THE NATIONS: Men from Missouri

In Paris the Russians launched a big diplomatic and propaganda drive this week. Andrei Gromyko had come to meet his Western opposite numbers, to see if they could agree on an agenda for a full-dress Big Four conference. Gromyko proposed this agenda: 1) "demilitarization" of Germany (Moscow has been screaming long & loud that Western plans to defend West Germany threaten the peace); 2) a peace treaty for Germany, including withdrawal of all Allied troops; 3) "improvement of the situation in Europe," including a possible cut in the armed forces of the Big Four.

The prospect of withdrawal from Germany, and of possible all-around disarmament, would appeal to quite a few Europeans; but the Western delegations were agreed that they would not barter away European defense for Russian promises.

Speaking for the three Western nations, Britain's Under Secretary for Foreign Affairs Ernest Davies denied the Russian charge that Western defense plans for Germany were a threat to the peace, submitted the West's own agenda: 1) examination of all causes of "international tension" in Europe, presumably including Russia's arming of the satellites; 2) a peace treaty for Austria, which Russia has been stalling; 3) unification of Germany and a German peace treaty.

The two agendas, which were not as far apart as the draft agendas of some past East-West conferences, might be rolled into one. If they could, the »eal trouble would start at the next conference, when the Foreign Ministers themselves got down to considering the substance of the proposals.

Before taking off for Paris, U.S. Delegate Philip Jessup had summed up the Western attitude: "We have got to approach [the meeting] on the basis that 'we are from Missouri' . . . We are not going to be taken in by mere words that do not indicate performance."