U.N. Compromise

In his parting address to the United Nations, Trygve Lie outlined the course of his successor's probable troubles. If a new Secretary-General often decides against Russia he will be hounded by the pressure tactics that have forced Lie's resignation. But if the new man caters too much to Soviet interests, Western objections will plague him with almost equal force.

Nevertheless, someone must head the Secretariat. And selection is a major problem since only a wax dummy could never politically offend either side. Obviously, Russia will no more endorse a national from the Western sphere of influence than the West will approve any citizen of a satellite country. This climinates Canada's Pearson, the Philippines' Romulo, and Poland's Skrzeszewski. The Kremlin has scored in Asia by announcing its lack of opposition to either Mme. Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit or Sir Benegal Rau.

This dispute will see the Allies running second best in Asia regardless of the outcome. Russia has championed--albeit negatively--the cause of Asians, and the West can either follow her lead or oppose the nominations. Thursday's vote, in which Mme. Pandit failed to win election, shows that a middle course equals opposition. With seven votes, the necessary number for election, the abstension of eight out of eleven nations defeated her by silence. So, while the course is set against Mme. Pandit, the West should review its stand on an Indian Secretary-General before Rau's nomination comes to a vote.

From his past record, Rau is not anti-West. He voted for U.N. intervention in Korea, and has been a prime exponent of the Soviet-opposed Indian Truce Plan. His acceptability to the Russians is hard to understand, but it makes him the leading candidate. Only China threatens opposition because India has recognized the Peiping Government. But the Nationalists would probably not block Rau's election by veto.

If Rau loses the election because the West has decided to oppose automatically any man not rejected by the Communists, there can not logically ever be another Secretary-General. Today, India is one of few reasonably neutral countries, and the only one whose nationals neither bloc entirely distrusts. Unless the West will abandon hope for a Secretary who is completely acceptable, and settle on a leaning nentral, Western leadership will appear unreasonable, and the generic foe of Asia.