The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1941-09-03

committed an act for which his
name is entitled to go down in his
tory as that Of an outstanding
berefactor of democracy and civili-
cation throughout the world.
It doesn't matter, say the COM
mentators, that Colette may have
been no democrat himself; he
struck a telling blow for democ-
racy anyway
Observers from here, and no
doubt in Britain, have been tgur-
ing all along that. sooner or later.
the countries the Nazis have over
run would rise up against their
conquerors, and, in combination,
make themselves too formidable to
be kept suppressed. And, with
THEM all on the rampage, 1t was
reasoned that Herr Hitler would
find himself so busy internally that
he'd be comparatively easy to lick
from the outside.
However. the hoped-for uprising
didn't develop noticeably for quite
awhile. OF late it's been manifest
ing itself somewhat in France.
Even there, though, it was rather
sabotage than outright violence.
The Vichy government and the
Na1 rulership in Paris kept it
more or less hushed up.
What evidently was needed was
some startling INCIDENT to jazz
things up-to advertise.
Maybe Paul Colette furnished
Just the right article.
It certainly should put pep into
the Free French movement. It
should stimulate anti-Nazi discon-
tent in the Low Countries. II
might inspire some bird to take a
shot al Germany's Quisling in
Norway.
And Right at Home:
And who knows, taking censor
ships into account, how much hos
tility to Herr Hitler there is right
in the Fatherland, and to Signor
Mussolini in Italy?
There unquestionably is a lot Of
It in Italy, with Benito. Early in
lis career as II Duce, a liberal
member Of the Italian parliament,
Deputy Matteoti, was murdered,
presumably by Benitos secret serv-
ice. Shortly afterward Benito was
sitting in box in a Rome theater.
From amidst the audience, down
below, a man jumped up. pointed
toward him and yelled, Police!
Police! There's Matteotis muir
derer I demand his arrest" The
censor suppressed the news. but
heard it from an acquaintance. who
was there. Of course Benito wasn't
arrested and I don't know what
happened to the disturber, but it
didn't sound to me as indicating
that Il Duce was 100 per cent pop
ular. Furthermore. a little later,
as he was making a speech, some
body shot at him, and hit him,
though not fatally
Now Benitos rated as q blum
derer as well as a despot.
Subsequently, at Munich, bomb
was exploded at a meeting Herr
Hitler was 70 have attended. but
didn't, so he wasn't hquidated,
either.
These attempts weren't imme-
diately followed by more would-be
assassinations, but the psychologi-
cal moment hadn't arrived, when
they were pulled of, for an assas-
sination, campaign to "taXe.' Now
possibly il has; the situations ten
ser today
It's true that Paul Colette didn't
succeed in killing Pierre Laval and
Marcel Deaf dead on the spot. His
Workmanship was poor. Still, he
set an example, which may be Ike
lier to be taken to heart by others,
in the present emergency, than
when Benito's and Adolfs takings-
of were undertaken in Rome and
Munich.
II goes without saying the fuehr-
ers'. duces' and Quisllngs' assassi-
nations can't be pulled off without
a tremendous sacrifice Of assas-
sins and Of numerous innocent folk
also while the programs going on.
A Past Stimulant
However the blood Of martyrs"
has served az the stimulant Of
many cause.
Earlier in Nazism's day I asked