The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1944-04-15

other play, The Searching Wind &,
which tries hard to say something
about the conflict OF the genera
lions over the circumstances lead
ing 10 war and the consequences
Of war but becomes so entangled
in a Freudian triangle and in in
ternational politics and in the
errors OF the State Department
that what saw and listened TO
seemed to be a dramatized town
hall OF the air debate spiced with
the eternal verities of sex plus
what sons think OF fathers.
Munich, OF course. looks large.
And ii is Soviet Russia that might
have saved the world from Nun.
ich and the audience spplauds OPP
position TO Chamberlain. And yet.
at this distance, Munich is history
and no longer pro-war propagan.
ds and "a history often writes it.
self, no one can be too sure. The,
Recommendation Is still unavails BILE.
England stood alone for more
than a year, taking from the Nazi
such a strafing as no one imag-
ined possible. And while England
stood alone, Stain and Hitler were
in alliance. dividing Poland be
tween them and. of course, doing
nothing for Czecho SloVakia and
surely nothing for England What
would have happened TO England
and this war had there been NJ
interval between Munich and Dun
Kirk for England to make some
pre- parations and for the United
States to get into the picture?
Who knows?
or course, those were queer
years and lots OF mistakes were
made, even by the most wise. in
Guiding Stain who made deal
with Hitler which was no better
than Chamberlain's deal with HIT.
Ter at Munich-snd may even have
been worse And our own Presi-
dent on October %, 1910 said:
II give you and TO the people
OF this country this most solemn
assurance: There is no secret
treaty. no secret obligation, no Sc
cret commitment, no secret under.
standing in any shape or form, di-
rect or indirect. with any otnet
government, or any other nation in
any part OF the world. no such Sc.
crecy that might or could in any
shape involve this nation in any
war. or for any other purpose. Is
that clear"
But that was not literally true
then as we now know and it GER
tainly was not then and is not now
clear. On June 10. 1910. the Pres
ident in an address at the Univer-
sity OF Virginia announced all aid
to the Allies: and in September
that he had made an agreement
with Great Britain exchanging 50
over age destroyefs for air and
naval bases in the Bahamas. ia
msica, etc. The record viii show
that between Munich and the Nazi
attack on Poland, the United
States was moving in and getting
ready to move in. And we now
know that we were conveying be
fore We actually entered the war
But what more there is 10 know
will have TO wait until all the doc
uments are published
Without a Munich, there might
have been immediate war and the
United States might have stayed
out and England might have been
conquered. Who knows Certain
ly not Lillian Hellman nor /.
Therefore play ridiculing the
State Department, Chamberlain.
Munich. and the Polish govern
ment-in exile, overloaded with SEN
timentslity, serves no particular
purpose now except 10 raise the
question. how the hell did We
ever get into this thing. anyhow ="
And there is another point: the
younger generation in this play
tells his parents that he il asham-
OF them for the mess they made.
But did they make the mess! The
younger generations rarely point
with pride TO the achievements OF
their elders until they are old
enough to forget their own super
iority. This war is not the prod
uct OF generation OF man. Nor
did II come 10 curse us because