Views of the World

After Cripps went home to devalue the pound, Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin stayed on in Washington. He had a meal with Secretary of State Dean Acheson, Vice President Barkley and Senator Tom Connally. Then Bevin and Acheson settled down with platoons of experts to compare their views of the world. They discussed:

China. Acheson and Bevin agreed that Chiang Kai-shek's government was beyond help and beyond hope, except for the hope that Russia might not be able to exploit the Communist conquest. Britain has heavier investments in China than the U.S. has; she is more eager to stay in business there, despite the fact that the Reds have killed Britons and shot up British ships in the Yangtze River. The U.S. and Britain agreed that in making deals with the Communists, they would look out for each other's interests.

Formosa. This island stronghold, still under Chiang's firm control, was given up in advance as lost. (This write-off outraged military planners who believe that if Formosa is lost, the U.S. position in the Pacific will be drastically weakened.)

Japan. Britain is more anxious for a peace treaty than the U.S., which dislikes the prospect of withdrawing occupation forces, and which cannot see how a satisfactory treaty can be drawn either with or without the concurrence of Red Russia and Red China.

Yugoslavia. Both agreed that it is right and expedient to exploit Yugoslavia's break with Moscow, by trade agreements and small loans to Tito, keeping a sharp eye on the dictator all the while.

The most important result of the three-power talks was a new public invitation to Russia (which the Russians accepted at week's end) to try once more for an Austrian peace treaty. Behind this was a faint implication that the Russians (whose Foreign Minister Andrei Vishinsky arrived this week in Manhattan) could have another go at a German treaty.

Sure Ground. It was a lull in the political East-West conflict which had focused so much attention on the West's economic troubles, like sharp reefs exposed in an ebb tide. Yet nobody thought it safe to assume that Moscow would make no more bids for power in Europe. With Bevin, Schuman and Acheson in Washington, the representatives of nine other Atlantic Pact nations* joined them to blueprint Western defense machinery. In this field, the statesmen were on sure ground; a scheduled three-hour meeting lasted only one hour.

Five regional groups for defense planning within the alliance were agreed on: 1) North Europe; 2) West Europe;

3) South Europe-West Mediterranean;

4) North America; 5) North Atlantic Ocean. The U.S. is represented on all.

In the network of Atlantic Pact councils, committees and other bodies, the powerhouse will be a three-nation "standing committee" (the U.S., Britain, France) with headquarters in Washington.

* Paul van Zeeland, Belgium; Lester Pearson, Canada; Gustav Rasmussen, Denmark; Count Carlo Sforza, Italy; Joseph Bech, Luxembourg; Dirk U. Stikker, The Netherlands; Jose Caeiro da Matta, Portugal; Halvard M. Lange, Norway; Thor Thors, Iceland.

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