Evening star. [volume], August 07, 1945, Page A-4, Image 4

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

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
^ fbetmtg gsfaf
With Sunday turning Edition.
THEODORE W. NOYES, Editor.
WASHINGTON, D. C.
■■■' ' " ""———■ 1 1 —-—— i
The Evening Star Newspaper Company.
Main Office; lltfc St. and Pennsylvania Ave.
New York Office: 110 East 42d St.
Chicago Office: 435 North Michigan Avt.
Delivered by Carrier—Metropolitan Area.
Effective October 1. 1044.
Regular Edition. 4 Sundays. 5 bondage.
Evening and Sunday. 00c Der mo. *1.00 per mo.
The Evening Star... 60c per month.
The Sunday Star 10c per copy
Night Final Edition. ' 4 Sundays. 6 Sundays.
Night Final and Sunday. Sl.OOmo. $1.10 mo.
Night Final 8tar_ 76c Per month.
Rates by Mail—Payable in Advance.
Anywhere in United States.
1 month. 6 months. 1 year.
Evening and Sunday..$1.00 $6 00 $12.00
The Evening Star_ .75 4.00 8.00
The Sunday 8tar_ .60 2.40 6.00
Telephone Nations! 6000.
Entered at the Post Office Washington. D. C..
as second-class mall matter.
Member of the Associated Press.
The Associated Press Is exclusively entitled to
the use lor republication of ell news dispatches
credited to It or not otherwise credited In this
paper and also the local news published herein.
All rights of publication of apecial dispatches
herein also are reserved.
A^_^^_TUESDAY^iugusjM'^1945
Senator Hiram Johnson
A picturesque fortuity links the
death of Senator Hiram Johnson of
California and the stupendous news
event which overshadowed the tid
ings of his passing. About the time
that this old warrior was sinking
into his final sleep, a bomb was
dropped from an airplane on the
other side of the world which figur
atively severed a past from a future.
k Thus one epoch came to a close with
the death of a man who so stanchly
stood for one of its dearest convic
tions; a new epoch was begun with
the dropping of the bomb.
It is too bad, in a way, that Sena
tor Johnson will be remembered for
his isolationist convictions after
many other things he stood for have
been forgotten. As a young man he
was a flaming liberal, in the sense
conveyed by use of the term to
denote courageous rebellion against
exploitation of the people by in
trenched wealth and power. Old in
years at the time, he still wras youth
fully progressive in the’ early days of
Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal.
And in the years of his greatest
political power and prestige, he lived
in the knowledge that the country
stood with him in his antagonism to
foreign entanglements, international
co-operation and his sincere belief
that America would stand best when
she stood alone in a world so com
fortably large.
He did not change, but other
things did. The war, which he op
posed on a premise that history
«already ridicules, destroyed—with
other things—the theory that dis
tance can immunize a Nation, or
that the people in one part of the
world are in no sense dependent on
the fate of people in another. No
one ever doubted that Senator John
son was motivated by a love of his
country. Yet there must have been
those among his friends and ad
mirers who felt that his love was
misdirected. He stood firmly, but !
the march of events left him far
behind. He outlived, by a few short
hours, his time.
Ten Washington messenger girls,
at the request of WPB, are testing
the wearing qualities of shoes
treated with asphalt. These are
the times that try women’s soles.
If the essential courage as well as
the specific trustworthiness of hu
manity needs proving, let it be re
membered that it was a man who
Invented the alarm clock.
Hiroshima »
The first target of the atomic
bomb was a Japanese equivalent of
Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and Richland,
Washington, combined. As far back
as 1900, Hiroshima was a military
and naval station of the first class,
carefully closed to foreigners. The
history of the place dates from be
yond the twelfth century. It be
longed in those days to Kiyomori,
the powerful and thoroughly un
scrupulous head of the Taira family.
Later, it passed into the hands of
the Asano clan and was a strong
hold of the so-called “princes” of
Geishu. During 1894 and 1895, the
city was the base for repeated at
tacks upon China. From it set out
the Nipponese contingents partici
pating in the suppression of the
Boxer Rebellion in 1900. Again it
was the scene of vast activity during
the conflict with Russia in 1904 and
1905.
Lying at the mouth of the Ota
gawa River, the town had a natural
strategic significance. Hills to the
north protected the valley from the
cold winds of winter. The panorama
as viewed from the sea was noted
for its beauty as recently as a decide
ago. Five separate deltas reached
out into the bay, and each had been
developed in line with the aggressive
policies of the imperial government.
Shipyards, arsenals, foundries, store
houses, barracks, drill grounds and
army and navy offices in great num
ber rose from the water’s edge as
far as the eye could see to left and
right. The spectacle was crowned
by the ruins of the castle of* Mori
Terumoto, built in 1594. A five
storied keep, known as Tenshu-kaku,
was the principal remnant of the
medieval structure. Nearby was the
celebrated Sen-tei, the villa of the
Asanos, with a marvelous garden.
The family temple, Kokutai-ji, was
surrounded by cherry trees of classic
grace. In the compound, Japanese
visitors were directed to notice
especially the tombs of the wife and
the son of Oishi, the leader of the
Forty-Seven Ronins, traditional
paragons of patriotism, heroism and
all the knightly virtues.
The population of Hiroshima in
recent years has been a closely
guarded mystery. What has hap
pened to the people whose home the
community was is anybody’s guess.
The Atom in War and in Peace
The announcement that the genius
of man has harnessed the basic
force of the universe and converted
it into a fantastically destructive
weapon for use against Japan is
almost more than the mind can
grasp. j
Before this fact, staggering in Its
implications, all jother news of the
day fades into insignificance. For
it means that mankind stands at
the threshold of a new era—an era
in which wars will be banned if the
world is to survive and in which the
power that binds creation will be
put to work to build a better life for
all of us.
But the peacetime benefits of
atomic fission lie in the future, pos
sibly years away. What concerns us
now is the knowledge that the mys
terious, hidden energy of the atom
has been fashioned into a bomb,
and that one of these instruments
of vast destruction — two thousand
times as powerful as the largest
bomb heretofore known—has been
dropped on a Japanese city which
bore the name of Hiroshima.
What will the Japanese do now?
Many hours after the atomic bomb
had fallen an impenetrable cloud of
dust and smoke still concealed the
devastation in what had been a city
of some 318.000 people. But from
our tests in the New Mexico desert
we know what this bomb can do.
And the Japanese people, even
if their war lords remain deaf to
reason and blind to the awful truth
which has been unveiled before
their eyes, must know what the
future holds. For President Tru
man, in his announcement of the
atomic bombing, warned that we
are now prepared to obliterate every
productive enterprise the Japanese
have above ground in any city, that
we will destroy their docks and their
factories and their communications,
and that, when this “rain of ruin"
from the air has done its work, our
sea forces will move up to the coasts
of Japan and our armies will swarm
ashore for the final, killing blow.
Furthermore, if this is not enough,
the Japanese have been given a
sketchy preview of more terrible
things to come. They have been
told that this first atomic bomb, al
though carrying an explosive charge
that is “exceedingly small” in size,
has a blast effect equivalent to the
explosion of 20,000 tons of TNT. And
they have also been given the
solemn assurance that improve
ments soon to be forthcoming will
increase by “several-fold” the pres
ent effectiveness of the bomb which
laid waste to Hiroshima. The scien
tists in whose laboratories this
weapon was born are confident that
over a period of years we may expect
the development of atomic bombs ,
which will be “very much more
powerful” than those now at hand.
But the atomic bomb of today should
be enough to convince Japan that
the war is lost.
3k * * *
Nearly seven centuries ago, when
Japan lay open to invasion by the
fleets of the Mongol, Kublai Khan, a
violent typhoon destroyed the hos
tile armada. That gave rise to the
legend of the “divine wind,” to the
belief that Japan can count on
supernatural aid against her en
emies. But if that legend survived
the earlier visits of the B-29s and the
Navy’s carrier planes, it must have
been done to death by the single
bomb which shattered the city of
Hiroshima. Now the truth is there
for all to see. The Japanese have
lost the war which began on that
“day of infamy” nearly four years
ago. We hope that they will sur
render and avail themselves of the
terms of the Potsdam ultimatum. If
not, if they choose to go down to
final ruin, the atomic bomb gives us
a new and incomparably more ef
fective means of hastening their
total destruction, and we shall not
hesitate to use it.
Apart from its tremendous imme
diate meaning, the development of
this weapon is an event full of such
awesome and revolutionary implica
tions for the future that there is no
exaggeration in saying that it marks
the beginning of a distinctly new
epoch in the civilization of this Na
tion and the world.
As long ago as the turn of the
century men knew that certain
atoms — the fundamental building
blocks of everything animate and
inanimate—contained within them
selves power fearsomely greater
than that produced by any other
source of energy. Not until 1939,
however, did science succeed in re
leasing and harnessing an infinites
imal amount of that power from
uranium. Then, as told now by
President Truman and Secretary
Stimson, the story became one of a
race among nations to dig deeper
and deeper into the innermost se
crets of Nature, not simply for the
sake of progress or to widen the
horizons of human knowledge, but
more particularly to find the dead
liest of all weapons for the Second
World War.
Thanks to a kind Providence, as the
President declared, we won the race.
Gambling some two billion dollars
on it, collaborating closely with
British and Canadian scientists and
operating in the strictest of secrecy
—as ordered by the late President
Roosevelt, who had much to do with
the project—the United States be
came the first of nations to make
atomic energy an instrument of
power which in both its actualities
and its potentialties is almost be
yond belief. The story is not dhly
fascinating but half frightening. At
Oak Ridge. Tenn.. and Richland,
Wash., industry, science, labor and
Government—scores of thousands of
individuals working together pro
ducing something which only a
handful ever saw or understood—
have carried mankind across an
interval In time to a tomorrow In
which the knowledge that is now
ours, depending on its use, can be
either the world’s undoing or its
salvation.
In the long-term sense at least,
militarily, socially, economically and
not improbably politically as well,
the atomic bomb obviously means
that the human race faces the pros
pect of having to make profound
changes in its habits of thought.
The secrets of the weapon, accord
ing to President Truman, will be
kept among the British, the Cana
dians and ourselves as long as that
seems necessary, but scientists else
where, with or without Information
from us, will still be able to develop
it in the years to come. Clearly, as
never before since the beginning of
world history, nations have here at
their disposal a means of destruc
tion so terrifying, so complete, so
appallingly effective that should
they ever again war among them
selves they will invite their own
obliteration.
i i A ik
Beyond its military meaning,
moreover, the development of the
atomic bomb marks the opening up
of an entirely new source of energy.
To appreciate what this can mean
we have only to keep in mind what
happened to our world when coal,
petroleum and falling water came
into use as generators of power.
President Truman says that in time
the atom can be counted upon to
“supplement” these bases of our
civilization, but conceivably—in very
large measure—it may even replace
them. In 1939, after the historic
experiment with uranium had suc
ceeded, it was suggested by the best
of scientists that in the twenty-first
century—which is only about fifty
years away—a pound of the new
atomic fuel would be enough to
drive a great ship like the Queen
Mary back and forth across the
Atlantic several times. The implica
tions here are clear: Sooner or later,
the triumph of man’s genius at Oak
Ridge and Richland is going to have
an effect of the most far-reaching
kind on the economic and social
structure of peoples everywhere.
It is not for nothing, therefore,
that President Truman plans to ask
Congress to establish a commission
to control atomic power. From the
standpoint of war and peace alike,
the atom today suddenly confronts
us with a new age pregnant with
strange new problems of the gravest
sort. We have tortured Nature until
it has been forced to yield one of its
deepest and most forbidding secrets.
It remains for us now, lest we tor
ture ourselves, to match this vastly
expanded knowledge with wisdom
great enough to make us use it well.
———
This and That
By Charles E. Tracewell.
"DARK HARBOR, Me.
"Dear Sir: ,
"One of my loveliest memories of child
hood is of listening to the Baltimore
oriole singing In an old apple tree cov
ered with blossoms. This was in New
York State.
"I am interested that some one else
has had the same experience in Wash
ington, because although I was told the
orioles were not uncommon there I was
never able to Identify one.
"I have seen many farther North, in
New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and
now in Maine. Recently I saw a beauti
ful one as far north as Penobscot Bay.
"Sincerely yours, M. S. C.”
v * * *
There are plenty of orioles in and
around Washington, but they do not
visit feeding places, and therefore are
more difficult to spot than the birds
which do.
Perhaps there is no suburban com
munity where the calls and the singing
of the Baltimore oriole are not heard,
but seeing the creature is a different
matter. Its loud, clear notes distinguish
it from most other species.
The calls and songs of the birds do
help make precious memories. Fortunate
is the child who is taught to know and
love them. Since the calls and songs are
natural music, they must be taught, as
all music.
There is one child out of every thou
sand, no doubt, who takes naturally to
listening to the birds and distinguishing
their songs one from the other. He does
not need any one to suggest interest to
him.
Most little ones, however, need some
older person to direct their attention
and to fix the calls in their minds. If
they are shown how the birds compose,
"make up” tunes, and that each kind of
bird makes up its own tune, and, with
some exceptions, such as the mocking
bird, sings no other, in time they will
come to understand the brotherhood be
tween a robin and Beethoven. Music is
music, wherever found. The bond be
tween a bird song and a symphony is
easily seen, if one has a bit of training in
both.
Will Handy, whose "blues” songs, par
ticularly the famous “St. Louis Blues,” is
known around the world, attributed his
early interest in music to the birds. Not
all persons are so fortunate as children
to realize that bird songs axe music.
Many persons, alas, even older ones, call
bird music “noise.”
Even many who know and love the
birds fail to understand their making of
choral music. The English sparrows,
sometimes spoken of as pests, make the
most pleasing music together. Examined
carefully, the sounds from any one singer
are not so "hot,” as the expression has it,
but the notes combine to make pleasant
music on winter afternoons where bird
feeding is carried out.
Bird songs offer hundreds of simple
melodies, some of them reminding the
listener of the real Hawaiian tunes,
whose simplicity is truly birdlike.
Each species has many variations, and
detecting these is a pleasure to the musi
cally inclined. At this point it is per
haps well to state that music is one art
where a “little learning" is much better
than none at all. Music lessons are never
wasted. No matter how few or many a
pupil takes, there is something gained.
Music may not “take” on every pupil, but
each one will learn something, and in
later years be better prepared to love
ana appreciate the music of birds and
men.
Rudimentary music lessons will help in
the appreciation of bird songs. With the
exception of the mockingbird and cat
bird, who specialize in real arias, going
on for hours, the birds have easily iden
tified songs, short enough for any one to
grasp.
Careful listening to their music will
help any one In appreciation of the mere
Mwpii music of human <»»f
Letters to The Star
Spokesman for Women’s Clubs
Discusses Industrial Home
To tho Bdltor of Tht St»r:
The District of Columbia Federation
of Women’s Clubs, which brought into
the open the dreadful conditions pre
vailing in the Industrial Home School
and which The Star , made the subject
of a thorough investigation, is contin
uing its fight to see that something
constructive is done at once to remove
this disgraceful and demoralizing apol
ogy which seems the best the District
has to offer for the training and re
habilitation of our children.
The proposed move to MacArthur
boulevard takes away from these un
fortunates much of the little they have
now—there will be no swimming pool,
much less ground and so, probably, no
garden and little outdoor recreation.
The Board of Public Welfare is con
cerned with an “overall plan” to cost
between eight and nine millions. At
the present rate of about $300,000 a
year, this well may take 30 years and
by that time there will be need to start
all over again.
The plan of the Commissioners seems
a sane one—to take these children into
a clean and decent environment, such
as Muirkirk, which can be renovated
at moderate cost, and then go to Con
gress and get the appropriation for an
expert to plan a new group of suitable
buildings.
If this does not seem feasible, then
the present institution should be put
into decent shape. Congress is willing
to give the necessary funds, once the
citizens present a reasonable plan, but
a chimerical, vague proposal which pre
sents no figures for either land or build
ings certainly cannot get results.
It might be well to farm these chil
dren among the several States along
the Eastern Seaboard where modem,
well-planned institutions already are
in operation and where the children are
being trained into becoming valuable
citizens mainly because of a centralized
authority, not the scrambled set-up we
have here. Mrs. Hasley’s idea of en
listing the aid of the citizens is one
which certainly should bear fruit. Both
the Federation of Women’s Clubs and
the Federation of Citizens’ Associations
are going to stay in the fight until, as
your editorial states, "some constructive
and beneficial steps are taken.”
It is hoped that the Commissioners
will prevent this move to MacArthur
boulevard, knowing that the District
Federation of Women’s Clubs has ded
icated Itself to obtaining the needed ap
propriations for new buildings under
the leadership of its president, Mrs.
Gertrude Parks.
LE8LIE B. WRIGHT,
Chairman of Legislation, D. C. Fed
eration of Women’s Clubs.
Churchill's Debt to Labor
To the Editor of The Stir:
I think that H. B. Bradford’s recent
letter to The Btar, in which he con
demns the labor movement for ousting
Churchill, shows a distorted view and
an ignorance of the many factors which
influenced the British electors.
Mr. Bradford should remember that
Churchill himself has stated on many
occasions that he could not have carried
on the onerous task of leadership had it
not been for the loyal co-operation
consistently displayed by his Labor col
leagues in the cabinet. The British
people are not unmindful of Church
ill’s services to his country as a war
leader, but when he made violent at
tacks on these same colleagues in his
election speeches and did everything
possible to discredit them, the electors
felt that he was allowing his political
prejudices to outrun the spirit of fair
play.
Indeed, if there is any question of in
gratitude it should be charged against
Churchill who, after the war in Europe
was over, found it politically conven
ient to forget that the Labor members
of his national government had given
him every possible assistance and
shared the heavy responsibility of di
recting Britain's share of the war effort.
In dissolving the national govern
ment when he did and throwing down
the challenge to the Labor party,
Churchill made one of the greatest mis
takes in his career. He felt certain
that his personal popularity was suffi
cient to carry into power a party whose
record holds little promise of the solu
tion of the many grave domestic Issues
now facing Britain and which vitally
affect the lives of the working classes.
Mr. Bradford should take the trouble
to study the industrial conditions which
obtained in England prior to the growth
and influence of the labor movement.
He then would realize that his descrip
tion of organized labor as despotic and
tyrannical applies far more aptly to the
great industrialists and other employers
of labor, who are represented politically
by the party Churchill now leads.
To charge that there is no intelli
gence or capacity for statesmanship in
the ranks of the labor movement is to
imply that the members of Churchill’s
party have a monopoly of these qualifi
cations. This, of course, is absurd.
(MRSJ A. M. PINK.
But Dollars Grow on Trees
To th« Kdltor at The Star:
Your report that in July some 15
biUlon gallons of rain fell on the Dis
trict contains one drop of comfort. It
is that other things than dollars are
counted in billions. J. I.
Sounds a Bit Cynical
To th« Xdltor at The St»r:
If there had been no First World War,
the world would not have the blessings
of Communism—and its near relatives
Fascism and Naziism. If there had been
no Second World War, Poland and other
countries of Eastern Europe would not
be enjoying collectivism, Britain would
not have a Socialist government and
other countries of Europe would not be
revelling in the “rise of the common
man.”
Isn’t it utterly silly to think of stop
ping war when so obviously what we
need is bigger and more terrible warsf
At the present rate of rapid progress
toward the "bright, new world,” a few
more bigger and worse wars ought to
bring mankind to perfection.
Some are cynical enough to think
that the bright, new world will be a
world full of perfect Ananias', but it will
take at-least another war or two to
make that level of accomplishment
universal. However, we art well on the
way. AUGUST T. WKLVEN.
Some Horrors, Too!
Prom the at. Levis Pttt-DUeateb.
Returning veterans are having to deal
with no fewer than 30 Government
agendas. Thais, gentlemen, are known
m tbs barren ef psasa.
This Changing World
By Constantins Brown
Lut year Congress approved Amer
ica’s participation in the United Nations
Relief and Rehabilitation Administration
and about *#00,000,000 of the American
taxpayers’ money was made available u
this country’s share in this Good Samar
itan work.
But in order to keep vital necessities
from being used for political purposes
to foster the fortunes of the new Euro
pean dictators, Congress provided that
their distribution be supervised by offi
cials not connected in any way with
politics in the countries where the
officials were supposed to operate.
Congress provided further that there
should be no discrimination in the dis
tribution of food and clothing against
any individual, regardless of his political
views, creed or race.
The American legislators sincerely be
lieved that the provisions of the law
passed by Congress would be scrupu
lously respected by the governments of
the nations which need American assist
ance so desperately.
* * * *
American officials who have been sent
as regional supervisors in Yugoslavia re
port to Washington that they are being
held as virtual prisoners in the places
where they have been assigned and are
denied the right to move even within
a few miles from their assigned posts to
see how the food, clothing and medical
supplies from the United States are being
distributed.
Outside the military and civilian
officials, no native is allowed to talk to
them. The ONZA (Yugoslav branch of
the Russian NKVD) has sent word that
those civilians who endeavor to contact
the American and British UNRRA offi
cials will be punished. The record of
the ONZA is well known by the popula
tion and nobody dares break its rules.
If an American or British official
wants to travel even a short distance to
report on the distribution of the sup
plies, he must ask special permission
from the military authorities of the
area. They in turn ask the OZNA for a
specific report whether or not such a
trip is essential, and on the basis of
such a report the request receives con
sideration.
The main centers of distribution are
at Belgrade, Dubrownik and Split.
American and British officials arrived
there last May and to date they have
not been able to observe what is being
done with the supplies. The matter of
issuance of blanket permits for free
movement was taken up with Marshal
Tito's administration as soon as it was
discovered that handicaps had been
placed in (heir way. But for the time
being the matter has not been set
tled, although the director general of
the UNRRA, Herbert Lehman, discussed
the question with Tito during his recent
visit to Belgrade.
* * * *
The officers of Tito's army who come
into daily contact with the American
officials have a friendly attitude toward
them and say that the population shares
their feeling But they all live in dread
of the Yugoslav strong-arm men, whose
Job it is to prevent information about
real conditions in the country from
reaching the outside world.
The general mobilization order of
Yugoslavs from the age of 16 to 50 was
Issued a few days after V-E day and all
the males, regardless of their physical
condition, have been incorporated into
the army.
Together with this mobilization order,
the Adriatic coast of Yugoslavia was
ordered mined. Unfortunately, those
who laid the mines were not experts
and failed to indicate them clearly on
the maps. As a result a number of
Yugoslav ships have been blown up and
the American and British vessels taking
UNRRA supplies to the country are In
constant danger.
Allied minesweepers have helped out
by clearing channels to the Adriatic
ports. The ships must move in only by
day and must be very careful to avoid
floating mines.
After the supplies are unloaded they
are placed in warehouses. Because of
the reputed lack of transportation, only
a small quantity is being sent into the
interior, where the need is greatest.
But how it is being distributed and
to whom is a question mark, since the
American and British observers have no
means of exercising control after the
trucks leave the main centers of dis
tribution.
The Political Mill
By (rould Lincoln
The death of Senator Hiram Johnson
of California has removed from the
Senate one of the great liberals of the
Theodore Roosevelt-Bull Moose days.
He will, however, be longer remembered
as an implacable foe of internationalism
for the United States—one of the men
who helped to keep the country out of
the old League of Nations, and who op
posed the adherence of this country to
the new United Nations. He was twice
elected Governor of his State. He ran
with Theodore Roosevelt as vice presi
dential candidate when Roosevelt sought
to regain the presidency in 1912. His
antagonism to Charles Evans Hughes in
1916 has been credited with bringing
about the re-election of Woodrow Wil
son as President.
In 1920 he was himself a candidate
for the Republican nomination for
President, and along with Gen. Leonard
Wood and Gov. Lowden of Illinois, tied
the national convention into a knot—
until the leaders picked Warren G.
Harding as a compromise candidate.
This was Hiram Johnson’s last chance
for the presidency. Even so, he might
have become President had he been
willing to accept a vice presidential
nomination with either Wood, Senator
Knox of Pennsylvania or Harding him
self. The last two died within the four
year presidential term. Wood died in
1927. Johnson, had he been Vice Presi
dent, would have stepped into the White
House. He refused, however, to com
promise. He served for 26 years in the
Senate.
* * * *
Mr. Johnson’s present term as Sena
tor expires in January, 1947, and had he
lived, he planned to run again next
year. His death throws the field wide
open. First, for Republicans who may
be appointed to fill the senatorial va
cancy until after the 1946 elections, and
second, for the nomination, both Re
publican and Democratic, next year.
Gov. Warren undoubtedly could have
both the appointment and the nomina
tion; the first by resigning and having
himself appointed to the Senate, and
the second by becoming a candidate.
Unless he has changed his mind in the
last month, Gov. Warren prefers to re
tain his present office and seek re-elec
tion as Governor.
The first move will be Gov. Warren's
—for it is his duty to see that the va
cancy in the Senate is filled by appoint
ment. LL Gov. Houser, also a Repub
lican. would, according to reports, give
I his eye teeth for the job. He ran as
the Republican nominee for Senator
against Senator Downey, Democrat, last
year, and was defeated in the Roosevelt
landslide. Senator Johnson indorsed
Houser in that race. The lieutenant
governor is anxious to run again next
year, and was before Johnson died—al
though it might have been embarrassing
for him to enter the race had Johnson
again been a candidate. His appoint
ment may be a logical solution—but it
also may not materialize, for there has
grown up a certain friction between
Warren and Houser.
If the Governor will not have the
senatorship himself, nor give it to
Houser, he might turn it over to Ray
mond Haight, Republican national com
mitteeman for California, who managed
Warren’s campaign for Governor. He
might pick Capt. William Knowland, now
in the Army, son of former Representa
tive “Joe” Knowland, a publisher, of
Oakland. There are, too, several Repub
lican members of the House who would
welcome such an appointment. Repre
sentative Gearhart is one of those who
night be selected.
* * * *
Whether the Governor’s appointee
ill be the Republican nominee for the
Johnson seat in next year’s election may
rest largely upon the Governor’s selec
tion. The chances are, however, there
will be a real scramble for the nomina
tion. This may be true in the Demo
cratic party as well as the Republican.
Attorney General Kenny, the sole Dem
ocrat in high State office, is pulling the
strings. He has indicated he does not
want the nomination himself, preferring
to be the power behind the throne. If
one of the sons of the late President
Roosevelt is to make an attempt to start
an important political career, Col.
James Roosevelt, now a resident of the
State, might take a crack at the pri
maries. For more than a dozen years
the Roosevelt name has been potent in
California.
The only living Republican former
President, Herbert Hoover, is a Cali
fornian. He and Hiram Johnson were
not friendly. The Senator always re
sented the fact that California’s first
President of the United States should
have been Mr. Hoover. There was no
closeness between the two when both
were in Washington, and Johnson in
1932 supported Franklin D. Roosevelt
in the presidential race against Mr.
Hoover. Gov. Warren could, if he
wished, appoint Mr. Hoover—provided
the latter would accept—to the Senate.
AMG on Okinawa
By Gordon Walker,
Christian Selene* Monitor correspondent.
OKINAWA.—After touring a number
of civilian camps here, it is clear that
the American military government is
so far treading a tightrope between
humanltarianlsm and necessary stern
ness toward so-called enemy nationals.
It is actually still too early to draw
any sweeping conclusions about the ef
fect of AMO on the people. But if the
first four months on Okinawa can be
taken as a yardstick for future military
government in Japan proper, the Em-’
peror's subjects probably will get better
treatment than they now are receiving
from their own government.
Just what broad objectives will be
followed by the military administration
in Japan proper will, of course, depend
upon the ultimate surrender terms. But
in lieu of such terms, AMO is at present
gradually formulating general rules of
procedure based oit experience gained
here.
So far, it can be forecast that the
Japanese people will be figuratively
beaten on the head and slapped on the
back. They will be subject to military
discipline and military summary court
trial no matter how anachronistic it
may be in democratic society.
* * * *
They will be wrenched from all na
tionalistic institutions. And, as in any
military administrative setup, they will
be subject to the whims of the military
government officials who happen to bo
on the spot.
No former civil admlnistrativee&fflcers
have been reinstated, largely because
most preinvasion officials were evac
uated to Japan. Minor administrative
functions, such'as food rationing and
representation before AMO camp au
thorities, is intrusted to the "hancho,”
who may be the headman of a village
or a section thereof. This relieves AMO
of a great amount of detail and at the
same time gives the people a feeling of
some responsibility.
Native industries are revived and en
couraged, recreational facilities are pro
vided for children, and reasonably well
run orphanages shelter the usually high
quota of parentless youngsters.
Men of military age, after being
carefully screened, are confined in
stockades by night and placed In work
parties by day. But ones they have
proved fhneatvog trustworthy, they are
permitted to return to their families.
One of the biggest problems facing
AMO is to make civilians as self-sus
taining as possible. This is complicated
at present by the necessity for moving
many civilians to areas which normally
are not very productive, which will
probably result in the AMG having to
put large sections of the civilian popu
lation on a permanent food allowance.
* a * *
It is calculated that the present diet
of rice, soy beans, fats, sugar, salt and
evaporated milk will cost the United
States about seven cents a day a person.
Thus it would cost $18,000 dally to feed
Okinawa’s 260,000 civilians and require
the full services of six Liberty ships
yearly to haul food from the States.
While food is a major problem, it is
fraught with none of the implications
or pitfalls that attend the restoration
of education.
I visited a large native school con
ducted by native teachers who five
months ago were teaching the same
youngsters Shinto militarism and to
bow each morning in the direction of the
Imperial Palace in Tokyo.
Today these same teachers are teach
ing elementary education in the Okin
awan tongue, normal calisthenics, and a
few words of English which they them
selves learned the night before in classes
conducted by the local camp com
mandant.
All textbooks have been confiscated
and classes necessarily are very elemen
tary. Yet it is easy to see that beaming
school children, drinking in the novelty
of the new supervision and the glamour
of American troops, are receiving in
doctrination with far greater implica
tions than mere acquisition of the three
conventional Rs.
So far, the military government on
Okinawa is strictly a stopgap based
on the necessity for keeping people out
of the way of the conduct of the war.
The AMO is hampered by lack of any
long-range United States policy to which
the officials can hitch their present job
on Okinawa. And until such a policy is
forthcoming they will continue more or
less fumbling in the dark, leaving re
sponsibility for the first contact with
enemy civilians to the individual officers
who run the camps.
(Worth a—rtsaa JUtaiie AMsswe.)
Invasion Force Unity
Assured, Says Writer
Sees Widespread Misunderstand*
ing on ‘Supreme Commander’
By David Lawrence
Co-operation of the Army and the
Navy as well as the strategic air forces
on a tri-partite basis under the direct
command of the United . States Joint
Chiefs of Staff has been assured for the
Pacific war.
Within the last few days Orders have
been issued which are called "clarifica
tion,” but they in reality follow out the
plans made some time ago whereby the
armed services are to bevjiven specific
tasks in given situations^ind no “su
preme commander” is to be appointed •
for the whole operation.
There is a widespread misunderstand
ing as to what Gen. Eisenhower com
manded. Again and again it is. as
serted that he was the "supreme com
mander” of all Allied forces in Europe.
But high officers who are fp miliar with
the setup pointed out today that this is
a mistaken impression.
Six Commands in Europe,
Thus there were six separate and dis
tinct commands in Europe as follows:
1. The British Navy, which included
the coastal air defense in which the
RAP operated under the navy.
2. The combined strategic air forces
of the United States and Great Britain,
which means the RAP together with
our own bombing forces.
3. The United States Navy command
in the Atlantic, which included anti
submarine operations, protection of
convoys and naval defense against
enemy navies.
4. Allied forces in the Mediterranean
and Italy commanded by Gen. Alex
ander of the British Army.
5. Command of all Russian armies,
which was conducted from Moscow and
in the field by Russian commanders
solely.
6. Gen. Eisenhower’s supreme com
mand of all Allied troops on the western
front, starting in Prance.
With the exception of the brief period
of the landing on Normandy, when the
strategic air forces as well as the British
and American navies worked together
for a few days under Gen. Eisenhower,
the latter did not have continuous over
all command of army, navy and air
forces in Europe. .
Pacific Par ailed.
Hence the situation in the Pacific is
really parallel to that of Europe and
if one choose to call it “divided com
mand,” the phrase applies as much to
what happened in defeating Germany
as it applies to the plan for defeating
Japan.
Actually it is a unified command at
the top level, but with specific tasks
[ assigned to each of the armed services.
Thus the United States Navy con
i tinues to function in its own special
1 way in the Pacific under Admiral
Nimitz, controlling its aircraft carriers
and surface and submarine forces, as
well as the Marine Corps.
The strategic air forces of the Army
continue to operate independently un
der Gen. spaatz, but in the selection
of targets in advance there is collabora
tion between the naval air arm and
the land-based air forces.
The Army to be used against Japan
I is to be commanded by Gen. MacArthur.
I This will consist of all ground forces
now in the Pacific, including those in
: Okinawa and the Philippines and all
new divisions as they come from the
United States and Europe.
No Confusion in Plan.
There is no “confusion” about this
plan except in the minds of those who
would like to have the whole setup
changed, so that an Army man com
mands the Navy or a Navy man com
mands the Army and the air forces.
The United States Joint Chiefs of
Staff have recognized that each of the
three forces perform a special func
tion, but when the actual invasion of
Japan or China occurs there will be
a blending of forces, exactly as hap
pened for a few days in Europe. Thus
Admiral Nimitz will conduct the land
ing operations, in which the Navy plays
a part—and it will be the major part.
TTie strategic air forces will for the
time being be blended with the land
ing operations, so that when the troops
have been landed, and their initial
positions have been made secure, Gen.
MacArthur will have command of
all land forces, as well as the strategic
and tactical air forces, but he will
not have any command over the Navy’s
protective operations at sea, since these
can best be handled from a command
that is afloat.
There is in Army and Navy and air
force circles here a complete understand
ing of the plan for the invasion, and it
has sufficient flexibility to take care of
unforeseen contingencies. The high of
ficers most concerned in all branches
see no confusion in it, but are prepar
ing to demonstrate that all the armed
services can be co-ordinated without
putting any one man in charge of all
operations.
(Reproduction Richts Reserved.)
Trillion-Dollar Folly
ProM the Ulnnempolli 8t»r-Joum»l.
Best available estimates on the cost
of World War H to date are that man
kind has blown up, sunk or otherwise
destroyed uselessly at least one trillion
dollars’ worth of its real wealth. •
The figure divides roughly In half be
tween amounts spent on armaments and
property destroyed incidental to the
fighting. It does not, of course, include
postwar relief and rehabilitation ex
penses and such indirect costs, utterly
unassessable, as will yet arise from our
economic disruption. Obviously, it does
not attempt to place a value on the lives
and sufferings of human beings. ,
It is, in Short, just the minimum,
round-number, cash price of man’s con
tinued failure to organize world society
sensibly.
We said “minimum”—the cost is still
going up at the*, rate of more than 200
million dollars a day for America alone.
The Beach
We heard the voices of children
From the island of summer.
In the smooth waves of June and July
Their voices rose in a golden murmur
Under the sounding-board of the sky.
The words they said are lost, but never
forgotten,
Syllables traced In the first frost
Of the season that follows.
The houses they built from the sand
In the water’s luminous shallows
Are leveled and gone where the hand
lies palm upward,
Receiving the sun like a gift . , . and
the wind’s kiss.
Here where the miniature maiden and
man
Broke withetheir running the sea-grass,
There is no sound to break the careful
noon,
Though the same winds pose and repose,
SARA VAN ALB TYNE ALLEN.