Evening star., 1953-12-27
1gt Uneasy Peace Korea and New Atomic Policy the World

WOFIO
compromised too easily. Two things
happened in December to show that
the President was reaching for a
new firmness.
First he took up the challenge Of
Senator Mccarthy of Wisconsin,
who had called for halt to Ameri-
can aid for countries trading with
Communist China. The President,
with the help of his Secretary Of
State. repudiated any such coercive
American foreign policy, and took
occasion to disagree with Senator
Mccarthy on another point; COM
munism in Government as politi-
cal issue. Mr.. Eisenhower said, in
effect that his executive branch
would clean out SubversiveS from
the Government so that there would
be no opportunity for Red-hunters
like Senator Mccarthy to keep the
issue alive until the fall elections in
1854. Mr.. Eisenhower said he wanted
can record in next years congress
sional races. Plenty of Republicans
seemed unconvinced.
Big Three at Lost
Then the President set out for
Bermuda where he conferred with
British Prime Minister Churchill
and French Premier Laniel on the
free worlds plans in the cold war.
The three chiefs of state agreed to
accept Soviet proposal for for
eign ministers meeting in Berlin
and suggested January as a date.
The Communists turned down that
date. but offered to meet January Is
or later.
At Bermuda also, President Eisen-
hover got his colleagues approval
for a new approach to the biggest
problem of the age-control Of
atomic weapons. On December 8.
the President presented the idea to
the United Nations: Set up world
bank for the raw materials of which
atomic power is made and pool Of
scientific know-hoW in the peaceful
application of atomic power and
atomic science. Let each country
contribute to this bank, and thus
give the peaceful side of atomic en-
ergy chance to grow.
The free world hailed the idea.
First Soviet Russia shouted "Nyet"
over it's radios and through its news
papers. Then the foreign office said
maybe. Finally, last week, the Krem-
lin decided it would talk the idea
over in secret, as Gen. Eisenhower
had suggested. But while the Soviet
move was encouraging, Russia still
wanted the Ito the West) unaccept-
able prohibition of atomic weapons.
Week before last the President re-
turned to domestic affairs. In three
days of White House conferences,
he laid before congressional leaders
of both houses the broad outlines
of his plans for legislative action in
1854. The meetings were widely
praised as a shrewd bid for as much
support among his Republican Party
members as possible.
In Korea, the Presidents special
representative, Arthur Dean, walked
out of talks with the Communists
about the Far Eastern political con-
ference. He had been provoked by
Red charges of "perfidy" against the
United States. Back in this coun-
try for the holidays, Mr.. Dean said
he still hoped the Reds would finally
sit down to a conference, and added
he did not foresee a renewal of the
fighting.
Apparently the administration
shared this latter view, for Presi-
dent Eisenhower announced at the
end of the year that two of the
six full American Army divisions in
Korea would be pulled out next year.
Vice President Nixon, bome again
after a world-girdling good will"
tour that apparently really spread
good will, reported hopefully to the
Nation. In his address he defended
Mr.. Deans walkout. He also ex-
pressed the belief that the free
world wants to stay free, but
warned that enlightened American
leadership is necessary to prevent
further Communist inroads.
Supreme Court
In Washington, there were por-
tents of significant Supreme
Court decision on discrimination
against Negroes. In almost two
weeks of hearings the Court received
iy1 ha
schools, and how an integration Of
white and colored schools could be
effected. The court is expected to
take until next summer to decide
whether school segregation is con-
stitutional.
Communist hints earlier in the
year that the war in Indo-C China
could be halted by negotiation were
repeated in December. When, the
day after Christmas. the Wet MIMI
rebels drove again into Laos-this
time south of their April penetration
there persisted the thought that
Ho Chi Mini might thus be telling
the French that negotiated peace
really would be better than no peace
at all. The French were interested
in negotiation, of course, but with
more aid coming from the United
States, and with the buildup of ma
tive forces being accelerated, the
French had more to gain by fight
ing it out.
At home, France suffered through
another of her many postwar spec
tacles Of parliamentary disunity. It
took the French legislature 13 ball
lots to elect a f1gurehead president.
In the end. dark horse conserva.
tive, Rene Coty, was named.