GETTING TO WORK

Evening Star, Issue 25471, 30 April 1945, Page 4

GETTING TO WORK

SAN FRANCISCO CONFERENCE PLACATING M. iOLOTOV PRESIDENCY AND POLISH PROBLEM Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright SAN FRANCISCO, April 29. Russia to-day asked the United Nations' Council of International Organisation to invito the Warsaw Government of Poland to attend the conference. The proposal was rejected. It is believed that the " Steering " Committee approved l Russia's demand for throe votes. The conference hurdled the first major difficulty when a compromise was devised to meet the Russian objections to the selection of Mr Stettinius us chairman of the " Steering " and Executive Committees. The chief Press officer of the conference announced that it was decided that there will be four presidents of the conference and their Powers will delegate to Mr Stettinius the conduct of the business of the conference. Russia had demanded that the chairmanship should rotate among the four sponsoring Powers, while Britain, America, and China firmly backed Mr Stettinius's candidacy. The " Steering " Committee met behind closed doors. The atmosphere was anything but peaceful, "and the bewilderment and anger which _ spread through the American delegation and some of the others overnight was carried! into the session. Mr Anthony Eden submitted a plan for a settlement of the dispute, under which the chairmanship of the plenary sessions would be rotated among the sponsoring Powers in alphabetical order and meet under the chairmanship of Mr Stettinius to map out the assembly programmes. In addition Mr Stettinius would preside over the Executive and " Steering " Committees. M. Molotov asked for_ two amendments, the first suggesting that the four presidents be called together only when necessary, rather than periodically, and the second providing that Mr Stettinius should exercise only nominal and honorary control as chairman of the Executive and " Steering " Committees. M. Molotov argued that Mr Stettinius should be allowed to decide only minor questions of procedure and not exercise complete control of the committee's deliberations.

Representatives of the four nations, particularly Mr Peter Fraser and Dr T. V; Soong, as well as the spokesmen for the Philippines and Cuba, rose to answer M. Molotov and supoprt Mr Eden. Mr Eraser and Dr Soong vigorously asserted that Mr Eden's plan offered the Russians adequate concessions, and M. Molotov. should be satisfied.'

Smarting under these statements, M. Molotov, in a highly dramatic address, declared that Russia had always been devoted to the cause of collective security and world peace, and that in the interests of harmony and the common good he .would withdraw the amendments.

The heads of delegations then selected the 14 nations to have 6eats on the inner executive committee—America, Britain, China, Russia, Australia,, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Czecho-Slovakia, France, Iran, Me.xico, the Netherlands, and Yugoslavia. Field-Marshal Smuts, in an effort to speed up the deliberations, proposed •that the conference limit itself to a working session of four weeks. The Australian delegation objected. The conference adopted a resolution admitting the Ukraine and White' Russia to membership of the proposed international organisation. THE POLISH ISSUE. M. Molotov unexpectedly raised the Polish issue in the course of what was described as an otherwise harmonious session of the "Steering " Committee. He argued-that it was unfair that the people of Poland should not be represented. Mr Stettinius. with polite firmness, declared that the " Steering "■ Committee had ,voted faithfully to abide by the Yalta agreements, and; that should apply to the understanding on Poland. Mr Stettinius further contended it was a matter for the " Big Three " and not the conference.

Mr Eden strongly supported Mr Stettinius.

Oilier delegates admitted the unfair-' ness of Poland being without a seat, hut insisted that they did* not regard Poland as having a representative Government at present. There is no immediate hope of settling the Polish question, says the ' New York Times ' correspondent. Marshal Stalin's reply to the report received from President Truman on recent conversations between the President and the three Foreign Ministers in "Washington was considered unsatisfactory, and was being answered todav in the hope of breaking the deadlook.

Mr Stettin ins told: a Press conference that unless the Yalta decision for the reconstruction of the Polish Government was carried out, Poland would not attend the conference. He added that the general sentiment of the " Steering " Committee was that White Russia and the Ukraine were independent of Moscow in conducting their relations with the outside world. Mr Reston adds that the Russian delegates' comparative silence on the Polish question does not seem to surprise leading delegates, because the Russians indicated after Thursday's stormy session that if the " Steering " Committee agreed to four presidents, and approved the entrance of the Ukraine and White Russia, M. Molotov would not press the Polish issue. FRENCH ATTITUDE. The French delegation has not yet taken up a definite position. Evidently it has not made up its mind whether to join the Great Powers or'play the role of the leader of the small Powers. The French feel slighted because they do not rank with the Big Four. As a result they were not invited to appear on the rostrum at the opening session.

M. Paul Boncour, a member of the French delegation, told the United Press that the new world organisation must be armed with standing army, navy, and air force, ready for immediate action. M. Boncour's formula for the world organisation includes, first, more committee work and less oratory; secondly, make every nation throughout the world participate; thirdly, forbid any nation to withdraw.

The United Press says it is not clear whether these will be official French amendments to the Dumbarton Oaks plan. Strong sentiment has developed with the American delegation against giving the security organisation authority to fix the size of the American navy after the war, reports the Associated Press.

Senator T. Connally is leading a movement to ensure that the charter contains no power to order the disarma-

ment without treaty agreements. _ He considers that only the individual countries can decide . the size of the forces they will maintain.

State Department officials explained that under the Yalta agreement any decisions the security council makes on armaments will require the " Big Five's " unanimous approval.