U.N.: Mouse in the House

Spain was a test issue before the United Nations Security Council. Was Francisco Franco’s regime a potential threat to world peace? And, if so—as Australia’s stubborn, logical Herbert Vere Evatt put it last week: what are we going to do about it?

Dr. Evatt, who knew that the U.S. was ready to go along on a denunciation of the Franco regime but was reluctant to see a specific time set for the proposed diplomatic boycott (TIME, June 10), argued forcefully for almost an hour in support of the subcommittee’s recommendation. When he finished, the other nine Council members looked at each other and at Chairman Alexandre Parodi for several minutes of embarrassed silence.

Finally Herschel V. Johnson, standing in for new U.S. Delegate Warren R. Austin (see NATIONAL AFFAIRS), broke the silence. He could not give the U.S. position; Washington needed more than five days to formulate a policy.

Britain’s Sir Alexander Cadogan lightly touched a finger to his sensitive nose and said that he, too, hoped to hear soon from His Majesty’s Government. Russia’s Andrei Gromyko said nothing—and nobody asked him.

Midway through the proceedings the mikes went dead, and a weird, otherworldly hum replaced human voices. A Bronx mouse at play behind the scenes had gnawed through wire insulation, shorted the sound system.