Over the Wire

WASHINGTON, October 18--Secretary of State Byrnes called on Russia and the world tonight to rid themselves of any fear that war is inevitable--a fear which he said is "throttling the economic recovery of Europe" and delaying the peace.

In a major radio speech reporting on the Paris Peace Conference, Byrnes also replied to former Secretary of Commerce Wallace's protest that the United States is pursuing a "get tough with Russia" policy. Neither the word "tough" nor "soft," he said, accurately describes "our earliest efforts to be patient but firm."

Talking of the slow progress toward peace, he said "the very root of our difficulties" may be a belief by Soviet leaders that another war is inevitable. His thesis was that such a fear, not only in Russia but elsewhere, increases tension and brings about conditions which prevent world recovery.

He thus almost directly challenged assertions by Prime Minister Stalin that he does not fear another conflict.

Without specifically naming Russia, he declared that the way to international amity is through reconciliation of differences and that no states should "arbitrarily exercise their power of veto, preventing a return to conditions of peace and delaying economic reconstruction."

Possibly having in mind Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov's declaration that he would continue to fight some of the majority decisions of the Paris Peace Conference--such as that on on Triesto--Byrnes declared "No state should assume that it has a monopoly of virtue, or of wisdom. No state should ignore or vote the aggregate sentiments of mankind."

"From the Potsdam Conference, which took place at the beginning of his administration," Byrnes said, "President Truman and I have worked and we shall continue to work to bring about an understanding with the Soviet Government."