The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1941-02-11

NAAANAAN Va
the Greek campaign against the
Italians under Dictator Mussolini's
general supervision.
Portugars Salazar regime Is a
dictatorship, too. The Portuguese
aren't particularly praised. like the
Greeks, for their lighting prowess.
since they're not involved in the
war, as yet. anyway. What's being
commented on In their favor is
their amazing decency in their
treatment of refugees from the
confict-stricken European area.
The state department hears of it
from its diplomatic representation
in Lisbon. A good many Of the ref
ugees themselves also are arriving
in the United States from the Por-
tuguese capital. and telling their
stories Of the little country's hospi-
tality.
PortugaIs simply swamped with
these fugitives. It's very poor and
hard put to It to care for them. Yet
its charity is described as abso-
lutely unlimited. Arrivals at its
frontier are mostly penniless. but
no questions are asked as to their
ability to support themselves or
pay their bills. II they're refugees.
they're. invited right in. and fed
and sheltered at Portugal's own ex-
pense, up to the limit Of Portu-
guese resources. It's related that
such OF the native folk as are opu-
lent enough to own autos make a
regular practice of meeting the
newcomers with their cars at the
Spanish border, to carry them to
wherever they can be quartered.
No Profiteering
A few of the fleeing exiles have
money to pay for their accommo-
dations, but It's said there's no pro-
hteering from them.
The dictatorship Is given credit
for encouraging this policy.
Dictators Hitler. Mussolini and
Stain rate at the state department
as 100 per cent awful. The Jap die.
tatorship figures at about 90 per
cent Dictator Franco Of Spain fig
ures around e5 per cent. with pos
sibilities Of a hike in the quotation.
But the Greek and Portuguese out
fits are considerably discounted
the Greeks for its courage and de-
fensive bellicosity: the Portuguese
for It's benevolence.
Our hyphenated Greek-Ameri-
cans are tickled pink at the show
ing their homeland has been MAX
ing against the Fascists.
When Benito first. began picking
on Premier Metaxas they were con-
siderably perturbed. I'm well ac-
quainted with one Of them-a
Greek restaurant man. His name.
Of all things. Is Corrigan. I once
asked him how he explained 1t. It
seems his original name was Cor
rigan. with soft e." II was
Greek-Armenian. He modified It a
trifle for local purposes. Other
names in our midst nave been
transformed similarly. There's a
stable Greek tribe in Washington
which gives its cognomen as Per-
kins This being my own middle
monicker. investigated and ascer-
tanned that the Greek original was
Perkintzis.
Anyway. early in the Greek-1tal-
ian muss I consulted Creek meri-
can Corrigan as to the probable
outcome.
If they tackle US only FIVE 70
one" he said. I'VE can lick EN-. II
they get above that they may
make US trouble He was rather
respondent. Today he's as cocky as
Miltiades.
Our MISREPRESENTATION popu-
lation is pretty skinny. It's nu-
merous in Hawai-. but not on our
mainland.
However. Indirectly we have an
important tie-up with Portugal.
Brazil, the biggest. most popu-
lous and strongest Of our Latin
American neighbors is Portuguese
by descent and the relationship be-
tween ancestor and offspring al
ways has remained a very close
one-much more so than ours, with
England, or than Spain's. with the
rest Of Latin America.