davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1944-08-14
Bought" Vote Not So Sure


To the Editor Of The Star:
Apropos Frank Kent's article on "the
bought vote" and pair Of communica- =
tions from Government employe read
ers commenting thereupon, 1t may not
be amiss to suggest that Mr.. Kent was
and is rather more discouraged than
he should have been. The fact is that
there are thousands of employees of
the Federal Government who, having
lived IN close communion with the New
Dealers for II long years, have become
the most Jealous of all Republicans.
They cannot speak publicly; indeed.
many Of them speak privately with
great caution. Yet their most earnest
prayers and hopes are centered upon
Mr.. Dewey and Mr.. Bricker. Their con.
victions are the product of, first, knowl-
edge Of what has gone on IN the
Government during the New Deal ad-
ministration; second, recollection of
more competent administrations pre-.
ceding the New Deal; third, intense
patriotic feeling and loyalty to the
Nation; and. fourth, sincere concern
for the future Of the country. Mr.. Kent
and his readers should appreciate, of
course, that these are the people whose
abilities are such that their livings
could be had within or without Govern
ment employment. That thousands of
them will vote for Mr.. Dewey and Mr..
Bricker there is no slightest doubt.
OBSERVER.
Evening star., 1944-08-14

and gone before Congress gets around
to that, but it's not too late to let the
War Department know that its inter-
pretatlons OF the law are preposterous
IL they say that there are heavy
penalties attached, let them risk being
prosecuted. GI Joe Is risking a lot
more. They won't be prosecuted either,
ana they know 1t. They can interpret
the law to mean ban on straight party
propaganda issuing from party head
quarters. II Joe misses that he won't
have missed much.
Anyhow. the War Department can
argue that reading newspapers doesn't
influence anyones vote. Mr.. Roosevelt
has been elected three times with 80 per
cent OF the press against him. That
was the American press. That the
soldiers vote will be Influenced by the
British press is just plain silly. And
anyhow, the theory of q free press is
that people should have access to all
the opinion they care to read and digest
ana then make up their own minds
Just what the atmosphere must be in
Army camps when the soldiers find out
there are to be no more newspapers
until after elections can be imagined.
Just what the legal minds of the War
Department think they are doing for
soldiers morale cannot be imagined.
l suppose they don't think about that
but conflne their cerebrations, If any,
solely to the matter in hand, which is
the way Of experts.
And what our British friends, who
take infringements on their personal
freedom with rather less docility than
we DO. must think Of this order, needs
no comment.
hope the relatives of Joe. however
won't accept this with a shrug, but
Will remind the War Department that
we are fighting war for freedom. not
tyranny, and hope that we will all so
act that GI Joe will know that he
has millions Of champions of his dignity
as citizen, back in the United States
OF America, who will make such a howl
that the War Department will be re-
stored to q modicum Of common sense.
Released By the Bell Syndicate. Incl
Evening star., 1944-08-14
Foces to the Sun

Mans ancient heritage is freedoms
light,
The forge on Which his heart nay
shape dream,
The blaze that Ddrn,s. the bread that
feeds the SOUL
The ioord OF ,Dtsdom teaching him the
right
OF teAown,en to build ,Dhat each n.ay
deem
A hightoay leading to a splendid goal.
In freedoms ,oay men call each other
friend
The humble man may reach hieh
estate
Unhdmpered by the accident of birth.
And thus It tolotps thdt unto this end.
Since freedom does not make It's bed
tDith hate,
The blood OF men has long protuned tho
eo''n'
The ,Ddy OF lope is eper tresdom's way-
The hand-cl0sp In the dark to stiH
fear,
A sorrotD shared until the sting Is done
1t IS a jetDel for Which brave men pay
Their last, tpdrns drop of blood that
those most dear
TO them may ipdlk NTH faces to the
F"'
. MEz CLARK THoRsoN. !
Evening star., 1944-08-14

to Northern Europe and to the sea-
going peoples thereof. In the south
a sailor was a marin" in French, a
"marino" or a ''marinero" in Span
ish and "marinaio" in Italian, all
obviously from the Latin mare"
the classic name for the sea.
But the Romans also had the word
"nauta" for sailor" and the source
here plainly is "navis," one OF sew
eral labels for boat" vessel" and
ship" Associated terms were "nau-
ticus," direct from the Greek; nav
alis," "navigo" and "navigatio."
These phrases are easy enough to
trace. The difficulty is that, even
when they have been followed back
into remote antiquity, the riddle still
Is not read. Men, it appears, went
down to the sea in ships" and saw
"the works of the Lord and His won
ders In the deep" ages before any
body ever was known as a sailor.
Evening star., 1944-08-14
Sailor

The word sailor" is not very old.
1t has so many synonyms that the
pathological investigator logically
jumps to the conclusion that it must
be comparatively recent invention.
The Century Dictionary frankly sets
forth the theory that it is IAN erron-
eous spelling perhaps due to
conformity with tailor" But even
the supposedly original "sailer," en-
ployed by Sir Philip Sidney in his
Arcadia" is not conspicuously an
cient. Samuel Purchas and Captain
John Smith used the form "sayler"
with as much reason.
And even when the basic term
sail" is examined against the back
ground Of history the mystery is not
solved. The Century admits that
the root is unknown, but adds that it
certainly does not arise from the
Latin "sagulum," meaning "a man.
tle." Shakespeare, working in Eng
lish when the language still was in
its infancy, mentions sail" no less
than fifty-nine times and in a vari-
ETY. OF connections, indicating that
he was well acquainted with the in
dustry to which the Psalmist refers
as business in great waters" The
Bard of Avon, however, speaks of
sailor" or sailors" on eighteen oc-
casions and in each instance is spe-
cific in his intent. He differentiates
between mariners" and "seamen"
when he wishes.
Meanwhile, the designation Sail"
connoting "a piece Of cloth, or a tex
ture or tissue of some kind, spread
to the wind to cause or assist in
causing a vessel to move through
the water" was "segel' or "seil" in
Low German, "segl" in Icelandic and
Sell" in Danish. The natural sup
position, then. would seem to be
that the efmental noun was native
Evening star., 1944-08-14
Seeking q Truce

The results of the effort now being
made by War Production Board off,
cials to secure "ninety-day mora
torium" on union-imposed restric-
tions which are retarding the pro-
duction OF heavy-duty tires will be
awaited with interest.
There has been considerable con-
fusion as to just what these reStric-
tions consist Of and what the motives
behind them are. Apparently, how
ever, the workers, or some of them,
are reluctant to demonstrate, under
the spur of war necessity, that they
can turn out tires in numbers sub
stantially in excess of their prewar
average. They fear that this would
be used as an argument to reduce
their rate of pay on piece-work jobs
when the war is over, and therefore
they have been holding down pro-
duction to something approximating
what they believe the peacetime
level should be. And in the past, at
least, they have enforced these re-
strictions by the simple expedient of
beating and terrorizing workers who
we're unwilling to restrict their in
dividual output.
1t is doubtful that the CIO United
Rubber Workers, to which the tire
makers belong, approves these prac-
tices. Presumably they are the work
of a radical group which, though a
minority, cannot be controlled by the
union officials. The fact remains,
however, that the tires which are so
badly needed by the Army and the
trucking industry are not being pro-
duced in the desired numbers, and
In an effort to improve production
former tire workers in the Army and
the Navy are being furloughed and
sent back to the factories.
This attitude of the tire workers
Is thoroughly indefensible, even
though their concern for the future
may not be entirely without founda-
ton. The demands of this war have
made it necessary. for millions of
Americans to put their futures in
jeopardy, and there is no reason why
rubber workers should be permitted
a privileged status at the expense of
the conduct of the war.
The Government, however, does
not appear willing to use vigorous
measures to break down this partic-
ular obstruction. Instead, it sends
It's representatives to seek a ninety
day truce. Perhaps, if they are sue
cessful, a second truce, and then a
third one, will be sought, and in this
fashion the tires needed to fight the
war may be forthcoming. But it is
not a procedure calculated to inspire
respect for Government which has
demonstrated that it has ample
power to deal with obstructionist
tactics when it wants to use 1t.
Evening star., 1944-08-14
On the Record
By Dorothy Thompson

Well, what are you and I going to
do about it? Take 1t lying down?
From now until after elections our
sons, brothers. and fellow citizens COM
monty referred to as GI Joe are
going to be treated like idiots and i'm
beetles and kept away from reading
even the daily newspapers.
II stationed In Britain, where one of
the advantages Is that q fellow is
where he can read and write the Ian
guage, there will be no daily or weekly
papers nor any up-to-date monthly
magazines or reviews in his reading
rooms. If he wants to read what is
happening he will have to wait until he
can get pass out to buy 4 paper.
On account of why? On account of
we are governed by men who put their
parties above their country, and on
account Of We have someone in the
legal branch Of the War Department
who Is just as bad.
First We had the Republicans going
into huddle about how maybe the
administration and the commander in
chief would have the break with GI
Joe. So, first they fixed 1t 50 it would
be as complicated As possible for him
to vote. Then, they thought of how
the War Department. being part OF the
administration. might let lot of ad-
ministration propaganda be distributed
in camps
So, with Senator Taft, Republican. of
Ohio, leading OF. they passed a bill
making 1t a grave offense with severe
penalties attached for the Government
lie. the War Department-to allow to
be distributed in camps any literature,
ETC., calculated" to influence the SOL
diers' vote.
Then the legal minds of the War De-
partment got busy on Interpretation.
and found as how practically any read
ing matter dealing with controversial
political, social, economic, or historical
matter might conceivably influence the
soldiers vote. so they pulled out of the
camp Libraries. histories, biographies,
and books on postwar problems.
I'm afraid it's too late to get the law
changed. The elections will have been
Evening star., 1944-08-14
This Changing World
BY CoNsfSSfjss Broses

The Allies in the west and the east
have abandoned orthodox strategy and
are hitting the enemy ct many un-
expected points. They are relying on
the belief that the German high COM
mand. because OF the precarious COM
munications system in the west, will not
be able to move troops As rapidly ~ is
necessary to counter the American
British blows and will begin to diffuse
their forces.
The Germans do not know where the
main Allied blow will fall The fighting
war Of position, as We fought in Nor
mandy until we broke through the Mani
lines, to war of maneuver in which
the Allied armor has q distinct superb
ority Marshal Guenther Won Kluge Is
attempting to match Gen. Eisenhower's
strategy by throwing forces in those
pockets which appear most threatened.
Although his reserves have not been ex-
hausted he now finds 1t dificuit to
receive further reinforcements because
the Allied air arm is hammering hard
at the lines OF communication between
the Reich and the western front.
In the east, the Red Army, relying on
its overwhelming numerical superiority,
Is free to choose whichever area it
desires to attack. When fresh German
forces are rushed in large numbers to
certain threatened sector, another
large Russian army surges in to 4 less
well defended area. BY the time the Ger
mans are able to gather their forces at
the new danger point, the Russians are
ready to hit somewhere else.
The Allies have the initiative on all
battle fronts. American divisions are
advancing toward Paris from several d.
rections. Another large Allied force may
land somewhere else in France. The
Russians keep on hitting the enemy re-
gardless Of certain supply handicaps.
There are, OF course, definite strong
defense lines between Germany proper
and the contiguous territories. The
nxed lines which the Germans had pre-
pared before 1899 and have improved
somewhat during the war still stand in
the way OF a major Allied invasion of
the Reich. But the Allied high COM
mand Is speeding up the attempt to
smash the Nazi forces in the occupied
areas because it believes a series of
smashing military defeats, coupled with
Evening star., 1944-08-14
Pioneer WAC

The f1rst WAC, incredible as it may
seem, was real, honest goodness
combatant, Her name was Deborah
Sampson. A native of Plympton,
Mass, she began her strange career
on December II, 1760. The death Of
her father left her mother destitute,
and Deborah herself, when only S
or 6 years of age, was bound out"
to certain Deacon Thomas in
whose household she served until
she was II. Then followed a period
in which she attempted school
teaching Her patriotism, however,
gradually became the most compel
ling influence in her life; and finally,
on May 81, 1881, she dressed herself
In the clothing of man and, under
the name of Robert Shurtliff,
enlisted.
Nature aided her in conforming to
the role which she thus assumed.
She was tall, large of frame, we'll
accustomed to outdoor labor, had
great capacity for endurance Of
hardship and developed masculin-
ity OF manner which suited her pur-
poses admirably. The official record
testif1es that she acquitted herself
with valor, winning the commenda-
tion OF her superiors for her fidelity
and daring and gaining the admira-
ton OF her comrades of a humber
station by her cheerfulness and for
titude. Twice wounded, she kept her
secret until the end of the war. An
attack OF so-called brain fever" put
her in hospital in Philadelphia in
the autumn of 1888, and a physician
there - the famous DR.. Barnabas
Binney-sent her to George Wash
ington with an explanatory letter
after her recovery. The general gave
her discharge and sum of money
with which she returned to her
native village. Subsequently both
Congress and the Massachusetts,
legislature rewarded her. She mar
ried Benjamin Gannett. farmer at
Sharon in the Bay State. and bore
him son, Captain Earl Gannett,
and two daughters. It was at Sharon
that she died April ~. 1927.
A narrative of her experience left
by Mrs. Gannett suggests that she
fully deserved the celebrity which
she enjoyed Shy was a woman Of
Evening star., 1944-08-14
The WiIIkie Eniomo

The report that the President has
invited Wendell Willkie to come to
the White House for strictly non
political discussion Of postwar Sc
curity questions is producing a
rather sizable hot-weather crop of
political implications.
1t is remarkable how these things
grow In the Washington climate.
The invitation is supposed to have
been conveyed in a letter which the
President neglected to sign in the
rush OF getting away from the White
House. Rumor has it, however, that
the letter was sent, nevertheless, and
that Mr.. Willkie, who is saying MOTH
ing, is favorably disposed to accept,
but would prefer to wait until after
the election, or at least to have it
clearly and expressly stated that the
meeting is to have no partisan DO
litical aspects.
From this point on the speculation
mounts apace. Is the President try
ing to take advantage OF Republican
sighting" of Mr.. Willkie to WOO him
and his supposedly strong following
In New York to the Democratic
camp? Will Mr.. Dewey take this
lying down? Will Mr.. Willkie change
his politics again and come out for
Mr.. Roosevelt, especially after all the
harsh things he has said about the
President and his administration?
If so, will he be able to swing any
substantial number of voters, or
would the about-face reduce his DO
itical influence to zero proportions?
II it were not so hot, one might
take up these questions in proper
order and attempt to answer them.
But the probable results would
hardly seem to justify the effort.
After all, we can wait until we find
out whether the invitation actually
was issued and, if so, what Mr..
Willkie proposes to do about it.
There will still be plenty of time
then for speculation, and 1t may be
cooler.
Evening star., 1944-08-14

the present uncertainty and insecurity
IN the Reich, might precipitate Hitler's
downfall.
The German army Is in process Of re-
organization. Only So men henceforth
are to be trusted with the command of
the forces. It will take some time to
complete the reorganization. Hitler has
emphatically told his people that be-
trayal BY German generals has been
the cause OF the defeats on all fronts.
In this manner he has been able to
overcome, temporarily at least, the de-
nunciatton Of the generals that his
"hunch strategy" has been behind their
inability to hold the enemy.
1t could well be that Hitler's violent
denunciations and execution of the
TRAITORS" have had some effect on the
German people. The government has
the powerful machine OF propaganda
through the radio and the press. The
generals have only the propaganda from
abroad and particularly that from Mos
COW placed at the disposal of the Free
Germany Committee.
II in spite Of the purges and the re-
PAANSAACht Va IAlC Dy TeU2Ole
SS men, the German forces continue to
suffer even greater disasters than under
the old time generals, the uncertainty
which now prevails in the Reich may
turn to chaos and would transmit itself
to the men at the front.
The situation from the morale point
OF view soon may become worse than it
was In October, 1918, when Marshal
Hindenburg informed the Kaiser that he
could give orders to hold the lines de-
tending Germany but it was doubtful
that the men would obey their officers.
The corrosion of the German lighting
forces was not apparent to the Allies
until few weeks later when the Kaiser
f1ed and the general stan sued for an
armistice. Today, the Germans, particu-
larry In the west are still fighting with
stubbornness and determination. And
herein lies Gen. Esenhower's own gam
BILE. Any underestimation of the enc
mys ability to strike back might result
In setback which, while from the mill
tary point of view might be inconse-
quential. would greatly strengthen Hit
lers position in Germany from the
morale angle. This is regarded. how
ever, only as remote possibility.
Evening star., 1944-08-14
Letters to The Star

Columnist's Views of Speeches
of President Roosevelt Criticized
Tc the Editor Of The Star:
Your columnist, David Lawrence,
seems to be having as much trouble in
finding way not to support Gov.
Dewey as Wendell Willkie. He is much
alarmed over the possibility of some
OF his speeches In the 1910 campaign,
assuring the fathers and mothers that
he and his able Secretary OF State were
travelling the road to peace and that
their sons were not going to be sent
to fight in any foreign war. And Mr..
Lawrence also is afraid that some of
these isolationists are going to mis-
quote and misrepresent what the Presi-
dent said, but isn't too careful In quot
ing the President himself. II his Quota
tion of the Presidents Boston speech
In October. 1910, is correct, his fears
are well founded.
Why do Mr.. Lawrence and others In
his predicament stress the words "un-
less attacked? What difference does
II make whether the pledges to keep
the Nation out of war were qualified
with these words? Which they were not
In the Boston speech. Certainly 1t was
implied that nothing would be done
to provoke an attack and everyone
knows this was not done. The isolation
lists and all other real Americans are
not criticizing the President because
we happen to be in this war. Their
criticism is that he did not frankly
state the facts. He was not on any road
to peace and knew he was not and also
knew he was playing politics with the
war to be elected for a third term.
One familiar with the articles of Mr..
Lawrence after the war started In
Europe readily can understand the
sympathy he has for the President in
this respect because he peddled about
as much subtle deception on how to
keep out of war by making war as any,
one. READER OF THE STAR.
Evening star., 1944-08-14
Asks About Protection


To the Editor Of The Star:
The recent brutal Staying of a beauti-
full young woman in Rock Greek Park
should not be passed by unnoticed.
I have heard 1t said by some WASH
ingtonians that the girl was at fault
because she chose to walk through the
shady path in the park instead of on
the main highway. After all, Is not
Washington the Capital of the United
States and as citizen OF one Of those
States and a guest in her Capital, had
she not the right to walk where she
chose on Sunday afternoon? And If
she desired to walk through q shady
path In public park, should she not
have been protected?
INDIGNANT TAXPAYER.
Evening star., 1944-08-14
Bosses Opposed

To the Editor Of The Star:
The writer is rock-ribbed Democrat,
having implicit faith in true democracy.
He did not vote for third term and
unequivocally will not vote for fourth
term. He Is loyal American still proud
of the greatest democracy on earth"
but. make no mistake, its days Of glor-
ification are numbered and the cher
ished phrase q mockery If dictated boss
ism continues.
Let us not weaken. Now is the time
to strike hard at rotten politics.
ROCK-RIBBED DEMOCRAT.
Evening star., 1944-08-14
Suggests Racial Commission

Suggests Racial Commission
To the Editor Of The STAR
Is 1t not possible that the Negro prob
lem could be solved as in the case OF
the American Indian?
A. board or commission could be
created, the members being divided
between Negroes and whites, the Secre-
tary OF the Interior being the chairman,
ex ofncio. Appointment to the board
should be by geographical selection from
areas predominantly- Negro. The white
members should be sympathetic to the
Negro and-realistic.
ALICE MfpoDD.
Evening star., 1944-08-14

spiritual distinction. calm, self-pos-
sessed, arm In her determination,
an Amazon in her aim If not In
appearance and behavior. Nothing
mars her example. The WACS Of
today can be proud of their eight
eenth century forerunner.