Evening star. [volume], August 18, 1948, Page A-13, Image 13

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

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
Russians Lost Ground
In Propaganda Game
With Teacher Case
Moscow Foreign Office
Added to Blunder by
Making Issue of It
By David Lawrenc»
In the broad game of propaganda
or “psychological warfare,’’ Russia
has lost considerable ground and
prestige In the last few days. The
way the Soviet handled the ‘'kid
naping’’ and then the dramatic
leap of the Russian school teacher
in New York is more convincing
than all.the evidence that can be
derived from diplomacy's fiery de
bates that the Russian government
is clumsy, inept and often stupid in
its handling of its own affairs.
To allow the whole world to catch
a Russian official in the very act
of lying about so simple a case as a
Russian subject trying to escape
the clutches of her own govern
ment of fear of punishment is to
advertise the methods of totalitari
anism and a police state so that
everybody can understand.
It would have been much easier
for the Russian government to have
regarded the incident from the be
ginning as trivial and inconsequen
tial. There is no evidence, for in
stance, that the teacher had any
important testimony to give. If it
had not been for the efforts of the
Russian consulate to prevent the
woman's sojourn on American soil,
;he episode would never have at
tracted any attention.
Next Blunder In Moscow.
The next blunder was made In
Moscow when the Foreign Office de
cided to make an issue of it. To
contend that the American Gov
ernment was implicated is merely to
bring down upon the Russians rid
icule from all parts of the world.
Certainly there must be men in the
Kremlin with more sense and clev
erness than has been exhibited in
the handling of the< recalcitrant
teacher. \
Coming as the afTair does on top
of a sensational story of a Com
munist spy ring and the news that
the Russian government paid out
$2,000 and decorated Miss Bentley
for supplying confidential informa
tion about the American Govern
ment’s secrets, it does look as if
the Soviet authorities in Moscow be
came unduly nervous about world
opinion and then became entrapped
in crude efforts to make it appear
that the Russian teacher was really
trying to get back to Russia or that,
an American naval attache was
spying, too.
Russian propaganda palpably fol
lows a naive pattern in assuming
that outside of Russia people actu
ally believe distortions and twisted!
stories about facts that can easily j
be understood. The most significant
thing about all the Russian propa-!
ganda, indeed, is the fact that the
Russians do seem to care what the
rest of the world thinks.
It is not merely opinion in this j
hemisphere that counts with the|
Russians but opinion among the
states of Europe where Communist
organizations are active In trying
to get political strength. Among j
the satellite states in particular the:
cause of communism can be weak-!
ened If the Russian government gets j
entangled with the United States in ■
any way that casts discredit on the'
Communists.
Need Satellites’ Aid.
Undoubtedly the stories of the:
soy ring and the investigation by
the congressional committees are(
being used by anti-Communists in
Europe to indicate the extent to I
which Communist infiltration has
gone on even as far away from j
Russia as the United States and
Canada.
The Russian government cannot j
fight a war without the whole
hearted support 'of her neighboring i
countries. Conversely, the satellite
countries have within them move
ments that seek to rid their lands
of Communist domination. Hence,
whatever causes a drpp in prestige
for Russia injures communism.
Thus the main issue for the West
ern Allies with respect to staying
in Berlin has not been the strategic
importance of remaining in the for
met German capital but the possi
bility that any form of retreat would j
be construed by European peoples
as a defeat for the democracies and
a rise in the prestige of the Soviets.
In the battle for prestige, an
unnoticed school teacher leaping
from the third floor of the Russian
consulate where, she says, she had
been kept a prisoner does much to
impair Russia's position and to tell
everybody that Russian subjects are
not free from the totalitarian gov- '
ernment even when they pursue so
innocent a profession as teaching
school in a foreign country.
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This Changing World
Soviet Seen Relying More on Armies
Than in Diplomatic Deals Over Berlin
By Constantine Brown
From the meager information re
ceived in Western capitals about the
progress of conversations in Moscow
it appears that the Russians are re
lying more on
the 40 combat
division* which
they are holding
ready between
Berlin and the
Polish frontier
than they are on
any kind of dip
lomatic horie
trading.
The negotia
tion* with For
eign Minister
Molotov have
proved fruitless,
so far, it is said.
Since the spurt
Constantine Brown.
of optimism among tne western
representatives after their one
meeting with Prime Minister Stalin,
neither Lt. Gen. Walter Bedell
Smith, the American Ambassador
in Moscow, nor his British and
French colleagues have emerged
smiling from the Kremlin.
A misunderstanding by Gen. Smith
as to the actual meaning of Mr.
Molotov's “concessions” last week
caused a short-lived wave of cheer
fulness at the State Department.
The Soviet Foreign Minister agreed
that in exchange for withdrawal of
the new Western currency intro
duced in Berlin the Soviet govern
ment would abolish the restrictions
placed on the Western powers July
19, but would maintain those
ordered on April 12. These con
cerned travel from the Western oc
cupation zones to Berlin and the
movement of goods from Berlin to
the Western zones without a special
Soviet permit.
What Russians Meant.
Perfunctory reading of the Soviet
Foreign Minister's proposals gave
the impression that the whole mat
ter had been reduced to a question
of interpretation of the wording of
the draft agreement. But on fur
ther analysis it became clear that
what the Russians actually meant
was that in exchange for our with
drawal of the new currency, and
our agreement to hold a four-power
conference “without an agenda,”
they would allow us to remain in
he German capital as their guests, j
Throughout the Berlin crisis the |
Western governments, and Wash-1
Ington in particular, hava taken the
position that we were in that city
under treaty rights and not through
the kindness of the Soviet govern
ment. Wnat Mr. Molotov proposed
was that we accept the privilege
from the USSR of staying in Berlin
as long as the Russian government
was kind enough to let us stay.
The further implication of the
proposed draft was that so long as
we were good and behaved in ac
cordance with the Kremlin's wishes
we could remain in Berlin. However,
at the slightest indication of oppo
sition on our part the vise would be
tightened again. This led Secretary
of State Marshall to state publicly
that no agreement was better than
a bad agreement.
Gen. Smith and his colleagues
were Instructed immediately to
point out to Mr. Molotov the ob
vious reasons why his proposals
were unacceptable, regardless of
the manner In which they were
worded. The three envoys did so
on Monday afternoon.
Next 10 Days Seen Crucial.
The next 10 days are regarded as
crucial vin relations between East
and West. The Western powers are
sincerely seeking an equitable ar
rangement with the USSR and are
willing to go a long way—short of
utter surrender—to meet the Rus
sian demands.
Some Western diplomats still be
lieve that an agreement is possible
if its wording can be made accept
able. The Russians, on the other
hand, don't care much about the
form, but insist that we consider
ourselves as mere visitors in Ber
lin and agree to remain there only
so long as the Soviet government
permits.
In the last four conversations
with the Soviet foreign minister he
has not budged from that demand,
although he has never expressed
it in all its bluntness. He is report
ed, however, to have mentioned that
Berlin was conquered by Russian
blood alone and consequently must
be considered a part of the Soviet
zone. However, he did not put that
in any of the draft agreements he
has presented to the Western am
bassadors.
While the State Department and
the foreign offices in London and
Paris still do not believe that the
Kremlin wants to push matters to
a military showdown, there is more
anxiety than ever before in West
ern capitals about the outcome of
the present conversations.
On the Record
Russians Using ‘Half-Truce’ Over Berlin
To Reach Out for New Objectives
By'Dorothy Thompson
Although the latest headlines
proclaim “Moscow prospects bright
er,” they are entirely misleading, if
bv "brighter” is meant more favor
able to the West
These negotia
tions will pro
d u c e nothing
unless a further
concession tc
Russia.
M e a n w h ile,
their continua
tion is, in it
self, a conces
sion. For at the
outset we took
the view, that
the blockade of
Berlin must be
lifted before
“formal high
Dorothy Thon»D«on.
level tour-power consunauons couia
pegin. Whatever "formal” and
'high level" may mean, Western
diplomatic agents have been con
sulting in Moscow with both Stalin
jnd Molotov while the blockade is
lot lifted, but tightened, and the
resulting half truce is being used
py the Russians to strengthen their
economic positions in the city and
reach out toward new objectives.
Not words but acts are decisive
in this world. While we negotiate
in Moscow, there also has been a
Danubian conference in which
Western Europe and the United
States have been decisively defeated.
The control of the most important
river highway of Southern Europe
tias passed entirely into the hands
pf Russia and her satellite states.
Important to All Europe.
The Danube is a German and
Austrian river as well as Hun
jarian, Czechoslovak and Romanian
stream, rising as it does, in the Ger
man Black Forest and emptying
nto the Black Sea. Its importance
;o all Europe is such that the treaty
>f Versailles put it under an inter
lational commission, and its impor
:ance to Germany such that two
■epresentatives of German riparian
States were placed on the commis
sion with one from each other ri
parian state as well as non-riparian
European representatives. What the
‘blue Danube” means to Austria is
eelebrated in folklore, painting, eco
nomic statistics and the world's
most famous waltz, but a "tree and
independent Austria” has no voice
in the control of the river that tra- j
verses her whole length and the
price for getting it is apparently to
join the Soviet bloc.
We are slipping in Europe, despite
the far greater prosperity of the
West compared with the East, and
iespite the utter failure of Com
munism as a spontaneous revolu- '■
lionary movement. A redressing of
the situation is not to be found in
Moscow. The Russian leadership is i
impelled toward advancement, first1
py fundamental theory and second
py Russian necessity.
The war revealed to the Russian
leadership, if not to ourselves, pro
digious weaknesses in the Soviet
system. The postwar period and the
experiences of Russian soldiers lent
support to the theories of both
Lenin and Trotsky that socialism
[ could not succeed confined to so j
backward a country and population:
as the Russians. Russia needs West
ern brains, techniques, organiza
tion and experience. To get these
by opening her frontiers would
threaten the Communist dictator
ship. She must get them on her
own terms, and now, as in Lenin’s
time, the hope is from Germany,
the country and people that? Rus
sia, whatever her hates, has always
most admired.
Hopless Illusion.
To think that Russia will volun
tarily retreat an inch from Ger
many or "co-operate” in any pro
gram aimed at keeping Germany
out of the Russian orbit is to cher
ish a hopeless illusion.
Hope does not, therefore, lie in
Moscow. Nor in Frankfurt and the
new West-German government. It
lies in Lofidon, Paris and Wash
ington, and in the possibility of
creating a genuine Western Union,
a real “United States" of what still
remains of Europe, with rump Ger
many in it as an equal. Unless there
is war, Eastern Germany is gone,
for the time being, as a European
civilization, and by “time being” I
mean the lifetime of the Soviet
Union, whatever it may be. But it
will be longer than the lifetime of
Europe if Britain and. above all,
France, persist in half-measures
and continue to be ruled by old
fears whose entire basis has dis
appeared.
Europe will unite or perish, guro
pean unity is nothing without Ger
many. And unless this is clearly
and bravely seen in Paris, all visits
to Moscow will end as all visits to
Berchtesgaden ended — to which
they bear every resemblance ex
cept the umbrella.
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Senate Reshuffling Due
Addition of Lodge to DeweyiCouncil
Puts Two Young Liberals tt> Fore
By Doris Fleeson
The addition of Senator Henry
Cabot Lodge of Massachusetts to
the Dewey-Warren campaign coun
cil in Albany puts two young Sen
ators, both
progressive in
ter nationalists,
prominently t o
the fore
Gov. Warren
brought the
other to Albany
with him. He is
Senator William
P. Knowland of
California, like
Senator Lodge
a World War II
veteran. Senator
Knowland was
still overseas
when Gov. War
Doria Fleeaon.
ren appointed him to All the va
cancy caused by the death of the
bitterly isolationist Hiram John
son. He was subsequently elected
to Johnson's, unexpired term and
to a full term expiring in 1953.
This attention to the liberal fac
tion of the Senate Republicans by
the presidential and vice presiden
tial nominees is noted here chiefly
in terms of the Senate leadership.
Gov. Dewey is given slight chance
to crack the conservative House
hierarchy which builds on senior
ity. It is a seniority largely ob
tained by party regulars lucky
enough to live in gerrymandered
districts and there is no cure for
it% in Washington. So there is
little Gov. Dewey can, do about
Messrs. Mattti, Halleck, Taber,
Allen, etc.
Senate klore Flexible.
But in the fcenate, always more
flexible, the leadership must be
reshuffled in January due to the
retirement pi Majority Leader
White.
In any d^ussions of possible
Dewey pressjfc in behalf of the
liberals, as aginst the now domi
nant Old Guffd of Taft-Millikin
Wherry, Meisp. Lodge, Kncwland
and Ives of Jew York are men
tioned. As Senator Lodge is not
tied directly jither to Dewey as
Senator Ives S, or to Gov. War
ren, he is glvp the advantage • ny
his colleagues^
Senator Locfce is also more ex
perienced; he was a Senator seven
years before ifeigning in February,
1944, to go t<Jwar. Only Senator
Vandenberg mong Republicans
entered the Snate prior to Senator
Lodge; Senato Vandenberg will also
be the only 'e-Roosevelt Repub
lican in the ! mate—he arrived in
1928. Senatoi Lodge and Bridges
followed in lfp.
Senator Lo<fe is believed to en-i
tertain ambiipns for the Senate
leadership. Hk friends also suggest
him for Sectary of National De
fense on the basis of his war ex
perience ant rrvice on the Foreign
Relations Qnjmittee.
Conuled on Policy.
Albany dutches say the Sena
tor is bein consulted on foreign
policy. Fotign relations is Sena
tor Vandejberg’s committee and
Senator Lotgt is its lowest ranking
Republican. Even if Senator Van
denberg hgl the refusal of the
present conutation, Senators Wiley,
McLemore—
Tells of Being Frisked
At Indian MurderTrial
Henry McLemore
NEW DELHI, India. —I never
knew what It meant to be thorough*
ly frisked until I went to the trial
of Gandhi's killers today.
So afraid are
government of
ficials that an
attempt will be
made on the life
of Badge, the
informer, that
even the Judge
and the defend
ing and prose
cuting attorneys
are searched be
fore being al
lowed to enter
the ceurtroom.
I was patted
and repatted
from head to
Henry MeLemere.
foot by sentries, and Jean had to;
remove her bandana she had wrap
ped around her head and shake it.
They also kept her handbag.
After showing our passes a half
dozen times we entered the small
room in which the trial is being
held. It doesn’t seat more than
100 people, and by actual count
there were only 22 spectators be
sides ourselves. Passes are almost
impossible to get.
We were seated in the front row,
only a few feet separating us from
the prisoners in the dock. In the
front row of the dock sat Godse,
the man accused of pulling the
trigger: Apte, alleged ringleader of
the murdering group; Karkare. a
hotel owner charged with supply
ing a great deal of the funds, and
Dr. Savarkar, said to be the brains
behind the whole conspiracy.
Trial Held in English.
Behind them sat the lesser lights,
most of them servants of the head
boys.
The trial is being held in English,
there being so many languages and
dialects involved. There are five
translators in the courtroom.
When we came in Badge, the in
former, was on the stand. He is
just about the last man you would
ever pick as being one of a group
of assassins. He looks like a cross
between a holy prophet and that
man who wrote “Nature Boy.’* His
Smith and Hickenlooper have been
passed over to bring Senator Lodge
in. A possible alibi is that Senator
Lodge was chairman of the platform
committee which firmly swung the
GOP to internationalism at Phila
delphia.
The Democrats are moderately
confident that the bi-partisan for
eign policy will not be too harshly
attacked by Gov. Dewey. It is
understood that Dewey spokesmen
have reassured the State Depart
ment that nothing will be <Jone to
stir disunity or to encourage Russia
to take an aggressive step. The
Dewey people assert, however, that
President Truman makes it hard
for them and they are not entirely
oersuaded that the President won’t
create a pre-election crisis for
political purposes.
luxuriant black beard waved In the
breeze from the overhead fan. He
was swathed in a snow white robe
and aat cross-legged in the chair.
When he grew excited under ex
amination he jerked at his elbow
length hair, which caused his head
to bob right and left. Every few
minutes he would say something
which caused the defendants to
roar with laughter. II they hold
any malice against the man who
turned them in, it wasn't evident.
All in all, it was one of the merriest
murder trials I have ever witnessed.
Badge Is Doomed.
No one believes that Badge will
live two minutes after he is out
from under police protection. There
are too many vengeful members of
the Hindu Mahasabha, of which the
accused are members, to allow him
to become an old man. The de
fendants showed none of the tension
men on trial for their lives
usually show. They joked with one
another, yawned, half went to sleep,
and generally were quite indifferent.
I remarked about this to an Indian
newspaperman and he said they
were perfectly resigned because they
are sure they are dying for a worthy
cause.
Jean sat next to an Indian woman
who turned out to be the wife of
the prosecuting attorney. She told
Jean that she was very worried
about her husband if he gets the
death penalty for the accused.
Already, she said, she has sent her
children to England a*, a safety
measure.
We stayed all afternoon, fasci
nated. I shall never forget being
within arm's length of the men
alleged to have cold-bloodedly mur
dered a man who changed the course
of history.
(Distributed by McNauiht Syndicate, Inc )
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