The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1954-01-25
BIG i BEGINS
lCoafinnad frurn eaRe onel

raced through the streets Of d.
|yided Berlin 10 converge On the
neutral grounds of building where
the four powers once met IN har-
niony TO preside over the ashes
Iof Killers erumbled empire.
The critical business Of the Big
Four over the next three or four
weeks win be German unificatiOn,
the place of Red China and An-
strian independence. In battling
out such issues they viii find
whether the cold war can be eased
|or not.
Dulles, Eden and Bidault already
had held three preliminary talks
here to perfect their joint strategy
for dealing with Molotoy. American
officials were convinced they had
achieved q solid front.
The Berlin conference seemed
more likely to result in strength
|ening Of the drive for West Euro
pean defenses against Soviet power
than in solving the problems Of
German unity. Austrian independ-
ence and cold war tensions gen
orally.
Yet some Western diplomats felt
the mere fact Of the meeting OPEN
ing today had already produced
some lessening Of tension.
The Big Four ministers last
meeting was In mid-1S4S after the
Russians had lifted the Berlin
blockade (which the American air
lift had already broken. That meet
ing was their eighth.
Since then, the West has intes
grated and built its strength. Both
the United States and Russia have
exploded hydrogen bomb devices.
Joseph Stain has died and Georgi
Malenkov has taken over as pre-
mier of the Soviet Union.
Also: q Republican party admin
istration has displaced the Demo-
Gratis in the United States. War has
erupted and ended in Korea.
The Big Four assembled In Ber-
lin today to tind out whether these
historic events had changed their
relations.
American officials were con-
WINGED no basic change has oc-
Cured except that the Western
Powers have grown stronger
through cooperation, and the Com,
munist empire has suffered in
ternal strains since Stains death.
The best some diplomats thought
the Berlin conference might pro.
duce were relatively minor adjust
ments to ease sore points.
There was grave doubt the long
stalled Austrian treaty actually
would be concluded here, although
the Western nations were deter.
mined to press for il.
The Western ministers did their
final strategy planning yesterday
at the residence of DR.. James B.
Conant, the U. S. high commission.
er, with Dulles az host.
AS result of their consultations.
they have decided, among other
things:
!. To reject outright Molotov's
bid - toreshadowed in q public
statement he made on his arrival
Saturday - to invite Communist
China to make this 4 Big Five
conference.
2. 10 reject the Red German bid
for German participation in the
conference whenever German
questions come up. Russia backs
the puppet East German govern
ment's proposal: the Western Pow
ers are consulting outside the
conference with the West German
government and win continue not
to recognize the East regime at
all.
8. To stick to their basic policies
for unifying Germany, beginning
with free elections to create an all
German government and the par
ticipation of that government in
formulation Of peace treat.
Russia wants to set up a pro-
visional government by mers.lg
the Red regime in the East and til
Western government without an
election.
The German Communist. argu-
ment that the Germans have a
right to be represented in the con-
ference was presented formally
yesterday in letter to each Of the