Evening star., 1944-09-12
Magician Wanted

10 the Editor OF The star
Dorothy Thompson admittedly is in
the first rank Of columnists. She has
made many practical and valuable sug-
gestions on public affairs. One Of her
latest stands out supreme. She knows
what to do with Germany. This Is her
idea: Germany must become a great
Switzerland. This Is perfectly possible
and absolutely constructive"
But Switzerland Is not merely beauti-
full mountains and yodeling herdsmen
The Swiss are among the bravest and
most independent people in the world
They are not even afraid OF new ideas
Brought up on the traditions OF William
Tell and Arnold Winkelreid they hold
liberty dearer than life.
If Miss Thompson knows any thauma-
turgist who can transform 80 million
Germans into even half that many
Swiss, the civilized world will rise up
and call her blessed. Think what it
would mean to have Central Europe
peopled by beings whose own self
respect is SO complete that they respect
the rights of others-honest, sincere,
industrious, highly intelligent and ut
terly humane! ELLIS MEREDITH.
Holds People Only Ignorant
To the Editor of The Star:
Gov. Dewey's excellent address at
Louisville contained one common yet
serious error. The people Of Germany
and Japan, he said, not just their
leaders, must be taught that war does
not pay. They must learn that
they must not try it again"
For more than 10 years, Axis peoples
have been in the grip of an iron GEN.
sorship. When many in our own coun-
try had misread trends abroad, when
even the then British Prime Minister as
late as 1888 spoke confidently Of peace
with HONOR when Hitler repeatedly
proclaimed his peaceful intentions be-
fore people completely deprived of
truthful newspapers, books and free
speech-how can we logically hold those
people guilty along with their leaders?
Individual Germans and japanese,
personally responsible, must be punished
for their crimes. Their leaders must
be taught that aggressive warfare is
crime and does not pay. But the great
lesson of this war for the people, as
distinct from the leaders, is that never
again must they tolerate censorship
so complete that their governments
real foreign policy is hidden from them
and they later may be charged with
crime when actually guilty only of help
less ignorance. ROBERT S. FIELD.
Vineland, N. j.
This Century's Achievement
To the Editor of The Star:
May I comment upon the very fine
article in The Star of September s.,
written by Newbold Noyes, jr., about
Gertrude Stein?
1 am one of those who did not under
stand her when she said something like
"a rose is a rose because it is a rose" +"
But I DO understand what she means
when she says that this war is 10th
century war and that 'the Goth century
had to win OUT wish that she had
elaborated on her theme.
One Of the contributions of the 2Oth
century, it seems to me, is the attitude
OF mind toward the individual. For the
first time in history men and women
have become, not just men and women,
but persons in an abstract sense: which
is what human beings really are. There
is hard-earned tendency to Judge these
persons according to ability and expert
ence, without regard to age. sex OF
marital status.
LAURA K. POLLOCK.