Tunnel of Love

Gone was the old Vishinsky, the scolding, venomous NKVD prosecutor with his accusations of forgery, cannibalism and "blood-spattered dollars." In the General Assembly last week, the new Vishinsky cooed that there had been a "misunderstanding." "Life goes forward," he said. "Situations and relationships [change] in accordance with events ... It has been said that the Soviet representatives keep talking about their peace-loving nature . . . but 'what about deeds?' Well, have there not been a few deeds, at least during the last month? . . . Where are yours?" Let us, proposed Vishinsky, "dig the tunnel of friendship from both sides [in order] to meet sooner and halfway."

Just what it would be like to meet the Russians in a dark tunnel became apparent in the next two days. Vishinsky announced that his government would abandon opposition to the latest Western resolution on disarmament--that is, if the West would abandon its insistence on disarmament by stages under rigid inspection. The West held to its protection clause, so again Vishinsky voted nyet. Then Vishinsky addressed himself to a Polish catchall proposal covering Korea, peace, disarmament, etc. The U.S.S.R., said Vishinsky, was "unswerving for peace." But on closer look, it proved only to be unswerving, period. Vishinsky laid down the same old unchanging demands: a one-third arms cut, scrapping of the U.S. atomic stockpile, demilitarization of Germany, dissolution of NATO, admission of Red China to the U.N., allied withdrawal from Korea.

He even reiterated Soviet insistence on repatriation of all Korean war prisoners, an apparent hardening of the Red attitude, since Peking had earlier indicated that it would allow unwilling repatriates to go to neutral lands.

U.S. Delegate Ernest Gross called the

Vishinsky speech the "same old record, played ... for the fourth time in as many years."

At week's end Vishinsky had a chance to play the new peace tune as he likes to play it--cheaply. Dag Hammarskjoeld, the neutral Swede, was sworn in as Trygve Lie's successor, vowing to "exercise in all loyalty, discretion and conscience the functions of the Secretary General." Afterwards, diplomats gathered round to welcome the new man and say farewell to the old. Lie and Hammarskjold started down the line, and the eighth man they came to was Andrei Vishinsky, who, for more than three years, has ignored or berated Lie as an "American stooge." This time, Vishinsky affably took Lie's outstretched hand. The audience of 3,500, grateful for small favors, applauded loudly.

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