The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1944-05-06
By WEsTBROOK PEGLER

NEW YORk-Ihe fact that Ernie Pyle has
turned up in England from Italy is strong
indication that the day is not far off when the
Americans and British and perhaps, few
representative patches of Poles, Czechs and
Frenchmen, will cross the channel under the
fire and storm the most formidable defenses
ever built. It will be terrible day in history
and, probably, in the United States. the PEG.
pie, by common consent, will stay away from
the saloons and night clubs and theaters, for
notwithstanding Gen. Omar Bradley's recent
optimistic fight talk to some of his officers,
the casualties surely will be awful and there is
hardly American at home who does not
know some neighborhood boy who will be there.
AS this day approaches, it is certainly not
pleasant to American ears to hear bold talk
from Gen. De Gaulle and other Frenchmen
safe in Africa as to the terms which they
will accept the liberation and rescue of their
country. De Gaulle has warned those who are
about to make the invasion that the French
people will not submit to any civil adrninistra
ton but an administration of Frenchmen.
This plainly means that he intends to be the
judge as to whether this or that Frenchman
is good and worthy Frenchman and it prob
ably means reprisals against all who collabo-
rated with the Germans after the collapse in
1940 In that case millions of spiteful indivdu-
ais would be squealing on one another and
solini of stabbing France in the back in 1910,
would have field day slaughtering those who
tried to fight them in the declining days of the
republic.
De Gaul1e has no credentials fr m the
French people, Nobody has. They were dis
rupted and filled with hate among themselves
for long time before the war and it would
be no more correct to accept De Gaulle's pre-
tensions than to select almost any other man
with clean record of opposition or forced
submission to the Germans. The only reason
to accept him would be the assumption that he
would establish a strong and hard-boiled rule
to keep the country in reasonably good order
and relieve the rescuing armies of Americans
and Britions Of the necessity to protect their
rear from treacherous ingratitude and police
the population. d
De Gaulle seems to forget that it was the
failure of France that now has made it nee
essary for the invaders to storm the beaches.
Men who were there in 1918 and again in 1910
reported that the French soldiers of 1910 were
no true sons of their fathers and that elements
Of the army which were infected with COM
munism gladly quit because in those days
in France as we'll as here, the communists
were actively helping Hitler. Yet De Gaulle
has accepted communists as good and worthy
Frenchmen.
France will be fortunate to be saved at all
and De Gaulle's own contribution has consist
ed mainly of obstruction and political qulb-
bling reminiscent of the disastrous and dis
graceful party squabbles in the Chamber OF
Deputies before the collapse. And the French
people can be sure that whatever temporary
administration the Americans n British
might establish until the fighting ends IN Ger
many and the time comes when it Will be
possible to attempt to hold elections Will be
considerably less painful than the rule OF the
Nazis
This country. has had some grotesque IL
1usions about France and the French charac-
ter. hang over of the great crush which
began before 1914 and cooled somewhat When
French mobs prowled the streets shouting
.Down with the debt!' and jeering Amer1-
cans in the streets If the United States ever
owed debt to Lafayette it was paid in full
long ago. and while there is no false idea now
that the impending invasion is intended for the
benefits of France, alone the soldiers VINO do
the lob and those behind them at home cannot
ignore the fact that otherwise France would
remain in slavery indefinitely.
On the record to date it seems likely that
an administration of De Gaule's would be
about as kindly as Frances rule in Spain, so
if the rescuers do accept him it should be
done with provision to restrain him from es-
tablishing reign of terror in reprlsal for
more political and personal dislikes