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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (May 13, 1956)
GREAT DECISIONS Topic No. 8 What Should the U.S. Do In the New United Nations? In 1955 the United Nation completed iU tenth year ai a forum for international debate ... keeper of world peace . . . a channel for worldwide pro grams In hundreds of social and economic fields ... and a con troversial "parliament of man." The Tenth UN General As sembly, which opened in Sep tember, 1955, had high hopes of new cooperation between East and West after the "summit" conference at Geneva. But by December, as the session drew to a close, most of .the hopes had gone sour, with the lack of friendly cooperation and in creased competition. Among the battles which took place in the last few days of the general assembly, was the bitter debate on admission of new member countries. Russia cast 15 vetoes, and 16 new coun tries were admitted to the UN ... four communist govern merits and six Arab neutrals among them. What does this "new" UN of 76 nations mean to the U.S.? What will their influence be What kind of organization is the UN becoming? And what is the UN trying to accomplish in its 11th year? How does it work? What does it do? Is it a help or hindrance to the U.S. now? WHY A UNITED NATIONS? Thij American people are con tributing over $16,000,000 to ward support of the UN this year, and another $112,000,000 for special agencies and pro grams of the UN. These contri butions are roughly one-third of the total UN budget (although. only .0003 per cent of the U.S. military budget for 1956). How is. the money spent? What kind of organization does It help? What benefits, if any. does the U.S. receive from UN membership? Is the UN a "super govern ment," a listening post for for eign agents? Is it building a bet ter world or is it undermining U.S. leadership in the world? WHAT ARE UN PURPOSES? Objectives of the UN, sum marized in the preamble to the Charter are, briefly; ' to save ucceding generations from the scourge of war ... to reaffirm faith 'in fundamental rights, in the dignity and worth of the hu man person, in the equal rights of men and women and of na- "To establish conditions un der which justice and respect for I . . . treaties ana otner sources of international law can be maintained . . "To promote social progress and better standari of life in larger freedom." The preamble declares how the UN hopes to achieve these aims: "To practice tolerance and live together in peace ... as good neighbors, and to unite our strength to maintain Internation al peace . . . "To ensure . . . that armed forces shall not be used, save in the common interest, and to em ploy international machinery for the promotion of the eco nomic and social advancement of all peoples ..." HOW DOES THE UN WORK? A simple organization was set up to carry out the aims of the Charter. It has no governor, no executive power, nor any real legislative power. The UN passes no laws, resolutions being sim ple recommendations to member countries. A country observes a UN resolution because it wants to or because of the pressure of world opinion. Here is how it works: , The General Assembly has a membership of 76 countries, each with one vote (no vetoes). It meets once a year, may de liberate on any issue under the Charter and make any recom mendations to member coun tries. It controls no UN budget. All members belong to the International Court of Justice, which settles legal disputes among members and offers non binding legal opinions. The Security Council is com posed of five permanent mem bers, each with a veto, and six non-permanent members elected by the General Assembly " for two-year terms. It investigates and settles political disputes, stops aggression and works for disarmament. Eighteen members elected by the General Assembly for three years make up the Economic and Social Council. It sponsors worldwide programs to raise living standards, develop back ward economies, promote health and education, working with 12 specialized agencies and vari ous commissions. The Trusteeship Council mem bership is made up of all nations responsible for trust territories and an equal number of non- administering countries, elected for three-year terms by the As sembly. It also includes five permanent members of the Se curity Council and supervises the administration of certain colonies and territories. The UN Secretariat is the "housekeeping" agency, with some 3,500 jobs. The secretary- MAPLE FURNITURE and LAMPS general Is eftief et staff otflew. WHO SUPPORTS UN? Every member nation con tributes annually to the support of the organization. The UN budget for the current year, ex cluding specialized agencies and special programs, is $48,330,000. The United States contributes 33 per cent; communist coun tries, 20 per cent; British Com monwealth, 19 per cent; Western Europe, 12 per cent; Latin America, 6 per cent; and 18 oth er countries, 10 per cent. WHERE DO THE EFFORT AND MONEY GO? Only a small part of the UN budget is for administration. Most of it goes into projects and programs all over the world to raise standards of living and the social welfare of human beings, including Korean Reconstruc tion agency and Relief and Works agency for Palestine refugees. The rest of the money is for "self - help" projects, showing backward peoples how to help themselves. One significant UN program is the promotion of equal rights for all mankind; another the study of peaceful uses of atomic energy. Other current programs in clude expanded program of tech nical assistance; World Health organization; Food and Agricul ture organization; Educational, Scientific and Cultural organiza tion; International Labor organ ization; and UN Children's fund (UNICEF). IS THE UN IMPORTANT TO THE UNITED STATES? What kind of world is the UN trying to build . . . and is it sue ceeding? Does the U.S. want the kind of world the UN is actual ly building? Are the programs and projects consistent with the UN charter? Is the UN doing enough or too much in social and economic fields? Should any activities be expanded? Should 'any be re vised or cut out? Is there a large enough budget to do a really ef fective job? Does pur participation in the UN strengthen or weaken U.S. world leadership?. In what ways? Or is the UN relatively unimportant in this sense? If you believe the UN does not contribute to U.S. interests around the world, would you say this is the fault of the UN, the Russians, or the way the U.S. uses the UN? Is there any advantage to our having a "clearing house" for international cooperation? Do we gain or lose in the long run from UN projects to develop backward countries? Is there any political advan tage in working through the UN? Would we have more inde pendence in foreign policy if we were outside the UN? Would an independent . foreign policy be more or less effective? Is the principle of democratic voting in the General Assembly, of one vote for country, with no veto, an advantage or disadvan tage? Is the great power veto in the Security Council a sound or unsound principle from the U.S. point of view? Should we be willing to give up our veto if the other great powers agree? BACKGROUND The year 1955 was an impor tant year for the UN. The tempo of technical assistance all over the world was stepped"up. Com munist countries increased their mm il3cd)ww SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY PRICE ! LAUNDRY TWINS WITH EVERY DELUXE FEATURE . . . DELUXE QUALITY New 1956 Models Westinghouse Laundromat Regular $319.95 limited C time T only Model L8M Save 23995 SQQOO s Westinghouse Dryer Regular $239.95 limited time only Model D8M Save $18995 $5Q00 NO DOWN PAYMENT ON APPROVED CREDIT No Payment Due Until July 1 , you CAN BE SURE... IF it's wwr . -a Westiiieh ouse psi ttulpe Huii In U3C tcctffitcef as sistance, made more experts available and increased their contributions. And 16 new coun tries were admitted, increased membership from 60 to 76 coun tries. Now, what is the outlook m the UN for 1956? How Are iha Votes Divided? It is inaccurate and unfair to suggest the UN General Assem bly votes in blocs . . . "pro-U.S." or "pro - communist." First of all, there are no party lines in the UN in the sense that there are party lines in the U.S. con gress. Second, each country rep resented has its own special rea sons for voting on each measure. Frequently, these national in terests and special concerns show up in the UN voting. The communist countries, for exam ple, almost always cast identical votes. On any problem connect ed with "colonialism" the coun tries which were once colonies themselves usually vote to gether. On any vital issue (observers used to say) the U.S. could court on the support of her allies and on Latin America. These 36 votes in a 60-vote General As sembly were privately called the U.S. "automatic majority," although a study of voting shows that this was frequently, but by no means, always true. If the same voting patterns held true in the 76-vote assem bly, the combination of U.S. al lies and Latin America would be two votes short of a majority. Some statistics worth remem bering for 1956 are that the number of countries not mem bers of a Western military alli ance totals 41; countries which were formerly colonies, 40; countries generally considered "underdeveloped" economically and socially and requiring out side assistance, 44; and non communist countries which do not have highly developed in dustries, 55. Can you think of instances in which these groups would vote together? Are There More to Come? The original "membership package" presented to the Gen eral Assembly last December called for 18 instead of 16 new members. The other two were Japan and Outer Mongolia. In Security Council debates, Russia insisted that all 18 be ad mitted ... or none. (The Coun cil must approve membership applications before the Assem bly votes on them.) Nationalist China vetoed Outer Mongolia, insisting it is not an "independ tent" state. In return, Russia ve toed all other applicants. But in a final compromise, Russia suggested that Japan and Outer Mongolia both be dropped and the other 16 be admitted. Another and more difficult battle facing the U.S., say many observers, is the question of turning over China's seat to the Peiping (communist) govern ment. Twenty-five countries al ready recognize the Peiping re gime as the legal government of China. Other countries are be lieved to resent the Nationalist Chinese government's veto of Outer Mongolia and may favor this Russian-sponsored move. Another membership question, which may come up this year is what to do about the three coun tries which are half-communist, half-democratic . . . Korea, Viet Nam and Germany. The U.S. does not recognize any of the three communist regimes and j would oppose UN membership. Russia is the only major power ; to recognize both sides of a di vided country. Morocco and Tunisia, two French - administered areas which are now gaining Inde pendence, would be. on the 1956 membership agenda. The rest of the non-member countries In the world, except traditionally neu tral Switzerland, are colonies administered by European pow ers. They are not eligible for UN membership until they gain independence. WHAT OTHER UN PROBLEMS DOES THE U.S. FACE? 1 Because the UN can do only what its members want it to do, many international crises are handled outside the UN, by di rect negotiation between na tions. Some observers say this is a new and dangerous trend. Rather than face open debate and open voting, nations some times prefer to negotiate pri vately. . On other occasions, when UN machinery has not worked ef-; fectively, negotiating countries move their talks outside the jurisdiction of the UN. Disarmament is an example of an issue- discussed both in the UN and outside. A UN disarm ament committee has been dis- cussing this question since 1946. Last year the subject wu taken up by the heads of government of the U.S., Britain, France and Russia at the "summit" confer ence, and later by the foreign ministers of these same coun tries. This spring the UN committee took up where the foreign min-' isters left off. In 1956, the U.S. must face and answer whether to make more, or less, use of UN machin ery. Foreign Aid United States policy makers are disturbed by Russia's new "economic offensive." In recent months Russia has been compet ing with the U.S. in offers of economic aid and technical as sistance to underdeveloped coun tries, Including non-communist countries such , as Turkey and Pakistan. ; The UN Secretary - General Dag Hammarskjold suggested that one solution might be for the U.S. and Russia to cooper ate in helping backward nations. Admission of Peiping There is always a possibility that the General Assembly will seat the Peiping delegates in spite of the U.S. This is a long range problem . . . What should the U.S. do in any situation where we are Outvoted in the UN? Do we go along with the ma jority ... or do we walk out? Is the UN important to us only as long as it votes the way we want it to? WHAT CHOICES HAVE WE? Is the new, bigger UN a threat to U.S. interests? As the UN, through increased membership, becomes more representative of world opinion . . . does it be come less representative of what the U.S. wants in the world? Is this the fault of the UN ... or the US.? Is the increased communist membership a threat to the U.S. (from five before to nine coun tries now)? What about the in creased membership of Arab Asian countries (13 to 19) . . . How will this affect the UN? How will they probably vote on economic aid to backward na tions . . . Colonial issues such as France in North Africa, Brit ain in Cyprus? How will they feel about disarmament in East West military pacts? Under the present Charter, the UN is not capable of being a "super-government." Since all resolutions are really recommen dations, can the U.S: profit from its UN membership . . . regard less of how large or how con trary the UN may become? Russia and the communist sat ellites are already cooperating with the U.S. in UN specialized agencies and technical assist ance. Are these significant? Should we expand this kind of cooperation with cooperation . . or cut it off? Would we gain anything by Sundey. Mar H 195S MEDTORD (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUNE EIVE exploring new areas of East West cooperation in the UN? Should we consider channeling more of our foreign aid through the UN? Would you prefer the U.S. to have more say about what the UN does, despite the democratic principle of one vote per coun try? Do you want to see the U.S. take the lead in strengthening . . . or weakening . . . the UN? YOUR OPINION COUNTS There are a number of branches to U.S. foreign policy. But U.S. policy in. the UN is probably the one branch where the American people have the most say . . . through citizens' organizations for and against the UN and its various agencies. You can make your opinion count by thinking this subject through and communicating your decisions to Washington. The Great Decisions commit tee will receive letters or the ballots included in the fact sheets to be tabulated and for warded to the State Department and our congressional represent atives. Opinions should be sent to Don Hansen, chairman of the Great Decisions committee, Franklin building, Medford. The material above is a con densation of the fact sheets pre pared for discussion and study in the Great Decisions program. Central Point Asks Meeting About Water Central Point Members of the Central Point city council last week directed that a letter be sent to the Medford water commission requesting a second meeting with the group. Councilmen also ordered draft ing of a formal request that water service to the city of Cen tral Point be considered as one large connection. The group made the authori zation after a letter was read from the Medford water com mission indicating it has no in- j tention of trying to adjust the 1 Central Point water rate scbed-j ule. j In the letter the commission : stated the present water sched ule is set up to take care of the 20-year water bond indebted ness and that a change would confuse the issue. It was indi cated that the cost to the city would increase from $1 to $1.75 under the new schedule. BASS GETS CLIPPED Lincoln, Neb. (U.R) Van Fletcher is convinced it doesn't pay to leave the neck of a bass viol sticking out the rear win dow of a car. He tried it once. A passing car drove out of a drive-in here where Fletcher was parked and sheared off the instrument's neck. COMING SOON "Hawaiian Holiday" r Orchids to Ladies Hawaiian Lei? Kaukau Nui Prizes (Every 15 min.) Hawaiian Cookery Demonstrations Grand Prize ... a Hotpoint Colortone Electric Range Two Shows! Friday, May 18 2:00 P.M. 7:30 P.M. CITY APPLIANCE 127 NORTH CENTRAL AVE. USE TRIBUNE WANT ADS DON'T M TO YMGA SMLE and S BlOfiGASBOKD to raise money for badly needed equipment and to keep existing athletic facilities in good repair. May Rummage and 'Miscellaneous Items Sale Starts at 9 A.M. (These are items that will not be auctioned) Auction Sale starts at 1:30 P.M. to 5 P.M. and again from 7 PJA. to 9 P.M. - Or Until All Items Are S6ld AUCTION YMCA BUILDING -522 W. Sixth W. J. "BILL" BRAY, Auctioneer sea or GJtSB'ORD Medford YMCA Annual Smorgasboard Medford YMCA Building (522 West 6th) May 19th at 5:30 P.M. to 7:30 P.M. Tickets are $1.50. for adults end 75c for kids under 12. Published In Cooperation With the Medford YMCA By HOME APPLIANCE CO. - Your G.E. Store Daily's U-Drhra Medford Airport xr iTr
