Deepening of Cleavage Between East and West

Chronicle (Levin), 11 June 1947, Page 6

Deepening of Cleavage Between East and West

Press Assn.-

By Telegraph

Copyright

LONDON, June 9. Editorial references and Press comment in Britain note the deepening of the cleavage between East and West that is anticipated as a result of the virtual stalemate at the Moscow conference of the Foreign Ministers. The recent developments in Bulgaria are interpreted as the Russian answer to the American aid to Enrope policy. Viewed as a game of chess, the Americans are considered to have won the first two moves by their oft'er of aid to Greece and Turkey and their successful support of the anti-Comnninist de Gasperi Government in Italy. These have been countered by the Russian move to restore Communist eontrol in Hungary by a coup d'etat, and by increased Communist assertiveness in Czechoslovakia and Bulgaria. The next American move was General MarshalPs announcement 5'f America's willingness to assist general Eur.opean reconstruction, and the complction of the Anglo-American zone fusion in Germany. These two moves have been met on the Russian side by the German leaders in the Russian zone, boycotting the Munich conference of provincial Premiers.

Since the Moscow conference Britain had been metely iooking over the shoulders of the players, but it is not disguised that she cannot continue in this equivoeal position. Editorial opinion in Britain generaily— with the exception ■of the Daily Worker, which condemns it unreservedly — has welcomed General Marshall's plan and calied upon Mr. Bevin to give a British lead by support ing it. Mr. Bevin knows, however, that such support will arouse a further outcry from the Labour rebels on the ground that it wonld be just One niore step along the road of what they like' to call "dollar imperialism. " It remains to be seen how diplomatieally Mr. Bevin can deai with the situation. On the one hand, the Bussians appear to be proffering the olive. branch by holding out hopes of an Anglo-Eussian trade agre-ement; on the other, the British failure to give the lead General Marshall has asked for in Europe would undoubtedly have nnfavourable Aactions in tlie United States. One of the points the British Foreign Offieo would like the Americans to clcar up is whether or not General Marshall 's plan applies to all Europe, including Russia, oq to Western Europe only. Over all the American plans hangs the sliadow of the much-discussed trade recession in the United States. On this there are many divergent opinions. American business leaders here, such as Mr. Raudolph Burgess, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in London, consider that if there is a recession it will be only a niild one, and one that will not be allowed to get out of eontrol. Some British quarters, however, consider that unless the Americans find new markets for their rising production and can transform recovery loans into purcliasing power a serious slump, with world repercussions, mayoccur. In that event, the American ability to implement their promises in Europe may lie seriously tlireatened and the Russian bargaining power may inercase as that of the United States diminishes. Meanwhile, even outside the strictly diplomatic or political sphere,- the dispositiou of all international conferences to divide into East and West camps is obviously increasing. The latest ex•unples are the conference of the World Federation of Trades Unions, which several times has been tlireatened by ideological diff'erences, and the annual meeting of the international Federation

of Journalists at Prague, which was sharpiy divided into eastern and western blocs, and, under the leadership of the Russians, moved the headquarters of ifhe federation from London to Prague, and replaced its Australian secretary by a Czech Communist. Whatever interpretation is placed upon the various developments now taking place, it is plain that the line of demarcation between East and West in Europe, with the rest of the world taking sides, is becoming steadily more definite. Britain, for the time heing, stands between the two camps, with her weight more on the right foot than on the left. Mr. Bevin has already expressed the opinion that the next and possibly the last opportunity of hridging the widening gap will be at the Foreign Ministers' Conference in London in November.