LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
g, POWER BEHIND UN.0."
S> May I be allowed to express my warm agreement with Dr. Garnett's letter in your issue of the 9th instant ? The danger of an outbreak of war seems to me considerable. Probably the Kremlin does not desire war and, as far as the Russian people are allowed to have any opinion, I am sure that, like other European peoples, they want peace. But with the present line of Russian policy, the Soviet may easily find itself in a position in which it will have either to retreat or fight. If that happens, the Russian Government may probably stumble into war, as other Governments have done before. The best chance of avoiding this result is to make it clear that any aggressor will have to meet a solid combination of peace-loving Powers. Lord Vansittart, in the same issue, has an interesting article against the practicability at present of European federation, He is probably right. But he does not strengthen his case by a contemptuous reference to "collective security." For what is "collective security" but a general alliance against aggression, and that surely should be our policy. The alternative is to return to the old conception of a special alliance, in this case against Russia, with, I suppose, a revival of the system of a balance of power. That way madness lies. In the old days the root conception was that each country should make itself strong enough by armaments and alliances to be reasonably sure of victory if it had to go to war. Nowadays that is not enough. We won the last war and the recent Budget shows us that we are by no means yet sure of avoiding collapse. The next war, if it occurs, will be still more destructive. Our object must be not to ensure victory, but to maintain peace. And there is really no way of achieving
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