Book Reviews and Notices : American Diplomacy and the War of the Pacific. By HERBERT MILLINGTON. (New York: Columbia University Press. 1948. Pp. 172. $2.50.)

• Published date: 01 September 1948
• Date: 01 September 1948
• Author: Dell G. Hitchner
• DOI: 10.1177/106591294800100333
• Subject Matter: Articles

338

result

still

remains

and

can

be

stopped

only

by

opposite

and

equal

or

superior

force.

This

leads

to

a

consideration

of

the

atomic

bomb

as

a

destructive

force.

Since

no

nation

will

be

able

to

monopolize

this

form

of

energy,

inter-

national

action

is,

therefore,

desirable

to

prevent

the

use

of

atomic

energy

for

destructive

purposes.

The

United

States,

desiring

to

promote

the

de-

velopment

of

the

energy

for

peace

and

humanitarian

ends,

is

willing,

so

asserts

the

author,

to

share

the

secrets

of

this

bomb

and

to

submit

to

a

new

organ

of

world

government

for

its

control.

A

strong

criticism

of

Soviet

Russia

is

contained

in

the

author’s declara-

tion

that

the

Soviet

people

are

held

veritable

slaves

to

the

will

of

a

minority,

and

if

granted

their

freedom

would

repudiate

Soviet

government.

As

long

as

the

Soviet

Union

remains

a

powerful

state

in

which

a

few

men

ruth-

lessly

rule,

other

nations

must

be

prepared

for

self-defense.

If

Soviet

Russia

wishes

to

ease

this

resentful

and

mistrustful

attitude

on

the

part

of

other

nations,

it

must

present

to

the

world

a

testimony

of

truth

in

international

affairs.

Destiny

follows

power.

Since

the

United

States

is

the

most

powerful

nation,

it

becomes

her

destiny

to

lead

the

world

toward

international

peace.

Some

nations

may

choose

to

follow

in

her

wake.

Others

may

not,

and

here

the

United

States

must

be

ready

to

use

force.

The

reviewer does

not

dispute

the

responsibility

of

the

United

States

to

lead

toward

international

security,

but

to

suggest

that

the

United

States

is

destined

to

lead

because

of

her

power

is

seemingly

support

of

a

doctrine

dangerous

to

international

peace.

Furthermore,

the

reviewer

is

concerned

with

what

changes

may

result

in

our

government

if

we

fulfil

our

&dquo;destiny&dquo;

and

especially

if

that

&dquo;destiny&dquo;

can

be

achieved

only

though

force.

Those

who

favor

our

present

foreign

policy,

however,

will

find

much

in

this

work

in

support

of

their

contentions.

ALBERT

H.

CULVERWELL.

Whitworth

College

.

American

Diplomacy

and

the

War

of

the

Pacific

.

By

HERBERT

MILLINGTON.

(New

York:

Columbia

University

Press.

1948.

Pp.

172.

$2.50.)

The

dispute

between

Chile,

Peru,

and

Bolivia

over

territory

on

the

west

coast

of

South

America

has

a

long

and

bitter

history.

This

volume

is

de-

voted

to

that

early

part

of

it

known

as

the

War

of

the

Pacific,

1879-1883,

and

the

unsuccessful

attempts

of

United

States

diplomacy

to

control

the

conflict

and

its

following

peace

settlement.

Beyond

the

fact

that

the

United

States

government

might

be

given

some

credit

for

good

intentions-hoping

at

first

to

see

the

war

averted

and

then,

once

begun,

to

have

hostilities

terminated

as

soon

as

possible-there

is

little

in

the

episode

which

does

credit

to

our

diplomacy.

A

sequence

of

changing

and

politically-distracted

Presidents

and

Secretaries

of

State,

ar-