UNITED NATIONS: Laughter, Anger & Defeat

The volatile Mr. Vishinsky, a man of many faces, this time wore his favorite mask: rage. Gone was the disastrous mocking of his "unable to sleep for laughing" attack on the West's disarmament plan. Last week, before the U.N. General Assembly's Political and Security Committee, he was the angry prosecutor. He asked the U.N. to condemn as "aggressive" the U.S. Mutual Security Act, which allocates $100,000,000 to mobilize Iron Curtain escapees into military units. The U.S., shouted Vishinsky, is planning to set up an army of "criminals and war criminals" to overthrow the Soviet Union. "No force on earth will be able to overthrow the Kremlin," he said. "It would be a ludicrous, preposterous attempt. Your tanks cannot stand up against our tanks, your guns cannot stand against our guns, your fighters cannot stand against our fighters."

Vishinsky cited the case of four U.S. flyers forced down in Hungary last month (see NATIONAL AFFAIRS) as evidence that the U.S. is trying to "subvert" Communist Eastern Europe. Bouncing in his seat, he waved his arms so wildly that British Minister of State Selwyn Lloyd had to keep ducking his head to avoid being hit.

But Vishinsky's ire got no further than his laughter. The Political Committee rejected his complaint, by 39 votes to 5. The U.N. recessed for Christmas, after six weeks of debate. Vishinsky, returning to Moscow, bore few fruits of victory to present to Stalin. Key U.N. votes:

¶For the establishment of a disarmament commission to press the West's instead of Russia's disarmament proposals (44 votes to 5).

¶For creation of a U.N. commission to look into the chances of holding free elections in both halves of Germany, 45 to 6. The Russians say the commission is "illegal," don't want it in East Germany.

¶For election of Greece, ardently sponsored by the U.S., to a seat on the Security Council originally reserved for a Russian satellite. This was a major defeat for Moscow, whose candidate Byelorussia at first seemed certain of election.