Evening star., 1943-05-04
Sacrifices Will Earn
u. S. Voice in Peuce
Major Eliot Denies Notion
Thot Russion Influence
May Be 'Preponderont'
BIZ Mai. GEORGE FIELDING Eliot.

May Be 'Preponderont'
By Maj. George Fielding Eliot.
The tone of Premier Stains order Of
the day on May /, and of the editorial in
Pravda, the Communist party news
paper, which Immediately followed, in
dicate a far greater degree of apprecia-
ton on the part of the Russians than
previously has been evident Of the con-
tributions which British, American and
French forces in North Africa, and the
Anglo-American bombing offensive over
Germany, are making toward the COM
mon objective of defeating Germany.
This is entirely understandable, for the
Russians are realistic and practical folk
pressed by deeds than by words. In fact,
what they now say contains very strong
suggestion that they are aware that an
Anglo American invasion of the Euro
pean continent is imminent "A deed
which would certainly impress the Rus
slams very much more than anything that
has happened SO far.
al CoAlACStAO1l, IL Uldy NC useful 10
point out that there has been consid-
cradle degree of distortion in some of our
thinking about Russia's postwar position.
Just at present the Russians have the
only army which Is actually fighting the
Germans on European soil; it is by far
the largest army on our side which Is in
actual combat with the enemy. This
has tended to give many Of us the idea
that these conditions will continue and
that Russia will have an unduly prepon-
derant voice In the making of the peace
when that time comes.
OF course, these conditions do reflect
the fact that the voice that any of us will
have in making the peace will be directly
proportionate to our respective armed
strength and to the respective sacrifices
that each nation has made in the win
ming of the war. These sacrifices will
be measured largely in terms of human
lives. Just now, while American casualty
lists are still light and while the greatest
OF our sacrifices lie ahead, we tend in
stinctively to give the Russians, in our
thoughts, greater degree of influence in
the determination Of common policy than
they actually will have when the war is
over.
For when 1t is over, there will be very
large American armies standing side by
side with very large British armies on the
soil OF Europe; long list of battle honors
will have been added to the colors of our
regiments, and, alas, long list of heroic
dead will have been added to the DEATH
less roll of those Americans who,
throughout our history, have laid down
their lives in the service of the Republic
We need not fear that we shall be
without voice, and an earned voice
when the time comes to talk of peace and
the future security OF mankind against
the recurrence of the present holocaust
From now on. as I have previously OBJ
served in these articles, the chief burdens
and the chief sacrifices in this war will
be borne by the people and the armed
forces of the United States. AS our mill
tary strength actually in the theater of
operations increases, as the actual evi-
ability Crews in volume. we shall forget
our present anxieties about our ability
to make our views heard and needed
when victory has been won. 1t is q per-
fectly understandable human reaction
that material contributions of money,
equipment, transport, do not have the
same effect in this regard as the actual
sacrifice of blood. For that is the way
that those who are shedding their blood
always think with regard to others who
are not. In a few months our whole
position in this respect will have changed
completely and we shall look back upon
much that is being said and written now
with wonderment that we could have
been so blind, both as to the cost of vic
tory and as to the share which we shall
earn in reaping the fruits of victory.
Let none of us suppose that our share
OF the costs will be small one, or that
our share of responsibility and influence
afterward will be less than that of any
other power. The realistic Russians are
already granting tacit recognition of that
fact. We shall have evidence soon enough
that this recognition is fully justified.
Copyright, 1o43. New York Tribune Incl