Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-05-01
Voice of Reason

Secretary General Dag Hammar-
skiold Of the United Nations has
injected breath of fresh air into the
stale atmosphere of the dreary, never
ending disarmament debate. He has
done this by taking the most unusual"
step Of intervening personally in the
Security Councils consideration of our
Governments proposal for the estab-
lishment Of international policing ma
chinery in the Arctic zone
In rather typical fashion, Soviet
Foreign Minister Gromyko, with his
U.N. agents faithfully echoing him, has
bitterly aSSailed the proposal as a mere
publicity stunt designed to divert the
worlds attention from the Kremlin'S
lurid charge that our Strategic Air
Command is gravely imperiling the
peace by sending undetermined planes
on provocative" flights Gin the direc-
ton of RuSsia'S borders. President
Eisenhower, at his latest news con-
ference, has answered by declaring
that he is more saddened than irritated
by Mr.. Gromyko's almost silly" accu-
sation against completely sincere
American effort to allay mutual fears
Of surprise tranSpolar attacks. So the
USSR and our own country seem to be
hopelesSly deadlocked on this particular
issue as well as on the far broader and
vastly more complex issue of disarma-
ment in general.
Mr.. HammarSkjold, however, has
refused to let matters rest Just there, on
dead center. Instead, he has called upon
the Kremlin-deSpite its initial mega
tiviSm-to respond aff1rmatively to our
country's bid for U.N. action aimed at
organizing system of Arctic inspection
as a first step toward much larger
system of international policing and
effectively controlled disarmament. At
the same time, reminding the world
Of his recent Endorsement Of the Soviet
Unions announced unilateral suSpen-
sion of nuclear tests, he has emphasized
that his welcoming of the American
proposal does not mean that he has
taken sides between the East and West.
On the contrary, it means merely that
he has exercised his right and duty as
neutral" Secretary General to try his
best to encourage negotiations of a
sort that might break up an arms stale
mate that "has been permitted to last
for far too long"
In other words, as he has told the
Security Council in his statement, Mr..
Hammarskjold believes that the time
has come for an earnest effort to put
an end to "the crisis Of trust from
which all mankind is suffering at the
present juncture." 1t is a crisis in which
the nations chiefly involved appear to be
so paralyzed by mutual suspicion that
they decline-almoSt automatically, out
Of fear Of being hoodwinked-to give
serious consideration to each others
peace proposals. Yet, as the Secretary
General has warned, the current drift is
profoundly dangerous, and peoples ev-
erywhere yearn to be brought out of the
nightmare nightmare Of military
rivalry that could lead, literally and sud-
denly, to the virtual humiliation of
humanity.
This is a reality that no Soviet
leader, no American leader, no leader
of any nation anywhere can wish away.
1t is why Mr.. Hammarskjold, speaking
with the voice Of reason against the all
pervading spirit of reciprocal fear and
mistrust, has appealed to the Kremlin
to take a second look at the Arctic
proposal and join in genuine common
effort to stop the arms race and achieve
a real breakthrough toward a decent
peace. His counsel can be ignored only
at grave risk to the world on both sides
of the Iron Curtain.