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‘prologue

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be followed by a summit con-
ference which is insistently
demanded by all peace-loving
‘forces in the world.

N..S. Khrushchev’s visit to
-Washington and _ President
-Eisenhower’s to Moscow is a
for a  four-power

-meeting. We well remember

that

some political leaders

.who preferred the severe frost
_of the cold war to a thaw they
_regard with suspicion, opposed

.a summit
instead a conference of foreign

meeting, suggested
_Ministers or even deputy for-
-eign ministers: they were
“aware that men invested with
great authority and great re-

‘sponsibility will never venture

s

to come back to their‘ peoples

"empty-handed. Now. a serious
‘blow has been dealt to the
‘resistance of the cold: warriors

—certain Bonn politicians and

certain NATO generals.

The turn in international re-

_ lations is no accident and no

miracle. Of course,.a big part

-has been played by certain in-
_ dividuals, and we should first
-and foremost note the energy,
_ the tireless effort, and, I shall

“say plainly,

the humaneness
of the head of the Soviet gov-

. ernment who many times talk-

_ mnistrust,
_has been able to uphold the
idea of peaceful coexistence

life of all mankind.
could a classical diplomat in
_ full dress say anything of this
_kind: and perhaps it is pre-

_ “first swallow’:
arrival in Moscow which fos-

'longs to the people

ing with Western representa-
tives came up against their
animosity, and~ yet

and direct talks.
WN. S. Khrushchey once said

' that he is’ willing to. let his
_ opponents
' laurels of victors in the “cold
- war,”

have. the dubious
only to put an end to

the evil play which mars the
Hardly

cisely because N. S.. Khrush-

_chey least of all resembles a
' classical diplomat that he suc-

ceeded in ‘passing from the

- dialogue of the deaf to direct
business-like talks.

I should like to recall the
Macmillan’s

tered a further development of

events.

However, the main role be-

change we now observe in the

international climate. Let me

begin. with the Americans. The

_ matter is not only that Mc-

Carthy is dead: his ideas have
also died. The average man in

_ any American state now thinks

differently than. he did ten

sy

years ag. Tt will not say that
_ Nixon’s speeches

were free of certain vestiges
of the “cold war’, bui his
position was not an easy one:

_ while foreseeing the prospects
_ of the morrow he had to jus-
_ tify yesterday's policy. Yet in

1949 he would have probably

been summoned to the Com-

.

in the |,

in Moscow

K-IKE ‘SUMMIT’

mittee for the Investigation of
Un-American Activities for
these speeches — after all, he
spOke of friendship between
the two peoples- Yes, much has
changed and, it goes. without
saying, not only in America...

One of the leading -Amer-
ican papers called the news of
the forthcoming visits of N. S.
Khrushchev and President Eis-
enhower the -biggest
since 1946. What happened in
19462 The “cold war” broke
out. Now public opinion ‘the
world over sees a possibility:
of stopping or at least lessening
it. How can we noi mention in
this connection the selfless ac-
tivities’ of the supporters of
peace? How can we not pro-
nounce the name of Frederic
Joliot- Curie with profound
gratitude? Of course the. turn-
ing point was not brought
about éxclusively by the move-
ment. I: have mentioned. Other

powerful movements came
into being in Britain, in West
Germany, in Japan, in the

United States. If President
Eisenhower has kindly invited
the head of the Soviet .govern-
ment to visit the United States
this is explained not only by
hospitality but by the will of
the peoples, of all peoples —
big and small.

Perhaps the words I use are
not quite in place in an article
devoted to high diplomacy but
I will risk saying that every-
one is fed up with the “cold
war.” The arms race retards
progress’and makes the life of
every man and -woman diffi-
cult (when I say this I do not
have in mind the small hand-’
ful of people who make money
on universal distress). Lord
Boyd-Orr wrote that humanity.
spends _ approximately" $300
millions daily on armaments.
How many hospitals and fine
schools could be built on this
money? How many millions of
starving and homeless people
could be fed and housed? How
many deserts could be irrigat-

ILYA EHRENBURG

event |.

The late Frederic: Joliot-Curie opening a meeting of the World Peace Assembly.

ed, how many tears could be
dried? ‘

U.S. experts assure us: that
the «number.of hydrogen
bombs . stockpiled are © four
times greater than that needed
to destroy the planet. Despite
this the. manufacture of still
more destructive bombs~ con-
tinues and in a year’s time

might be 44 times more than

is needed not only for the mur-
der of part of -humanity but
for the simultaneous suicide of
the instigators of war. It is
clear to all that only a de-
ranged person could precipi-
tate an .atomic war. And al-
though this is perfectly well
realized not only by the ex-
perts who come to Geneva and
the generals who are uwnfor-
tunately by far more influen-
tial, than the experts, an in-
finitely expensive, infinitely
dangerous and infinitely stu-
pid, game continues in the
West, that of overtaking the
enemy in number of hydrogen
bombs. ‘

Nuclear weapons tests are
continuing although humanity
has long been warned by lead-
ing scientists of the Soviet
Union, the United States,
Great Britain, and other coun-
tries that these tests might do
harm not only to the contem-
poraries of the frantic “‘cold
war’ but to their descerdants
who will live in a better age
The atmosphere becomes more
and more harmful because the
diplomats cannot, or rather
the Western diplomats do not
want to,-come ‘to terms regard-
ing the details of an agree-

| ment.

I like the wish expressed. by

f}an ordinary Soviet. verson to
f;the Vice-President .of
| United States:

the
‘Let us fly to
the moon -together.” The pro-
gress made by science is out-
standing and now we can

allow ourselves dreams which
}/ only recently seemed utopian.
;|Now-we can: indulge in fan-

tasy and imagine that intelli-
gent beings live on one of the

)planets. Just imagine that two

persons fly to them on a rocket
—a.. Soviet person and an
American. How surprised the
intelligent beings of the other
planet will be when they learn
that down on Earth people
have found a way of reaching
other planets but that they
cannot reach agreement on
whose soldiers are to be de-
ployed in one of the blocks of

one of the European cities and |

that there’ are people who sug-
gest settling this issue by de-
stroying the Earth!

Of course, miracles do not
happen on Earth. All contro-
versial issues will not be set-
tled immediately by the sched-
uled visits of Soviet and- U.S.
statesmen or the summit con-
ference which must take place
no maiter how much the angry
Chancellor objects. They can
lead to agreement on this or
that issue, they can pave the
way for effective and sincere
negotiations on disarmament.
But any agreement, even the
most limited one, will signify
the end of the “cold war” and
the beginning of a new era,
that of peaceful co-operation
between states with differing
social systems.

Philosophers, economists, So- |
ciologists and writers can well
argue sbout the advantages of
capitalism or socialism. -Diplo-
mats have other jobs to do —
they must ensure peaceful Co-
existence between the adher-
ents of capitalism and the ad-
herents of socialism. I have
carefully _ read the speeches
made by the U.S. Vice-Presi-
dent and have come to the con-
clusion that-he is obviously not
a follower of Descartes: while
lauding the capitalist system
he claimed that capitalism did
not exist in. the United States.
I have been in the United
States and I can say that cap-
italism there is much stronger
and more openly manifested

than in the countries of West.

Europe. I might not like it as
Mr. Nixon might not like the

Soviet system. People are per-
suaded to change their views
by events, by creative effort,
labor, scientific discoveries
and works of art. The readers
of Izvestia who read Nixon’s
speech did not become adhe
ents of capitalism, and if the
U.S. papers print the speech of
N. S. Khrushchey the readers
of the New York Times will
not become communists.
Things are now clearly
heading for talks. This, of
|course, does not mean that the
peoples can now rest assured.
There are still a good many
| difficulties ahead. The cold
|warriors, upon _ recovering
jfrom their first dismay, will
[surely launch an attack. Car
{one iorget those NATO gen-
erais Who only a tew

weeks
ago made bellicose speeches?
;Can one forget the Bonn re-
venge-seekeis who like the
Bourbons have forgotten noth

ing and have learned nothing‘
These gentry will try to poi-
son the coming talks, to pre-
vent a summit meeting. The
peoples must be on the alert:
we are living at a time oi
|hopes, but not yet at a time of
;accomplishment:.

If we all, nevertheless, nope-
fully iook to the future it is
beeause we believe in reason,
in conscience, in the strength
of the. peoples of the whole
worlu. Of course, Presideni
Eisenhower has invited N. S.
Khrushchev _ to Washington
and the head of the Soviet gov-
ernment has invited the U.S.
President -to Moscow, but - it
will not be stretching the
point to say that these invita-
tions have been prompted by
the will of the peoples. The
peace champions and all
peace-loving forces will fight
for. the first meetings to lead
to a summit conference, to an
end of the “cold war.” And we
shall all yet see the time of
fulfilled hopes!,

September 4, 1959—PACIFIC TRIBUNE—Page 3

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