.

July 7, 1745
a broad understanding of world events as well as baslc abllity and experience, we can facethefuture pprth far better
hope of a successful forelgn pollcy than has m e d possible
in recent years.

Mirror of Our World

J

BY FREDA KIRCHWEY

HE Umted Nations Charter is a mirror of the present

world of natlonal states. It reflects theinner confllct
of desire and fear thatdomlnates even the strongestpowers and expresses &elf on the one hand In an honest effortto achieve securlty through collectlve agreement and
on the other In a refusal to surrender any of the establlshed
attributes of soverelgnty and lndlvldualpower. As long as
t h ~ sconfllct exists, the new world organlzation is bound to
be essentially a great-power alllance ratherthan a world
government.
And thls 1s what it IS. Power rests wlth the five most important national states, each of whichretams its full SOVerelgn right to prevent any actlon even by the other four;
peace depends upon the contlnued agreement of the five to
maqtain peace. The alllance 1s refined and strengthened
by elaborate provlsrons forsettling dlsputes andforthe
~ o i n tuse of forcewhen force becomes necessary. It is sup.
ported by the creation of an assembly, with wlde powers of
rnvestigatimand dlscusslon, In whlch all member nations
meet on equal terms; and of a world court to handle judlcable dlsputes. Thusthe
machinery of collectlve dcclsion
is set up whlle the reallty of sovereign power is mamkained.
Such acharter
can please no one completely, because
whatthe people of the world profoundly deslre IS something which w ~ l lnot mlrror their confllcts but resolve them,
whrch will dlspeltheirfears
and satlsfy thm hopes. But
this desirecannot In the nature of things be fulfilled; the
nationsmust
themselves achleve integration andinternal
maturltybefore they can create a world organization that
Itself mature and unlfied.
The new Unlted Nations urganltation is the best posslble
expression of the presentlevel
ofworld
opmlon. Isolationists may adoptthe tactlcs-as Senator Wheeler hasalready mdlcated-of opposmg internatiomal commitments by
this country in advance of acompletedworld
peace. Thls,
in fact, wdl be the opposltions most plausible llne of attack:
Why tle the Unlted States to a plan of enforcement before
we knowwhat we shall be called upontoenforce?
For
there IS no end to the evldence In support of thls positlon
ready at hand for those who choose to ignore the fact that
any hope of mltigatlng the selfish clams of separatepowers rests In a growth of confidence m the strength of a world
organization.
Uncornpromismg mternationalists will argue that the veto
power of the big five negates the very essence of collectlve
actlon even i n its narrowestcontext.
And logically they
w ~ l lbe right. But smce the world IS not tun by loglc but
by pressures exerclsed by nationsand groups of nations,
therr objection resolves itself intooppsltionto
any plan
now conceivable. The fight a w n s t great-power control put

up by some of the lesser states was worth making both for

the modlfications It actually brought about and for
thefact
that it ended in the generous acqwescence-though not the
agreernent-of those states, abIy led by Australla, wh~ch
forced the issue. Inother words, the smaller states, confronted by the realitleswhichgovernrelatlons
between natlons today, chose ultlmately to ac:ept the imperfect instrument which they found was the best they could get.
Reactionaries w ~ l lattack the charter because it gives great
power to Russla and because it presumes a willingness to
accept Russian dmlnance over a large part of the world.
Such persons willnot be concerned aboutAmerican plans
toextendourown
area of control by solidifyinga h e m
lspheric bloc and lnsurlng our sole possession of island outposts inthe Pacific. These wdl seem onIy thenatural defensive measures of a greatand peaceful nation. But the
efforts of Russia to buttress its posirlon both through charter provisions and spheres d influence will be taken as vahd
grounds for opposition. Certainly I t would be a more hopeful omen if Russia wereprepared, to put all itseggs into
the UnitedNationsbasket; but smce this Is not the case,
these persons, too,shouldunderstand
the real meaning of
theirattitude. Russia has emerged from the war as one of
the two greatest powers in the world and it IS clear beyond
argument thatthehope of peace depends u p acontinuing u n v x among Russia and the otherAlliednations. The
only alternative to such a union is not the reduction of Russian power, but ultlmatewar. It is this that thereadimarles mustbeforced
toadmit;thls posltlonthey must be
prepared to defend.
Men who are genuinely eager to have a more democratic
organiaatlon for world secur~tywill not oppose the beginnmg madeat San Fra,nasco. They will accept it for what
It is-an
instrument for holding togethera coalltion absalutely essential to the mamtenance of peace ; f t x avoiding
or settllng hffermces between members ; for putting down
aggression by forcewhenthe
greatpowersagree
force is
needed. These are primitlve aequlrernents for avoiding war
in the early future ; they, correspond roughly to the makeshift provlsions formaintainmgorderin
a frontlet communlty. No one holds frontier justlce in contempt because
It has not achreved the dlmensions of a complete system of
democratlc guarantees and legal procedure. The arrangements set forth in the new Charter, for allthe pompand
ceremony wlth whlch I t was promulgated, arellttle mare
than a plan to give frontier justlce to a world just emerging from IawIessness. It may succeed in this basic task better thanin any attempt, Inthe presentstage of international relationships, to set up a fuil-fledged systcm of world
government. And those who oppose It because of its apparent lrnperfectlons are not in fact working for the more cornplete system they talk about; they are worklng for a return
to unrestralnedInternationalbandltry.
The United Nations
Charter provides a m a n s to end the rule of the horse thief
and the barder raider in world affairs ; it proposes to supplant lynch law with a sheriff and a justice of the peace. W e
believe the American people wlll support this effort, and
we hope the Senate will fi0110~ President Trumans urgent
advice and make the United States the first natian to ratify
the Charter.

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