UNITED NATIONS: Poor Precedent

For more than two months, the Soviet Union had boycotted all major U.N. proceedings because Communist China had not been admitted to membership.

Last week, U.N. Secretary General Trygve Lie tried to resolve the impasse. He wanted the U.S., France and three other nations which have not recognized the Chinese Communist regime to go ahead and admit its delegates to the U.N. anyway. Lie argued that diplomatic recognition should not be a test of qualification for U.N. membership.

His proposal missed a point. The U.S. had agreed that it would abide by whatever the U.N. Assembly decided on the China issue. The Russian stand was just the opposite: it amounted to a demand that U.N. recognize whatever government the Russians recognized.

Lie's proposal might set a precedent that would invite future boycotts on the Russian model.