davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1944-05-16
The Political Mill
By Gould Lincoln

The announcement of Representative
Martin Dies of Texas, chairman of the
House Committee on Un-American Ac-
tivitieS, that he would not seek re-
nomination in the July 70 primary has
been deplored by many Of his friends
in Congress and hailed, on the other
hand, by the CIO and administration
supporters. Although it was known that
the Texan had not been in good health,
his decision not to run again was
something of political bombshell.
Since he became chairman of the
Committee on Un-American Activities
in 1888 Mr.. Dies has been constantly
in the limelight. Despite opposition of
administration supporters and of some
OF the high officials in the administra-
ton, the House voted six times to con-
tinue the existence of the committee
and to provide it with ample funds to
delve into the un-American activities
The fact of the matter is that the
Dies Committees it came to be called
-unearthed a great mass Of material
regarding Communist and Fascist ac-
tlvlties in this country. It gathered
evidence which led to the ultimate ar
rest OF persons engaged in seditious
work. 1t has provided the FBI, the
Army and the Navy Intelligence Serv-
Ice with wealth of information.
Mr.. Dies was ruthless in his inquiries
and in his denunciation Of individuals.
He let the chips fall as they would,
and II they fell on toes closely con-
nected with the Government, 1t did not
matter to him. This brought him into
conflict with Secretary of Labor Per-
kins, with Secretary of the Interior
1ckes and other high officials.
He has been charged with being a
red batter, a dreamer of dreams. Com
munistic organizations have been vocif-
erous In their attacks. But Mr.. Dies
and his committee did not confine their
investigations only to the Communists,
They went after the Bundists and the
Fascists, the Japanese, the Nazi and
the Italian agents in this country with
Evening star., 1944-05-16

AS the time for the greatest mill
tary effort in our history approaches,
1t Is good idea for every one to be-
come familiar with the terms in which
military organization is described, In
order that when these terms are used
In news dispatches or analysis. they
may convey their proper meaning.
Infantry: The basic unit of infan-
try in the United States Army is the
rifle squad of IL men. Three SQUADS
make rifle platoon. A rifle company
has three rifle platoons plus a COM
pany headquarters and a weapons pla-
toon armed with light machine guns
and mortars. A rife battalion has
three rife companies plus heavy
weapons company armed with heavy
machine guns and mortars and q bat
talon headquarters company which in
cludes an ammunition and pioneer pla-
toon, a communications platoon and
an anti-tank platoon.
rifle regiment has three rifle bat
talions, plus a headquarters COMPANY
(chlef1y communications and staff per-
sonneD, service company supply and
motor transport, q cannon company
and an anti-tank company. Armored
infantry is infantry which moves in
armored troop carriers, as q striking
element IN an armored division. Air.
oorne infantry is of two types-para-
chutlsts and glider-borne Mountain
infantry is specially trained for noun
tain warfare,
Field artillery: The basic unit of
neld artillery Is the battery of four
guns, with sufficient transport for a.
certain amount of ammunition and
Tor basic maintenance and communi
cations. 1t corresponds to the infan-
try company. 1t is subdivided into
the firing battery four gun sections
and one ammunition section, the bat
terry commanders detail (fire-control
ana communications and the main
tenance section. Two to four batteries
usually three make a battalion, to-
selher with headquarters battery
'nre control and communications and
combat train extra ammunition).
y
Armored troops: The basic unit of
tanks is the tank with crew, VARYING
In number according to the type of
the tank. Tanks are grouped into Sec
lions 1.-TWO or three tanks, platoons
usually two sect1onS) and companies
ltnree or four platoons). A tank bat
TALON has a headquarters company
and three or four tank companies. But
the organization of armored troops has
been much changed during the war.
and not all the details have been pub
hshed. The details of the organization
OF tank regiments are not available,
Engineers: Orpa niZed in squads eao
tions, platoons companies and bat
talions, much on the principle of in
fantry without the supporting weapons.
The details of organization vary ac-
cordlng to the type of unit
Medical troops: Each regiment of
independent battalion of combat troops
mas It's own medical detachment, which
accompanies 1t where 1t goes. In ad-
Evening star., 1944-05-16

just the same measure of intensity.
They sought to root out of the Gov
eminent service all persons who were
connected with so-called front" or
ganizations.
1t is obvious that the House. which
until the present Congress was over
whelmingly Democratic, believed that
Mr.. Dies and his committee was per-
forming useful service to the country.
Under no other reasoning is it possible
to understand the large majorities by
which the Dies Committee was con-
tinued in existence.
Mr.. Dies is one of the members of
the House marked for defeat this year
by the Political Action Committee of
the CIO. This committee had hoped
to defeat him in the Texas I'd district
which he has represented for IA years.
1t was ready to back Judge John M.
Combs, who resigned not long ago as
justice of the Ninth Court of Civil
Appeals, and who has entered the pri-
mary for the Democratic nomination
for the House in Dies district. The
CIO was hopeful because, due to the
war, large numbers of workers, many
OF them members of the CIO, had
moved into Dies district Furthermore,
Judge Combs was supposed to be strong
with voters in the rural parts of the
district, to which Dies has looked in
the past for support.
Despite the CIO claims, however,
other members of the House from Texas
insist that Mr.. Dies could have been
renominated had he entered the pri-
mary. Mr.. Dies has been sufferin&>from
a serious throat ailment. He is to
60 to Rochester, Mimi, for an opera
ton. His physicians said he could not
take part in what promised to be a
bllstering campaign. In the past Mr..
Dies has been great campaigner. His
friends declared he could have won,
even II he had not campaigned, but
just run on his record.
Evening star., 1944-05-16
Our Army Setup
BY Maj. George Fieldinp Eliot


dition, each division, or similar COM
mand, has a medical unit which in
cludes ambulance companies, field hos
pitfalls and df animals are PRESENT. vet
erinary companies. Evacuation hos
pjtals and base hospitals are rear
echelons OF the medical organization.
Higher organization Of ground troops:
The standard fighting unit is the divi-
sion. The infantry division is based on
the foot soldier. Its organic compile
ment includes 3 infantry regiments,
the divisional artillery four battalions) :,
an engineer battalion, a signal COM
pany, reconnaissance unit Qight tanks
and armored cars, a medical battalion,
quartermaster battalion and divi-
sion headquarters and headquarters
troops. The division may be reinforced
by other units as may be necessary
to complete the mission. The armored
division is based on the tank. It in
cludes armored troops (tanks), armored
infantry, armored artillery (self pro-
pelled), and supporting elements. The
cavalry division is based on the mounted
horse soldier. Divisions are grouped
into corps (two or more divisions and
corps troops. Corps are grouped into
armies two or more corps and army
troops. Armies form groups of armies
1.-TWO or more armies, etc.. General
headquarters troops are those which
are under the control Of the commander
In chief and have not been organically
assigned to an army, or other subordi-
nate unit.
Air forces: The smallest air force
organization is the flight Cthree or more
airplanes). Three or four flights form
a squadron, which is the basic organi-
zation of the air forces Two or more
squadrons form a group, and two or
more groups wing. The formation of
air divisions has been reported, but
without detail.
Commanders: In group organizations,
squads and sections are commanded by
commissioned officers (corporals,
sergeants, staff sergeants) Usually a
platoon has platoon sergeant" as
second in command. The first sergeant
Is the senior commissioned officer
of a company, troop or battery. Platoons
are commanded by lieutenants; COM
panies, troops or batteries by captains:
battalions by lieutenant colonels, with
majors as second in command (but
sometimes by majors, and some field
artillery battalions by colonels); regi-
ments are commanded by colonels. The
normal rank for division commander
is major general. with a brigaoier gen.
eral as second in command and another
IN command Of the divisional artillery.
A corps should be commanded by a
lieutenant general, and an army by
a general, but present American prac-
lice is to put senior major generals
In command of corps, and lieutenant
generals in command of armies The
rank of general, in the field, is re-
served for commanders In chief, as
with General Eisenhower in Europe
and General Macarthur In the South
west Pacific.
Evening star., 1944-05-16

IL months-or whether they intend to
fight to the bitter end, very interesting
observations are being gathered regard
ing Nazi equipment and the morale of
their forces. These observations will
be of great use when the offensive
across the Channel begins
Reports are that the German troops
are fighting with the same vigor as
in the past. There are no suicide posts
or units. Whenever their fortified posi-
tions are overwhelmed the German
soldiers surrender. In the 5-day-old
offensive the Allies have not yet come
up against any German position which
was being held by the enemy regardless
Of the odds against them.
Military observers familiar with the
German way Of handling their forces
believe the Berlin high command does
not consider Italy important enough to
sacrifice the lives Of too many Of its SOL
diers. The German generals usually re-
gard any war as just another campaign
They take very long-range view and
are anxious to save lives of their men
when they feel that battles are lost.
Prisoners always return to the home
land and make excellent teachers for the
future wars. This happened throughout
the last war. It happened in Tunisia in
this war when more than 100, 900 Ger
mans surrendered to the forces of Gen.
Dwight Eisenhower.
OF course, the situation will be diff
ferent on both the western and eastern
fronts this summer. There Is every indi-
cation that the German general staff be-
Heves that the Germans can hold back
the Russians on the eastern front and
after yielding some more ground they
will be able to prevent Soviet penetra-
ton OF the Reich. The Nazis also are
convinced that the amphibious character
OF our attack will make it very difficult
for us to score definite victory in the
attack from England. The belief OF the
German general staff, as far as can be
ascertained here, is that If our effort
to make deep wedge into the German
defenses in Western Europe Is frustrated
and a stalemate is brought about at a
beachhead, the chances are fair for Nazi
diplomats to negotiate a peace
Evening star., 1944-05-16
Still Dangerous

Although it may seem remote the
possibility Of a spectacular enemy
cornerstone against the British
Isles Is real enough to be weighed
carefully in connection with our
Aliieo invasion plans. Lieutenant
General Sir Charles Lloyd, COM
manding the London district. and
flelo Marshal Lord Ironside. chief
OF tne British Home Force, both en-
phasize the Importance of vigilance
on this score, for the more desperate
the Nazls become, the more danger
GUS they are likely to be and the
more chance there is that they will
react to our blows with the deadly
resourcefulneSs of trapped animal
We have heard much talk about
now large numbers of Allied air.
borne troops may be landed deem
behind the enemy in Western
Europe during the opening phase of
the coming invasion. The purpose
OF this would be to divert the atten-
tention of the Nazis, to disrupt their
supply lines and communications
and to resort to other measures CAL
culated to weaken and disorganize
their resistance as our armies move
IN, more or less frontally, against
fixed coastal defenses. But this
sort OF operation can be two-way
proposition, at least to the extent
that the German high command
can try the same thing with suicide
squadrons of parachutists charged
with the task of landing in Britain
and doing as much damage as pos
sible before being wiped out.
Although such an air-borne thrust
against the compact British Isles
would be considerably more difficult
than similar Allied attack against
the spraWling European interior,
there can be no doubt that if the
enemy thought it worth the cost, he
could and would carry it out.
In any event, even if the Nazis do
not attempt such q move, we must
expect that they will react to our
invasion with the utmost violence
and probably with a few surprises
of their own. In all likelihood their
so-called secret weapons" - rocket
devices, poison gas and the like
Evening star., 1944-05-16
This Changing World
By Constantine Brown

The Allied offensive in Southern Italy
Is being watched with the utmost
anxiety by the entire world
In spite of the fierceness of the battle
on the Casino front, the drive cannot
be regarded as decisive offensive.
Our eventual success will help restore
the prestige we have lost by the stymied
operations since last September and
will help the other drives by further
reducing the enemy's manpower.
An early triumph unquestionably
will have strong effect on the morale
Of the satellites who so far have paid
no attention to the warnings from
Washington, London and Moscow to
abandon the sinking German ship.
Words have not been enough for the
governments of Bucharest, Sofia and
Budapest. 1t Is possible that deeds will
persuade them to leave the war in the
hope that the Allies would deal more
leniently with them.
Should the Hungarians and the
Romanians be sufficiently impressed
with a German defeat in Italy, the
southern front could be widely ex-
panded. So long as the Hungarian
armies in particular are willing to
of the southern approaches into Ger
many through Austria and Czecho-
slovakia, 1t is hardly likely that the
Allied forces could make much progress
after the Germans have been COM
PEELED to withdraw from their present
lines in Italy or even from the entire
italian territory.
From the strictly military point Of
view. the present battles in italy are
laboratory work. Besides attaining the
objectives which we set out to gain
in September, 1943, we shall have the
first real glimpse at the ability of the
German troops to Withstand severe at
tacks from behind strongly fortified
lines.
Although neither the American nor
British intelligence services has any
definite ideas as to whether the present
German resistance is only camouf1age
to permit the withdrawal of their main
forces-as so frequently has been the
case on the Russian front in the last
Evening star., 1944-05-16
Hope

recent issue Of The Council Fire,
= International Girl Guide and
rl Scout magazine, published in
bndon, contains a discussion of the
fiuence of Saint Paul upon the
SOCIOLOGY of people in the present
Ira of turbulence and strife. The
kuthor is Arethusa Leigh-White,
and she quotes Jacques Maritain as
having pointed out that the "forceful
and militant protagonist of Christ
and His teaching" is the personifica-
ton Of "the virtue of hope"
1t follows, naturally, that Saint
Paul means something of particular
Importance today. I'VE need the
invigorating outlook" of the Apostle
to the Gentiles "if our minds are
to pierce the darkness of torment
with which we are surrounded"
But Saint Paul related hope with
faith and charity, and it is obvious
that there is no special advantage
In wanting world worth living in,
If that yearning is made futile by
doubt that 1t can be achieved or
skepticism that the processes Of
brotherhood and mercy will be
effective to that end.
The United Nations at this present
moment are poised for a great effort
to defeat the Axis in Europe-an
endeavor which will succeed or fail
In the ratio of the dynamic of ideal
ism which inspires men and women
to toll and sacrifice. It is a mistake
to think of the war as a contest
between machines. Rather, it is
struggle between human beings
And the instinct of hope must be
compelling on both sides. The major
difference between them Is that of
the kind of civilization they visual
ize. America and her Allies fight
for the worlds salvation. Their
enemies cannot claim such a goal.
Paradoxically, there must be many
unwilling soldiers In Hitler's armies
Evening star., 1944-05-16
Bronze Brothers

Where are the paths once intimate nth
bare
Bro1Un Soles and nloccdSins that pat
termed one
Fleet foot in line before the other,
Where
Are the bronze brothers of the moon
and sun?
Where are the tepees and the fires that
spoke
Their silent languages from crest to
crest
With tall hieroglyphs Of careful smoker
Where are the drums that punctuate
unrest?
Is that a footprint In the moss9 And
look
A jelpeled pheasant feather rides tho
Dind.
Can that be muHed laughter or tho
brook?
Euen the stealthy rain seems moe
casined.
Those are not fickerS flashing through
the brake
heard the whispered sound that botD-
strings make.
cosErTE MIDDLETON.
Evening star., 1944-05-16
Poll TuxVote

The Senate vote on the unsuccess-
full effort to limit debate on the anti
poll tax bill cannot be explained
away on any ground of narrow poll
tics. Needing a two-thirds vote. the
proponents of cloture were unable to
muster even simple majority, their
motion being beaten A to SO.
Even if the sixteen Senators from
the eight Southern poll tax States
had refrained from voting, the
cloture motion still would have
failed of passage, and it seems evi-
dent enough that the refusal of
twenty-eight Senators from non-poll
tax States to support clotufe must
have resulted in large part from
serious and sincere doubt as to the
constitutionality of the anti-poll tax
bill.
The defeat of cloture and the sub
sequent laying aside of the tax
measure will be disappointing to
those individuals and groups who
succeeded in getting it through the
House and who brought every con-
ceivable pressure to bear on the SEN
ate. This sentiment will not be
shared, however, by those who be-
neve the bill to be an invasion of
a function reserved to the States,
and who have been deeply disturbed
by the rising tendency to bypass the
Constitution whenever it seems ex-
pedient or convenient to do so.
This latter group will find much
more reason for disappointment in
the refusal of the Senate Judiciary
Committee, by a vote of to S, to
take up Senator O'Mahoney's pro-
posal to ban poll taxes through
constitutional amendment. If all
groups which are fighting the poll
tax in the name of true democracy
were willing to put the question
squarely before the people, they
would get behind the O'Mahoney
plan. II this were done there is
every reason to believe that the pro-
posed amendment would be voted
out promptly and put before the
country.
Evening star., 1944-05-16

are no better than ours, but we
must nevertheless be prepared to
cope with dangerous and novel
forms of attack, as Prime Minister
Churchill warned some time ago.
The German high command. in
short, is traditionally opposed to
passive or static defensive stands.
and If it can do so at all, it will hit
hard somewhere, somehow, in an
effort to blunt or defect the blow
we are now preparing. Not for a
moment should we underestimate
the strength still remaining to this
enemy.
Evening star., 1944-05-16
Greek Disunity

AL cllC1 SCglC dGbClllpI lS UcIllS
made to heal the multiple riffs
within Greece by the current meet
ing between representatives of polit-
ical and guerrilla factions of Axis
occupied Greece and political lead
ers in exile. The meeting place is in
the mountains of Lebanon. The
complexity of the problem is evi-
denced by number of delegates and
the groups they represent.
Even to foreign students of Greek
affairs with knowledge of the coun-
try's background, there is something
battling in the extreme fragmenta-
ton that has occurred during the
past year. The Greek people rallied
magnificently to Mussolinis surprise
attack, nearly four years ago, and
fought gallantly against hopeless
odds when the Germans and Bull
garians overran the country the fol-
lowing spring The sufferings and
humiliations endured under the sub
sequent Axis occupation do not seem
to have broken the popular spirit.
Genuine Quislings are few and re-
sistance is widespread. However,
this resistance has never been we'll
co-ordinated, and has tended more
and more to be waged by groups
Vhose mutual antagonisms have
aused so much fighting among
emselves that relatively little has
en- accomplished against the COM
enemy.
Rctional divisions in Greece ap-
to be fully as bitter as those in
pboring Yugoslavia, but the
reasons for this are not clear.
lavia is a recent and rather
ial creation of populations
though kindred in blood and
have been historically di-
" deep differences in religion
ture. No such divisions exist
Greek people, which has also
more than a century of ma
dependence It is true that
OEtical life has been stormy
It, for the past generation,
Froversy of monarchy versus
has been chronically to the
Dducing several constitu-
citations. Nevertheless, the
itterness of factional strife
seem to be fully explicable
of the political past alone.
lplies the existence of other
which complicate the prob
should not be forgotten
bece, though relatively small
Is geographically complex.
Inland is sundered by noun
hnges into many districts
promote isolation and rivalry
es they did in ancient Hellas.
here are the many islands,
|ith its special identity. Lastly,
ire the large Greek colonies"
throughout the Near East,
members, though living on
soil, are intensely attached to
Aotherland and influence home
rs with their varied points of
The problem of Greek unity
Aus subtle as we'll as complex. A
prehensive understanding, to-
her with tolerant sympathy Is
ded for it's constructive solution.