We Are Going Ahead

At Coblenz, German leaders met last week to consider proposals for a Western German state (TIME, June 14). The plan was a keystone in the dike against Communism which the U.S. is trying to build. Allied officials had feared that the Germans would stall or get bogged down in squabbles between the Social Democrats and the Christian Democrats. But in Coblenz, too, Western Germany's new unity before the Russian onslaught worked wonders. The tall, slim bottles of Rhine wine and the excellent cuisine generously furnished by the French may have helped. Socialists and Christian Democrats basically agreed to the Allied proposals.

The German leaders had a serious reservation: they did not want to be officially saddled with German blame for a government and a constitution which would formalize the division of Germany. In fact, the Allies would hold a veto over German decisions, and the German leaders, understandably, were ducking responsibility without full authority. The Germans suggested several verbal changes: for "government" they wanted to substitute "economic and administrative area"; for the "constitution" to be drafted in September they suggested "organizational statute." But, said Social Democratic Spokesman Erich Ollenhauer: "We are going ahead shoulder to shoulder with the task of strengthening not only Germany but all democratic Europe."

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.