The Press TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 1949. General Assembly

Press, Volume LXXXV, Issue 25955, 8 November 1949, Page 4

The Press TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 1949. General Assembly

An interim report on the fourth session of the United Nations General Assembly, which has been in session at Flushing Meadows, New York, for six weeks, was given by the British Attorney-General, Sir Hartley Shawcross, on his return to Britain from the Assembly. He said that .the Assembly was not making much progress, that there were many bitter East-West speeches—to 'this extent a sameness about the current Assembly and other U.N. meetings. But there are variations worthy of notice in the report. Sir Hartley Shawcross notes that while the Russians still tend to use U.N. as a propaganda platform, there is “no doubt ” they still attach “ much importance ” to it and are “ not entirely uninfluenced “by its decisions ”, He thinks that the Assembly is “ healthier and

“stronger than it was before and “ less influenced by Soviet threats His observations and beliefs are based, of course, on effects of the Soviet-J ugoslavia breach, which have overshadowed even the EastWest conflict at the present session. Earlier, the Jugoslavs took the line —in the United Nations—that minor members of the Cominform were responsible for Jugoslavia’s fall from grace: that Russia was in some way ignorant of the dispute and therefore not responsible. Jugoslavia saw it as consistent with this line to vote with Russia on all international matters and. to sustain the front against the West. This line was broken early in this session in spectacular fashion, when the Jugoslav Foreign Minister, Mr Kardelji, launched a direct attack on the Russians, telling them it was no use calling for a peace pact unless they were prepared to give up their open aggression against Jugoslavia. The breach was widened in public when Jugoslavia pressed its claims to election by the Assembly to a vacant seat on the Security Council. Opposing the Jugoslav nomination, the Soviet Foreign Minister, Mr Vyshinsky, described it as “ a “ challenge to the Soviet Union “ which would lead to complications “in the United Nations and under“mine its basis”. The threat did not deter the Assembly from electing Jugoslavia, an action which, no doubt, is the backing for_Sir Hartley Shawcross’s belief that the Assembly is now “less influenced by “ Soviet threats In other ways, more important, the Soviet-Jugo-slavia rift has shown U.N. to be “healthier and stronger”. If it is still true that the United Nations is no more than a platform and a forum, and nothing near to being the collective security system people dreamed of when the war ended, it is also true that it was to U.N. that Jugoslavia took its complaint against Russia, and the U.N. Assembly that the Russians faithfully attended in force to meet the Jugoslav charge and to counter-charge. These things support Sir Hartley Shawcross’s belief that the Russians do indeed attach “much import- “ ance ” to U.N. and suggest that world opinion means more to Moscow than is admitted. If this is so, it is a .hopeful sign, possibly the most hopeful yet, that U.N. may gather health and strength, possibly to \ become the great force it was intended to be. Though the possibility is far distant, on the plane of immediate achievement, the manner of development of the Jugoslavia-Soviet dispute at the present General Assembly session does establish U.N: as having some positive value as a place where differences can be brought into the open and there measured before the bar of world opinion. •

American Strikes Hopes of an early settlement of the United States steel strike are encouraged by yesterday’s report of agreements between the United Steel Workers’ Union and two steel companies, and offers of settlement by two other large producers. The strike, which involves 500,000 workers, began on October 1, and originated in the union’s demands for a wage increase of 121 cents an hour and pension fund benefits. A factfinding board, appointed by President Truman, recommended no general wage increase, and its finding was accepted by the union. Negotiations on pensions and other benefits broke down, however, on the question of contributions. Since then all efforts to reach a settlement have failed, because the union has held fast to its demand for noncontributory pensions, and the industry has steadily insisted that the workers should bear part of the cost. The steel companies have offered the 10 cents an hour recommended by the fact-finding board, but only on condition that the workers contribute an amount to be decided by negotiation. Now that the companies’ united front has been broken, it is possible that more separate agreements may be made with the union. An early settlement of the strike is urgent, for thousands of other workers in industries depending on steel supplies are affected: and six or eight weeks o* production will be needed, when the strike is settled, to build up stocks again. Equally urgent is the need to settle the coal strike, which began • on September 19, and also originated in .a dispute over pensions and social benefits. The miners already have pensions, which are paid by the mine-owners from a welfare fund financed by a royalty of 20 cents a ton on coal. Because the reserve in the fund had fallen, and some mine-owners refused to continue paying the royalty until a new contract was signed, the president of the United Mine Workers (Mr John L. Lewis) called his members out on strike. Five weeks of negotiations

between the union and the mineowners have been fruitless, because Mr Lewis has demanded not only a royalty payment of 30 cents a ton, but also higher wages and shorter hours. While the strike drags on unemployment is increasing ip industries that depend on coal supplies. Railway services have been reduced, and at the end of last month the nation’s coal stockpiles were reported to have fallen to 43 days’ supply. Mr Truman has said that he is prepared, if necessary, to invoke the Taft-Hartley Act, which provides for investigation of any dispute endangering the health or welfare of the nation, and permits strikes to be stopped by injunction. He has not invoked the act. Apparently he is hopeful that Government mediation will yet avert a national emergency. Though he will be encouraged by the progress made toward settling the steel strike, he is likely to find the coalminers’ strike a more stubborn problem. I