Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-11-12
Another Summit Meeting?

Common sense and the realities of
the hour have dictated President Eisen-
hower'S polite rejection of the Swiss pro-
poSal for new summit" meeting of the
Big Four, plus India. The British and
French have indicated some interest in
the idea And the Kremlin, together with
the Indian government, appears to favor
it in a much more positive fashion. But
the fact seems obvious that this is a
moment in history-a moment of intense
international passions, alarms and ex-
cursionS-that has all the earmarkS of
being singularly inauspicious for such a
get-together.
After all, as the President has en-
phaSized, the United Nations is now ac-
lively engaged in an effort to abate the
crisis in the Middle East and apply a
touch of humanity to the terrible things
that have been happening in Hungary as
result of the desperate Soviet reaction
to. the outbreak of freedom there. Ger
tainly, in his message to the Swiss Federal
Council, Mr.. Eisenhower stands on solid
ground in declaring his belief that the
interest of all countries in preserving
to carry the U. Ms initiative in these
matters to a successful conclusion. A
summit" meeting in present circum-
stances could hardly be a sound or
promising substitute for that; at best, it
probably would be little more than a
propagandiStic diversion that could make
the general situation even worse than
it is
Actually, given the terrible Hun
garian repression and the Kremlins APP
parent intent to undo the West in the
Middle East, how could the heads of the
British, French and American govern
mentS meet now on any sort of common
ground with Soviet Premier Bulganin?
How could they even shake his hand or
pose Smilingly with him for the photogra-
piers, without seeming to be callously
indifferent to the awful suffering of Hum
gary? How could they do it without APP
pearing to be blind to- RuSsias enor-
mously threatful attempt to WOO and
eventually dominate the Arab world in
order to menace free Europe with an oil
cutoff that could Strangle it econom-
ically? The questions answer themselves.
AS long as Moscow purSues the policies it
is now pursuing, as long as it gives no
evidence of the slightest willingness to
retreat from them, summit" meeting
can offer no real promise of productive
peace-making craftsmanship.
To say this, of course, is not to sug-
gest that something like the Swiss pro-
poSal will not be worth adopting at
later date. When the terror ends in Hun
gary, when the Kremlin stops its present
Warlike maneuvering, when there is no
threat of Soviet volunteers" going to
Egypt, when the Middle East is at least
temporarily stabilized, when men and ma
tons in general calm down-when and if
these things happen, then will be the time
for another summit conference. And let
us hope and pray that it will be more
successful than last year's--the one held
at Geneva-in terms of enabling our
world and the Soviet world to live de-
Gently and peacefully together.
Meanwhile, there is something to be
said for prior glo-French- American
parley-not now perhaps but in the not
too distant future-to repair tho great
damage that recent events have done to
Western unity.