Evening star., 1943-08-22

'rency and all the medicines. Poor people
! may be looting and stealing to keep alive.
Damaged water mains and sewers
where they existed-will have laid the
town open to epidemics.
If town is actually fought over all
these conditions may be present. Even
If city surrenders peacefully, there
will be disorder because local civil gov
ernment has been upset and because of
fear of the conqueror
AMGOT Takes Over.
Into this varying scene, in Sicily, is
moving the newest Allied innovation in
World War II-AMGOT, which is the
abbreviation for the Allied Military Gov
ernment of Occupied Territories.
Thus far it is a British American
show. headed by Gen, Sir Harold Alex
ander, who, as field commander of Allied
forces in Sicily, has been designated as
military governor by Gen. Dwight w.
Eisenhower.
Under Gen. Alexander are hundreds of
British and American officers specially
trained for their jobs.
AAASoS AAShA WCIiJ dollOlC WIFI L1c H.
vading troops and set up their organiza-
tion in matter of hours.
In one case, 1t. Col. Charles Poletti
found himself the only American in
Sicilian town as the occupying troops
moved on ahead. He made a speech-in
1talian-to the assembled populace and
there was no trouble.
In Sicily, AMGOT has six main de-
partments-legal, financial, civilian sup
ply, public health, public safety, senior
civil affairs. Three Britons and three
Americans head these departments.
Each British chief has an American as
sistant, and vice versa.
The purpose Of all this-from purely
military standpoint as we'll as from hu-
name United Nations policy-is to keep
the occupied community alive and kick
ing as a going concern. 1t isn't to the
interests of an occupying power to leave
captured population starving, helpless
and prey to its own confusion.
Unless, like the Nazis. the conqueror
intends to use starvation as an instru-
ment of political policy.
Seek Peoples Welfare.
Even so, it would profit the Nazis let's
say, to get essential services back on
their feet, get the police functioning, and
get people back to the point where they
can take care of themselves instead of
using army manpower to do it for them.
So AMGOT moves in to restore light
and water services, organize the police,
get local authorities functioning again,
feed the starving, administer military
justice.
There are two main considerations be-
hind these steps. First Is the successful
prosecution Of the war, and the other is
the welfare of the governed population.
The Army's field manual on military
government says that subject only to
military necessity military government
should be just humane, and as mild as
practicable, and the welfare of the people
governed should always be the aim of
every person engaged therein"
The Importance of knowing quirks in
local customs is fully recognized The
Armys report on our military govern
ment of the Rhineland after World
War I says: Enforcement of change
of customs on any people, no matter
how insignificant the change may be, is
more provocative of dissension than Is
anything else
This report, which served as founda-
tion OF AMGOT, cites the trouble that
Americans had enforcing certain sanitary
regulations in Germany. Trouble was,
German peasants were forbidden to keep
manure piles near their kitchens, as they
had been doing for centuries.
AS military government is an army
operation, all information regarding it Il
released by the commander in chief of
the theater commemorative in the case
of Sicily is Gen. Eisenhower.
He announced that the influence of
Fascism in Sicily would be destroyed.
Press dispatches indicate that the major
ity of civil officials, being Fascists, fed
(See AMGOT, Page C-3)