Curtain

The Paris Peace Conference, which rang down the final curtain this week, was epitomized in its closing days by a weary, dozing Yugoslav and an iron Russian who apparently never sleeps.

Ales Bebler of Yugoslavia roused himself with a start, realized that he had been called on to vote on a clause in the Rumanian treaty. "No," he said, and looked at Molotov, bellwether of the Slav bloc. Molotov frowned. "I mean yes," said Bebler. Molotov frowned harder. "I mean I abstain," babbled the Yugoslav. Molotov smiled.

After disposing of Italy in two days, the plenary sessions took on the other four countries at the rate of one a day. In a steady barrage of yesses, noes and abstentions, a total of 223 articles and 33 annexes was voted on.

On many of the issues over which the Eastern and Western blocs squabbled hardest, the vote went against Russia & friends by 15-10-6. Such was the vote for an internationally governed "Free Territory" of Trieste, and for a free Danube (see below). In concluding final treaties with the small enemy nations, no member of the Big Four is bound by Paris recommendations. But all four have promised to give weighty consideration to Paris clauses carried by a two-thirds vote or better.

This might have been cause for some lingering hope; but immovable Mr. Molotov, in a final bitter blast, denounced the conference from stem to stern, and stated that his country would ignore the conference balloting when the Big Four came to grips on the final texts. It was inadmissible, Mr. Molotov said in effect, that the West should gang up on the Soviet group by a mere mustering of votes.

These acrid and ominous remarks highlighted a comment which Britain's Bevin had made a few days earlier: "Rebuilding the world is far more difficult than waging war, for [in war] there is no compulsion to agree."

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