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Thatcher ROY D. T H A T C H E R & Young LAWYERS L E R O Y B. Y O U N G F IR S T S E C U R I T Y BANK BUILDING PAUL T H A T CHE R O G D E N , UT AH February 9* 19^9 PERSONAL The Honorable Marriner S. Eccles Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve Bank Washington 25> D. C. Dear Marriner: I was much disappointed that pressure of my business and various public commitments so occupied my time that I was unable to see you and talk with you more about the ideas you presented in your memorable off-the-record talk to the Ogden Rotary Club. As I have had time to think more about your remarks and the program you submitted for the consider ation of your fellow citizens, I am much impressed with the apparent accuracy of your observations and of your evaluation of the situation. Reluctantly I am compelled to believe— perhaps a more accurate phrase would be "to fear”— that your conclusion that an early showdown must be called for is correct. I think that you have done a great service in approaching this subject among thinking people and I hope you have an opportunity to "needle" more of us Americans at frequent intervals. Nevertheless, it seems to me your proposals could be infinitely strengthened by modifications in two particu lars. One of them is of major, even paramount importance, and the other, although of great importance, nevertheless is relatively minor. Let me mention the second point first. It seems to me that the effectiveness of our call for a showdown to bring about a peaceful settlement will depend in large measure upon the extent to which we can show to Russia a very effectively united front. If those nations which back us up do so in a vacillating manner and show symptoms of being susceptible of being moved away from our position, the Russians are much more likely to take a long shot on refusing our demands even though it apparently means war. All of my friends who have traveled in the Orient and in Europe tell me that people there are less frightened by the atom bomb than are its possessors. If the The Honorable Marriner S. Eccles February 9> 19^9 Page Two efforts of the Politbureau are even partially successful in Russia, that Bureau will not find any difficulty in persuading the Russians to follow them even in a suicidal and unjustified military resistance. The members of the Politbureau and the Russian people are more likely to be properly influenced if the ultimatum is delivered by a strongly united world than it is if the ultimatum merely comes from the U.S.A. backed diplomatically by such sources as we are able to salvage upon the making of such an ultimatum. Certainly the very fact of the presentation of such an ultimatum would cause many of the small and medium nations to abandon us because it will be the final negation of the ideals of self-determination, etc., which we have for two generations used as rallying cries. Surely you will agree that a dynamic idea and a rallying cry is a most effective and necessary part of any international struggle. The fact that the heads of two states took the time to meet in mid Atlantic to promulgate the purely idealistic Atlantic Charter indicates that the practical poli tician thinks a proper and appealing rallying cry, sales slogan, or whatever you would call it, is a valuable weapon in our arsenal. My first proposition then is that the United States should, before delivering the ultimatum you have proposed, announce that the core of its foreign policy is the democratic organization of the world for democracy through world federation. As Darrell Greenwell has remarked, it seems that world federation is the only dynamic and appealing idea now possessed by the Western World and the only one which can compete with communism on an idealogical basis. In accordance with that policy we should invite all willing nations to join with us in writing a proposed world constitution. If Russia then refused to participate or attempted to sabotage such proceedings, our moral position would be greatly improved, as would our position^cfiplomatic strength. We should be able under those circumstances very rapidly to federate the willing nations so that the ultimatum could proceed from this federated group rather than from the United States alone, and the ultimatum should thereby gain greatly in strength and effectiveness. It would seem quite as easy to sell our Government and people on such a program as to sell them on an immediate war-risking military ultimatum. And there is always the long chance, although admittedly it is probably not one in a thousand now, that the Politbureau so confronted might capitulate gracefully when the invitation to join voluntarily is extended. The Honorable M a rriner S . Eccles F e b r uary 9 > 19^9 Page Three My second proposition results from the very firm conviction that the demands you have enumerated for submission to Russia do not list sufficient concessions to enable us to prevent secret Russian rearmament and subsequent aggression. We must as Stassen said, "gain a beachhead we can h o l d . " Nothing less than world federation meets this requirement. No treaty, no league, no international "promise to behave" ever has been adequate, and surely we have no right to expect a Soviet promise to be the exception. Even if Russia should capitulate to a lesser demand than world government, it would be entirely impossible for the United States alone to police her. An attempt by a "capitalist imperialist" nation without very much sympathy from the rest of the world to police Russia would inevitably beget an underground revolt which would make the underground resistence movement of the continent and our own Klu Klux Klan of Reconstruction Days look like a Wednesday afternoon meeting of the Podunk Ladies Sewing Circle. The cost in manpower, in blood and in economic waste would be insupportable. The end sought must be membership by the Russians in a universal world government having authority to enforce its laws directly on the individual. I am clear in my own mind that nothing less gives any hope of ultimate success. I have developed some other phases of these ideas in an article I prepared for the 1 9 ^ 8 high school debate manual on the legal aspects of world federal government. A copy is enclosed for your possible amusement. The reports I get seem to indicate that notwithstanding the present discouragement engendered by the intransigeance of the USSR,interest in world government as the ultimate and necessary basis for solution is increasing both in official and in unofficial circles, it seems to me rather likely that when the choice finally becomes clear, as I think it will before very much longer, the people and their governments will very generally elect to try world government before they embark upon a preventive war. This last is no doubt somewhat colored by wishful thinking. If p.nd when you have an opportunity to check through these rather rambling remarks, I would be much interested in a brief report of your reaction. With very kindest regards, I am Respe c t ful ly? ypurs,^ Paul Thatcher PT/sa Enclosure March 23, 1949* Dear Paul; I read with interest your letter of February 9th. I have been holding up replying to it until I could find time to go into its subject matter, giving you my views, but up to this time I have not had an opportunity to do so. I expect to be in Utah for a couple of weeks in April and I am hoping to have an opportunity to see you and discuss the matter — it is quite a complicated subject and I think a personal discussion would permit us to cover it more fully than correspondence. With kindest personal regards to you and your father, Sincerely yours, Mr. Paul Thatcher, First Security Bank Building, Ogden, Utah.
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