davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1944-12-28
The Political Mill
By Gould Lincoln

The Senate is about to do honor to
the "97th Senator'-and at the same
time honor itself. 1t will re-elect, at
the opening of the new Congress, Col.
Edwin A. Halsey of Virginia, secretary
of the Senate-the highest Office at its
command.
For IL years Col. Halsev has served
in this capacity. His total service with
and for the Senate. however, covers
period of nearly 48 years. From his
home, Fern Moss, Tye River Va in
1897, he came with his uncle, the late
Senator John w. Daniel to be page
in the Senate.
The Office of secretary OF the Senate
Is proud one. Samuel A. Otis of Mas
sachusettS, the first to hold it. came
to the First Congress from the Cont
mental Congress-and he was retained
for quarter Of century. Party lines
were not so closely drawn in those days
Col. Halsey has been continuously sec
retary far longer than any others in the
last so years.
He has. indeed, become an institu-
ton at the Capitol, friend and con-
fidant of Senators and others high in
the Government 1t was written of him
several years ago: Behind the fam
fare. oratory and glamour of senatorial
prestige, clock works to keep the Sen
ators running. The man who winds
the clock is COL Halsey." Always he is
the right-hand man of the Senate lead
er-on and of the floor-in the routine
work Of the upper house. His spacious
Offices just across the corridor from the
Senate chamber are the meeting place
of Senators, a refuge, and the scene Of
many luncheons, at which cabinet Of
f1cers. members of the Supreme Court
and the great and near great in and
out of public service are frequently en-
tertained. 1t is there that party policy
is discussed informally and far-reaching
decisions are sometimes made.
The Colonel" as he is known, by
virtue of appointment to the stats of
two former Virginia Governors, is a
Democrat by choice and inheritance.
His service to his party has been al
most as extensive as his service to the
Senate For years he served as ser
geant-at-arms of the Democratic Ma
tional Committee and as sergeant-at-
arms of the Democratic National Con-
Evening star., 1944-12-28
The Overriding Problem

Within a matter OF days, argu-
ments over spheres of influence" i"
balance of power" and the future
political structure of Europe have
come to seem rather petty and
pointless. Suddenly, with the violent
emphasis of fire and steel, Won Rund-
stedt has reminded us of something
we had almost forgotten; he has re-
minded us that the war has yet to
be won, that Nazi Germany still is
dangerous in the extreme, and that
this is most decidedly not the time
for the Allies to let themselves be
distracted by the contentious prob
lens of the next peace.
The peace, it is true, cannot be
ignored. but all talk about it and
about how Europe must be recon-
structed will remain largely aca-
demic until the enemy is crushed,
the simple fact being that we cannot
have 1t as long as German armed
power exists to resist our armies and
delay the. day of a conclusive mill
tary decision. The great overriding
problem before us, in short, is not
how to work out program of secu-
rity for the future, not how to deal
with boundary matters or political
and economic reconstruction. but
how to win the present war of sur
vival between ourselves and the
NaziS.
This problem-the problem OF win
ming the actual shooting war-over-
shadows all other problems, and its
solution depends largely on a con-
tinuation of our Allied unity Certain
political matters, OF course, cannot
be held in allegiance until the last
shot is fired, but If there is any
disagreement on them, that dis
agreement should in no measure be
allowed to affect our basic agreement
on the main objective of beating the
Nazis to their knees. Though we do
not always share the same views
oll 1lOW Vic llCAG pCdSC SllOulu UC
shaped. we and our Allies do share
the common and urgent need to win
a common victory over our common
foe, for if we do not succeed in that,
then we shall all lose and the United
Nations, despite their present plan
ming for it. will in the end have
precious little to say about the
future.
Accordingly, although political
problems have to be met as they
arise. Britain, Russia, the United
States and all the Allies must make
very sure that the airing of differ
ences over such problems does not
injure unity in the military sphere.
In this connection, unofficial COM
mentators in this country and else
where might be able to contribute
something by making it personal
rule to think carefully before they
speak or write and to do nothing to
encourage exchanges of long-range
international invective and irrespon-
sible sniping. For we cannot afford
to have anything likely to weaken
the common front against the enemy.
Evening star., 1944-12-28

and beyond. If this were the de-
liberate plan, we may anticipate
stout resistance in a great city con-
structed mostly of stone or other
durable building materials. On the
other hand, if the Russian break
through caught the Germans in the
midst of planned evacuation, the
city may fall more rapidly and the
results will be much more serious
Precisely what has happened doubt
less will be revealed by the events
of the next few days.
Evening star., 1944-12-28

Germans have lost 800, 900 prisoners since
D day unquestionably Is correct. But
there may be loophole in the break
down OF that figure. 1t is known that
the Germans had in France q large
number OF labor battalions, Todt forti-
fcation) battalions and other such
services composed OF Yugoslavs, Rus
slams, Ukranians, Poles and many other
enslaved people.
How many of the prisoners taken by
the Allied armies in the Normandy
campaign were of that type and how
many were regular fighting men has
never been revealed. Strictly speaking,
this should not be military secret. The
Germans know how many Of their men
were captured or are missing and they
also know how many slaves they had in
their various formations in France. But
a breakdown of the figures and segre-
cation OF the combat and labor prisoners
would give a clearer picture to the
American people of how severely the
Nazi forces have been damaged in the
last six months.
When things were at their worst on
the eastern front, the Russian high
command was issuing fantastic figures
OF how many Germans had been killed
In combat. A careful tabulation Of the
figures brings the number OF, the Ger
mans reported killed in action at more
than 100000 men. Military men who
are familiar with the psychology of the
Russian people said at that time the
exaggerations were necessary morale
booster for the Soviet people. Prisoners
and wounded men mean nothing to
them. Only large number of killed
gives them confidence that the enemy
actually has been hurt
The American people, who have no
reason to doubt the official figures given
them, are. now astonished to learn that
the Nazi forces, which have been de-
scribed as massacred on the eastern
front and as having suffered much
heavier casualties than the Anglo
Americans on the western front, still
have enough punch and stamina to
roll back the best-organized victorious
armies which have been opposing them
in this war.
They are bound to ask themselves
how an army. which according to official
estimates from all Allied headquarters,
has lest so many divisions, can con-
tinue to fight, and on occasions such as
now, can resume the offensive.
Evening star., 1944-12-28
A Great Man Retires

In March 50 years ago David Lloyd
George came down from Wales to
take his seat in Parliament as a
young liberal from Carnarvon
Boroughs. He has been a member
of Commons ever since. and now
that he has decided to retire when
his present term expires, that his
toric house is bound to feel that it
is losing some of it's greatness.
For as far as British politics and
British history are concerned. great
ness and Lloyd George are in many
ways synonymous. His boyhood. not
unlike Lincoln's, was boyhood of
poverty, but his energy, his intelli-
gence, his spirit were of that rare
sort which obstacles seem to stimu-
late rather than discourage. From
the start Of his career, he has stood
Evening star., 1944-12-28
Western Front Outlook
By Mai. Geoyse Fieldins Eliot

the initiative in some sectors at least,
with German infantry fighting de-
fensively and German armor no longer
as much in evidence as it was. This
brings us to the third possibility, to
which much greater weight should be
given in assessing the present situation.
CD That the Germans may now de-
eide that they have effected the maxi
mum possible disruption to our offensive
plans and that, therefore, having failed
to gain any territorial objective Of great
strategic value, they will now begin to
withdraw their armor and their more
mobile infantry divisions, leaving the
Volksgrenadier outfits and other So
called dependable" troops to fight a
rear-guard action while their good
troops are pulled back to the shelter of
the Siegfried defenses. If the Germans
succeed in doing this there can be no
Disgusting the fact that we have suffered,
not disaster. but serious reverse.
But the fourth possibility still remains,
and probably should be given almost
even weight with the one just mentioned.
(D That having checked the German
attempts to gain vital strategic objec-
tives and having blunted the German
armored attacks by the action of our
air forces, sufficient Allied forces are
now in position for counterattacks
against the base Of the German salient
on both sides to drive ahead and pinch
it of, in whole or in great part, so that
the Germans will lose not only "ex-
pendable" troops, but a great part of
their vitality important mobile reserve
of armor and infantry.
=
If this should happen it would Ger
tainly be disaster for the Germans,
the consequences of which might be
translated without very much delay into
q general Allied advance to the Rhine.
It should be remembered that these are
only possibilities that we are discussing:
that the Germans are beginning to show
considerable tactical caution; and that
the Germans have shown on many a
battlefield an ability to hold their
f1anks and to extricate troops from
positions which seemed hopelessly en-
circled.
But for the moment, on the basis Of
what information is now available, the
chances seem to favor either successful
German withdrawal or a German dis
aster of considerable magnitude due to
Allied countermeasures getting under
way in sufficient strength and In time
to cut OF major elements Of the German
mobile forces.
tcopyright 1s44)
Evening star., 1944-12-28
BeIeuquered Budapest

The iron ring forged about Buda-
pest now virtually is complete.
Though at this writing narrow cor
ridor across the Danube. about 20
miles north of the city, still remains
in German hands, it contains neith-
er highways nor bridges and thus
is no major line of escape. What
ever troops and equipment remain in
the Hungarian capital are isolated
effectively and must stand siege.
This siege was rendered possible
by sudden smashing of the Ger
man defense line west of Budapest,
between the Danube below Budapest,
where the river runs due north and
south, and the belt of heavily wood
ed hill country still farther to the
westward known as the Bakony
Forest. The Germans and their
Hungarian satellite troops still hold
that position, which bars the road to
Vienna along the south bank of the
Danube, and they conceivably may
launch counterattacks in attempts
to break the siege. But the success
of the Russian offensive up the
Danube Valley suggests that such
counterattacks cannot be mounted
on sufficient scale to reverse the
strategic situation. Therefore, it is
logical to assume that the siege of
Budapest is on and will be pushed to
successful conclusion.
The length of the siege will depend
largely on the strength and compo-
sition of the garrison. It is as yet
uncertain how many German and
Hungarian troops unwittingly were
surprised there and how many were
defense units deliberately left to be
sacrificed in holding operation.
Budapests tactical value lies less in
its topography than because it is the
ganglion through which all high
roads and railways in the middle
Danube Valley pass. The German
high command we'll may have
thought it worth while to sacrifice
several divisions of fortress troops,
mostly second-grade material, in
order to deny the Russians a major
communications base for a further
offensive up the Danube TO Vienna
Evening star., 1944-12-28

The military situation on the western
front now seems to present four possi-
bilities for the immediate future. Two
of them are increasingly remote posi-
bilities; the other two are given much
more weight in well-informed circles in
Washington at this time.
The two more or less remote possible
ties are: Cd That the Germans will be
able to make further advances into
areas of critical military importance,
such as the supply area of the 1st U. S.
Army north of the Meuse, or the supply
area of the Sd U. S. Army along the east
west railway through Sedan co That,
failing to do this, the Germans will be
able to dig in, consolidate their present
territorial gains and use the Ardennes-
Meuse salient as jumping-off place for
further strategic offensives when they
are ready to launch them.
The reasons why these two possibilities
are discounted are chiefly based on the
feeling that the Germans do not have
sufficient reserves of power either for
fresh impetus to their forward units or
for consolidation in an exposed position
such as they now occupy, with both
flanks exposed to concentric Allied at
tackS
In fact the German forward elements,
Judging from front dispatches, seem to
be feeling the effect of our air attacks,
which have been fairly continuous since
Saturday morning against their lines of
supply.
Military supply is based on putting
one days requirements on the road every
day so that there are continual daily
arrivals at the distributing points where
the troops get their stores; so far as
possible at least days reserve is kept
intact in the unit trains. When inter-
ruptions such as air attacks occur on the
line of supply, let us say at the rail-
heads where the stores are transferred
from rail to road transport, the effect
is not felt by the front-line units until
they have exhausted the supplies in the
unit trains plus whatever was on the
road when the attacks on the railroads
took place.
If the attacks are launched against
moving truck columns the effect is felt
by the unit concerned in time propor,
toned to the position which the smashed
column bears to the general scheme of
supply. There has been just about time
for the German advance forces to begin
to feel the pinch of our air attacks
against their rear area, railroads and
lines Of supply. Late reports yesterday
suggest that Allied forces are regaining
Evening star., 1944-12-28
This Changing World
By Constantine Brov,

The propaganda menu served to the
American people has become somewhat
indigestible.
For many months we have been told
that the Germans were on their last legs
and that Hitler and Goering had been
thrown into the discard.
Any amount of stories regarding Hitler
were circulated either from reliable
neutral sources" or directly from Allied
sources. They ranged from accounts that
Hitler had died to reports that he was
crazy or suffering such mental depres-
sion that he was kept locked up in his
Berchtesgaden hideout.
The fact that Hitler had not appeared
In public since last summer, that he
refrained from attending any ofdcial
party function, and that his broadcasts
We're being read over the radio by some
of his henchmen, tended further to con-
firm the informed" statements. One
report that he had received two am
bassadors and talked to them at length
was given little publicity.
Now, without any transitory prepara-
ton, the American public Is being told
that Hitler, who for the last two years
had been described as the principal
cause of the disasters of the German
forces because of his "hunch strategy"
at Stalingrad and everywhere else, was
actually the master mind who conceived
and prepared the plans for the present
offensive in Belgium and Luxembourg
The logical questions now being asked
are which of the stories is correct and
is the public being dished out some
senseless propaganda?
There are strong reasons to believe
that the Allied intelligence services
were aware that the entire Hitler story
was a cleverly devised piece of propa-
ganda and they could have given the
necessary warning to the writer's who
were filing the dispatches. It is equally
questionable whether there is suficient
evidence to justify the story from army
headquarters that Hitler actually plan
ned the offensive which has played
havoc with our offensive program.
In order to bolster up feeling in the
United States and Great Britain Official
figures about German losses are given
out periodically. These would tend to
prove that the German Army has been
smashed and has completely deterio-
rated as result of its losses.
The official announcement that the
Evening star., 1944-12-28
Letters to The Star
DR.. Adams Presents Shakespeare
in Pidain Endlish
To the Editor Of The Star:

To the Editor Of The Star:
To its unrivaled collection of printed
translations of Shakespeare's plays, the
Folger Shakespeare Memorial Library
has just added typewriter script of
part of Anthony's grafton at the bier
of Julius Caesar (act 3, scene . in the
pidgin English of mission trained
young man of New Guinea.
The manuscript of the mission stu
dent came to the attention of DR..
(Capt) Stephen B. Yohalem when sta
toned at malaria control school in
New Guinea. After translating the
pidgin into everyday English, Capt.
Yohalem forwarded the Grafton to
relative In Washington, who in turn
presented 1t to the Folger Library,
where 1t is now on display.
The opening: Friends, Romans,
countrymen, lend me your ears, come
to bury Caesar" is rendered: "Pren,
man bolong Rom, wantok, harim nau.
MI kan tasol long plantim Kaesar."
In line with Grimm's law Of phonetics,
replaces + in friends" with final
omitted. Man bolong Rom" obviously
means men belonging to Rome, or "Ro-
mans "Wantok" is compression of
L want to talk" not unknown to
delivers in American dialects. "Harim
nau" Is not Hear me now" but Hear
MIN now for the possible reason that
courtesy as in other languages calls
for the use OF the third person. mi
KAN tasol long plantim Kaesar" may
be rendered quite literally as II come
only chats alb along of planting
(burying) Caesar" 1t is interesting to
note that along Of for because" is
an English form common in Shake
speare's time and evidently used in a
later period by the sailors or mission
aries who helped to bring pidgin into
being.
The next passage in Shakespeare,
The evil that men do lives after them,
the good is oft inferred with their
bones is thus rendered in pidgin
English "a literal translation being given
in parentheses)
Sopos sampela wok bolong wanpela
man street (Suppose sometime work
belonging to one fellow man is straight,
lie. good, sampela man no street
(sometime man is not straight), ma
man dai land that man, he dies)
oil wallis long wok no stret-tasol fall
wireless, lie. reputation, along his work
Is not straight-thats alb. Gutpela wok
bolongen slip; lis mating long geraum
wantajm long. kapalo! (The work be-
longing to the good fellow, it sleeps, it
lies buried in the ground one long
time, alasD
The line 20 Judgment! Thou art
fed to british beasts" is rendered
"Aniwei, yupela olesem wailpig. Nogat
save" anyway, you fellow all the same
as wild pig. Dumb.)
All in all, the Folger specimen offers
fascinating document for the student
OF Shakespeare as rendered into
foreign language.
JOSEPH QUINCY ADAMS.
Evening star., 1944-12-28
Lifesuver
From the Topeka Capital,


AS every soldier who has been in COM
bat will testify, air superiority is one
of the worlds greatest blessings To the
GI in a foxhole, or a man riding in a
tank. or on ship, nothing lifts morale
quite as much as having an umbrella
OF friendly planes overhead. Literally,
they are lifesavers
In the same way, and to a more i'm
portant degree-although it may not be
as apparent to the individual soldier
air superiority often paves the way to-
ward knocking out the enemy's eco
nomic ability to fight. This, in turn,
means saving American lives.
Evening star., 1944-12-28
Joint AccoIude
too his accoldde

Hers too his dccoldde
OF ribbon and gold braid.
Has she not through the years
Earned it by pain and tears?
Was not her courage bought
By mother lope and thought?
Does she too not knoD
HotD dig night shddo,Us gro,p?
Does she too not feel
The full thrust OF the steel?
And do not her fond eyes
Pierce the 1Ddr-torn skies
To glimpse the tribute paid
For this, his accolade?
Shared too the glory toon
By him tnhont she calls SON.
MYRTLE ADAMS
Evening star., 1944-12-28
Lucky Mr.. Dewey

To the Editor of The Star:
Shortly after the fourth-term cleo
ton OF President Roosevelt, The Star
published an article by the undersigned
In which 1t was stated that: "Mr.
Dewey is fortunate that he was not
elected" At that time 1t was not DOS
sible for us to foresee many of the rea-
sons why Mr.. Dewey was or would be
fortunate.
But in David Lawrence's article in
your paper of December 10 many of the
reasons are given, and, no doubt. long
before year has passed from the date
OF the election. the public, as well as
Mr.. Dewey, will realize that he is
lucky
Everything that happens which
could be questioned or criticized. had
Mr.. Dewey been elected. surely would
be pointed out, as Mr. Lawrence states,
in such words as: This crisis has hap
pened only because Mr.. Roosevelt wasn't
reelected" or This whole situation to-
day must have arisen because Mr..
Roosevelt wasn't reelected"
ANY OLD BROWN.
Evening star., 1944-12-28
Some Did, Surely

From the st. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Trouble with the Atlantic Charter
was that it only authorized shares, and
nobody took enough stock in it.
Evening star., 1944-12-28
Human Depravity Blamed

A"aiA Nv VI dNlty DIdllCO
To the Editor of The Star:
Many persons still insist that world
peace now would prevail If only Wood
row Wilson's League of Nations had been
adopted. But just how can permanent
harmony be established as long as men
are motivated by greed, self-interest,
fear and rivalry?
Wars merely reflect inner states of
mind and sooner or later animal emo
ton, which cannot be legislated into the
discard, will be externalized in actual
physical strife. Pious platitudes, flowery
phrases or signed documents mean little.
The founder of Christianity reminds Us
that evil originates within and must
be eradicated before peace reigns with
out.
History records that imperialism
breeds war and if the roots of ancient
systems, which have served their pur-
pose are decaying, "doctoring" the
branches avails naught. 1t is time to
plant new tree in soils of justice.
Petrarch, the italian poet, said that
peace would prevail when the enemies
of peace which infest the human mind
were banished, viz, avarice, ambition,
prejudice and anger. We certainly
should seek to maintain friendly rela-
tionships with men and nations and
control the lower animal nature. New
ertheless, the facts of life and human
nature must be resolutely faced AS long
as we continue to pursue utopian will
o'-the-wisps, in futile efforts to promote
global harmony, we will remain deluded.
And it is madness to imagine that per-
manent peace can be established through
world war.
EDMUND K. GOLDSBoROUGH.
Evening star., 1944-12-28
Note on Fra Giovanni

1>OtS OH IRA 11ONdnnl
To the Editor of The Star:
correspondent of The Star recently
requested information concerning the
identity of Fra Giovanni" who wrote
the beautiful Christmas letter credited
to him.
Last year, the New York Times pub
lished letter from Henry B. Mitchell
OF Riverdale, NJ Y, who wrote that the
author Of the letter was Ernest Temple
Hargrove. He was the resident at the
Chapel of the Comforter, New York
City. The letter was written as
Christmas card to send to the authors
friends. Hargrove died in 1899.
So many people have found both
beauty and comfort In this message that
it occurs to me you may wish to pass
on this information.
ALICE HUTCHINS DRAKE