The Chicago star., September 14, 1946, Page 5, Image 5

About The Chicago star. (Chicago, Ill.) 1946-1948

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<■ 6 X
‘Starve 'em into submission’
is Hoover’s advice on Yugoslavia
Herbert Hoover stopped In Chicago this week long enough
to say that he had been on a three-week fishing trip and was
‘•completely out of touch with what was going on in the world.”
Nevertheless, the famine relief “expert” had strong opinions
on how to solve the problems of the starving Balkan people.” * |
“America must stop sending food to Yugoslavia," said
Hoover.
V ;
Strait facts:
Why the Dardanelles crisis? :
To any citizen of the Soviet
Union, the issue of the Bosphorus
and the Dardanelles (which
make up the famous Straits)
produces long echoes from the
depths of Russian history.
Russians fought a war in the
Black Sea ninety years ago over
the Straits. Innumerable treaties
and peace parleys of the nine
teenth century record the ebb
and flow of Russian hopes that
a permanent settlement of thvs
question could be achieved which
would safeguard the vulnerable
Russian position in the Black
Sea.
The Dardanelles to a Russian
recalls far more acute memories
than the Panama Cana l to the
average American, or even the
Suez to the average Briton. Until
very recently, the Black Sea was
the Soviet Union’s only outlet to
the world's waterways, except
for her bottled position in the
Pacific facine a hostile Japan.
* =» #
THE importance of this water
passage to the Black Sea for the
U.S.S.R. needs little demonstra
tion, for it was through the D?r
danelles that most of the arm : es
of intervention reached the Cri
mea and the Caucasus.
Both Britain and France, in the
secret treaties of May, 1915, had
promised the Tsar that not only
the Straits but Constantinople
and other Turkish lands would
be ceded.
Both powers took advantage of
the Soviet revolution to go back
on their pledges, though they
proceeded to carve up much of
the Turkish Empire for them
selves after Versailles. Thus,
from the Ruussians’ viewpoint,
refusal of an adequate settle
ment of the Straits regime today
might be called an attempt to
deny them the victory not only
ol this war but also of the last
one. The present Allied position
on the Straits is a denial of
equality of treatment of the So
viet Union and a deliberate at
tempt to perpetuate a weakness
of the Soviet strategic position.
# * *
IN 1923, the chief point at is
sue was the right of foreign ships
* * * A STAR COLUMN ★ ★ ★
By JOHANNES STEEL
WHAT does Russia want?
Conversations in Paris with
the highest
competent au
thorities have
F satisfied m e
/*■[ » - that the axiom
J -and keystone
rSi. fk of Soviet for
ifl P eign policy is
*, fv: the insistence
\ jm- that friendly
relations with
'TR'V the Soviet Un
■ ‘ on can exlst
only when it is
fully under
stood by all the powers concerned
that these relations are based on
the principle of full equality
among nations.
All powers must be equal mem
bers of society. The time of con
descension to Russia has passed.
INTER NATIONAL S C ENE
to enter the Black Sea, which the
Soviets, with their memories of
intervention, opposed bitterly. It
was finally agreed to let the then
revolutionary Turkey remain in
sole control ot the Straits under
the jurisdiction of Britain,
France, the U.S.S.R., Romania.
Bulgaria, and Japan. In 1936, this
convention was modified to give
Turkey the right to fortify the
Straits.
But in this war Turkey was a
neutral whose entire policy fa
vored Hitler, to put it mildly.
Turkey did not cooperate with
the United Nations at all—until
the very last moment.
•» 9 *
NEITHER is there any doubt
that Turkey violated the Mon
treaux convention by allowing
Italian and German war vessels
into the Black Sea. It is public
knowledge that German and fas-|
cist Italian operations in Roma- i
nia and southern Crimea were
assisted by these warships, which
passed the Straits in violation of
the Montreaux convention.
As early as the Potsdam con
ference of July 1945, the great
powers recognized that the old
convention was outdated; some
form of internationalization —|
that is, removing Turkey’s sole)
right to fortify and control ship
passage in wartime—would be
necessary.
The Soviet Union has now pro
posed a modification of the ac
cord which is similar to the
American proposal except lor
certain key points. It is agreed
that commercial vessels of all na
tions shall have full freedom of
passage in peacetime; it is also
agreed that the warships of the
Black Sea powers shall have sud
freedom of movement in war
time; finally, it is agreed that
the non-Black Sea powers are
barred from the Straits in war
time; except as definitely spec!
fied.
* # #
THE disagreement arises on
the following points:
The U.S.S.R. proposes that only
the Black Sea countries, which
include Turkey but exclude the
U. S. and Britain and France,
The Soviet outlook
The U. S. air force and navy,
tremely sensitive and has great
national pride. Its representatives
take great pains to point out that
the Soviet Union is not the old
Czarist Russia. Os Czarist Rus
sia, say that it was a colos
sus with feet of clay.
Today, the leaders of the now
Russia are passionate in their be
lief that the feet of the Soviet
state are not made of clay, but
that they merge with the ground.
By this the Soviet leaders mean
that they are close to the people.
It is false to assume that Rus
sia's leaders do not respect
Western democracy. On the con
trary, they have the highest
respect for Western democracy
and especially great respect for
American democracy.
• # •
Aii editoriol
Byrnes backs German reaction
It is dar.jerous to world peace to con
fuse the Byrnes plan for Germany, offer
ed last week, with the Molotov plan sug
gested July 10. On the surface, both ask
a unified Germany. The difference is in
the how and when.
Byrnes wants a centralized govern
ment. but he wants it with the old forces
in power that handed Hitler and a cat
astrophe to the world. Molotov wants the
complete denazification of Germany and
the destruction of every facet of fascism
before a centralized government is form
ed.
Recently Gen. Louis Clay announced
the new U. S. policy of granting amnesty
to young Nazis, the trained backbone of
Hitlerism who will rule Germany tomor
row unless curbed. The Byrnes plan
would virtually shove them into control.
Meanwhile, a strong campaign is unlar
vvby in Washington circles to either drop
or limit prosecution of Nazi industrialists
as war criminals and to rehabilitate Ger
man industry. Byrnes has gone on record
as opposing a second international war
crimes thial of industrialists. In this he
has the backing of Supreme Court Just
ice Jackson, chief U. S. prosecutor at
Nuremburg. The Big Money Boys who
financed the Nazis are being left alone
Gen. Marshall being ’used’
as tool of Chinese dictator
By ANNA LOUISE STRONG
PEIPING—(ALN) —Gen. George C. Marshall, President Truman’s special envoy, is losing face
n China. Chiang Kai-Shek, China's dictator, probably intends this because Chiang is gaining the face
that Marshall loses.
One straw shows how the wind
blows. In the hot, humid sum
mer of central China, Chiang
has ostentatiously withdraw n
to the cool mountain resort of
Ruling, while eivil war rages
in half a dozen provinces. Mar
shall swelters in Nanking,
shall actually govern the Straits.
It further propose? that the So
viet Union and Turkey shall
jointly fortify the Straits.
The American proposal—which
Turkey has rushed to support
maintains that jurisdiction
should not lie exclusively with
the Black Sea powers, though
cified.
who would control it is not spe-
Tr.e United States further in
sists that Turkey shad remain in
NATURALLY, they have their
own definition of democracy
much different from our defini
tion, but these Soviet leaders are
insistent in saying that if by
democracy we understand the
collective will of the people, than
in that sense the Soviet Union is
in no wise weaker as a democ
racy or less of a democracy than
any other nation. The Russian
leaders want this accepted as a
political axiom. They expect the
world to grant it without ques
tion.
What they regret most is that
on a philosophical and political
basis there has been no attempt
at understanding or even discus
sing the Western concept as well
as the Russian concept of demo
cracy.
It is false to assume that the
and under the Byrnes plan would be free
to back any available fascist.
It must be remembered at all times
that our foreign policy, as transmitted
by Byrnes, is dictated by our monopolies
and trusts. They had strong links with
German cartels as World War II began.
Trial of the German industriajists would
expose to the world the part played by
our Big Money Boys in bringing on this
global conflict.
American monopolists want their old
German pals to get strong again. Fight-* /
ing for the rehabilitation of German ca
pital is Brig. Gen. William H. Draper Jr.,
head of the economic division of the U.
S. Military government in Germany, who
was recruited from the Wall Street bank
ing firm of Dillon, Read which saved the
cause of reaction by helping revive Ger
man industry after World War I. History
is about to repeat itself, for Draper’s
announced plans are to sell German
manufactured goods in America as a
means of reviving German industry after
World War 11. U. S. firms are interested
and stand ready to buy immediately.
This, then, is the our real policy in
Germany. It reveals anti-democratic
farces that would rule the Byrnes ver
sion of a unified Germany.
meeting with lesser generals.
He gets nowhere, so from time
to time he makes the trio to
Killing—three hours by plane
plus six by sedan chair up a
mountain.
The Chinese point out that this
sole right of fortification on the
thesis that in case of aggression,
defense would lie with the Unit
ed Nations Security Council an>
way.
It is plain that the larger issue
in conneet’on with the Straits is
whether the Soviet Union shall
be accorded the same right of
equality as a great power in de
termining I .t security needs as
the United States takes for
granted at Panama.
leaders of the Soviet Union be- j
lieve that they have created the!
perfect state. They rather see the-
Soviet Union as a steadily grow I
ing organism. They take great 1
pride in what has been achieved I
so far. They are satisfied that’
during the past twenty years thei
country has moved ahead three;
centuries.
#* t *
AT THE same time, they are
extremely conscious of the fact I
that the Russian nation has far j
from completed the tasks before;
it, nor achieved all of its politi j
cal ideals and social objectives, ;
They derive great excitement;
and passionate satisfaction from '
their belief and conviction that j,
the Soviet state has taught the
Russian people to find them-j
selves; that from an illiterate, in j i
ert mass, from an inhuman clod, j
they have molded a vibrant
humanity. '
is one way that Chiang has of
showing that he is the boss.
Chiang’s game is to stay aloof
in Ruling while his generals
make war. When and if he gains
the territory he wants, he will
'allow” Marshall to make peace
on the basis that Chiang’s terri
torial gains are consolidated.
Chiang is well known as an ex
pert in making his allies serve
his own aims.
* * *
MAYBE Gen. Marshall has it
coming to him. America built up
Chiang. A year ago, when the
war with Japan ended, Chiang's
forces were locked up in west
ern China with so many hostile
Chinese between them and the
seaboard that they had no way
of getting out. Local Chinese
forces were ready to disarm the
Japanese and make Chiang a
highly honored, but not too pow
erful, national president.
The U.S. air force and navy,
at a cost of some $300,000,000 lo
American taxpayers carried Chi
ang's troops to Shanghai, No th
I China and Manchuria. They stiil
support them there, without any
pledge from Chiang of a demo
era 1 ic government.
Nobody really knows w’hat U.
S. policy in China is, despite- the
State Department’s insistence
that it is “still the same.” Mar
shall appears to have one policy
and the U. S. Navy, for instance,
seems to have another.
Chiang knows that some Amer
icans want naval and r.ir bases
in China for a possible war
against the Soviet Union. Chiang
is willing to sell, but his price is
military dictatorship in China,
upheld by American loans Chiang
figures that if Marshall won’t
meet his terms, maybe the U.S.
* Navy will.
5
THE CHICAGO STAR, SEPTEMBER V h 191>6