Show 0 realistic attitude marks F I 1 change in in allied diplomacy 6 new journey into international cooperation combines idealism and realism step t away from old style power alliances by BAUKHAGE news analyst and commentator service union trust building washington D C what kind of a man Is stalin that question was put to president roosevelt at the white house press and radio conference on the day of his return to washington from europe he was tanned alert cheerful still pulsing with the consciousness of achievement his answer which came without a seconds hesitation I 1 thought was significant stalin he said was a realist just like himself I 1 am not particularly interested in the accuracy of that answer either as an analysis of stalin or self analysis of the president but to me the tact fact that the president chose realism as the outstanding and common characteristic of himself and the man on whose word and deed so much of the future depends was I 1 think significant on the whole in the light of later pronouncements use of that term seems a good omen rather than a bad one mr roosevelt Is committed to a plan tor for the postwar world which leans toward the ideal rather than toward the old style diplomatic 1 realism which Is nothing but tooth and claw tactics behind a laundered facade of protocol I 1 think the american people have shown plainly 11 wat that they are more interested in stopping or at least postponing wars than they are in the slogans of the isolationists or the imperialists granted that the fact that roosevelt emphasizes the realist side when he speaks gives one a feeling that he and stalin and churchill have been able to reach some rough agreements that are practical enough to work and yet are a little less less earthy than the old power alliances which always end in wars the conference 1 I recall very well that crowded news conference for which friend and foe alike turned out to see what the president looked like after his trip one hundred and seventy nine working press and radio correspondents were there not counting officials the innocent expected some hot inside stuff the cynical hoped the president would reveal errors by concealing them the average reporter knew it was going to be a good story one way or the other everyone was satisfied those who yearned for the dramatic got the story of the german plot which come off those wh who 0 were looking for trouble were gratified that he revealed no new concrete developments the objective reporter got his quota of news for everything a president says is that but the two remarks of the president stood out in my mind the one I 1 mentioned realism and another M made ade almost as soon as the last or of us had squeezed into the crowded oval office and they were I 1 believe most revealing as far as our future foreign policy goes those in the first row had time to take in the presidents cheerful and informal appearance the colored shirt and the pullover pull over sweater which he had worn on his trip and which because of one meeting following another from the moment he arrived at the white house he still wore he had been on the job since a m it was then after four As soon as the signal that the last reporter was in the room was given the president began to speak of of the success of the trip and he be said that those who shared with him in the hopes ot of a durable peace he referred to russia britain china were motivated by the determination that there would not be another war while this generation lives I 1 must admit that the words at first struck me a little coldly while this generation lives not much long range optimism there I 1 t thought hought but afterward and since his later pronouncements general though they have been I 1 feel a little better about it it seems to me that perhaps we are at last embarked upon an adventure in international cooperation with enough idealism to keep our eyes on the heavens and enough realism to keep our f feet on the ground that is my new years hope and wish analysis of a reporters job As I 1 sit down to my typewriter I 1 sometimes try to visualize the people who will read what I 1 write just as I 1 try to visualize the little groups gathered about the loudspeaker when I 1 talk to them sometimes I 1 shudder lest they exaggerate the importance of the things we reporters report I 1 am not a bit different from the anxious anonymous reporter who after the last war still clad in his khaki shirt wearing the OD its gl GI now tie and trench coat who came down to work and stumbled around the various offices and meetings getting his stories and writing them under the eagle eye of the copy desk the reason I 1 am worried now is because I 1 hear so many people talk bout the things the washington i 1 or respondent writes or says on he radio as gospel well most of as try to report what we see and hear we dont always know whether it is true trub or false we just try to tell you about it most of us label what we know and what we think some do not sometimes when we talk ale we think really ought to know we report what they say with a little more confidence if we cant quote the brass hat or the cabinet officer or the senator who told us this or that we say authoritative qu oters we are supposed to know from experience whether what we hear is sound fact or just wishful thinking many people think that unless we attack the party in power we must be in favor of it that true we know as the old bull said one cow is is much as another we know that despite the different party regalia politicians display they are really pretty much alike once they get into office not as good as they might be for the most part seldom om as bad as the opposition paints them the active element but the party in power is the active element it makes news because it does things the minority merely objects we report what is done not because we approve or disapprove of what is done but because that is a concrete act the opposition can do little more than oppose that is negative we know that if the opposition were in power it might do the same thing and the party in power which would then be the minority would object I 1 have covered republican and democratic regimes I 1 have covered one democratic regime a long time I 1 certainly hope for the good of the state that I 1 shall be able to cover a regime of the republican party not because I 1 think it is per se better or worse than the democratic regime but because I 1 think a change is good for the republic when the next administration comes in I 1 shall report what it does I 1 shall lean in spite of myself toward the constructive issues it promulgates mul gates but that wont I 1 hope make me a republican any more than my leanings toward the constructive tive side in this regime make me a democrat I 1 am neither I 1 am and hope to remain a reporter but as beauty lies in the eye of the beholder so truth often lies in the ear of the listener |