A JOINT TASK

Auckland Star, Volume LXXV, Issue 217, 13 September 1944, Page 7

A JOINT TASK

MAINTAINING PEACE

"FORCE IF NECESSARY"

(0.C.) SAN FRANCISCO, August 25,

"The very character of this war moves us to search for an enduring peace," said the Secretary of State, Mr. Cordell Hull, at the American-British-Soviet conference at Dumbarton Oaks, Washington. He referred indirectly to super-bombers and robots, and the gigantic rockets and worse threatened by "the forces of savagery and barbarism."

"Armed with weapons of modern science and technology and with equally-powerful weapons of coercion and deceit," he said, "these forces almost succeeded in enslaving mankind because the' peaceloving nations were disunited, lacked both unity and strength and lacked a vigilant realisation of the perils which loomed before them. Those nations, however, had learned the lessons of disunity and weakness and likewise the lessons of unity and its resultant strength achieved by the United Nations." Maintenance of such unity, he added, was a matter of the highest and most enlightened self-interest ... a thing of the spirit. Peace, like liberty, required constant devotion and careless vigilance . . . required willingness to f take positive steps toward its preservation, required an acceptance of the idea that its maintenance was a common interest, so precious and so overwhelmingly important that all differences and controversies among nations could and must be resolved by resort to pacific means. But peace also required institutions through which the will to peace could be translated into action." Prevention of Breaches Mr. Hull reiterated that the institutional foundations of a durable peace must support arrangements tor both peaceful settlements of i disputes and for the joint use of force, if necessary, to prevent a areach of peace. "The governments -epresented here are fully agreed in their conviction," he said, "that the future maintenance of peace ind security must be a joint task ind a joint responsibility of all peace-loving nations, large and small." Calling for agreement among all lations whereby each could play ts international role and "bear •esponsibility commensurate with its capacity." Mr. Hull said it was generally agreed the force to back jp any international organisation 'must be available promptly, in idequate measure, and with ;ertainty." "The nations of the world should naintain, according to their capaei,ies, sufficient forces available for oint action when necessary tc prevent breaches of the peace." He .vdrned finally that international nstitutions were worthless unless jacked by popular support. "The vill to peace must spring from the learts and minds of men and vomen everywhere," he said. "It is he sacred duty of the governments >f all peace-loving nations to make ;ure that international machinery is ashioned through which the peoples :an build the peace they so deeply lesire." Need for Unity Sir Alexander Cadogan, chairman >f the British delegation, paid high ribute to Mr. Hull for his indefati;able efforts in the cause of peace, ie also praised the Soviet Governnent to which "we all have reason o be grateful." He, too, emphasised hat peace could be preserved only f the victors of this war remained inited and strong after they had nade clear beyond all doubt, and nost of all to the German people hemselves, ' the victory of the Jnited Nations. No one wished to irn>ose some, great Power dictatorship >n the rest of the world," he said, 'but it was obvious that, unless the rreat Powers were united in aim md ready to assume and fulfill oyally their obligations, no machine naintaining peace, however perfectly :onstructed, would work inpractice. Events were moving fast and peace night come sooner than some ex>ected," he declared. It would be oily to delay construction of at east some framework of the future nternational co-operation until the >roblems of peace confronted them vith all their insistency. He pro)osed that the delegates concenrate on certain guiding principles md certain basic institutions rather han detailed regulations that a :hanging world would revise. He varned that agreement on a theoretically perfect organisation was langerous because of the impression hat henceforth peace would be lutomatically maintained.