Evening star. [volume], May 20, 1948, Page A-16, Image 16

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

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^Ije gening f&fstf
With Sunday Morning Edition.
WASHINGTON, D. C.
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THURSDAY, May 20, 1948
A—16
Chance for Leadership
Indicative of the growing interest in the
proposal for a Metropolitan Area Public
Utilities Commission is the adoption by
the Interfederation Council of a resolution
Indorsing the plan. The council, repre
senting civic organizations in the District
and in the nearby Maryland and Virginia
counties, calls for “action” looking toward
legislation to effect the reform.
Action is what is needed and it may be
that the council is a good agency to get
things started. There has been a lot of
talk in favor of a joint approach to solu
tion of Metropolitan Area public utility
problems, but action has lagged because
nobody seemed to know just who should
take the initiative in the matter. It has
been suggested that an interstate compact
would be necessary to establish such a
system, but neither the District, Maryland
nor Virginia has evidenced any willing
ness to make the first move.
Yet a number of citizens’ groups in the
area and several officials have pointed to
the difficulty of trying to deal piecemeal
with utility questions affecting the mutual
interests of residents inside and outside
the District. Recent rate and route hear
ings covering suburban bus services have
shown the shortcomings of the present
arrangement. Fare hearings for the
Arnold Lines, extending from Arlington
and Fairfax Counties into downtown
Washington, were held before the Inter
state Commerce Commission, although it
is doubtful that Congress ever intended
that national agency to be burdened with
problems of such limited local concern.
The Capital Transit Company finds itself
under jurisdiction of three agencies—the
ICC, the District PUC and the Maryland
Public Service Commission. Rates inside
the District are fixed by the local PUC and
outside the District line by the Maryland
commission. The ICC has over-all inter
state supervision and, in addition, has
required the company to continue an out
moded transfer agreement with Virginia
buslines—a holdover from the wartime
days when Capital Transit buses ran to
the Pentagon. These various supervisory
activities at times are conflicting and
usually are confusing and burdensome to
the utilities.
Under the proposed joint PUC plan, this
overlapping and duplication of effort
would be eliminated. Utilities whose oper
ations are the common concern of Wash
ington and the nearby counties would be
under direct control of one PUC, em
powered by interstate compact to act in
the interest of the whole Metropolitan
Area. Congress would have to authorize
such a compact and each of the juris
dictions would have to ratify it—just
as was done with respect to controlling
pollution in the Potomac River. The Inter
federation Council, because of its inter
state representation, might well assume
the leadership in this worth-while move
ment.
Should the Scale Slide Back?
It is news when the Potomac Electric
Power Company asks for an increase" in
rates. For. twenty-eight long years cus
tomers of the company have learned to
look for decreases rather than increases
In their electricity bills. The sliding-scale
arrangement, effected in 1925. has followed
a one-way track—in the customers’ favor.
Rate reductions from 1926 through 1943
aggregated $8,400,000, on top of which came
last year's refunds totaling more than
three million dollars.
When the sliding scale was adopted
the District Public Utilities Commission
pointed out that it conceivably could slide
up as well as down; that there might
come a time when either the commission
or the company would feel justified in
considering an adjustment in the nom
pany’s favor. The company argues that
this time has now come.
It cannot be said that this news, how
ever disturbing, catches either the PUC or
the public by surprise. Last March the
company warned the commission that
rising costs of coal and other increases in
operating expenses made a request for
higher rates inevitable. The company's
petition presents some figures that are
striking. Coal, which accounts for ap
proximately half of the expense of produc
ing electricity, costs the utility 80 per cent
more today than it did five years ago.
Operating costs, as a whole, have nearly
doubled, the petition asserted. Mean
while, Pepco expects to earn this year
about $1,500,000 less than the 5*/i per cent
return permitted under the sliding-scale
agreement.
What makes the outlook worse, from the
company's viewpoint, is the fact that new
construction planned during the next five
years will require an outlay of about
$86,000,000. This program, it is empha
sized, is necessary if the generating ca
pacity and distributing facilities are to
keep pace with conservative estimates of
future needs. New capital obviously will
V essential to carry out such construc
tion. But new rapital will be difficult to
obtain unless the company's financial
%tatus is such as to attract capital. ,
Thus, theiSroblem that confronts the
PUC is to determine how best to protect
the company’s sound position, so that the
electricity-consuming public will be as
sured of adequate service at reasonable
cost. If, after consideration of all the
facts, the commission confirms the com
pany’s statement of its declining revenues,
it will be to the interest of the public
to see that the scale slides enough in the
company’s direction to guarantee con
tinued efficient operation of this vital
utility.
The American Communists
There are two ways of evaluating the
Mundt bill, which is designed to restrain
some and expose other activities of the
American Communists and their friends.
One way is to condemn the bill on the
basis of provisions it does not contain and
things it would not do. A very impressive
case can be made out against the measure
by setting out hypothetical situations and
applying to them provisions which are not
in the bill. There has been a good deal
of this sort of criticism. But it is worthless
because it has no basis in fact.
It has been contended, for example, that
Henry Wallace’s third party might have to
register as a Communist-front organiza
tion if this bill becomes law. Since this
contention is typical of much of the Ill
informed criticism, It is worth examining.
Among other things, the bill is aimed at
Communist political organizations and
Communist-front organizations. These
terms are defined in the bill. A Communist
political organization is one that is under
the direction and control of the world
Communist movement. A Communist
front organization is one, other than a
Communist political organization, which
reasonably is found to be (1) under the
control of a Communist political organiza
tion, (2) primarily operated for the pur
pose of giving aid and support to a
Communist political organization, to a
Communist foreign government, or to the
world Communist movement, or (3) one
whose views and policies are adopted and
advanced because they are those of a
Communist political organization, a Com
munist foreign government, or the world
Communist movement. Before any or
ganization can be held jto be a Communist
front organization, the Attorney General,
after full investigation and a hearing, must
affirmatively find it to be such. Then, as
a further safeguard, the accused organi
zation is given the right to have its case
reviewed by the Federal courts, including
an appeal to the Supreme Court.
When any one suggests, in the light of
these provisions, that the Mundt bill would
apply to the Wallace third party or any
comparable group he is simply confessing
ignorance of the facts or a dismal lack of
confidence in the integrity of the Congress,
the Attorney General and the Federal
courts.
The other way of evaluating this bill is
to examine the provisions it actually con
tains and the things it actually is intended
to do.
This bill is predicated on the conclusion
that the American Communist movement
is foreign controlled, that its ultimate ob
jective is to overthrow free American
institutions in favor of a Communist dic
tatorship controlled from abroad, that its
activities are carried on by secret and con
spiratorial methods, that these activities
constitute an immediate and powerful
threat to the security of the United States,
and, finally, that present laws are not ade
quate to deal with the Communists.
The proposed new law tackles the prob
lem from four directions. First, it makes
unlawful, and subject to severe penalty,
“all activity which has as its purpose the
setting up of a totalitarian government in
the United States under foreign control.”
This has nothing to do with theoretical
communism, freedom of thought, etc. It
is aimed squarely at activity intended to
set up a Communist-controlled dictatorship
in this country. The second approach is
Sound in the registration provisions, which
would require that the names of officers
and members of Communist political or
ganizations and the names of the officers,
but not the members, of Communist-front
organizations be filed with the Attorney
General. The third approach is to deny
passports to members of Communist po
litical organizations in an effort to restrict
contact between American Communists
and their international comrades,, while
the fourth is to deny Federal employment
to any one who knowingly belongs to a
Communist political organization.
There is no use blinking the fact that
this bill, if it becomes law. will mark a
significant departure from the traditional
American approach to problems of this
kind. But it is also important to keep in
mind that the Communist concept of
world revolution and the methods used to
implement it are also new to our experi
ence and dangerous to our existence.
The bill, in The Star’s opinion, represents
in its sponsor’s words a sincere effort "to
protect freedom from those w’ho would
destroy it without infringing upon the
freedom of all our people.” If enacted, its
constitutionality would be subject to the
judgment of the courts, and the protection
of the courts would extend to all indi
viduals and groups accused under it. How
effective it will be remains to be seen, but
it deserves a trial and it is to be hoped
that the Senate will concur in the favor
able action taken by the House.
Extremes Meet in Latin America
Victor Raul Haya de la Torre is one of
the outstanding intellectual figures, not
only, in his own country, Peru, but also In
Latin America as a whole. He is best
known as leader of the Aprista movement,
dedicated to Peru's regeneration—cultural,
economic and political alike. This move
ment is crystallized in a political party of
which Haya de la Torre is the head and
designated candidate in the presidential
elections scheduled for 1951.
With such a background, anything this
man says is worthy of attention. There
fore, the interview he gave on arriving in
New York the other day for a brief visit
to our country may be deemed significant.
The main theme of his message is a
warning that Latin American Communists
are aligning themselves with the most
extreme reactionary forces in many of
the republics to the southward, and that
this sinister combination constitutes the
gravest immediate threat to the democ
racy of the New World. Those reactionary
forces Include the traditional
right, such as militarists and wealthy 1
oligarchs and Fascist groups like the
“Integrahstas” of Brazil. The Communist
aim is everywhere the throttling of truly
liberal and democratic movements. His
own APRA party in Peru is under fire,
primarily because it fights communism,
which seeks to impose a local tyranny
supported and directed from abroad. As
Senor de la Torre well puts it: “There is
no true distinction between the so-called
‘local’ Communist and the international
Soviet agent. All are fundamentally work
ing for a foreign power and a system con
trary to that of the Americas.” Besides
Peru, he named Brazil and Guatemala as
the oountries most immediately threatened
by these combined machinations.
Senor de la Torre gave it as his opinion
that the Communist short-range objective
is, “not seizing power but creating con
fusion.” This, of course, is standard Com
munist practice in the early stages of its
destructive program. The outstanding in
stance is in Germany during the early
1930s, when the German Communists made
common cause with the Nazis and greatly
facilitated Hitler’s accession to power. The
speculation was that Naziism would ulti
mately destroy or at least disrupt German
national life, after which the Communists
wouid reap the fruits. Apparently, the
same tactics are under way in Latin
America. The implications are only too
plain. *
Crusade for Children
It is too bad that weather conditions
interfered with plans for a spectacular
opening on the Monument Grounds of the
American Overseas Aid-United Nations
Appeal for Children. This ‘ Crusade for
Children” deserved to be launched in a
spectacular way, so that a maximum
amount of public attention could be at
tracted to the cause. For here is an.appeal
that is so worth while and so compelling
that every citizen should know about it.
The campaign, of which General Eisen
hower is honorary national chairman, is
being waged here and elsewhere through
out the country in behalf of 230,000,000
children under fifteen in Europe and Asia
who are suffering from the ravages of war
and its aftermath. As General Eisenhower
and his campaign associates point out,
ERP and other long-range aid programs
will not assure the immediate relief needed
in many lands by children ‘‘up against
starvation” right now.
In Washington no definite goal has been
set, but the campaign organization hopes
that the citizens of this area will con
tribute generously through a novel "give
a-chance” plan. Instead of being asked
to ‘‘take a chance” as in a lottery, those
solicited will be offered an opportunity to
give some child or children a chance to
live. “Chance” books containing dollar,
five-dollar and ten-dollar tickets will be
sold. A dollar ticket will assure a month
of supplementary feeding for one child.
A ten-dollar ticket will provide a child with
one year of supplementary feeding at the
rate of six hundred calories a day, or will
give medical care for a sick child for a
month. It is not easy to ignore an appeal
couched in such understandable terms.
Those who do not wish to await the call o£
a solicitor or who wish to learn more about
the drive should get in touch with cam
paign headquarters at 1622 H street North
west. The telephone number is Sterling
3500.
This and That
By Charles E. Tracewell
Can a pigeon move her eggs from one nest
to another?
This is the question asked by a reader, who
says: ."There is a pigeon sitting on two eggs
on one of my garage window sills. At first the
eggs were on one window sill. Now she is
sitting on two eggs on the third sill, two
windows away from the first. No eggs on first
sill. Can she move her eggs? Positively the
same pigeon. No sign of shell below window
to show that she pushed the first eggs off.”
The answer is that the pigeon cannot. The
bird egg, once laid, is laid for keeps, unless
some more powerful creature takes a fancy
to jt. *
In the present case, we would say that per
haps some wag of a human changed the eggs,
just for the fun of it, or. what is more likely,
a jay or squirrel took them away, and the
mother pigeon laid anew'.
There is now on the press a $17 book on
"The Avian Egg.”
Too bad that its price has to be so high, for
surely there would be much in it to interest
all nature lovers.
The way birds lay eggs, incubate them, hatch
them, then feed and care for the babies
is a never-ending source of wonder.
The eggs, themselves, of many shapes and
colors, with shells of varying thickness and
texture, were once collectors' items, but pres
ent laws forbid their collection.
Some of the books on birds have plates
showing bird eggs, and these are valuable
when pictured in the correct size and color.
Matching the pictures to the real things is
not easy, and the average information seeker
cannot be quite sure he has done it correctly.
When one stops to think of the millions of
eggs laid, it is a wonder that no more of them
are found smashed on roadway or sidewalk.
The birds and the beasts do not get very
many of them, evidently.
Nor do winds tumble them out, or bad wrens
peck holes in them, as a general thing.
Nature, with her birds, has done better, and
though many are lost, inevitably, most of the
eggs become birds, feathers and all.
* * • •
The inability of birds to do anything about
eggs fallen from the nest is proverbial.
The songsters cannot help much, either,
when a baby bird falls.
Kind-hearted humans often put the babies
back, but the Humpty Dumpties of eggs usually
are beyond collection.
The baby bird fallen from a nest must
wander hopelessly, usually to be killed by some
animal, if a human being does not come to
its rescue.
Young birds have something of the faculty
of human babies to arouse sympathy.
And those who have raised them "by hand”
state that there arises a peculiar bond be
tween the two beings in such different levels
of life.
It is the happy fate of many of these foster
parents to have the birds return every spring,
and to show evidence of their knowledge of
the favors done them in the past.
This is a happy experience, one. duplicated
thousands of times in the suburban sections.
Here is is a baby robin, here a blue jay, here
a young sparrow. Perhaps the young robins
are most rewarding, but this will be disputed
by bringer-uppers of other birds.
Young birds need to be fed every hour with
bread and millt, ground meat, yolk of hard
boiled egg, bits of liver, tiny insects and
beetles, with plenty of water administered
with a medicine dropper. If a feeding is
missed, no harm is done. No food need be
given from dusk to dawn. The bird should
be given an opportunity to peck at dirt beneath
a tree or shrub, but no grit, as such, should
be fed. It is amazing how quickly young birds
learn to find ugly looking bugs and beetles.
At last the time will come when the baby
must be released, and he will unmistakably
set the day for
Letters to The Star
Responsibility for Palsied Children
To the Editor of The Star:
The day has come for all those truly inter
ested in the cerebral palsied child to descend
from their ivory towers of aloofness. The
cause of crippled children will not have
suffered in vain if all those who have a
responsibility to these helpless little ones will
face reality and build a strong, new program
of rehabilitation upon the ruins of the old
discredited one.
Let the board of directors of the local Society
for Crippled Children acknowledge that the
crippled child is their prime consideration by
following through the recommendations of
the national society to completely reorganize
the District group so that it will no longer be
subject to public criticism. Let the new or
ganization, revolving around the handicapped
child and his problem, develop a strong in
clusive program that will invite the co-opera
tion of the medical profession and allied
health agencies in the city. May harmonious
unity be felt upon one's very entrance into
the physical premises. Let there be encour
agement of co-ordinated effort and exchange
of information among the qualified profes
sional staff. May the parents feel they have
a justifiable interest and right to help formu
late and carry out the program designed to
aid their children. Let only those parents and
other outstanding members of the community
who are willing to assume the responsibility
df the office make up the roster of the board
of directors.
Medical Fart of tbe Problem.
The responsibility to the cerebral palsied
does not end with the directors of the District
society. It behooves those of the medical
profession who have knowledge of this dread
affliction to disseminate information about
it to others in the field of medicine and to
bring more than an awareness of its existence
to medical schools and teaching hospitals. It
is appalling to realize that the average prac
titioner and pediatrician knows practically
nothing of cerebral palsy, that only recently
has a text book been written concerning it and
that the very terms defining it have only been
in existence a short while. Doctors should be
on the alert to recognize cerebral palsy, so
that children so afflicted may be directed as
soon as possible to the proper sources of
treatment. The day must go that finds worried
parents of an abnormal- baby being advised
to put the helpless little one'in an institution
to be forgotten.
Upon the parents of crippled children and
the public at large falls a grave responsibility
to this unfortunate group. If for no other
reason than selfish motives, every one should
be keenly aware of this disease. It may
strike anywhere. Seven out of every 10,000
children born are afflicted with it. This ratio
remains the same no matter where the loca
tion, the strata of society or the degree of
prenatal care. The first child may develop
it or the last child of a large family. It has
been known to strike as many as three times
in the same home. It need not be genetic, for
in some instances it appears in perfectly
normal children and adults. It may come
as a result of a preventable birth injury, R-H
blood factor complications, cerebral hemor
rhage, or from as yet undiscovered reasons.
Its effects can be more devastating than those
of any of the other dread diseases. It can
leave a child so completely helpless that he
is incapable of supporting his head or direct
ing any of his movements. The gift of speech
and proper hearing may also be denied him,
yet through all this tragedy may shine the
bright light of intelligence and understanding
in his eyes. What hope is there for him?
That is where the finger of responsibility
points directly at us.
Research to Be Done.
The, relatively speaking, small amount of
research done in this almost unexplored field
shows that a great deal of rehabilitation can
be done for these helpless children, but it takes
money—much more money than the average
family has. It needs highly trained medical
men in neurology, orthopedics, obstetrics,
pediatrics and other allied specialities. Physio
speech and occupational therapists together
with psychiatric workers are needed to co
operate with the medical teams. Then there
are the expensive, material items such as
braces and special equipment which further
complicate the problem. To top it all off,
special educational facilities are necessary to
complete the picture of rehabilitation. What
progress has been made to meet this chal
lenging situation? Again relatively speaking,
practically nothing. A handful of outstanding
doctors are conducting research and treat
ment, a pitiably small number of crippled'
children societies are attempting to serve the
needs of the cerebral palsied. Not until the
term “cerebral palsy” creates the same feeling
of panic as polio, cancer or tuberculosis, until
we have the “Mayo Clinics” and “Rockefeller
Foundations” engaged in research on this
scourge and until we secure public appropria
tions making possible mass operations in
diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation can
we relax our fight. Remember, my friends,
today it is my child who is afflicted with
cerebral palsy but tomorrow It may be yours.
FLORA M. COAN.
Message From Hawaii
To the Editor of The SUr:
Your editorials urging the early passage of
legislation providing for statehood for the Ter
ritory of Hawaii are given front-page space in
our local papers.
I’m sure the great majority of people in
Hawaii are very grateful. We need help now
more than ever before. Our cause is just. The
attainment of our political rights as American
citizens has long been delayed by public apathy
rather than by actual opposition. Congress
must be “given the word,” clearly, forcefully,
and unmistakably, by the people, that the po
litical subjugation of a half million American
citizens will no longer be tolerated. Congress
already knows from evidence compiled by many
investigations that the territory is ready, will
ing, able and deserving. It remains only to
spur the members to action.
Our delegate in Washington is speaking and
working for the overwhelming majority of us
here. He has been working against heavy odds
in Congress because of the peculiarity of his
position as a delegate, alone, and without vot
ing privileges. I am sure he is grateful for your
actions. Please do not stop now. Keep on fight
ing with us. RICHARD E. TU'IT'.
Wahiawa, Oahu, Hawaii.
The Rights of Federal Employes
To the Editor ot The Star:
I get hot under the collar every time I read
where some group expresses fear that the
rights of those persons who have been accused
of disloyalty will not be protected. Just why
are their rights any more precious than those
of the average Government employe? Must
these people have super-rights because they
have big. jobs or influential friends?
The statements from the Civil Service Com
mission that these accused persons’ rights must
be protected are hypocritical when you con
sider that the commission knows that Govern
ment employes as a class have no rights. A
right is something that you can demand
legally. The only people under civil service
who have any rights are veterans. They are
the only people under the law who can de
mand a hearing in case of misconduct.
If the Senators and Representatives who
seemingly take an Interest In the Government
employis really want to do something - for
> A
Letters lor publication must bear
the signature and address of the
writer, although it is permissible for
a writer known to The Star to use
a nom de plume. Please be brief.
them, then they should pass a bill giving
to all Government employes what we always
thought were our constitutional rights as Amer
icans, the right to defend ourselves before our
accusers and the right to appeal. Any class of
people who do not have these rights, which
are accorded the lowest criminal, cannot be
said to have any rights.
DANIEL M. CLANCY.
Minority vs. Majority Rule in AAUW
To the Editor of The Star:
An article regarding the American Associa
tion of University Women which appeared in
The Star recently has come to my attention.
In this the president of the National Board of
the A.A.U.W. is quoted as saying that the issue
between the Washington branch and the Na
tional Board is that of racial discrimination.
Possibly she was not correctly quoted in the
interview. For at a meeting of the Washington
branch on March 10 she referred to two ques
tion at issue.
One of these was the objectives of the Wash
ington branch as given in its by-laws. These
include social activities and the maintenance
of a clubhouse in addition to educational work.
This, according to the president, who said she
was speaking for the National Board, is in
conflict with the purpose of the National Asso
ciation, which is purely educational; therefore
it must be changed. The other was that the
branch by-laws provide that its directors may
pass upon the applications for admission to the
branch. This also, according to the national
president, speaking for the board, is in con
flict with the natiorfc.1 by-laws; and must be
changed. ,
It should be noted that the Washington
branch has been in existence for more than
half a century. Its objectives have remained
the same throughout its history. Until the elec
tion last year of the present National Board
officers, no question regarding these objectives
ever had been raised.
The other provision of the branch by-laws
to which exception was taken, although it was
more recently adopted, represents the estab
lished practice of the Washington branch and
incidentally of other branches. It is a' practice
that has not been challenged in the past. On
the contrary, it was approved in an official
communication from the general director of
the National Association to the branch.
To members of the Washington branch, the
real issue is neither of those above stated. It is
whether majority or minority rule shall pre
vail; whether established practice shall arbi
trarily be over-ridden by temporary execu
tives; whether fair and democratic procedures
shall be observed.
Members of the Washington branch attended
the meeting on March 10 above mentioned
with the understanding that it was arranged
to afford opportunity for frank discussion be
tween themselves and the national president
of the questions on which there was difference
of opinion. They thought it was intended as
'an effort to reach a solution of their differences
if possible, and so avoid a break. Many made
personal sacrifice in order to be present, ex
pecting that the meeting would be conducted
in this manner and for this purpose. Instead,
the national president made an extended ad
dress, reviewed all the details of the contro
versy betwen the branch and the present Na
tional Board, and delivered an ultimatum from’
the board, She then stated that she could take
no part in any discussion of the matter or an
swer any questions at the meeting, although
questions might be sent to her in writing .for
later reply.
It is because of this attitude on the part of
certain officers of the present National Board
that the branch has taken actiorMn the courts
to safeguard the interests of its members. It
is asking that the decision as to its right to
exercise the same autonomy it has exercised
without question for the past 50 years shall be
made by the highest authority’ within the
association—the national convention—rather
than by officers of the National Board enjoying
authority for a two-year term.
ETHEL M. JOHNSON.
Member of Washington Branch, American
Association of University Women.
‘Imperialism’ in Greece
To the Editor ot The 8tar:
The first week of May, 1948, will be recorded
in the history of Greece as one of the blackest
weeks in the annals of Greek mankind. One
hundred fifty-two persons, men and women,
were shot in one day—May 3—plus hundreds
of others, since the date the Americans went
to Greece as "Samaritans'’.
The crime for which these people were shot
was that they took part in an uprising in
December, 1944, fighting for their freedom.
But was it a crime to revolt and fight for
freedom? Our own American nation was
founded as a result of such an uprising.
The Greek people took part in World War
II from the very beginning. For six months
they successfully fought the invading hordes
of Mussolini. Then the Nazis had to step in
to assist their Italian Fascist allies. Because
of poor leadership, the Greek people were sur
rendered to the Nazis, while the King of
Greece and members of his governmept, plus
most of the Greek aristocracy fled to Egypt.
But the Greek people, the heart and soul of
Greece, those who fought the Italians and
Germans, remained in Greece, and they con
tinued their fight for freedom, following the
instructions of the international leaders,
Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin.
Organizing their own armies, the Greek peo
ple took to the mountains, and for four years
successfully fought the enemy, for which they
were highly praised by the English General
Staff. When the Germans retreated to the
hills in 1944, with the guerrillas of Greece pur
suing them, the English Army demanded the
right to land in Greece as "tourists,” and the
Greek people were kind enough to grant them j
permission to land.
However, once in Greece, the English Army
followed its traditional policy of imperialism
and attempted to rule the country as a colonial
possession.
The Greek people, after fighting the Nazis
and Fascists for four years for their freedom,
refused to allow that freedom to be denied by
their so-called allies, the English, and they
rose up in December, 1944, demanding the
evacuation of the British army. Men, women
and children, thousands of them started to
march, unarmed to their own capital, Athens.
They were ordered to stop and when they re
fused, they were fired upon. Men, women and j
children were killed. Since then none of the
English who fired upon the innocent and un
armed Greeks has been punished in any way.
But 1,400 Greeks were convicted aad sentenced
to die because they took part in an uprising
for their freedom.
These 1,400 Greeks were held in jails all over
Greece. Now after four years they are being
taken out in groups and executed at the whim
of the present Greek government.
These executions and reprisals will not stop
the fight of the Greek people for freedom and
democracy. They will continue to fight for
their freedom from imperialism and the right
to develop their own democracy. All they ask
is that foreign intervention be stopped so
they can forge their own destiny.
COSTAS ALEXIOU. *
The Political Mill
Gov. Dewey Called Victor
In Debate With Stassen
It Helped New Yorker Over Nation
Despite Outcome in Oregon
By /Gould Lincoln
Millions ot voters all over the country heard
the Dewey-Stassen debate on the subject:
‘Shall the Communist Party Be Outlawed?”
It was a contest between two leading candi
dates for the Republican presidential nomi
nation, a contest in which opponents should
be evaluated on knowledge of the subject,
preparation, presentation and adroitness.
On every count Gov. Dewey of New York
was the victor. No amount of Stassen claims
would change that one iota. Most of those
who listened in were convinced, too, by Gov,
Dewey that the better way of dealing with the
Communists and their party was the Ameri
can way—not the totalitarian method of
suppression. This is said advisedly, after
canvassing the opinions of many who had
no particular predilection. Even some of
those who supported Mr. Stassen’s candidacy
were somewhat crestfallen over the showing
made by their man. Decidedly it did not help
Mr. Stassen.
Climax of Campaign.
The debate was, in a measure, the climax
of the strenuous campaign which both men
have been conducting for Oregon’s 13 dele
gates to the Republican National Conven
tion. What effect it actually had on the
vote there may be difficult to estimate, but
that it had some seems reasonable. Appar
ently it shook the confidence of the Stassen
camp—for within 24 hours Mr. Stassen was
out with a claim that Gov. Dewey and Sen
ator Taft of Ohio had ganged-up to defeat
him in the primary race against Gov. Dewey.
Irrespective of the outcome in Oregon, the
debate has helped Mr. Dewey in other parts
of the country.
For a long time Mr. Stassen had been teas
ing Gov. Dewey for a debate. For a long
time, too, he had been accusing the New
Yorker of being "too soft" in his dealings
with Communists and their party in New York
State. For a long time he had gone about
demanding that the Communist Party be
outlawed by statute. Whatever happened to
Mr. Stassen last Monday night, in the debate,
therefore, Mr. Stassen brought upon himself.
It may have been a surprise to Gov. Dewey—
when the subject of debate had been restricted
to the proposal to outlaw the Communist Party
—when Mr. Stassen began his argument with
poignant recollections of what he has seen dur
ing the war—presumably to emphasize the fact
he was a war veteran and Gov. Dewey was not.
The Stassen purpose was evident, in any
event, to his listeners. It was scarcely sur
prising, therefore, that in his concluding re
marks Gov. Dewey drew in a reference to the
work which had been done by his organization,
when he was District Attorney of New York
County, to smash the racketeers and under
world criminals. Mr. Dewey was pressing home
the point that a great deal can be done by en
forcing laws already on the statute books—
and he named 27 Federal laws—against plotting
to overthrow the Government, espionage, sab
otage, etc.—with which Communists seeking
to undermine this Government can be handled
effectively.
Debating "Trick’* Charged.
Mr. Stassen has demanded in the past the
outlawing of the Communist Party in America,
unequivocally. When during the debate with
Gov. Dewey he sought to bolster his position
by saying the House of Representatives wag
on its way to passing the Mundt-Nlxon bill,
dealing with Communists and communism,
and that this measure outlawed the Com
munist Party, the New York Governor pounced.
Gov. Dewey declared that Mr. Stassen had
“surrendered," since the Mundt-Nixon bill, by
the testimony of its own authors does not out
law the Communist Party, but provides for tha
registration of Communists. Stassen support
ers have referred to this as a debating “trick.”
It was more than that, however, for clearly Mr.
Stassen had modified his position—if he was
content with the Mundt-Nixon bill.
A law to outlaw a political party—no mat
ter how detested and unpopular that party
may be—would be a strange surrender of free
dom in this country. If the Communist Party
should be outlawed today—why would not the
next step be to outlaw Henry Wallace's “New
Party,” since Mr. Wallace is accepting the
support of Communists and definitely is play
ing Russia's game in this country? It is a
dangerous kind of game to play—this out
lawing of political parties. Further, to direct
by law a citizen’s thinking is an impossibility.
This country once found that it was impossible
to prevent drinking by Federal law—a much
less difficult task than outlawing thinking.
Questions and Answers
A reader can ie. the answer to any sueatlon of
fact by writlni The Evenlnt Star Information
Bureau. 318 Eye street N.E . Washlnfton 2. D. C.
Please Inclose three (31 cents for return eostaae.
By XHE HASKIN SERVICE.
Q. Does lead ever rust?—T. O. M.
A. Lead does not rust, and endures weather
ing for centuries.
Q. Why is more juice obtained from orange*
after they are rolled by the hand before squeer
ing?—W. H. B.
A. The rolling pressure breaks down and
loosens the connective tisqjies inside the fruit,
making the juice run more freely.
Q. Are all chopsticks made alike?—G. C S.
A. Chopsticks are made of every kind of
precious and plain metal. They are made of
plain bamboo, carved persimmon wood, also of
ivory, ebony and of the finest of lacquer.
Q. Is there, or has there ever been a death
penalty for American soldiers for "black mar
ket” dealing in the European theater?—M. J. R.
A. The Department of the Army says that
no death penalties have been carried into execu
tion for operation in the "black market” alone.
Death is not a legal penalty for activities in
what is commonly referred to as the "black
market."
Q. Was Houdini ever able to break out of A
jail?—T. R.
A. When Houdini was starting his career ha
was stranded at Garnett, Kansas. He offered
to break out of a jail to obtain publicity for hi*
act. The sheriff agreed, locked him in the
strongest cell, and while he was explaining
to the crowd that it was impossible for his
prisoner to get free, Houdini walked out of tha
jail. The escape attracted so many customer*
to the show that the performer* were able to
pay their hotel bill and leave town.
Q. Why are wood ticks most numerous along
the sides of roads?—T. M.
A. Entomologists believe the scent of dog*
and other animals, including man, probably
draws these insects to roadsides. Another at
traction may be the greater reflected heat of
the road. The fact that tick* congregate along
the sides of roads makes it easier to control
them.
Tapestry
Jade green threads of the u>illow tree
foam in a cool cascade
to the ground.,
A small song weaves in and out,—
the son of the wind in the willow;
it traces a delicate pattern
as it moves,—
silver on green.
The only brightness is where
a cardinal is set on a thread
like a flaming ruby
—Mary Willis Shelburne.