Evening star., 1944-01-03

1T WAS clearly . condensation lead
ing to overstatement, which ampli-
fication might have avoided. Some
one should have edited that pas
sage before publication.
That French physical strength has
been waning since Napoleon I, and
that the Germans crushed her at a
third attempt is, of couse, as true
as to say that no one on earth can
speedily recover from the horror and
destruction wrought by Germans
wherever they 60.
My comment is twofold. First, I
doubt the wisdom Of publishing in
abbreviated form statement likely
to convey an unintended impression
when French resistance is so sac
rificial and on the eve Of still greater
calls. Secondly, that France, judged
on past form, will recover more
quickly than some expect, but not
more quickly than we must all de-
sire.
France not only was, but will be,
great country. She was cor
rupted and betrayed. She will deal
with the betrayers. Forty years have
passed since Kipling wrote: 1--WE
have had no end Of lesson; it will
do us no end of good" He was
wrong. But for 20 miles of sea we
should have shared the fate of
France.
Failed to Learn Lesson.
We also failed to learn the wise
lesson that power is necessary in
peace as in war. Moreover, a per-
centage OF responsibility for the COL
lapse Of France rests with our own
lack Of resolute policy during these
40 years. We must, therefore, not
be overcritical.
France, stunned by her fall, Is in
deed already recovering, so far as is
humanity possible prior to the arrival
OF our armies. The French under
ground movement, La Resistance, is
tenacious. efficacious, costly in hu-
man life. Our policy must be to en-
courage 1t to the utmost, to keep her
on the offensive, not to give her Of
tense. We defeat our purpose and
hers by conveying to her, or even
thinking for moment, that she
has gone" for our lifetime. We
shall be wanting r-all-tomor-
row. We shall hope to get her-all
except the political gallows- birds.
French resistance is real, whereas
the much boosted underground
movement In Germany Is a fiction
upheld by spurious reports emanat-
ing from interested parties. It has
never existed in any effective form.
It has nothing to show.
Nazi Labor Working Hard.
Deep in the fifth year Of the war,
as pointed out by the Times Gon-
dom on November 20, "The great
mass of the German labor force is
working as hard as ever - coal
production has been increased
throughout Germany as a whole, and
has been maintained even in the
heavily bombed Ruhr." Ours has
declined. TT would be foolish to
pretend that threats and punish
ments play preponderant part in
keeping up the enormous output
= The peoples evident fore
bodings have not yet had much
effect on the work Of their hands" j."
Yet our propaganda is still based
on appeal to this German fiction,
while, on the other hand, we ad-
minister cold douche to the French
fact.
That is not policy. But what, 1t
may be asked, is policy? The noun
has never been defined. I have my
own definition: decide what you
want, and then make it happen by
every legitimate means.
Our policy, then, must necessarily
be to have as our nearest neighbor a
France friendly, contented, and
strong, great power again In fact,
and as quickly as possible.
She has not gone" and We must
not let her go. Equally the interest
Of France commands-unless we are
silly enough to discourage it-that
she should look for understanding
and cooperation to her nearest
neighbor. We, rather than Russia
or the United States, are billed by