Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-03-25
Rival Peace Drives
May Spur Meeting
OF Big A Ministers
By John M. Hiehtower
Associated Press Siuff Writer

Associated Press Stoff Writer
The United States and Russia
are developing rival peace cam
paigns. These may spur the move
toward a Big Four foreign min
isters' conference few months
hence.
While Soviet behavior in such
a situation may be designed pri-
marily or even solely for propa-
ganda purposes, a skeptical
United States State Department
is nevertheless keeping it's eyes
open to discover whether the
Soviets really may want to come
to some agreements.
The train of diplomatic ma
neuvering being set in motion
could turn out to be the cold
war battle of the year unless the
Chinese Communists set off a
hot war in the Formosa area.
New Impetus to Meeting
President Eisenhower gave
new impetus yesterday to talk
of an eventual meeting with the
heads of state of Russia, Britain
and France by calling in BIZ
partisan groups of congressional
leaders for lunch next week.
The announced purpose is to
talk about foreign policy. The
White House said there could
hardly help but be discussion of
the call by Senator George,
Democrat, of Georgia for a top
level Big Four meeting, perhaps
this year.
On the Russian side. Foreign
Minister v. M. Molotov last
night invited Austrian Chan
cellor Julius Raab to Moscow to
negotiate on remaining provi-
sions of an Austrian peace
treaty. The Russians last month
began talking about much
earlier troop withdrawal than
they had indicated earlier they
would agree to.
The Soviet government dis
closed also that it had intro
duced at private talks in Lon
don disarmament proposals call
ing for the stationing of inspec-
tors to make certain the coun-
tries involved did disarm.
Developments on the Amer
lean side are in accordance with
basic British and French policy
for talks with the Russians once
agreements for rearming West
Germany have been ratified.
These agreements have COM
pleted the ratification process in
West Germany and are almost
through in France.
Russia's Detectives
For months almost any Soviet
gesture in the direction of les
sening tensions in Europe has
been regarded as an effort to
lull the French or the Germans
into a belief that Germany did
not have to be armed.
Now that the Soviets are close
to failure in their long fight to
block the indignation of the Ger
man republic into the North At
lantic defense system, officials
are beginning to search for other
motivations.
One possibility discussed is
that with the great fear of an
atomic conflict hanging over the
heads of all, the Soviets may ac-
tually be beginning to make some
practical adjustments to the real
tiles of forces they cannot con-
troll.
Most State Department Off
Gals, however. see the possibility
of an improvement in Russian
American relations as only a
slight possibility.
They consider it more likely
propaganda is the Soviet motive:
To offset the line taken by the
Eisenhower administration in
advocating peaceful use of
atomic energy, practical steps for
disarmament and exploratory
East West talks when prac-
ticable.
Will Get Skeptical Study
The Russian disarmament pro-
posal. like that on Austria. will
receive intense but skeptical
American study.
United States officials said this
country and its allies are not
interested in any generalized
agreements on an inspection sys-
tenn or other safeguards. They
frankly question the good faith
of the Soviets at every step They
have told the Russians that if
there is to be any disarming with
either conventional or atomic
weapons, the inspection system
must be fully agreed to in real
istic detail beforehand.
Whether or not there is any
element of sincerity in Russia S
proposals on disarmament and
Austria. officials here believe the
process of maneuver between the
Eastern and Western powers Is
becoming more fluid. Nobody
knows what it will lead to or
where IT, will end