Around the Ovals

For U.N.'s most dramatic session, Britain's Palestine proposal provided fresh drama. Now U.N.'s Assembly delegates settled down to the infighting around Lake Success' long, oval committee tables. Here, in six main committees and for six days a week, they will spend most of their working time for the next two months. First rounds were raucous.

To the Political & Security Committee went issues like George Marshall's proposals for a year-round "Little Assembly," the veto, and independence for Korea, and Andrei Vishinsky's demand for measures "against propaganda and the inciters of a new war." Last week the committee waded into the U.S. motion to charge Yugoslavia, Albania and Bulgaria with threatening Greece, and to send an Assembly peace-watch to the Balkans. Cried Andrei Gromyko in good voice: "A Fascist clique is hatching plans for a new war."

The Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee found itself listening to Russia's Valerian A. Zorin. Next year's U.N. conference on freedom of press & information, said he, should crack down on the "warmongering" press. He left the Committee a nine-point Soviet resolution to chew on. Meanwhile, Delegate Vishinsky treated some 300 members of the working press to further charges of warmongering.

U.N. also heard an important unofficial suggestion this week: to restore the freedom and independence of Yugoslavia, Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary and Rumania. It came from members of the International Peasant Union, including former Hungarian Premier Ferenc Nagy, Bulgarian Opposition Leader Georgi M. Dimitroff, Croatian Peasant Leader Vladimir Macek.

The Security Council found time to meet, too. They were called on to decide whether Italy and other former Axis satellites should now be recommended for U.N. membership. Andrei Gromyko said he would not veto Italy this time, provided Bulgaria, Hungary, Rumania and Finland were admitted too.

Meanwhile, U.N. membership grew to 57. The two latest joiners: Yemen and Pakistan. Delegates learned that 1) the General Assembly's special session last spring spent more than one-fourth of its time wrangling over procedure, at an estimated cost (for salaries, overhead, etc.) of more than $500,000; 2) from now on, they would have to do without meat twice a week (Tuesday and Friday) if they chose to dine at U.N. eateries. Purpose: to help save food.

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