Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-02-22
The Thickening Ice

Prime Minister Macmillan OF Brit
ain now is on mission to Moscow that
may or may not be worth the time
(about 10 days. that he is devoting to it.
But he has undertaken 1t, with the APP
parent blessing of the ailing Secretary
Dulles and other Western statesmen,
because he regards the Soviet attitude
on Germany-eSpecially Berlin-as suf-
ficiently threatening and dangerous"
to justify special effort Ito break the
ice and get some feeling Of the general
situation before the next stages"
To that end, Mr.. Macmillan and
Foreign Secretary Selwyn Lloyd will talk
at length with Premier Khrushchev and
other key figures in the Soviet high
command. However, as the Prime Min
lister has explained to Britain's House
OF Commons, no formal negotiations
of any kind will be involved. Instead,
there will be only an exchange of views,
sort Of feeling-out operation, or an
exercise In diplomatic reconnaissance,
that may be of some value to both East
and West in preparing for Big Four
conference assuming that one is going
to be held) on Berlin's status, Ger
many's identification and related issues.
AS for the steps to be taken after
his scouting job in Moscow, Mr.. Mac
milan has declared that they must
include "a visit to Bonn, to Paris and
perhaps to Washington, with a view to
the formation Of Western allied policy"
Certainly, as things look now, it seems
more than probable that he will come
here in the next few weeks to give Pres
ident Eisenhower and Mr.. Dulles q de-
tailed fill-in on his conversations with
Mr.. Khrushchev. After that, as he has
put 1t, 1--WE shall have to face the
supreme test Of direct negotiations with
the Soviet government. 1t is for that,
and 1t is a grim prospect as well as an
inspiring one, that we have to At our
selves" What makes the prospect grim,
of course, is the fact that the ice Mr..
Macmillan would like to break appears
to have grown very much thicker, and
In rather ominouS way, during the
past week.
At any rate, despite recent Soviet
propaganda about a thaw in the cold
war; Radio Moscow has just taken a
decidedly waspish view of our Western
proposals for foreign ministers meet
ing to deal with the current tense situa-
ton, which is like a time bomb ticking.
More disturbing still, on the eve of Mr..
Macmillan'S visit, Mr.. Khrushchev him.
self has gone out of his way to brandish
missiles once again and to speak in the
most ugly tones about how the Kremlin
is in no mood to make concessions to
anybody, and about how a new world
war could easily begin in Berlin.
In these circumstances, 1t is good
that Hugh Gaitskell, speaking for the
Laborite opposition in Britain, has bid
godspeed to Mr.. Macmillan with pledges
OF firm support, including this state
ment: I'VE reject d.. the Russian pro-
posal for an open city in West Berlin
and the withdrawal of the allied forces
from 1t. Within fairly short time
under such PROPOSAL West Berlin
would be swallowed up in East Ger
many, and that we are not prepared
for, That would be to sacrifice our
friends In West Berlin"
This is sound summation of the
free worlds basic view. Mr.. Khrushchev
would be well advised not to underesti-
mate the depth Of feeling behind 1t.