Wairarapa Times-Age MONDAY, MARCH 15, 1943. FOUNDATIONS OF WORLD ORDER.

Wairarapa Times-Age, 15 March 1943, Page 2

Wairarapa Times-Age MONDAY, MARCH 15, 1943. FOUNDATIONS OF WORLD ORDER.

a sequel to the Casablanca conference, the visit to Washington of the British Foreign Secretary, Mr Anthony Eden, evidently is well-timed and of good, promise. What has been made known of the scope and purpose of Mr Eden’s mission appears to justify the comment that it may be a first step towards the creation of a permanent organisation of the United Nations. Mr Eden is not only to exchange views with the United States Government on all aspects of the war situation, but is to discuss methods of preparing meetings by the United Nations governments to consider questions arising out of the war. It is stated, too, that the Soviet and Chinese Ambassadors to the United States will probably be called into consultation.

Apart from whatever may be accomplished towards the better and more effective prosecution of the war, the need of preparing in good time to deal with post-war issues and problems is sharply defined. The minimum demand of the situation is that no time should be lost in doing everything that is possible to ensure continuing co-operation between the nations now fighting the totalitarian aggressors. Action to that end must depend jAimarily upon full understanding and agreement between Britain, the United States, Russia and China, in conditions enabling them to enlist the support of all nations which desire the establishment of a settled world order based on justice.

One vital condition of effective organisation is that the United States should be prepared to enter into far-reaching and long-dated international commitments. It is not yet to be taken for granted that this condition will be satisfied, though there are some grounds for hoping that it may be. There is still a certain amount of isolationist opposition to the enlightened leadership of President Roosevelt, and more oh less formidable political elements are prepared to trade on this sentiment. On the other hand, a growing weight of American public opinion appears to be supporting the leaders of all parties who maintain that the United States, for its own sake and that of humanity, must be prepared to play its full part in helping to maintain peace and order in the post-war world. Most people presumably are by this time in agreement with Mr Eden that collaboration with Russia is essential to the peace and prosperity of the world. Before the war a good many influential people in both Britain and the United States were opposed to this collaboration and some of these people may be of a similar inclination still, but it has become obvious that any attempt to establish European and world peace on any other basis than that of full agreement with Russia would be futile. All hope of stable peace and security would vanish if Russia and the English-speaking, democracies found themselves at variance in shaping post-war policy. More or less serious difficulties may arise in determining the boundaries between the Soviet Union and some of the smaller European States, particularly Poland, when the war comes to an end, but with the attainment, of firm international agreement on broad essentials there should be some reasonable hope of satisfying and safeguarding the legitimate aspirations of all small States —a much better hope than if the cessation of hostilities found the world divided once again into opposing camps.

As an outcome of the conversations now opened in Washington and of the broad-based discussions that are expected to follow, the possibility of building up the international organisation which would ensure future peace and security should be put decisively to the test. It would be unduly optimistic to believe that the problems involved will be solved easily, but grim lessons have been learned since September, 1939, and it is possible for all men to appreciate now what was lost in the years of ineffective and groping efforts for peace that intervened between the last war and this. The commanding fact today is or should be that every peace-loving nation is bound to make certain, as Mr Eden has said, “that Germany and Japan are never able to start this business again.”