Out of the Storm?

Out of the wrack of a June cloudburst, the "Sacred Cow" swooped down onto Orly airport near Paris. As Jimmy Byrnes led his party down the ramp, he looked his 68 years. He was here for Paris II--the third attempt of the Big Four's foreign ministers to lay a basis for World War II peace treaties, and the look on his face said "three times & out."

But he was his old adaptable self when he strolled into the lounge of the Meurice and cracked at bar-side newsmen: "Well, boys, if you have been waiting for me here since I left Paris you must be in fine shape!"

Intolerable Situation. Since mid-May, when the first Paris meeting failed, no progress had been made by the chancelleries or by the deputies of the foreign ministers on the basic questions: 1) what type of regime to give Germany; 2) whether or not to internationalize the steel-producing Ruhr; 3) how to solve Yugoslavia's claims to Trieste; 4) on what to base peace treaties with Italy and the other former Axis satellites.

The Soviet press and radio, taking its cue from Molotov, blamed "the Anglo-Saxon bloc" for the deadlock. A fortnight ago Ernest Bevin had told the House of Commons: "Have we the moral right to say to 21 nations . . . 'you must go on in a state of war because we four gentlemen can't agree?' Really, this is an intolerable situation." He hinted at separate peace treaties with the former enemies. This obviously would split Europe in two. Molotov in Moscow had already said: "An intolerable situation."

But as the Big Four prepared to sit down once more in the flag-bedecked Luxembourg Palace, a little good news filtered through the clouds:

P: The Baruch plan (see above) affirmed America's good faith with regard to the ABomb.

P: Russian proposals for the Soviet-Rumanian frontier showed that Moscow would not insist on sole control of the Danube delta.

P: Soviet-oriented Azerbaijan announced that it would not insist on total independence from the Iranian Government.

Make It Snappy! When the ministers and their staffs filed through gilded double doors into the Salle Victor Hugo, everyone tried hard to relax, joking with old friends, shaking hands with new. The air was soon blue with tobacco smoke. Georges Bidault, apparently putting aside for the occasion the worry of trying to form a new Cabinet, squirmed agilely through the pack in his capacity of host--he failed to notice the repressed wince as he inadvertently trod on Molotov's toe. It was Molotov who set the tone by greeting his old enemy Bevin with "Davaite govorit korotko" (let's make this one snappy!). "Very good," said Bevin.

As part of his plan to take occupation troops out of all European countries but Germany, Byrnes renewed his request that Austria (see FOREIGN NEWS) be placed on the agenda. Molotov modified his previous position by agreeing. Austria would be discussed at the end of the meeting.

First item on the agenda was Italy, where outbreaks had followed the king's ouster (see FOREIGN NEWS). Molotov demanded that the Big Four look promptly into the royalist riots to determine if Fascists were plotting a comeback. Byrnes and Bevin agreed. So far, things had gone korotko enough.

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