Evening star. [volume], July 15, 1945, Page 2, Image 59

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
AMERICA’S NEXT MOVE
by William 1. Nichols
Editor of This Week Magazine
A plan which puts surplus
war goods to work for you
This is the story of one town. As you read
it. let your imagination go. Multiply it
by a thousand, and you will see what you —
the reader of this copy of This Week Maga
zine — can do to keep your men in civilian
clothes and off the bread lines.
My story has to do with the town of
Antwerp in Belgium which I visited during
the closing days of the European war.
Antwerp is the port through which sup
plies were rushed to support our armies as
they drove deep into Germany. That’s why
the Nazis concentrated all the fury of their
V-l and V-2 bombs on the city.
Shell of a City
By the time we arrived, Antwerp was
just a shell. Everywhere were gaping holes.
People picked their way through piles of
rubble, their faces blue with cold.
Yet in spite of everything, the port stayed
open. Over two million tons of supplies were
cleared during the rain of murderous V
bombs. The job done by those Belgian dock
workers was one of the great achievements
of the war. Thousands of your men owe
their lives to it. Now the war is over. But
the ruined city stands as a reminder.
I could see it well as we ate at an Army
mess in a shattered hotel. Through broken
windows we could see smashed buildings,
feel the bitter cold. My companion was tall,
gray, sensitive Camille Huysmans, Burgo
master of Antwerp. We talked about his
city, of what was left of it, of hopes for the
future. He and his people didn’t want Ger
man prisoner help, they didn’t want any
body’s help — they’ll do the job themselves.
“How long will it take?”
He shrugged: “At least a year. That’s
our trouble. Our people need housing to
carry them through the winter. That’s why
I want to build a temporary city across the
river, to build it of your leftover Army
houses — Nissen huts and winterized tents.
That would help keep our people alive.”
“Have you spoken to the Army authori
ties?” I asked.
"Yes,” he said. “But it’s always the same
with armies: It’s easier fqr them to acquire
things than to dispose of them. The authori
ties are very sympathetic, but there are
many difficulties. And I am afraid our peo
ple will be cold next winter.”
Since my return to America I’ve talked to
many people about those Nissen huts for
Antwerp. Soon I hope they’ll be made
available. But meanwhile I’ve run into
a problem much bigger than Antwerp.
It's a problem that exists in England,
France, Italy, Poland, Czechoslovakia —
all of Europe. The problem of all our surplus
war supplies — trucks, ships, houses, loco
motives — piled up everywhere.
We needed that surplus — it helped us
win and it saved lives. But now — what’s to
be done with all the leftover materials that
can’t be shipped to the Pacific?
In the long run, Washington officials tell
me, the answer rests with you. What they
do will depend very largely on what you
want them to do. And now is the time to
face the problem. I know it’s hard to talk
about surplus war goods while our men are
still fighting a war, are still in hospitals.
But we can't waste time in building peace.
If we wait, Europe can slip into anarchy
and pave the way for another Hitler.
Choices Before Us
There are a thousand cities like Antwerp,
where the people are cold, hungry, insecure.
Alongside these cities are huge ware
houses filled with trucks, tractors, bulldoz
ers, building materials, blankets and many
other things. We own that surplus. What
are we going to do with it? Agencies have
been formed to dispose of it, but policy is
still in the formative stages. Here are some
of the choices we can make:
1. Let it rot. In other words, do nothing.
I guess we can reject that choice without
much argument. We could —
2. Send it home. But that’s out of the
question because: There aren’t enough ships,
for one thing. Even if there were, this sud
den dumping of surplus war goods would
demoralize production in U. S. plants and
create wide unemployment. And the payment
received would hardly justify the effort
anyhow. But there’s another choice —
3. Sell it abroad. That sounds sensible,
too. Maybe it is in some cases. But remem
ber, many governments have little or no
cash or foreign exchange which could be
converted into dollars for the American
taxpayer. So while these transactions
would look good on paper, they wouldn’t
mean much. Ten years from now we’d find
Continued on page 8
4
HANDLE WITH CARE. Corp.
Larry Rose writes us from Okinawa
about the Engineer Corps which
has erected road signs all around its
base of operations: “drive care
fully — MEN WORKING HERE WITH
85 POINTS OR MORE.”
HAPPY ENDING. Some weeks ago
we printed an article in tribute to
the thousands of volunteer Draft
Board workers who have given as
much as four and a half years of
faithful service in a singularly thank
less task. The article was titled “Men
Without Medals,” by E. T. Leech.
Now we’re pleased to report that they
will probably get. medals after all.
A bill to that effect has been pending
in Congress since early this year.
The Monday after our article
appeared, the House passed it, at the
same time introducing "Men With
out Medals” into the Congressional
Record. As we go to press, the Senate
is preparing to act on the measure.
CAUTIOUS. Movie producer Robert
Riskin. formerly chief of OWI’s film
bureau, says that modem red tape
can’t compare with the World War I
vintage. One day in 1918 he received
four communiques — the first marked
RESTRICTED!, the second CONFI
DENTIAL!, the third SECRET! The
fourth really floored him: DESTROY
BEFORE OPENING!
EMBARRASSED. Lieut, (jg) Frank
Ryder, an interpreter of Japanese in
Navy Intelligence, tells us of an
amazing case of face-saving that he
ran across when questioning prison
ers. One tiny Jap wept with humilia
tion because he could not answer
Ryder’s questions about enemy troop
positions. He finally broke down,
apologized in all sincerity: “Had I
known that I would be captured, I
would have studied up on these
things so I could answer properly.”
This Week Magazine
FOR A BETTER AMERICA
MY LIFE WITH A JEEP. 4
by William R. Stoll, USCG
QUICK WORK, LILYI. 6
by Ellon Gotti
HOMES REPAIRED — FREE. 7
by Robert H. Shoemaker
JEEP TAMER. 9
by Arthur Bartlett
THE DARK SHEPHERD.10
by Cynthia Hap* and Front*i Antkt
MYRNA LOY-S BIG JOB.15
by Louis B*rg
FOOD FOR CONVERSATION.16
by Clamantlna Raddle ford
HOLD THAT TRAINI.19
by Mary Zurharst
Cover by International
Names end descriptions at ell characters in
fiction stories and semi-fiction articles in this
magazine are wholly imaginary. Any name
which happens to be the same as that of any
person, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.