Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-06-24
A Time for Caution

In his London speech to the famous
Anglo friendship society called
the Pilgrims, former President Truman
has spoken with eloquent simplicity in
urging the continuation of the closest
possible ties between Britain and the
United States. And at the same time,
a whole, he has offered good and timely
counsel against overoptimistic or wish
fully hasty civilizations of changing Soviet
policy. In word, he has called for
caution-the kind Of caution which we
and our friends and allies must exercise
II we are to remain as vigilant, and as
strong in unity and armed defense, as
this fateful period of history requires.
There can be no doubt about the
overriding Importance of maintaining in
innate and unbreakable bonds between
our own country and the United King
dom. Such bonds are quite literally in
diSpenSable to the safety of free nations
everywhere. Mr.. Truman has not exag-
gerated on that score. For it is fact, as
he has declared, key fact of interna-
tional life, that "the peace and happiness
of the world demand that British and
American policy should be conceived and
conducted in the closest concert. To-
gether, we can accomplish great good.
Separated, we tend to cancel one another
out, leaving void in place of leadership"
And void of that sort would gravely
upset the balance of power and almost
automatically give the Soviet Union
major victory in its drive for global
domination.
AS for the Kremlin'S smiling and
seemingly reasonable new tactics, Mr..
Truman has taken decidedly dim view
of them. Without mentioning the Russian
leaders by name, and without specifying
the reasons for his suspicious, he has
Joined West German Chancellor Adenauer
in warning against the beguiling char
acter of the revised Soviet line. Actually,
in his opinion, the danger confronting the
free nations today "has rarely been
greater, though it has often been more
Strident and spectacular. ;. 1 suggest
that among some changes that are real,
there are some that are counterfeit I
am not prepared to believe that all
who claim to have been converted have
in fact-caSt out the old Adam. So I
would urge that-out of common pru-
dence-you and we and all our friends
and associates should not get careless
with our strength or with our unity"
In saying this, the former President
has not denied that there may ultimately
be profound transformation for the
better both within Russia and in the
satellite lands. For example, despite some
speculation that they may have planned
it that way, Nikita Khrushchev and his
colleagues may find it difficult to control
the Discrimination programs unsettling
and divisive effect on the international
Communist movement-a movement in
which the French, Italian, British and
other outside Reds are now openly crit
icizing the new collective leadership"
And in time, given similar dissent in
countries like Poland and CzechoSlovakia,
Moscow'S imperial grip might be weak
ened in way that would be blessing
for the entire world
Mr.. Truman has not ruled out the
possibility of such change. But he has
wisely warned that it amounts now only
to hope and that the free nations could
easily throw away "great, serene and
peaceful future" if they became disunited
and let down their guard at this stage
merely because of Soviet smiles. After
all, the smiles will continue to mean little
as long as the Kremlin fails to follow
them up with basic peace promoting
deeds.