Evening star. [volume], May 13, 1948, Image 15

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
Truman and Marshall
Busy Apologizing for
Declaration to Russia
Words Add to Confusion
* Of American People on
U. S. Foreign Policy
By David Lawrence
Having m*de a declaration that
thrilled the world, the White House |
and the State Department have |
since spent most of the time apol-;
ogizing for it and even minimizing
its importance.
Originally designed as a statement
to clear up confusion that might
exist in the minds of Russians con
cerning American foreign policy,
Secretary Marshall and President
Truman now have succeeded in
bringing confusion to Americans as
to what really is American policy.
In the note, which war carefully
prepared inside the State Depart
ment a week ago and then read
orally by Ambassador Smith at Mos
cow to Mr. Molotov, there appeared
the following sentence:
"As far as the United States is
concerned, the door is always wide
open for full discussion and the
composing of our differences."
Less than 12 hours after that
sentence gave the world the first
glimmer of hope that the "cold war”
might be settled, President Truman
issued a statement reviewing what1
was in the note and summarizing it
as having "two salient points" but
carefully omitting all reference to
the discussion of differences. The
omission was a major blunder. It
could make millions of votes for
Henry Wallace.
Marshall's Statement.
Within a day afterward, the
Secretary of State, Gen. Marshall,
also issued a carefully prepared
statement in which the following
words appear:
“Gen. Smith did not ask for any
general discussion or negotiation.
We have had a long and bitter
experience with such efforts. This
Government has no Intention of
entering into bilateral negotiations
with the Soviet government on mat
ters relating to the interests of other
governments.”
When Secretary Marshall speaks
of "Gen. Smith” he refers to Am
bassador Smith, who is on leave
from the Army and serving as the
head of the American Embassy in
Moscow.
Just what does Secretary Marshall
mean? The words of the American
note certainly indicate a desire for
discussion of some kind. Why did
Mr. Marshall feel it necessary to
apologize or to construe the words
of the American note as meaning
something entirely different from
that which the plain words say?
Maybe Mr. Marshall felt that
Britain and France wouldn’t like
"bilateral negotiations” on matters
affecting them. But the Russian
note didn’t ask for "bilateral ne
gotiations,” or anything so formal.
It merely welcomed the American
note with these words, now given
out as the official translation by the
State Department:
"The Soviet government shares
the desire, expressed in this state
ment by the Government of the
United States of America, to better
these relations and is in agreement
with the proposal to proceed with
this aim towards a discussion and
settlement of the differences be
tween us.”
Here is a significant pronounce
ment and the State Department
quibbles about the difference be
tween a "proposal” and a “declara
tion,” or the difference between a
"negotiation” and a "discussion.”
Foreign Secretary Bevln of Great
Britain was far more realistic in his
speech to the House of Commons
when he said that he didn’t under
stand that a "conference" was being
called. He urged a preparatory ex
change of views to get at a precise
understanding, or else any subse
quent conference would be futile.
Revived Old Custom.
All that the Russians really have
done is to revive the old custom of
direct talks through diplomatic rep
resentatives, rather than conference
by Klieg light. They, too, see no use
in a multipower conference at this
time. But if Secretary Marshall
doesn’t want Ambassador Smith
even to talk Rbout the world situa-i
tion because it might affect the "in
terests of other governments.” then
the chances of making peace are
hopeless.
The American people will rapidly
lose confidence in Gen. Marshall as;
the right man to head the State!
Department if he adopts too rigid
a position on what ought to be the
most flexible process in the whole
machinery of modem government—
conversations between ambassadors
and foreign secretaries. In the old
days it was considered tactful for
two governments to talk first end
lay the foundation for conferences
with other governments. Resource
ful diplomacy is ready always to
discuss and talk about anything and
everything, but this does not neces
sarily mean commitment or agree
ment in the early stages.
The peoples of the world are way
ahead of their technical minded
and captious spokesmen who use
phrases that mean something one
day and then are disparaged the
next day. The big news of the year
is contained in the dispatches from
Moscow telling of the smiles of
satisfaction and sense of relief of
the Russian people as they watched
the news bulletin boards telling
about the latest exchange of notes.
This reveals that the Russian peo
ple. like the American people, have
been worried lest inept governmen
tal leaders should lead them into a
needless war. Folks behind the
"iron curtain” apparently are hu-j
man, too, and have had enough of
war.
(Reproduction Right* Reserved.)
This Changing World
Newest U. S. Diplomatic Move Tops All
Previous State Department Mistakes
By Constantine Brown
The United States has been
placed in an uncomfortable inter
national position because a small
group of advisers in the State
D e p a r t m «nt,
who claim to
know the Rus
sian mentality,
gravely misun
derstood the
Kremlin's
eagerness to ex
ploit any diplo
matic errors of
its opponents.
Foreign Min
ister Molotov’s
unethical action
in releasing the
strictly con
fidential state
ment made by
Conitantina Brava.
Ambassador w. rseaen anuw
May 4, together with the Russian
answer, without consulting Wash
ington has now turned our diplo
matic move into an excellent piece
of propaganda for the U. S. S. R.
Within a few hours after the
Kremlin put the news and texts
of the statements on the air the
American Government was com
pelled to. start explaining — and
denying. ,
Apparently, Secretary of State
Marshall's political advisers, who
claim to have expert knowledge of
the U. S. S. R., assumed that since
Mr. Molotov kept strict secrecy
about his conversation with Hit
ler’s ambassador prior to the non
aggression pact of August 1939, he
would treat conversations with the
United States in a similar manner.
But they ignored the fact that the
German - Russian conversations
were initiated by the Russians
themselves, who were anxious to
side with Hitler in the summer of
1939.
London ana rans lrruaicu.
On our side secrecy was perfectly
maintained. Only a handful of
officials were aware of the new step
we took. In order to avoid any
possible leaks, neither the British
nor the French governments, with
whom we have the closest possible
relations, were informed Of our
demarche.
Our secrecy now has caused con
siderable disturbance and irritation
in London and Paris, for Britain
and France feel they should have
been told in a general way of our
moves with regard to Russia, in the
same way that we are Kept in
formed about their diplomatic
actions.
But what is more serious is the
fact that the Russians took the
ball and threw it back to us. By re
stating their policies they managed
to put us in a bad light, without,
however, offering any solution ex
cept further appeasement by us.
All this flows from the conviction
held by the policy-framing group
in the State Department that, re
gardless of how aggressive the gov
ernment of the U. S. S. R. may ap
pear to be, diplomacy in the end
will win the present nerve war.
It is the very same group of men
who prevailed on President Tru
man, at the time that the Russian
authorities in Berlin restricted our
communications between that city
and the western occupation zones,
to turn down the proposal made by
Secretary of Defense Forrestal and
the Joint Chiefs of Staff that Gen.
Lucius D. Clay, our commander in
Germany, be ordered to ignore the
Russian restrictions, which were
contrary to international agree
ments.
Tops AH Previous Mistakes.
Their belief is that we must do
everything possible to avoid offend
ing Russia or making Russia sus
picious.
For the same reason the pro
posal to give limited military as
sistance to the Western European
nations, which signed a treaty of
defensive alliance at Brussels, has
been delayed, although the draft
of a message to Congress propos
ing limited lend-lease has been on
President Truman's desk for sev
eral weeks.
The miscalculation of how Russia
would act after receiving an “ex
planation” of our policy in the ERP
and in partial reconstruction of our
military power has topped all pre
vious mistakes by the State Depart
ment. It is highly improbable that
the Russian Foreign Office made
any mistake—as is suggested in
Washington—when it converted our
statement of readiness to talk into
an actual proposal for Immediate
direct conversations.
Mr. Molotov made it clear onoe
and for all in his reply to Ambassa
dor Smith that such discussions
must be started on the basis that
America is wrong and Russia is
right. Neither President Truman
nor the members of his cabinet
would accept any such basis.
G. O. P. Plans Upsets
Morse’s Move to Ban Segregation
In Southern Colleges Annoys Senators
By Doris FleeSon
Nobody among his GOP col
leagues loves Senator Morse at the
moment.
The Senator’s maneuvers on the
Dili sanctioning
a regional sys
tem of colleges
in the South
have upset their
careful plans to
wring the maxi
mum political
effect ou> o i
President Tru
man's Southern
misadventures.
The Republi
can program
was to annoy
the South as
little as possi
ble while it
Doris Fleeson.
whipped through all other major
bills; then bring out antilynching
or poll-tax repeal, maybe both, at
the end of the session. If the
South filibustered they could blame
the South for the bills’ defeat or
perhaps in a dazzling burst of fidel
ity to civil rights invoke cloture,
which they have had the votes to
do for two sessions.
Covers Only Two Points.
This would cover at best only
two points of the President’s 10
point program and one of them
anti-poll tax, is the least objec
tionable to the South. There is also
a strong body of opinion among the
Southerners that the antilynching
bill Is unconstitutional so they hate
it less.than others, like antisegrega
tion and FEPC.
The Republicans figure it would
be enough to validate their own
claims to liberalism, but not enough
to make the Democrats madder at
them than they are at Mr. Truman.
Comes the Southern governors'
request for Congressional approval
of their plans for regional colleges
Payments on your home are
made easy by renting a room.
Renting a room is made easy
by advertising in The Star.
Call National 5000. Open 8
am. to 9 p.m.
LOLD.TYMJj
CsobiherB
FCOODNESSj
I especially designed to save Meharry,
| which trains 56 per cant of colored
doctors. Senator Morse moved to
recommit; announced that if his
motion failed he would press for
immediate action on an amendment
to ban segregation in the schools
affected.
As Senator Morse has made an is
sue of it. Senators must either vote
fwith hint or be in the' position of
sanctioning segregation unless they
choose to throw open the whole
! civil rights issue at this time and
there go on record. If they vote
to recommit, they may also annoy
a good many colored people who
! will be deprived of the higher edu
1 cation the regional pact might bring
them. And despite all the brim
I stone poured forth on the subject,
I the colored are voting in increasing
numbers in the South.
Morse’s Gontention.
Senator Morse contends that ap
proval of the proposal as it stands
would constitute indirect Congres
sional sanction of segregation and
would be cited to the detriment of
future civil liberties cases in the
Supreme Court.
It is fair to say that many Sena
tors on both sides are tired of the
obvious politicking on civil rights,
I would like to see the whole program
faced honestly and voted up or
down.
As a political question, Issues af
fecting the colored race will not
bear so heavily on presidential can
didates as the Republicans have so
great an advantage. Yet all eye
warily those pivotal States—New
York, Ohio, Illinois—where the Ne
gro vote is large.
But also Republicans must this
fall re-elect Senators from three
border States—Oklahoma, Ken
tucky and West Virginia—to retain
Senate control. What Congress or a
Senator does on these issues may
mean defeat or victory to him there.
More people
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LOUIE —By Harry Hanan
On the Other Hand
National Interest Is Served by
Arranging Stassen-Dewey Debate
By Lowell Mellett
President Peter Odegard of Reed
College, Portland, Oreg., has per
formed a national service by arrang
ing a debate between Candidates
Dewey ana
Stassen on the
subject of com
munism.
The debate Is
intended osten
sibly to help
Oregon Republi
can voters de
cide next week
between the two
men, now fight
ing tooth and
toenail for the
State's handful
of delegates to
the coming na
tional conven
Lowell Mellett.
tion. But its enects should extend
much further, possibly to the en
lightenment of the whole country.
Nothing more disturbing has oc
curred during the present campaign
than Mr. Stassen’s espousal of the
proposal to outlaw the Communist
Party in this country. It may be
“good politics” at the moment. It
may be that he has estimated the
popular American mood more
shrewdly than his principal op
ponents and other responsible Re
publican statesmen, virtually all of
whom have sought to discourage the
action he suggests.
Hysteria in U. S. Seen.
It may be that the editor of the
London Daily Mail, after a visit
here, was correct when he told his
home folks:
‘ The war scare which Is raging
over there (in America) is not only
terrific, but is almost terrifying. If
some one were suddenly to an
nounce over the microphone that
‘Red’ army paratroopers were drop
ping on Manhattan Island, there
would be such a stampede of the
human herd as has never, been- seen
before.’.’ ,
If such hysteria, or anything ap
proaching it, does exist in this
country, fanning the flame of it may
be the way to win votes. To ex
cited citizens it may appear per
fectly reasonable and proper to
“outlaw” the political party which
has communism for its creed. But
responsible officials of every degree
of conservatism, from FBI Director
J. Edgar Hoover to Senator Taft,
have pointed out again and again
that the worst method of dealing
fttuwniap-oowdweAiow-Kuer
McCMW»CKTEASTMe THl H6 RMOMl
rrrcpsKw ur ahp-hreVup
. ywkTWc imc cwa©«cr,*s war/
McCormick'* it made from Juat the priae
young leave*, blended for foil body, sparkling
color and "a wonderful flavor." Be sure to
use freah, boiling, babbling water, not just
hot, and pour directly on McCormick tea
bags or packaged tea.
Look for the tea
I_
with American Communists would
be to drive them underground.
Gov. Dewey has given even more
potent reasons for opposing the
suggestion. It would be, he said in
a recent speech, “recognized every
wnere as an abject surrender by
the great United States to the
methods of totalitarianism.
“It is thought-control borrowed
from the Japanese war leadership.
It is an attempt to beat down ideas
with a club. It is surrender of every
thing we believe in. • • * it would
be not only unconstitutional, but
immoral. * • *If we use the laws
already in existence with firmness
and skill and vigor, we can protect
ourselves from our internal enemies
and we can do it with scrupulous
regard for the Constitution of the
United States and the Bill of
Rights."
Must Keep Life Free.
“The free world,” he said, "looks
to us for hope, for leadership and,
most of all, for a demonstration of
our invincible faith that the free
way of life will triumph so long as
we keep it free.”
That is the philosophy which Mr.
Stassen will have to dispute. What
he has to say should give the coun
try his true measure. It should
reveal either that he has thought
the issue through and has basically
sound reasons for the position he
has taken or that he is willing to
ride any wind that blows if it seems
to be blowing toward the White
House.
The American people are torn
between their hopes and their fears.
They hope for enduring peace; they
fear there may be war. The formal
exchange between Ambassador Wal
ter Bedell Smith and Foreign Min
ister Molotov—surprisingly broad
cast in full by Moscow radio—has
given new hope that patient, but
firm, pursuit of peace with Russia
may some day succeed. But the
background of fear, whieh makes <*
proposal such as Mr. Stassen’s pos
sible, still remains. It may be that i
Gov. Dewey, in debate, can dissipate
it to some extent.
V
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McLemore—
Ready to Repay
Social Obligations
By Henry McLemore
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti.—I am
now prepared to repay all my social
obligations.
If all the people to whom I am
Henry McLemere.
maeDiea ior ui
j! vitations to din
| ners, cocktail
parties, taffy
pullings, ’possum
hunts, high and
| low teas, quilt
i ing bees, the
i: opera and tacky
I parties will
i meet me here in
i Port-au - Prince
I will settle the
score.
I have found
the perfect spot
to do that which
I have proposed.
, it is La sauna, a nignt ciud, omy
fifteen minutes by burro-back from
downtown Port-au-Prince.
Like so many exclusive spots in
the United States, it doesn’t look
like much from the outside. I’ll
go even further; inside it looks
even less like much, because, you
see, it doesn’t have any inside.
La Salina, without going into too
many details, is chiefly a big dance
floor, haphazardly covered by can
vas. Under the canvas, in one
corner, Is the band, which consists
of four voodoo drums. Scattered
around the edges are a dozen or so
soap fcpxes, which serve as gaming
tables.
But most of the action at La
Salina takes place on the good earth
surrounding the dance floor. All
the food is cooked there, mostly by
witchlike women, squatting beside
iron kettles. It is outside, in the
flickering light furnished by the
tiny fires beneath the kettles, that
the bartenders work. Nothing fancy
about the bars. Just more upturned
boxes and a bottle of rum, which
the bartender produces either from
his hip pocket or from inside the
box. You’re liable to drink your
drink from anything from an empty
ink bottle to a tin can.
The floor show at La Salina never
is the same. It changes all the
time, and is completely unrehearsed.
Fighting cocks, for which Haiti is
famous, wander on the platform and
start duelling to the death. Chased
off, they are replaced by half a
dozen toddling babies who promptly
go to sleep on the dance floor.
Then, like as not, a few of the
bucks and belles, swayed by the
beat of the drums, catapult (and
that’s the only word for it) into a
dance the rhythm of which flows
’way back to Africa.
Drums Get you.
Those drums get you. no lying.
After about an hour of listening to
them at La Salina I Jumped to my
feet and gave a South Georgia ver
sion of what my friends, Evelyn and
Cecil Dick and Barbara and Roger
Jarman, said was a superb demon
stration of the buck and wing.
It being a generally accepted fact
that newspapermen are not wealthy.
I know many of you wonder how I
am going' to afford to entertain all
of you at La Salina. Well, I’ll tell
you. For one thing, there is no
cover charge at La Salina.
Rum is one-half cent a drink, and
there is as much demon in it as i:i
any rum you ever had. As for ths
food, two pennies will get you more
than you can eat. There is no
tipping the orchestra for special re
quests, because it plays the same
tune all the time—voo-voo-voo-doo
doo-doo.
And your taxicab is a burro. It
is amaxing how easily one can short
change a burro. A burro has no
meter, and even if he did, I doubt if
he could read it
—R. S. V. P.
(Distributed by McNaught Syndicate, Ine.)
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