Evening star. [volume], September 04, 1946, Page A-8, Image 8

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

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
^f)c lEbrnttg f&taf
With B«n4.y Mining Edition
WASHINGTON, D. C.
Published by
The Evening Star Newspaper Company.
FRANK B. NOYES, President.
Main Office: 11th St, and Pennsylvania Ave.
XSL* °®£e; HO East 42d 8t
Chicago Office: 4.35 North Michigan Ave.
Delivered by Carrier—Metropolitan Area.
*** J£''‘nlit.,*nd..Sund*,, SUr- 80c pfr month:
when B Sundays in the month, $1.00.
Th® ,£?enJn* ®tir Only, per month.
to4 . * .Tk® Sunday Star, 10c per copy.
Kltht Final Edition, 10c per month additional.
Rates by Mail—Payable in Advance.
Anywhere ih United States
. 1 month, 8 months l year
Evening and Sunday $1.25 $6 00 $12 00
Tne Evenlne Star_ T5 4 00 S 00
The Sunday star_ .50 2 50 5.O0
Telephone National 5000.
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 republieation of all news dispatches
credited to it or not otherwise credited in this
»nPer,A'?d ‘l10 ^5' local news published herein.
All rights of publication of special dispatches
herein also are reserved.
A—8 •* WEDNESDAY, September 4.1946
■
One Street Opened
President Truman has acted with
commendable dispatch to bring
about the reopening of East Execu
tive avenue to the public—thereby
relieving much of the excess load
that has been thrown onto the in
tersection of Fifteenth street and
New York avenue. Still closed, how
ever, is West Executive avenue,
which was built at public expense
for public use but which now serves
as a private parking preserve for a
few privileged individuals — mainly
White House employes who continue
to park their cars at 45-degree
angles while no one else is per
mitted to use the street.
The Secret Service closed these
streets at the beginning of the war
for security reasons, but with hos
tilities more than a year in the past
it is idle to contend that the pro
tection of the President calls for the
closing off of these two important
thoroughfares. Consequently, on
August 20, a recommendation by
Traffic Director George E. Keneipp
calling for the immediate reopening
of East Executive avenue was ap
proved by the Commissioners, who
have at least nominal jurisdiction
over that street. The Secret Service
was agreeable and plans to reopen
the avenue by about October 1 were
announced. The interval was to be
used in building a new fence and
gate at the east entrance of the
White House, but the President evi
dently felt that this delay was un
necessary for he stepped in and
directed that the street be opened
to traffic on Monday.
Perhaps this fruitful display of
Initiative on the part of Mr. Keneipp
and the Commissioners will inspire
the National Capital Parks Office of
the Interior Department, which has
charge of West Executive avenue.
To regain the use of one street is a
decided gain, but the public need
of both of them certainly is far
superior to the needs of the privi
leged few who still cling to their
choice spot between the White
House and the State Department.
Essential Insurance
In view of the mischief done in the
1930s when it was intellectually and
emotionally fashionable in this
country to refer to munitions
makers as “warmongers” and “mer
chants of death,” Maj. Gen. Everett
S. Hughes, chief of Army ordnance,
deserves to be commended for cau
tioning the American people against
a possible repetition of such propa
ganda in the months immediately
ahead.
The warning is altogether perti
nent, for now that the most terrible
and costliest war in history is a
thing of the past, the desire for
peace, the desire to forget about
guns and bombs the desire to econ
omize on military expenditures, is
naturally deep and widespread
among us, and people making the
most of antipreparedness catch
words have fertile ground to work
on. But with complete good sense
General Hughes would have all of
us keep in mind that the campaign
in America in the 1930s against the
“merchants of death” was a reckless
distortion of truth and reality that
served only to sap our own strength
and play into the hands of the
rapidly arming Nazis.
Accordingly, in addition to advis
mg us not to iorget that lact, Gen
eral Hughes strongly advocates that
there be full public support for
maintaining a “safe” percentage of
our munitions industry on an oper
ating or standby basis. Emphasiz
ing the importance of scientific re
search and development, he would
perpetuate and constantly improve
upon our present “know-how” by
keeping the arms-makers busy with
"educational orders” of a quantity
and nature calculated to guarantee
that the United States would always
be ahead, by six months, on all pos
sible estimated needs in the event of
another war, a war in which the
Nation would have no time—as in
the past—to prepare from scratch.
This is wise counsel, and it pre
sumably reflects the viewpoint of
our civilian Government. In any
case, President Truman has ap
pointed Donald Nelson, one-time
head of the War Production Board,
to make a special study of Army
Navy recommendations to determine
Just how much of our arms industry
should be held in readiness. Cer
tainly this is a sensible approach to
the problem. All our munitions fac
tories cannot be kept in working
order, of course, but a proportion of
them must be maintained, and a
special survey like Mr. Nelson’s is
necessary if we are to pay proper
attention to our security and at the
same time avoid going wastefully
in excess of what General Hughes
calls the “safe" margin.
To be sure, every American must
hope that the day will eventually
come when there will be such a
Bound peachy5Lem that no country
will have to worry much about arms
As matters stand now, however, it is
an understatement to say that the
world is passing through an uneasy
and dangerous transitional period,
and until calmer and safer times are
here, our much-maligned “mer
chants of death" will be needed, as
General Hughes warns, to help us
insure America’s life as a free
Nation.
The Race in New York
The New York State Republican
and Democratic Conventions will go
through a more or less cut-and
dried procedure today in selecting
their top candidates. Barring high
ly improbable last-minute upsets,
the Democrats will give United
States Senator James M. Mead the
gubernatorial nomination and will
choose former Governor Herbert H.
Lehman to replace him in the Sen
ate. To oppose them the GOP will
name Governor Thomas E. Dewey
for re-election and Assemblyman
Irving M. Ives for the senatorial
honors.
Beyond this process of selection,
however, the New York political pic
ture is anything but cut and dried.
Governor Dewey — who is pretty
much in control of the State Repub
lican organization—may look for
ward with reasonable confidence to
defeating Senator Mead, but he can
not safely take victory for granted.
The American Labor party and kin
dred political forces—actively sup
porting the Mead-Lehman ticket—
might wreck his chances in a close
election, and such an election is not
to be discounted, especially in view
of the fact that Mr. Lehman—if not
Mr. Mead—has proved himself a
phenomenal vote-getter in the past.
Indeed it appears to be primarily
because of Mr. Lehman's presence
on the Democratic ticket that the
Republicans, wdth Governor Dewey's
ready assent, have shied away from
both General Drum and General
Donovan and turned to Assembly
man Ives as their nominee for the
Senate. General Drum had little
popular appeal to begin with and
ucuciai uonovan. the distinguished
wartime chief of the Office of Stra
tegic Services, had the misfortune
of being unjustly accused of an
antilabor bias by the State Federa
tion of Labor (AFL). Mr. Ives, on
the other hand, has all the makings
of an excellent candidate, not mere
ly because he does not suffer the
handicap of having been smeared,
but more importantly because he -is
a good vote-getter in his own right
and has demonstrated such marked
ability as an outstanding liberal
New York legislator that he has won
the praise even of the CIO.
Mr. Ives thus promises to be for
midable opposition for Mr. Lehman,
and whether he wins or not he is
likely to be of more help to Gov
ernor Dewey than either General
Drum or General Donovan could
have been. All this, of course, has
an obviously important bearing on
Mr. Dewey’s presidential chances in
1948. No political event in America
will be watched as closely or with
as much interest, and none will give
rise to greater speculation than the
campaign which now begins In New
York.
Troops Abroad
The Russian request that the
United Nations Security Council or
der the Allied powers to submit de
tailed information on the military
forces they are maintaining outside
their own borders in nonenemy
lands is easy to understand as a
propaganda move designed to show
the world that the Soviet Union is
supporting considerably fewer such
detachments than either Britain or
the United States.
Thus. American troops and mili
tary missions are located in every
part of the globe in numerous non
enemy countries from Iceland to
China, and they are there at the
invitation of those countries. The
strength of these detachments is
generally negligible, but certainly we
have more of them spotted around
the world than has Russia. They
are not secret or hidden forces, and
since Moscow already has a very
accurate picture of their size, make
up and general duties, the request
for a Security Council report on
them can only be construed as an
international dust-raising maneuver
to give the impression that we, to
gether with the British, are showing
evidences of imperialism, whereas
the Soviet Union is actually more
sinned against than sinning.
Nevertheless, despite its propa
gandists nature, there are strong
indications that the United States,
and perhaps Britain as well, will
welcome the Russian proposal and
make a serious effort to improve
upon it by having it embrace reports
covering far more than nonenemv
lands. Such a broadening of Mas
cow’s request would give the world
a much more accurate picture of the
relative deployment of forces as be
tween the Soviet Union and the
western powers. Of course, just as
the Stalin government already has
pretty detailed information on
Anglo-American troops and military
missions stationed abroad, we and
the British have a fair idea of where
the Russians stand in the same field
of activity, but it might do some
good to let everybody know about it
through the Security Council.
The Russians are aware, for in
! stance, that we have demobilized
our armed forces from a wartime
peak of about 13,000,000 men down
to a present total of little more than
2,000.009, of which only about 750,
000 are now located outside the ter
ritorial United States in both non
enemy and former enemy lands,
Similarly, authoritative reports sug
gest that we are nearly as well in
formed about Soviet strength, and
that this information shows the
Russians to have demobilized from
a peak of 15,000,000 to a current
j total of at least 5.000.000, of which
well over 2,000,000—roughly equiva
: lent to our entire armed establish
| ment—are deployed outside Russia, in
; Germany, Finland. Poland, Czecho
! Slovakia. Hungary, Bulgaria, Ro
| mania, Yugoslavia, Northern Korea
i and other places of nonenemy or
former enemy status.
Although these and similar figures
are known to the war offices of the
different Allies, the world public is
j not particularly familiar with them.
If it were, if the Security Council
dealt with them in detail by broad
I ening the strictly limited Soviet
I request, then peoples everywhere
would see the over-all picture in
, better perspective, and pressure
: might build up to hasten the with
drawal of troops from the occupied
areas and thus promote the estab
lishment of a normal peace.
September
The ninth month is one of the
loveliest of the year and the coun
tryman always has a difficult time
to decide between the quiet, brood
ing beauty of September and the
lush urgency of June. The latter is
a month of promise; the former is
a time of fulfillment. Gone now is
the sense of strong, rhythmic urges
as the early season built up its forces
toward the climax. When August’s
sheet is torn from the big farm im
plement company’s calendar that
hangs on the kitchen wall, a farmer
knows that the year’s clock is be
ginning to run downhill to the slow
time of winter.
But for a period now, a blessing
rests on all the land. There is a soft
purple haze on the mountains and a
shimmering blanket over the brown
ing fields, meadows and upland
pastures. Plumes of bright gold
mark the patches of goldenrod
beside stone walls and old weath
ered, zigzag rail fences. The wild
asters make spots of soft blue along
the roadsides and around the or
chards. The staghorn sumac holds
its red conical pennants on scraggly,
etchinglike branches.
There is a spirit of quiet unhur
riedness on the farm. There is work
to be done in September, but gone
now is the sense of rush. Potatoes
and vegetables are dug and stored
in the house cellar. The good coun
tryman likes to get a start on his
fall plowing. He looks to the supply
of fuel in the woodshed and makes
repairs on his buildings. Day by
day time creeps on toward autumn.
The mornings are increasingly crisp;
white frost shows on the mowings
in the chillier areas. Each day the
sun courses lower toward the south,
away from the horizon’s pole. Birds
begin to gather in flocks and the
crows congregate in conventions. It
is a quiet month and a beautiful
one. Nature is gathering its strength
for the burst of glory that is to
follow—marking the end of another
cycle of time.
This and That
By Charles E. Tracewell.
“Q STREET.
“Dear Sir:
“I would appreciate it If you would
Identify a bird for me which I saw in
the park close to the Munitions Build
ing.
"It had either brown or black spots
all over with a large blob of black on
its breast and a touch of red or russet
on the back of the neck.
“When it flew I noticed a large
splash of white at the base of the tail,
which, in repose, was covered by the
wings. I have searched in our bird book
but do not find this bird.
“This bird w-as much larger than the
robin, and not at all timid. There
seemed to be several of them, but I have
failed to see them since.
“They were digging in the dirt, peck,
peek, peck, and would turn their heads
almost in the reverse position. It was
rather amusing to watch them.
“Sincerely, C. K.”
* * * * ,
This is our old friend the flicker.
He is regarded by experts as the most
interesting member of the woodpecker
family.
, He is the bird with the many names,
such as golden-wdnged woodpecker, yel
low’-shafted woodpecker, clape, yellow
hammer, high-hole, yarrup. wakeup,
wickup, wicket, yaw’ker, walkup, etc.,
according to the section of the country.
Most of the names have to do either
with nesting habits or the bird’s call.
He makes the unusual cry, “yarrup,”
or however one chooses to spell it, which
is heard so much in the suburban sec
tions, where the bird does good by eat
ing ants.
me nicker spends more time peck
ing for ants and other Insects than at
trees, in more orthodox woodpecker
fashion.
The common name of flicker comes
from the up and down flight of the
bird.
He flicks along, as it were, hence
flicker.
When he flies, the rightness of the
name golden-wdnged woodpecker be
comes apparent, but this will not be
true, of course, for the person who does
not sense that he belongs to that group.
He is friendly,liking particularly such
good birds as robins, bluebirds and
wood thrushes.
He takes an interest also in common
sparrows, so that those persons who
profess dislike of the English sparrow
should hold their thunder, if a bird is
to be judged by the company he keeps.
Cardinals, too, like common sparrows.
The flicker is one woodpecker who
comes readily to a man-made nesting
box. Houses for the house wren and
bluebird are the two most useful
homes but next come those for the
crested flycatcher and the flicker.
These four sizes appeal to the ma
jority of hole-nesting species.
The flicker house is made accordin
to the following plan: Floor of box,
by 7 inches: depth of box. 16 to 18 inchc
'that is, high up and dowm;; diametc
of entrance hole or door, 3 inche:
height of hole above floor, 14 to 1
inches, and height of the box abovi
ground, 8 to 20 feet. This last is up t'
the maker. The box is best fastened t(
thfe trunk of a good-sized tree.
Let no one who takes up nature stud
permit it to make him narrow. Mar.
is a narrow beast., at best, and anything
he undertakes may have this result,
unless he is careful, and uses his head
to teach his heart.
The flicker is one of the best ant
eaters. He spends much of his time
chasing them in the* cracks of side
walks, In lawms, and In the crevices of
the bark of trees. If It were not for
him and his merry family, we would
be overrun by ants, both fat agid sweet
eating types.
Letters to The Star
Criticizes Drivers’ Road Tests
For Waste of Time
To the Editor of The 8t*r:
This is a "squawk" from an average
individual who believes in constructive
criticism. The subject is road tests for
District drivers’ permits. The question
is: How small a parking space should
be required for the final test of a safe
driver—the parking test?
Quoting from the Digest of Motor
Vehicle Regulations issued by the gov
ernment of the District of Columbia,
section 32, paragraph H, "Parking is
prohibited under the following condi
tions: <hi Within 3 feet of the front or
rear of another vehicle parked at or
parallel with the curb.’’ In other words,
one should allow the length of the car
plus 3 feet fore and 3 feet aft. An
average driver should be able to park
in such a space on level ground without
difficulty.
A would be interesting to measure
t^Jspace between the red flags on John
Marshall place, subtract the all-over
length of several makes of cars and see
how much space was left over for
maneuvering into that space. The space
remains the same for drivers of Austins,
Crosleys, Fords, Dodges, Cadillacs, etc.
It also would be interesting to find
out how many otherwise 100 per cent
drivers failed to obtain permits due to
their inability to park within 6 inches
of the curb without touching either of
the two red flags, a recent article in
The Star reported that one out of
every six applicants failed on the tests,
but did not state what part of the tests
caused the failures. Drivers of large
cars are given very little chance to pass
that part of the test, but drivers of
large cars rarely, in the course of their
regular driving, would attempt to park
in the limited space provided for the
test. If they accomplished that neat
little trick, it would still be a bad case
of illegal parking. (See Section 32,
paragraph h.).
Now, it is only human to err, and
under the pressure of knowledge of the
recent heavy loss of life in traffic acci
dents an error in methods of testing
future drivers is understandable. How
ever. before making a new rule, one
question should be answered, l.e., will
tms new requuement help to reduce
accidents? Proceeding without the
proper answer could cause a reaction
such as is best illustrated by the remark
of a "sidewalk superintendent" present
near the scene of the parking test when
the driver of a very large car failed
to pass the test: "I’d rather take a
chance and pay $10 for driving without
a permit than to put that car In that
parking space." Such is the not un
usual reaction to unfairness, and it is
dangerous. The more imaginative in
dividual would proceed to procure an
Austin or a Crosley car for the second
try a week later, but the best solution
to the problem would be to make an
effort to have the unfairness corrected.
The tedious waiting to be allowed
to take the road test Is discouraging
enough without being forced to return
for another try after passing 100 per
cent on every test except the "parking
booby trap.”
Facts and figures on the waiting are
another story. One man can test about
10 drivers an hour. Three hours after
the first test on Tuesday, August 27, 88
numbers had been assigned and only
one man appeared to be running the
tests. The following day two men had
tested 38 drivers in the first three
hours while 86 numbers had been
assigned.
Keeping the applicant waiting all day
would be bad, but keeping his instructor
or driver waiting all day and in many
cases forcing both to start all over the
following day is too much. See para
graphs 2 and 4 of Road Test Instructions,
i e.. (2) "Have a licensed operator take
the car you are to use to the above
address.” (4; "Remain in your car
while waiting.”
It would be very interesting to see
what a good businessman or an effi
ciency expert would offer in the way
of constructive criticism after going
through the road test mill. Either more
test men or an appointment schedule
could save valuable time for many per
sons and at the same time could create
a, far greater feeling of respect for
and a spirit of co-operation with regard
to laws and law enforcement.
ROSELLE D. STEVENS.
Greek Nomenclature Explained
To the Editor of The St»r:
In a recent article by Constantine
Brown a statement is made that: "Many
people in Greece favor the republican
to the monarchic form of government.”
May I be permitted to doubt that there
is even one person in Greece who stands
for the monarchic form of government?
The point at issue is not a constitutional
monarchy versus a democratic or re
publican form: it is purely a question
whether the republic which is Greece
(and which has so lived since the middle
of the 19th century) is to be an "un
crowned republic" or a "crowned repub
lic” with King George as the sovereign.
This is not a play of words. Any one
who will take the trouble can read the
meaning in the opening article of the
Greek constitution.
In any case, to call Greece a monarchy
because King George is on the throne
and to play with generic words such as
"royalists," "proroyalists,” etc., is an In
justice to the Greeks—since such dan
gerous expressions as "royalists,” "mon
archists,” etc., have a different propriety
in the vocabulary of the Greeks and do
not seem to be accurate when inter
preted to or by the uninitiated readers.
MEMAS KOLAITIS.
Youru* Editor Discusses Russia
To th« Editor of The Star;
I have just finished reading Harold
L. Ickes' column in the August 26 Star
I’m not in agreement with him at all
He writes that we should take r
more moderate” attitude toward Russi;
0 avoid war. Now, I don't want wai
> ith Russia or with any other countrj
or that matter, any more than does
Mr. Ickes.
If a war broke out between our coun
ry and Russia, it probably would last
ong enough for me to reach the age
where I would be shipped off to war as
vould millions of other American "kids.”
1 for one am not looking forward to a
war “job.” But neither do I want the
Russians taking advantage of us at
every turn.
I applaud Mr. Byrnes on his states
manship. He gave in to the Russians
until It was sickening. And I was glad
to see him get tough. We have been
lenient with the Russians long enough.
JAMES A. LEMON,
Editor, the New Moon Newspaper.
This Changing World
By Constantine Brown
The next few months will witness a
keen contest between "East and West,"
with Germany as the prize.
Secretary of State Byrnes on Septem
ber 10 will Are the opening gun for
the reconstruction of Germany with a
central government. This is in keeping
with the agreements made at Yalta,
where the Big Three decided that the
Reich would remain an entity. The
mission of the Allipd forces of occupa
tion was to eradicate Naziism and de
stroy Germany's war potential and see
that the Reich became a peace-loving
nation.
Northing of the sort, happened and
the present chaotic situation is due to
the fact that Germany has been split
into four parts. Each army of occupa
tion has assumed responsibilities which
the Yalta conferees intended to be in
trusted into the hands of a German
government.
While Secretary Byrnes intends to
make a speech which is said to be the
signal for an effort to put together the
pieces of the Reich, the Moscow gov
ernment already is "playing up" to the
Germans in an effort to convince them
that the future of the Fatherland de
pends on its active co-operation with
j the U. S. S. R.
Reports from Moscow sav that the
Russian government, which had insisted
on dividing up an important portion of
Prussia and taking a large slice for it
self and giving another to Poland, has
i now changed its position. Dispatches
from the Soviet capital say that the
rich coal mining area in Silesia which
the Kremlin arbitrarily allotted to Po
land will soon be returned to the Ger
mans. In return the Poles will receive
some of their own territory which Rus
sia took away from them when the
new boundaries between the U. S. S. R.
and Poland were fixed by Moscow.
* * * *
This sudden change of heart on the
part of the Kremlin toward the Reich
is interpreted in official Washington
quarters to mean that Moscow Is now
vying for Germany's sympathy and ap
proval.
Relatively few fanatics in this country
and abroad believed that a vacuum, by
the dismemberment of the Reich, could
be created in Central Europe without
affecting the whole continent.
Mr. Byrnes’ idea is that we must be
careful not to build up another war
like Germany. At the same time he
realizes that if the vacuum in Central
Europe is to be filled and Germany is
to be made a useful member of the
society of nations she must be recon
structed and reintegrated as a unit.
The British are said to share the
American point of view fully. The
French, who want to incorporate the
Rhineland, the Saar and the Pfalz into
their country, are less eager to hasten i
the reconstruction of the Reich, but at >
he same time are not too firmly opposed
to it.
Russia would like to see a fully inte
grated Germany under her complete
control. After having adopted, soon j
after the collapse of the Reich, such
harsh methods that even the German
Communists became disillusioned with
the Russian brand of communism. Mos
cow has now shifted to a policy of court
ing the Germans regardless of their past
political creed.
* * * *
According to reliable information,
many small-fry active Nazis have been
given official jobs in the Russian zone
of occupation. Although a monolythic
party has not been yet established in
that zone, the elections which have been
held so far in Sexony have favored the
Russian point of view because they took
place under pressure.
Germany today is completely crushed.
But she still has a strong military po
tential if any of her victors decided to
make her into a military power. Since
the Roman days the Germans have been
known as a warrior nation. If they are
given an opportunity they may become
so again.
It is beyond doubt that the United
States does not wish to revive German
militarism. She wants a peaceful, hard
working reconstructed Reich, deprived
of military war potential. The same
can be said about the other western
democracies.
But Russia's behavior in the last
eight months has shown that she does
not share the same aims. Today Rus
sia is an armed camp and she is mili
tarizing as quickly as possible all her
satellites. The consensus in military
and political quarters is that the Soviet
is now aiming at enlisting the support
of a unified Reich under her control to
strengthen her own miltiary power. Rus
sia has manpower galore. But soldiers,
regardless of their numbers, can no
longer win wars alone. Germany can
offer the U. S. S. R. the technical genius
and the industrial ability which Russia
and her satellites so badlv need.
On the Record
By Dorothy Thompson
In view of the substantiation which
its views have since won, 1 here submit
the greater part of a letter from myself
written in August, 1945, to an old friend,
prominent in the British Labor party.
“The Potsdam communique has just
come out. I find it perfectly dreadful.
This feeling will spread, not wane.
There are 10 million people here of
Get manic origin who have been in
overwhelming majority loyal to Amer
ica. But when it comes to malting
permanent pariahs of all Germans, they
will eventually react. The Polish minor
ity also. With the exception of small
groups, led by such men as Oscar Lange
and Father Orlemanski, they are ter
ribly depressed. They don’t want Po
land exclusively in the military and cul
tural sphere of the U. S. S. R. Their axis
—a very personal one—is not Warsaw
Moscow, but Warsaw-America.
"They have a numerous, widely read
Polish-language press, and from ar
ticles I have had translated I gather
that they don't believe a word of the
promise about ‘tree elections.’ Their
attitude is that by the time 'free elec
tions’ become ‘possible’ every dissent
ing leader will be in exile, in jail or
dead.
* * * *
“The truncation of Germany, which
will be an accomplished fact by the
time of the Peace Conference, puts some
22 per cent of Germany into the So
viet sphere, with no checks whatever.
Russia occupies half of the country
anyhow. The reparations conditions fjx
everything fine for Russia, but leave
everything else unsettled. The Rus
sians can take away capital equipment
from their own half of Germany and
get 25 per cent of the ‘surplus’—there
are bound to be quarrels over the defini
tion of this—from the western zones—
15 per cent for giving *the Germans
their own food, and 10 per cent for
nothing.
“The problem of managing a country
which, with 22 per cent of its territory
detached, including the most vital food
areas, and with an excess of population
totaling millions from transfers within
the shrunken borders, while the capital
industries are largely dismantled, will
create problems that baffle the imagi
nation.
“No provision is made for the repa
triation of prisoners of war. It is, of
course, possible that the Russians will
hold their prisoners for forced labor.
But I suspect they will be held as hos
tages to be returned as a reward for a
‘correct’ German political attitude.
Lenin, you may recall, was of the opin
ion that the system that wins Germany
wins Europe.
"At any rate we cannot escape the
facts of the geographical situation, pop
ulation size and efficiency of the Ger
mans. Germany lies in the heart of
Europe and will eventually go with the
Anglo-Americans or with the Soviet
Union, since under the provisions of
Potsdam there seems no hope of Ger
many or Europe going anywhere by
themselves. When that becomes clear,
I think the Nazi-indoctrinated youth
will incline towards the Soviets. They
have been taught for years that the
west was decadent there was enough
socialism in Naziism to turn them awav
from capitalism—the only Nazi thing I
still heard praised was the state
directed planned economy. Russian
methods don’t shock them—they have
been trained to believe that progress
is promoted by ruthlessness.
* * * *
“Offsetting this tendency will be a
deep longing for liberty and the res
toration of western civilization. Few
hate Naziism because it controlled ‘free
enterprise,’ which they associate with
inflation, unemployment and bank
ruptcy. They hate Naziism because it
destroyed habeas corpus, freedom of
thought and the rule of law.
"America will have great difficulties
in Germany because of contradictory
advice from Morgenthauists and more
farsighted folk, from lack of philos
ophy and from temptations. Where
there is a corpse there is always a
vulture.
“But the new British Labor govern
ment! What a chance you have to
begin to build a new Germany, in a
new Europe!
"Socialize the main industries. Set
them to work, according to plan, pro
ducing regular quotas for Germany and
impoverish Europe. Appeal to the
noblest instincts of the people. They
exist! You can never make any one good
by dinning into him that he is a con
firmed criminal. Give him an oppor
tunity to do good—and praise him for it.
* * * *
"Be humane! The spiritual as well
as the physical sufferings of Europe
are unconscionable. The people every
where want to be disentangled from the
mesnes of their past hates: to make a
fresh start: to bury the recent hor
rible past. But their leaders are pushing
their noses further in.
"At any rate the fateful division of
Germany into spheres will result, sooner
or later, in a struggle for the soul of
Germany between the victors. I think
it will begin sooner rather than later .. .
before a year has passed.”
(Reinsert by the Bell Syndleite, Inc.)
New York Communists
By Jay G. Hayden
ALBANY, N. Y., Sept. 4.—A unique
and perhaps vital factor bearing on this
year's election in New York State is the
quandary of the Communist party as to
its future and the plight of the Demo
cratic party because of the Communists.
Ever since Earl Browder was ousted
from its chairmanship and William Z.
Poster took over in his stead the Com
munist party has seemed to be setting
its sights toward nomination of candi
dates for President and Vice President
in 1948.
But under the law such a ticket can
win a place on the New York ballot only
if a Communist nominee for Governor,
this year, receives 50,000 or more votes.
The requisite 20.000 signatures, petition
ing for entry of Robert Thompson as
Communist nominee for Governor, has
been filed, and experienced politicians
say there is no doubt that If he persists
he will receive 50,000 and perhaps even
100,000 votes in November.
* * * *
The point of the matter is that these
otes all would be likely to go to the
Jemocratic candidates (Mead for Gov
rnor and Lehman for Senator) with no
iommunist ticket in the field, and Dem
ocratic managers concede that 100,000
or even 50.000 votes may turn the tide
against them.
A week ago Thompson issued a state
ment bidding for coalition with the
Democrats, his intimation seeming to be
that if t/ie Democratic candidates, Mead
and Lehman, ask it, he (Thompson)
and his senatorial running mate. Benja
min Davis, will withdraw in their favor.
This presumably would require Mead
and Lehman to consent to entry of their
names in a Communist column, along
with Simon-pure Communist nominees
for lesser offices, just as they are be
ing entered by the American Labor and
Liberal parties.
The pinch is that for Mead and
Lehman in any wise to countenance
communism publicly almost certainly
would lose more votes than would be
gained.
Besides declaring that the Democratic
party can only win in collaboration with
the American Labor party, the CIO-PAC
and the Communist parties, Thompson
took a whack at the conservative Demo
crats.
“Like Judy O'Grady and the Colonel s
Lady," he said, “Dewey Republicans and
Parley Democrats are sisters under the
skin. Both are reactionary, both oppose
coalition movements, both represent
business, both fear the people.”
* * * *
Farley is conspicuously absent from
the present Democratic convention, but
the scowling faces whenever Repre
sentative Vito Marcantonio or others of
his ilk show themselves leave no doubt
that there are plenty of people here
who think as Parley does about Com
munists. In fact, the most vivid pos
sible demonstration on that score was
provided in the primary election in
Marcantonio's 18th congressional dis
trict in New York City when Patrick
J. Hannigan, a little-known ex-police
man GI, received 9,216 votes as against
Marcantonio’s 9,778 for the Democratic
nomination. ,
There is very serious whispering
among the denizens of Tammany Hall
that Marcantonio may be finished off
in November, either by his present lone
opponent. Republican Frederick P.
Bryan, or by Hannigan, re-entered as
an independent. The 18th district,
on the fringe of Harlem, is predomi
nantly populated by Negroes and
Italians.
Two years ago Marcantonio bagged
three party nominations—Democratic,
Republican and American-Laborite—
and won almost unanimously. The
slump in his fortunes is attributed
mainly to rising sentiment against
Soviet Russia. In consonance with his
other adherences to the Communist
party line, Marcantonio was pacifist
and pro-German so long as Russia was
linked with the Axis, but changed front
completely the moment Russia was In
vaded by the Nazis.
(North American Newspaper Alliance.)
Policy of Firmness
Is Widely Supported
Cry of ‘War Hysteria’ Is Same
That Gave Hitler His Chance
By David Lawrence
The new American policy of firm
ness with Russia is widely supported,
but there are a few of the people ob
serving the passing scene who misun
derstand the purposes of such a policy.
Thus, for instance, there are those
who are already crying out that a pol
icy of firmness means war and that
"war hysteria" is being manufactured
by our Government. This is the same
old cry which anesthetized the Allies
between 1936 and 1939 and gave Hitler
his chance to rearm while the Allies
professed pacific aims and acted ac
cordingly with respect to preparedness
of their military and aerial establish
ments. Hitler's propaganda made the
most of the "war hysteria" device.
Many American boys might have been
alive today and the whole world might
have been spared World War II if the
craven spirit of certain factions in the
democracies had not kept the parlia
ments and the congresses from appro
priating the necessary sums for ade
quate national defense.
Pacific Mistakes Cited.
For example. Japan’s southward march
of a few weeks in the Pacific—which
It took the United States years to nul
lify by a painstaking and costly march
northward from Australia to the Philip
pines and across the Pacific from Pearl
Harbor to Iwo Jima—might have been
unnecessary if the United States had
really prepared for eventualities in the
Pacific. Fear of offending Japanese
sentiment, which was already militaris
tic, kept the Congress of the United
States before 1941 from fortifying Guam
—an island retaken after another cost
ly operation not only In money but in
lives.
inose wno are saying mat nrmness
means w;ar are aiding in an “appease
ment” movement which can bring on
war. It is to prevent war that the
American Government is not only
speaking frankly but is beginning to
make the necessary mobilization prepa
rations so that the United States will
not be caught napping as was the ease
at Pearl Harbor in 1941.
The American people cannot feel safe
as long as some nations keep large
armies mobilized. Six members of the
United States Congress, visiting the
Far East, spoke up frankly over the
week end about the fact that the So
viets are keeping much larger armies
mobilized in Korea and elsewhere than
is necessary to maintain order.
The same is true of Europe, where
Russia keeps a big army mobilized. The
United States—possessing the biggest
single land army in Western Europe
demobilized and sent her troops home.
Russia nevertheless maintained her war
' time strength. Until Russia demobilizes
! her millions now under arms, there can
be no assurance of peace in Europe.
"Tired America" Theory.
Not only are millions of Russian citizens
in uniforirf and on active military duty,
but all through the Balkans Russian
officers are integrated with the armies of
the Balkan countries. Until there are
some facts about the armament prepc
rations going on behind the "iron cur
tain,” where the press is excluded and
diplomatic officers have a difficult time
getting information about military prep
arations, the United States must go on
the assumption that the Russians in
tend to dominate Europe by force be
cause an adequate American Army is
not in Europe to challenge them.
The theory that America is tired of
war and that our political system will
prevent any administration from re
ceiving the united support of the people,
has undoubtedly been basic in Russia's
intransigeant policy at Paris and her
: encouragement of Yugoslavia. When
Secretary Byrnes summoned Senatpr
Arthur Vandenberg, Republican, and
Senator Tom Connally, chairman of
i the Senate Foreign Relations Committee,
j to come to Paris, it wjas with the idea
| of impressing Russia that Americans
| are united behind our firm policies.
If now an “appeasement” movement
| gains ground in this country, it will only
weaken the American Government's
policy. After World War II, there are
a few veterans who. like their brethren
after World War I, are already an
nouncing that they will not fight in
another war. But when they came to
realize how our pacific intentions in the
'20s were misconstrued as weakness
abroad, many of those veterans of World
War I subsequently regretted their state
ments. It is to prevent a third world
war that the American Government
believes it essential to demonstrate quite
clearly to all nations that the American
people are not afraid to continue the
fight against aggression and that our
demobilization must not be misconstrued
again as a sign of a craven spirit.
(Reproduction Rights Reserved.)
!
Strikes and Scarcities
F'rem L# Canada (Montreal).
No citizen can remain indifferent to
the effect which strikes may have on th;
increase in the cost of living. The chair
man of the Wartime Prices and Trade
Board recalled recently that one of the
causes of the inevitable increase in the
prices of certain products at the present
time is the extreme sanctity of those
products. He points out that if the pur
chase price of certain categories of cloth
ing has been permitted to go up It is
because the textile industries cannot a’
the present time meet the demand. It
is a good thing to remember those facts
at a time when certain firms which mak >
clothing are threatened by strikes. The
same thing is true, from what Mr. Gor
don says, of the wages of steel workers.
Walking in Moonlight
This is the sure and faithful p9th we
follow; v ;
The gleaming sickle of the moon has
mowed
A careful swath across each hill aru\
hollow
To mark the silver stubble of our road:
Our feet, long intimate with moonlight,
know
The smallest shadow of the smallest
stone
The way the old wind leans and grasses
blow—
Nor you nor I have walked this way
alone.
Always the moon will hew a shining
trail
Through forests of the dark—through
jungle-night;
And Time might be our own, personal
snail
Leaving a silver wa<ke to guide our
flight
Over the mountains, down the slopes
of day.
tor you and I have come a long, long
vag. 0O6ETTB MIDDLETON.
y A