“Hope springs eternal wrote Alexander Pope nearly 2’/z centuries ago – and certainly the world waits with hope today as the United States and the Soviet Union pursue their new round of Strategic Arms Reduction Talks at Geneva. Little meaningful progress on the central issue has been made by negotiators in three previous rounds of talks, and the threat of nuclear warfare continues to haunt the world. This time there are new rays of hope for a breakthrough to “bridge the chasm” at Geneva on the long road to winding down the anns race, including; – President Reagan’s new, more flexible arms control proposal designed to induce the Soviets to respond with similar flexibility. – Reports that Russian officials are looking more favorably than before on concluding an agreement with the United States. Such reports include a hopeful statement by Lothar Spaeth, a West German political leader who spent a week in Moscow with Soviet officials, and comments by W. Averell Harriman, respected former American diplomat who met with Yuri V. Andropov recently and said the USSR leader had a “sincere and fervent desire” for good relations with the United States. The need for agreement is crucial; so is the timing. NATO defense ministers, meeting recently in Brussels, reiterated the Alliance’s plan to start installing 572 U. S. Cruise and Pershing 2 nuclear missiles in Western Europe in December unless the Soviets agree to reduce their arsenal of some 600 intermediate-range missiles. Presumably, the right kind of compromise could make the deployment unnecessary and avoid a showdown on an issue of far-reaching concern. The two sides should settle down now and get the job done, and not stall until the 11th hour. In the new negotiations, President Reagan’s more flexible position – which grew out of recommendations by a presidential commission on strategic forces – offers the Kremlin a choice of curbing nuclear arsenals either through numerical limitations on missiles and warheads or a ceiling on their combined destructive power. American negotiator Edward L. Rowny will have “flexibiity to explore all the appropriate avenues for meeting our goals,” the President said. Over-all. according to Reagan, the U. S. objective is significant reduction of nuclear aresenals of the two countries and a stable nuclear balance to reduce risk of war. An option in the American proposal to put the emphasis on warheads instead of missiles is intended to steer the U. S. and Soviet Union away from building multi-warhead missiles and toward small, single-warhead missiles that would be less threatening. Even at best, a significant accord could be regarded only as a start on the long road toward disarmament and relieving the world of the threat of nuclear holocaust. There’s no time to waste. People everywhere will be looking hopefully toward Geneva for those vital steps toward mutual trust plus prompt and long-range action to insure peace and security.