The Inflexibles

In his desire for an immediate showdown vote on the U.S. plan for atomic control, Bernard Baruch last week found a majority of the twelve nations in the U.N.'s Atomic Energy Commission against him. Thereupon, after months of inflexible diplomacy, he made his first concession.

When Baruch, with visible pride in his role, launched his plan last June, he seemed to have the whole non-Soviet world with him. But it soon became apparent that the A.E.C. was not getting anywhere. The Russians put up a plan of their own (completely unsatisfactory to the West), and simply dug in behind it. The U.S. blueprint was sound and sensible, but it was, after all, only a means to an end: effective atomic control. Baruch seemed to consider the slightest suggestion of change in the plan as an outrage and a sacrilege.

This gave the Russians, at least, some slight ground for yelling atomic blackmail. Baruch did nothing to improve this atmosphere by harping on "punishments" for atomic violators. "Punishment" is not a diplomatic word, and in the context in which Baruch used it, not a realistic one. (If a nation is immoral enough to commit a major violation, it is probably immoral enough to refuse punishment, whatever its treaty commitments.)

In the A.E.C. last week, Baruch wanted immediate approval of the U.S. proposals in a report to the Security Council. Russia's Andrei Gromyko asked for time to think it over, and perhaps to wire the home office (where Molotov had just arrived) ; Baruch insisted that Gromyko must agree in three days. He also ruled out any veto against punishments.

Behind the scenes, such thoroughly anti-Russian nations as Britain, Canada and The Netherlands have recently made known their displeasure at U.S. inflexibility. Last week Baruch realized that only two other nations, Australia and Brazil, were still with him in his demand for an immediate showdown.

Sitdown Walkout. At last, Baruch accepted a Canadian amendment to send the report back to a working committee with instructions to pay due heed to the U.S. "principles," but to bring the phrasing into harmony with the Assembly's disarmament resolution--a document which does not mention punishment or vetoes. The vote in favor was 10-to-0. Poland abstained; Russia's Gromyko did not even "abstain"--in the technical sense. He simply said: "I am not taking part in this discussion." This was a walkout lacking only the physical act, a sort of sitdown walkout.

But now that Baruch had come down off his mountain, maybe Gromyko would come down off his.

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