ABILITY TO COMPROMISE

Chronicle (Levin), 28 November 1946, Page 4

ABILITY TO COMPROMISE

Keynote To Success Of U.N. ROTARIANS HEAR OF CHARTER The ability to compromise was the keynote to the success of the Uhitefl Nations Charter and eonsequ'ently ihternational go'odvvill, said Professor F. P. Wilson, when speakih-g to Rotarians at a meeting of the Levin Club on Tuesday night. Th'e inherent weakness of the League- of Nations was this inabili'ty to compromise, and the fact that all 'the nations had not subscribed. It had been doomed to failure from the very beginning in co'nsequen'ce. It had, hoWever, a eertain »amount of success. Some Cwo thousand disputes had been smoothSd over, and this Was Uo small achievement. The league had not, hoWever, •encountered dictatorships such as Germany, I'taly and RUssia. "I mention Russia," said Professor Wilson, "because I consider Stalin is as great a dicfcator -as Hitler ot Mussolini. Thefe is nothing democratic about Russian constitution, and I consider that the entrance of a dictatorship -into aiiy league of this nature is an inherent weakness. The Russiane are a very different people tc us. ^ Their idea of Democ-racy is entirely different to ours. They believe in government by a few. It is a country with - class distinction as great as that of the Old Country. They started off as a Communistic country, and were going to work by a system of exchange or barter. They soon found this was an impossible system. Now the high salaries are earned by those in responsible poSitions. Those whose brains are devoted to - the Communist cause are the ones who don't know poverty. They are the ones who are reaching the top." The average factory worker was poorer, he eonsidered, than his poorest equivalent in the United States or New Zealand. The success of the Charter depended also on the interpretation placed on it by the various states. The difficulty, he said, lay in the fact that people, had different outlooks and religions, and these always clashed. The main aim of UNO was to abolish the risk of war. He said he was afraid that another cohflict might leave a vacuum into which the black races could fiood. War could be prevented if all nations adopted the principles of the Charter, At present there was no such thing as international good faith, which the League of Nations had attempted to establish. It rested on the nations themselves to ensure that the new organisation , dealt successfully with the larger issues, as Well as the smaller ones. Unfortiinately some nations were already interfering in the domestic problems of countries such as Spain and Portugal. Britain was expressing disapproval of the Spanish Government. "I don'.t think it has any right to do so," he contended. "It is a direct violation of the principles of the United Nations Charter to interfere in such matters, unless it can be proved that there is a definite threat to world peace." One of the features of the membership of UNO was the absolute equality of states as a voting power, said Professor Wilson. New Zealand, for example, could claim equality with the United States of America or Russia. It had already proved that its voice could be as Strong as either of these countries. Each member had five representatives on the General Assembly, but could exereise only one vote. The powers of the assembly were limited. It might discuss matters of international importance and make recommendations to the Security Council', but it. could not act. For instance, one nation could bring.. a: delinquent country to the notice of the assembly, provided it could prove that that country was endangering world peace. If there was a two thirds majority vote, it could then be passed on to the Security council. The Security COuUcil had five permanent members, representing the five major powers, and six others felected for a period of two years by the General Assembly. Each of the five permanent members had to c'oncur on any decision. If one objeeted the whole plan was scrapped. This was what Was known as a veto. The power of veto Was, he considefed, the one weakness of UNO, and it was causiUg cohsiderable resentment in the General ■ Assembly. If it was to be used on every importan't question he conSirfered UNO woUl-d he dnnmert.

Russia Was using that power t'o the full. She Was deliberately blocking progress, partly to impress the Russian people and partly to interfere With the rehabilitation of Eitrope. She was working on the prmciple that discontent might breed Com-munism. In the Russian cont'rolled zones she was attempting to show the masses the benefits of Communisrn, by filling their stomachs, and also by the use Of Hitler's policy of drilling ideas into the minds of the people. "Hitler once said that in order to get people to belieVe aiiythi'ng it rnust be continually repeated to them. Once it sunk in it would stay." Russia, he contended, Was" trying to do the same.. She was trying to force the masses of the people to believe that Communisrn was their salvation. f He considered Britain and the United States must arm as they had neVer done before in order to secure peace. In answer to a question he said -he considered an international poiice force sound enough. There was provision in the Charter for such a force, but all the nations

would first have to disarm. "It would take a very large poiice force to suppress Russia," he said. Professor Wilson went on to say that he could not see much hope for ther development of democracy in Russia. "Russia will permit no criticism of her system. It suits them, so they wrap an iron curtain round themselves. I think they should come out and learn sonlething about the Western nations, and let them learn something about her, but she is content to cut b'Arself off from the rest of the world. She is afraid of being contaminated by them." Democratic ideas could not get an entrance. He considered that in the common man, and in ChriStianity lay the hope for the world. He said he would like to see more attention being paid to the "other felloW." The mark of a gentleman was in that policy of thinking of the other fellow, and if that spirit was introduced into the Uni'ted Nations Organisation, there would be no need to worry about the future .of the world.