plan as approved
by the statesmen, or to such sin
gle army at all.
France acted like tired old
man before World War III. So did
the rest of Western Europe, where
the menace of Hitler was plain
enough, but the people couldn't
manage to set up a wall against
him.
This was especially true in
France, which was torn and d.
vided. Now once again. with Hitler
gone but Russia taking his place
as the No. l European danger, the
French are dawdling as if believ-
ing that just by hoping the worst
can't happen to them it won't hap
pen.
Dulles has been In Europe all
week, trying to G-ge Western Eu-
rope into fuller realization that if
it can't find the way to work to-
gether for the common defense
they have no right to expect this
country to keep on Smelling out
help.
So far, of course, Dulles has
been in a favorable position. He
gave the Western Europeans about
Is days to make UP their minds.
AS representative of this coun-
try. which foots the big bills, he
could talk tough.
But the question still to be an
swered is this: Suppose the French
and West Germans don't do any
more about forming the single
army than they've done so far.
Then what is this country going to
do?
The United States needs allies as
a bulwark against any sudden Rus
sian moves and Western Europe
can provide this country with air
bases fairly close to Russia. The
Europeans know that, too.
Apart from the question Of the
effect on Western civilization IL
Russia overran Western Europe,
there is the intensely practical
question of what such q conquest
would mean in terms of the United
States and Russia.
As Of now the United States and
its European friends control about
two-thirds Of the industrial produc-
ton of the world. Russia has the
other third. II Russia took Western
Europe, half the worlds industrial
capacity-meaning the capacity
to make modern war-would be in
Russia's hands, and half in this
country.