FOREIGN RELATIONS: Salt in the Chowder

"When I contrast the actual facts of American life with such portrayals as those of Mr. Khrushchev at Minsk and indeed of your latest communication to me.'' wrote President Eisenhower to Russia's Premier Bulganin, "I am impressed more than ever before with the enormous difficulties besetting us in attempting to move toward better relations and with the greater necessity than ever before of doing so." So saying, the President last week sprinkled a generous measure of salty common sense into the bubbling chowder kettle of speeches, letters and rumors that have been steaming up the need for a summit meeting.

"It is possible," he wrote, "that Soviet leadership feels it necessary deliberately to misrepresent the American viewpoint" when it accuses the U.S. of planning preventive war. "If so, one effect would be to confuse their own people and the people of the Eastern European countries under their domination." Other motives, said Ike, might be: 1) the Russians do not want to cooperate, or 2) as orthodox Communists they still believe capitalist societies are inherently warlike, or 3) their leaders are simply ignorant of U.S. life.

Whatever the cause, the President said, if the Russians really want a big-power parley at the summit, they should be willing to discuss agenda topics proposed by the U.S. But if the Russians insist on restricting agenda topics, then "we would . . . end up in the ludicrous posture of just glaring silently at each other across the table."