Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1953-03-04
Europe Sees Illness
OF Stain as Break
II Has Walled For
By WilIiom H. Stonemon
Fessisn Correspondent Of The Star and
the Cheese Daily News

Fessisn Correspondent Of The Star and
ihs chieaso Dolly News
PARIS, Mar. News that
Stain Is either dead or dying
struck Western Europe today
like an earthquake. producing a
flood Of emotion and q welter of
ideas.
Except for the Communists
everybody accepted it as the big
gest news since World War II,
and appeared to feel it would be
a boon to the whole wide world.
New Era II Seen.
Ofiicials, diplomats, military
authorities and Russian experts
seemed to agree on the following
points: n
/. Stains disappearance means
the beginning Of a new era for
Russia and the whole Commu-
mist world.
2. The Soviet regime and the
satellite world may be held to-
gether temporarily under control
of q triumvirate or some other
governing body. Malenkov. Mo-
lotov and Beria have been prom
inently suggested for such a tri-
umvirate or "troika."
8. But this governing authority
will not be able to avoid con-
f1icts between dominating per-
sonalities of the Communist Par
ty once Stalin's firm hand is
gone These conflicts are bound
to weaken Soviet authority and
ultimately Soviet power.
4. This may cause some panic
in the high places Of Russia, but
contrary to some suggestions this
panic is not likely to result in
an act Of desperation against the
outside world. Such an act be-
comes even less likely than it has
been under Stains rule.
Stains successors will be so
busy on the home front they will
have no time or energy to wage
a war which would have been
disastrous even under "Comrade
Steel" it is argued.
Single Control Unlikely.
5. Nobody can really replace
Stain and. any attempt to do
so with a single personality will
result in nothing but interne-
cine massacre. It appears partic-
ularly impossible for Malenkov.
Molotov or Beria to control
permanently the inherent diff
ference between the party, the
Red Army and the political po-
lice now known as the MGB.
Opinions differ sharply on
whether Malenkov is likely to
succeed Stain as a one-man die
tator or whether the country will
be run by a Board Of Directors.
It has been assumed that
Malenkov would succeed Stain
one day. He has occupied i'm
portant positions in the Org
bureau and the party secretariat
just as Stain once did. At the
18th Party Congress he was
chosen to deliver the principal
report just as Stain had in 1899.
He Is tough as nails and knows
the party inside and out.
But he is still comparatively
unknown and Stain may have
decided he is not yet ripe to run
the country by himself.
In any case he would have q
rough time handling his COM
petition and maintaining dis
cipline either at home or abroad.
He doesn't have either the neces-
sary prestige or personal power.
Break for Western World.
s The Kremiln is now going
to nave to pay the price, pos
sibly on the installment plan,
for having brutalized and ter
rorized the entire population Of
the Soviet Union and vassal
states. The ocean Of resentment
and hate created by Stain can
not be repressed by lesser men
who survive him. Even by the
brutal Beria.
z. This is the great break for
which the Western World has
been waiting. and it must not