Evening star., 1944-09-07
Mob kuIe in France
DepIored BY Writer


y. s. MiSht Better Tackle Job
Of Policing. He Says
By David LswysScs
Amid Ill the rejoicing over the liberia
tion Of France, there Is one dissppoint-
Ing and discouraging aspect. It 4 the
attitude Of certain groups Of French
people in taking law into their hands
and adopting mob rule and lynching
practices without giving accused persons
the benefit Of trial either by military
or civil tribunals.
Lynch law Is not the American con.
ception Of justice and Just because some
one In France calls somebody else "col.:
laborationist" does not mean that the
accused i guilty. &
The temptation to excuses on the
part Of liberated people Is understand
able, but II Europe u TO be run by mobs
and every liberated country u to b put
into the hands Of persons who can lynch
whomever they please without benefit
Of trial. then it would be better for the
military authorities Of the United States
and other nations to tackle the dtfncult
Job Of policing these countries and re-
fuse recognition to any civil government
which cannot maintain law and order
within its boundaries.
France has the sympathy Of the
United States and nobody can question
the motives Of this country In going to
the aid Of France, but the time will
come when France must be plainly told
to assume her responsibility in Europe.
Her young men must now fbe trained
for military service to take over the Job
Of occupation so as to relieve American
troops. The peasants OF France must
begin to cultivate their soil 80 Is to
furnish food for the armies of occupa-
tion-all these tasks lie ahead for new
civil government In France.
Warning in Senate Debate.
Something Of . warning along this
line emerses from q brief comment
during the course Of debate In the
United States Senate on Tuesday of this
week. Answering q question from sena-
tor Bushfield, Republican. Of South Da-
kota concerning Frances participation
on the future executive council Of the
International Security League, Senator
Connally, chairman Of the all-important
Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
said:
Il will say that France has played
the part of small country in this war
have always admired France. When /
was a schoolboy sympathized with her
in her hundred years war with Great
Britain. I have always sympathized
with France. But France has played a
very sorry spectacle in this war and
the Senator knows 1t. She had an army
Of 5,0O0,0 men, armed and supposedly
trained and equipped. But they col
lapsed like . house Of cards before the
marching armies Of Germany.
What has France done since them
! think France should prove her ability
to sit on the council. She may be
elected by the other nations. I under
stand that q great many Of the nations
that are concerned In this matter wish
to put her on the council at once. But
would say let her serve an apprentice
| ship for . while"
There has been too much tendency
in the United States to coddle the De
0aullist cause and TO criticize such q
stanch American as Secretary Hull be-
cause he has hesitated to embrace the
De Gaullist movement With whoieS
hearted enthusiasm and has preferred
instead to let the De Gaullists prove
their capacity to represent France In
the family Of nations.
Can't Condone Offensex
There will probably be more criticism
Of the State Department and the Amer
ican Government for insisting on justice
and for refusing to permit mob murders
even inside Germany. But the American
Government cannot condone offenses
such as the following which was re-
ported in a dispatch by Newbold Noyes.
jr.. to The Star-a description Of the ex-
ecution 1T Grenoble, France. Of six boys
accused Of bearing arms against
France" He wrote:
II was 20 feet from q l7-year-old boy
tied to the risht-hand stake. He was
the youngest Of the srcup-the oldest
was a.. At the trial he had stated he
joined the militia because he believed
what Petain said. Now he was very
pale. He seemed to be looking out over
the heads Of the 2o-man firing squad
rather than at them.
"A man went at him with q piece Of
paper in his hand and asked question
I couldn't hear. The boy shook his head
without looking at him. The man
stepped aside A moment later, ~ the
crowd hushed for the first time, the
soldiers raised their guns and fred. The
boy sflmped to sitting position. . look
Of hurt and surprise on his face.
He was not dead. When the French
ofdcer stepped to his side and fred the
coup de grace into his brain with a
pistol. his face suddenly relaxed and he
fell to one side, lying In . crumpled
heap by the post to which his hands
still were bound"
This boy was evidently only IL years
old when Hitler invaded France. The
PetAin government was the only gov
ernment he knew anything about. Did
he have . fair trial1 Was he under
duress during the four years that the
Germans occupied France? Were any
Of these questions considered before the
boy was executed? The whole world has
stood aghast at Nazi atrocities. Must
| 1t nov read about French atrocities?