The Wilmington morning star., 1943-11-19
BY WEsTBROOK PEGLER

| NEW YORK-It is possible that the leaders
stand the political complications which have
developed among the French and in the Bal
kans but surely the American people have
been surprised and disillusoned by rivalries
and denunciatons which become meaner and
more confusing as liberation comes closer.
Say what one will. even though our people
have access to bales of printeo matter, much
of it offered in good faith, concerning the po-
litical and tribal divisions and grUdges in other
parts of the world, we still think of SUCH
problems in the simplest terms. Thus we
are pro-French, believing the French to be
victims of the Nazi and nothing else and for
getting that in times Of peace they were hope
lessly divided and that groups among them
hated one another as ilercely as thought
they all hated the Germans Thus, too, early
in the war, Americans believed without ques-
ton in General Miknalovich and the exploits
of his Chetniks who presently were opposed
by communist guerrilla army subsidized by
Soviet Russia.
Our people simply do not have the training
and understanding TO enable us to make wise
decisions in such unexpected turns and the
effect is sure to be impotence and resent
ment because these strangers, SO far away
and so horribly prosecuted by the aggressor,
nevertheless insist establishing fine terms
upon which they will consent to be rescued
from their disasters by American fighting
men. The rivals all have their propag andsts
and committees to confuse us with claims and
charges of the darkest perfidy and those hon.
est American reporters n d commentators
who really are qualified to offer opinions try
to compromise the conflicts instead of facing
the fact that, some time, one faction must
be recognized as anti-American and the other
as our ally.
If our government throws in with Russia
as we seem obliged and inclined to, then we
must be the friends of those elements which
favor the communists in Europe. This will
be ironic, but what other solution is there,
except to oppose our strongest military ally
in the political field or pick up as much of
our property as we can save out of the mess
and go back home?
The hopelessness of our confusion can be
appreciated if we realize how poorly and
gropingly we understand similar but much
smaller complications at home. In Chicago,
the citizens have only the most superficial
understanding of the alliance and connections
among the local machine politicians. There,
as in Jersey City, the bosses of organizations
which are VIGOROUSLY corrupt are neverthe-
less the local political retaners and proteges
of national organization which has always
protested to be the friend of the common
man and the enemy of the exploiter. Similarly,
in labor organizations men who are known
to their colleagues and to the.r subjects and
the whole public as we'll as rascals of the
dirtiest type, nevertheless are upheld by 9TH
ers who enjoy national prestige as true friends
of the toiler And the labor organizations gen.
orally support the President in politics al
though, in detail they Lave often accused his
government of discriminating against them.
Very few of us understand proportional rep
| resentation and yet this system recently gave
the communists almos: IS per cent of the
| New York City Council. proportion vastly
greater than their voting strength. Two avoW-
ed communists, one fellow-traveer and
sympathizer, were elected by a method which
still we think we can simplify France whose
many parties did not even wear appropriate
names, some of whose politicians were mer
| cenary traitors, and whose communists like
ours during the same period but much more
effectively, betrayed their country to the Ger
mans because Germany and Russia were al
| lies.
Our EuropeaniZed American Journalists who
spent many years abroad before we entered
| the war are not reassuring. They present
strong arguments in favor of their beliefs,
but sometimes they fight among themselves
over issues and personalities which the Amer
lean at home or fighting in an American unit
cannot evaluate.
In this situation, what can the American
| do but blink his mind at the rlvalrles and
| future dangers and concentrate on Hitler as
the only enemy of the hour?