Johnson’s Plea For Reason

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31782, 12 September 1968, Page 15

Johnson’s Plea For Reason

<N Z.P A.-Reuter—Copyright) WASHINGTON, September 11.

President Johnson has directed urgent new appeals to Russia, to “choose the path of reason” in Eastern Europe, and to the Arab and Israeli leaders, to work for an enduring settlement in the Middle East.

Declaring that the Soviet invasion Czechoslovakia had set back the course of peace. President Johnson said: “Moscow can still change, if not undo, what it has done by this aggressive act

“It is never too late to choose the path of reason. Every .man of sanity will hope the Soviet acts now, before some new turn of events throws the world back to the grim confrontations of Stalin’s time.”

As last month, when it was feared that the Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia would be followed by a similar move against Rumania,

the President warned the Kremlin leaders: "Let no-one unleash the dogs of war. For our part, we have made it unmistakeably clear that the use of force and the threat of force will not be tolerated in areas of our common responsibility, like Berlin.” He emphasised that new military and political risks had arisen which demanded even closer co - operation among the Western allies. On the Middle East, the President called for a peace of justice and reconciliation to extinguish the fires of unreasoning hostility. Mr Johnson’s twin appeals were issued during a surprise address to the convention of B’Nai B’Rith, the Jewish fraternal organisation. He had just returned from New Orleans, where he strongly defended his Vietnam policies.