THE CABINET: Stimson On Russia, No. 2

Heavy on the hands of Secretary of State Stimson hangs the problem of Soviet Russia, which the U. S. has not formally recognized as existing but with which the State Department must nevertheless occasionally, deviously cope. When it was a matter of reminding Russia that, as a signatory of the Pact of Paris, she really should not go to war with China, Statesman Stimson had to utilize the good offices of Foreign Minister Briand of France as interlocutor (TIME, Dec. 16). Last week another ticklish Russian problem arose, Mr. Stimson’s second. He felt it advisable to prevent the Glenn L. Martin Co. of Baltimore from fulfilling a $2,000,000 deal with Russia for 20 bombing planes and an aircraft factory. As British trade representatives informally explained at the State Department, a war was raging in China with Reddish forces on one side (see p. 30), and more war threatened on the Afghanistan border just south of Eastern Russia. There thus seemed a good chance that the Martin planes for Russia would soon see service. A joint board of the U. S. War and Navy Departments had not found these considerations a drawback to the Martin-Russia deal. The White House denied having any hand in the matter or expressing any opinion thereon. But Mr. Stimson was impressed by the situation in the Orient and his alone was the decision to “view with disfavor” the Martin-Russia deal. New and puzzling, however, was the reason he gave: that the U. S. cannot permit sales of war munitions to a foreign power which the U. S. does not recognize.

Statesman Stimson seemed driven to this ground for his announcement by the fact that both Britain and the U. S. have been selling fighting planes to the Nationalists (anti-Soviet) in China. Thus it was too late to invoke the Pact of Paris for this emergency. The somewhat paradoxical ground of U. S. non recognition of Russia laid the State Department open to fresh charges of “hypocritical and unwarranted interference with American business” (Scripps-Howard). Also it was obvious that unrecognized Russia must construe the act as an unfriendly one. Nevertheless, Mr. Stimson took these risks. From the historical viewpoint the episode seemed to amount to this: in order to further the moral aim of the Pact of Paris, the Secretary of State decided as the Pact would dictate.