CLARK, GRENVILLE. A Plan for Peace. Pp. x, 83. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1950. $1.00

• Author: Floyd A. Cave
• Published date: 01 March 1951
• Date: 01 March 1951
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/000271625127400133
• Subject Matter: Articles

210

would

give

new

dimensions

to

&dquo;Point

Four.&dquo;

The

many

recommendations

regarding

our

commercial

and

financial

policies

are

often

at

odds

with

the

prevailing

sentiment

in

the

Congress

and

sometimes

with

the

policies

of

the

Administration.

The

Report

urges

the

extension

of the

Trade

Agree-

ments

Act

for

a

period

of

four

years,

adherence

to

the

International

Trade

Or-

ganization,

passage

of the

Customs

Simpli-

fication

Act,

a

study

of

tariff

reclassifica-

tion,

and

repeal

of

the

&dquo;Buy

American&dquo;

Act

of

1933.

It

is

sharply

critical

of

our

present

agricultural

and

shipping

policies.

While

it

recognizes

that

the

price

support

program

is

dictated

largely

by

domestic

considerations,

it

points

to

the

difficulties

this

creates

in

our

foreign

economic

rela-

tions

and

warns

that

&dquo;We

should

not

throw

a

disproportionate

part

of

the

burden

of

our

agricultural

adjustment

on

the

rest

of

the

world&dquo;

(p.

87).

The

Report

does

not

approve

of

tying

cargo

preference

to

our

foreign

economic

operations;

it

insists

that

&dquo;cargo

preference

is

a

blunt

and

capricious

instrument

for

maintaining

a

fleet

of

se-

curity

size&dquo;

(p.

90).

The

Gray

Report

will

not

win

votes,

and

it

has

already.

been

criticized

as

nebulous

and

impractical;

but with

all its

failings,

it

is

a

iefreshingly

frank

and

impressively

comprehensive

survey

of

our

foreign

eco-

nomic

policies.

NORMAN

D.

PALMER

University

of

Pennsylvania

CLARK,

GRENVILLE.

A

Plan

for

Peace.

Pp.

x,

83.

New

York:

Harper

&

Broth-

ers,

1950.

$1.00.

The

thesis

of

this

concise

little

volume

is

that

the

only

way

to

guarantee

peace

in

a

world

threatened

by

a

third

terrible

war

is

through

the

creation

of

universal

govern-

ment

with

limited

powers,

followed

by

total

disarmament

of

national

states.

The

pro-

posed

world

federation

must

include

all

of

the

great

powers

and

should

not

be

regional

in

any

sense.

It

would

have

a

government

composed

of

a

representative

assembly;

an

executive

council

responsible

to

the

as-

sembly ;

and

a

military

staff

committee,

in

charge

of

the

peace

force,

appointed

by

the

executive

council

and

confirmed

by

the

as-

sembly.

There

would

also

be

an

inter-

national

court

to

decide

justiciable

cases

and

a

world

equity

tribunal

to

deal

with

international

disputes-but

having

only

recommendatory

functions.

The

powers

of

the

world

state

would

be

strictly

limited

to

the

maintenance

and

en-

forcement

of

world

peace.

It

would

have

a

monopoly

of

all

armed

forces

except

those

used

for

local

police

services.

Support

of

the

peace

force

would

be

furnished

by

taxes

levied

by

the

world

federation

directly

upon

private

persons.

The

world

constitution

would

include

a

bill

of

rights

safeguarding

personal

rights

against

actions

of

the

world

authorities

and

would

create

a

system

of

&dquo;binding

and

enforceable

world

law,&dquo;

relat-

ing

to

war

prevention.

Disarmament

would

be

accomplished

by

stages,

culminating

in

a

monopoly

over

all

manufacture

of

arms

by

the

world

state.

The

author

believes

that

his

plan

will

be

accepted

because

of

(1)

the

terrible

mate-

rial

and

psychological

coasts,

of

a

third

world

war;

and

(2)

logical

calculations

of

self-

interest

which

should

dictate

to

all

nations

the

manifest

advantages

of

a

peaceful

world.

Through

the

determined

efforts

of

qualified

private

persons,

rather

than

dip-

lomats

or

academicians,

the

plan

may

be

achieved.

Such

obstacles

as

national

sov-

ereignty

and

religious

and

political

misun-

derstandings

may

be

overcome

through

the

spirit

of

compromise,

and

realization

of

the

extremely

limited

scope

of

the

powers

of

the

world

government.

Russia

will

adhere

to

the

plan

if

properly

approached.

The

author

correctly

assumes

that

only

a

world

government

equipped

with

supreme

legal

and

military

powers

can

ensure

peace

on

this

troubled

planet.

The

difficultly

arises

principally

in

inducing

the

great

powers

to

agree

to

create

such

an

organiza-

tion.

Neither

the

enormous

costs

of

past

wars,

the

heavy

burden

of

armaments,

nor

the

threat

of

the

atomic

bomb

has

so

far

been

sufficient

to

accomplish

this.

The

proposed

simple

change

in

techniques

of

negotiation

will

hardly

serve

to

overcome

existing

major

obstacles

to

reconciliation.

The

will

to

compromise

must

exist

before

a

successful

basis

for

world

union

can

be

achieved,

and

its

existence

depends

in

large

part

upon

the

conviction

that

more

can

be