davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1944-08-01

Felice and all their contents pre-
dominantly are Of the grandest
period-the era Of the Golden Age
Of Tuscany than which nothing
under the sun = more compelling.
Just to name them Is 4 pleasure.
But Florence Is more than = place.
Even to individuals who care moth
Ing for art. It il legend Of romance
and aspiration. Not vainly did her
father give to Nurse Nightingale the
blessing OF the ancient city Of her
birth. How many soldiers have
thought Of her with gratitudel Nor
is Dante the exile forgotten by the
living heirs Of his universal endow-
ment. oI Joe, marching into Firenze.
will wonder whore In Its maze Of
streets lived the small daughter of
Folco Portinari WHO was nine In 1874
and for whom thu dean Of italian
poets composed the Vita Nuova and
the Diyina Commedia.
Florence throughout illimitable
tomorrows will be. above Ill things
else, the home Of Beatrice.
Evening star., 1944-08-01
Florence

Florence. 1t seems reasonable now
to believe, is to be spared the horrors
OF modern war. The retreating Ger
mans have conceded 1t the status of
"an open city" It follows that it
should be occupied by the troops of
the United Nations in q relatively
unspoiled condition. What such an
exemption means to the civilized
portion Of the world can be but
suggested to those who never have
seen for themselves the glories Of
the intellectual and artistic capital
Of medieval Italy. Nowhere else on
earth Is there town OF comparable
distinction. Not even Rome sur
passes Firenze In wealth of Renais-
sance fulallment. Here on the mar
row River Arno, surrounded by the
gardened spurs Of the Apennines,
European culture was reborn in
grandeur of genius never subse-
quently surpassed. Cosimo de- Medici
the elder was the sponsor Of the best
OF this Towering anew; and his son,
Lorenzo II Magnifico. improved upon
the parental example. Savonarola,
the reformer, complained that the
peoples liberties suffered under the
Pale government. but his objections
probably would not be shared by
Americans Of the present generation
who are not unqualified puritans.
1t was exactly the "toy OF life"
which Savonarola hated that made
Florence delightful. Because Of the
Medici family mankind has the
bright and happy pictures Of Ghirl-
andaio, Fra Angelica. Era Lippo
Lippi, Sandro Botticelli. Andrea del
Sarto, Bronzino and at least hun
dred other painters OF magnificent
achievement. It is to a similar
source that historians trace back the
Duomo with Brunelleschi's cupola
erected between 1920 and 1851. The
Campanile. begun by Giotto and
continued by Andrea Pisano, is ear
lier; so is most of the Baptistery;
but the Cortile, the Loggia del Lanzi,
the Palazzo degli Uffizi, the Palazzo
del Podesta or Bargello, the Cappella
del Pazzi, the Spedale degli Inno-
cent?. the Annunziata, San Lorenzo,
the Palazzo Strozzi. the Palazzo Ru-
cellai, Santa Maria Novella, the CAL
Ieria Corsini, the Palazzo Pitti, San
Evening star., 1944-08-01
The Political Mill
By Gould Lincoln

A constitutional amendment proposal
requires two-thirds vote Of each house
Of Congress. The women's party still
has its work to perform. It is . far
easier Job, though, than the drive which
finally won the woman suffrage amend
ment in 1920. That al-important
amendment gave women the right to
vote and nothing more. The equal
rights amendment reads: Equality Of
rights under the law shall not be denied
or abridged by the United States or by
any State on account Of sex" Congress
and the States are given power to en-
force the proposed article by legislation.
which Is not to become effective until
dve years after the date Of ratification.
The purpose Of the amendment Is to
raise the status Of women In the United
States, and, by example, to raise the
position of women everywhere. The
need for the amndment Is clear. Wom-
en- under the constitution, which Is al-
ways considered in the light of COM
mon law, do not have the rights that
men have. An astounding number Of
laws discriminating against women are
stf1l on the statute books. Recent rul-
ings by the Controller General and .
couple Of Baltimore judges holds that
women are not persons"
It Is fact that many laws have been
enacted giving women certain privileges
when employed. An argument against
the equal rights amendment Is that
these would 60 by the board. But the
women themselves declare they would
rather be treated as mon sfe treated
under the law. sG' $50 ,5-c-t v&a+ f.
In many States today property ac-
quired after marriage by the Joint ef-
fort Of husband and wife belongs to
the husband and Is subject to his con-
troll. In some States the husband can
take his wife's wages and spend them.
In some States, too, wife may not
engage In business unless the court es.
tablishes her capacity to do 50. These
are merely examples Of many discrim-
nations against women.
Evening star., 1944-08-01

the ranks Of the high command on tha
Western Front because there are many
more party" generals In thSt area, The
command Of the tank forces in Nor.
mandy has recently been entrusted 70
. Wa6en 90 general. Trooplsader Paul
Hausser, who replaced Col. Gen. Doll.
man, who died "suddenly." r d the
1irst time IN this war that an % ON.
cer has been given command Of Ger.
man Lmy. The % Corps, which II
considered among the most fanatic In
the German Army, has been always
placed under the command Of regular
army man.
The split in the ranks Of the German
high command leads many observers to
deduct that the majofity Of the COM
manding o6cers soon may either b.
purged or viii surrender TO the Allies
In order to save whatever can be saved
Of the fathsrland.
They all sesm TO nave distinct pref.
ersncs for the RussAns because Premier
Stain has set up the Free Germany
Committee which b receiving al, dis
satisasd o6acers and men With OPEN
arms More well.known German ON.
GERS are answering the call Of the Or.
ganiser Of that committee, 1t. Gen.
Walther Won eeydlits. Among those
newly arrived In Gen. Won Seydlits's
camp are Maj. Gen. Won Lsnski and
Maj. Gen. Mueller Buelow, the latter an
offspring Of the famous family which for
many years has given Germany . NUM-
Der Of distinguished statesmen and gen.
erals.
&&AH
Some military observers In Washing-
ton and London believe the Wholesale
desertions or surrenders will not have
4 telling effect on the morale Of the
Germans since the rank and file Il
formed by men who have been follow
ing Hitler with fanatical devotion and
are glad to be commanded by 100 per
cent Nazis rather than by the stuf1y old
aristocrats.
Others interpret the still obscure de-
velopments In the Reich - indicating
an early disintegration Of the German
forces.
Evening star., 1944-08-01
Progress in Normandy
By Maj. George Fielding Eliot

The Allied progress in Normandy has
been all that could be wished. The &C.
complishments of the past two days
(that u, Sunday and Monday should
be enough to calm the apprehensions OF
al who have been complaining that the
Allied commanders were unwilling to
take risks, were too careful Of their
TANKS, and so on.
Probably the outstanding accomplish.
ment Of that period is the swift Amer
ican armored dash into Avranches, At
the southwestern corner Of the Nor.
mandy Peninsula. This appears to have
been accomplished by an armored col.
tai corridor between the western shore
Of the peninsula and the high ground
held by the Germans.
30 far as can be told at this time.
American troops hold Avranches In
considerable, but not overwhelming
strength, and at that point only are on
the southern bank Of the River See.
The key position on this part Of the
front seems to be the important road
junction town of Villedieu-les-Poeles. II
miles northeast Of Avranches on the
main Avranches-Caen road. It is along
this road that the Germans must con-
solidate new front II they are to con-
tain the Allied armies within the Nor
mandy Peninsula and avoid the haz-
ards Of open warfare with superior
forces. At last reports. American forces
were only miles north Of Villedieu.
and the town was also menaced from
the west and northwest.
The Germans will certainly try to
bring up troops to counterattAck the
American forces In Administration
they can be reinforced, If possible. But
II we can take Villedieu, and consoli-
date q position ON the high ground
astride the Avranches- -Villedieu section
of the Avranches- -Caen highway, while
still holding our bridgehead across the
See at Avranches, then the whole Ger
man situation In this area becomes vir.
tually hopeless.
Il y
In that case, the German left flank
Is definitely laid open. They cannot
hold the narrow ridge south Of and
parallel to the See, because from
Ayranches we can strike right east be-
hind that ridge, down the corridor be.
tween the Rivers See and Douey. An
attempt to hold on the River Selune, far.
ther south, would mean 20 deep . re-
tirement Of the German center "a to
make it extremely doubtful whether any
consolidation could ever be effected. It
would tend to break up the German
Army into two parts, for subsequent
separate destruction.
In this connection, therefore, II =
interesting to note that the Allies are
already preparing to take advantage Of
German dinnculties In the center as the
situation on the left hank becomes more
strained. The Br1tish Offensive which
broke out Of Caumont on Saturday has
now reached and crossed the middle SEC
tion Of the Avranches-Caen road ct St.
Martin de Besaces. and = pushing east
ward into the 1ois De- Honmss. threat
ening the Caen.vire highway.
This British advance y being sup-
Evening star., 1944-08-01
Kniqhthood

An ofhcial British military photo
graph widely circulated in the press
shows King George vi in the act OF
conferring knighthood upon General
Oliver Leese, commander Of his
Eighth Army in Italy. The picture
represents the two men in summer
campaign uniforms, the officer
kneeling before his sovereign to
receive the accolade. It is the
simpler mode of performing the
ceremony that thus is exhibited.
According to this ritual, explains the
Encyclopaedia Britannica, "a num-
ber of knights we're made before and
after almost every battle between
the eleventh and the sixteenth CEN
turies." Segar, garter king OF arms
in Queen Elizabeth's reign, describes
the rite in the words:
He that is to be made q knight is
stricken by the prince with a sword
drawn upon his back or shoulder, the
prince saying, "Soys Chevalier," and
IN times past was added, Saint
George" And when the knight rises
the prince sayeth, "Avencez."
The solemnities which were in
voked when the complete procedure
was observed" were very different" !"
John Selden, the acknowledged mas
ter Of the Antiquarian Society,
declares that "in the elder time"
there were circumstances of
two kinds especially. which we may
call 'courtly' and sacred" The
former were characterized by feasts,
the giving Of robes, arms, spurs and
the like; the latter by holy devo-
tions "and what else was used in the
church at or before the receiving OF
the dignity"
Strangely enough as 1t may seem,
Evening star., 1944-08-01
Temper Of the British
By David laurence

There u . dour Satisfaction for the
British In the announcement issued from
Berlin last night that Il ,385 Germans
were killed during the Today bonn
bardment OF Hamburg last summer.
While the robot menace is not to be
ignored. very clearly its main purpose
50 Tar as the Germans are concerned is
directed against British morale. One
would have thought the Naxis would
have learned by now that British morale
u not to be smashed by this sort of
thing. The robot bombs are greatly in
Ieraor both as destructive agent and as
. nuisance factor to the Luftwaffe at
tacks on London. Their main effect
upon the British temper will be to stif.
ten the nation In its determination To
wipe out an evil which sets such weap.
ons as these In train for purposes Of In.
discriminate slaughter.
Evening star., 1944-08-01
The Wilderness

] plunge into the wilderness. The call
OF root and branch and Leaf txtenst-
fes.
Pass'ns the needed slopes phere pine
cones fGu,
hasten on. Above bluebtrd Aies.
The Hchens spoy, and no.c q fdun dp-
Mobiles a poplar bud and drifts ascay,
And ]. as one sDho home from erile.
nsGrs,
Am snrosng NTH all that pords may
not say.
The rapids reached now and the cached
canoe, !.
The portage. ttu NTH calm soasers
attained,
] p1y the oars. and, looking blackboard
through
The ttwss elapsed the ,chils thsss
scenes srere gained,
Forget that wilderness st brick snd
sto2s,
Where, lot, Wemdsre6 n ~ 6epths
DwARD .. oAYasxA
Evening star., 1944-08-01
Surrendering Mere Word'2

Jul SAASSA uu8 ANASiO VOI0
70 the Editor Of The star:
Unable to get something for nothing,
how can We expect to get that supreme
something called world peace. unless
We surrender suficient national sover-
eighty to make world peace . truly
sovereign thing?
Those who admit that almost any,
thing would be preferable to another.
far worse, war should think twice before
asking for anything less than that one
surest thing to stop world war from
coming-a world peace endowed with,
not merely, form Qike the League). but
also Observation-Disclosures armed force
to stamp out war in its nrst, and limited,
phases.
That same substance - force ~ which
alone brings victory in any war, is
needed to maintain our victory over all
war.
In suxrendering small portion Of our
national sovereignties, we. the plain
peoples Of this earth, are surrendering .
mere word-chiefly . petty politicians
word-and thereby gaining enough to
MI all life with meaning. Isa
BOILING sOMERvLLE.
Norwood, Va.
Evening star., 1944-08-01
The Next Four Years


Governor Dewey ID not alone in his
belief that the American people next
November will elect q President,
most of whose term will be in peace
times. The Democrats, ~ evidenced
by Mr.. Roosevelt's acceptance speech
and the tone Of many convention
speeches, are in agreement with him,
and they are laying the foundations
for . campaign that will not rely too
heavily on the Commander in Chief
appeal, but which can be shifted
quickly to a postwar basis II the
conflict should obviously be drawing
to . close by election day.
Nor is Governor Dewey alone in
his belief that 1T may not be long
before the most vital thing which
faces every American is his oppor-
tunity to work, either for himself
or some one else"
When the war ends we are going
to be faced with the enormously
difficult task Of building a secure
peace, and most of US are satisfied
that nothing else we may do will
count for much if we fail to prevent
the outbreak Of another world war.
But We ought also to face the rather
obvious fact that the United States
will contribute little to the mainte-
nance Of peace throughout the world
II We are unable to maintain a
healthy economy ut home. Millions
Of unemployed men and the con-
tinued piling of deficits on deficits
are not the stepping stones to peace
and security, and every sensible
American knows this to be true.
Mr.. Dewey says that the United
States cannot face another period
like the Roosevelt depression" which
lasted eight years. That is a state
ment which ignores the fact that
Mr.. Roosevelt inherited his depres-
sion from the last Republican re-
gime. but 1t. is nevertheless true that,
despite the lavish deficit spending
and the unceasing economic expert
mentation, the New Deal admins
tration failed to pull this country
out Of its slump.
It was not until war came that
there began to be jobs enough for
all, and every one knows that when
peace returns these war Jobs will
disappear. Then we will be faced
again with the problem Of unem-
ployment running into the millions,
and the people will want to know
what they can expect from an ad-
ministration which proved unequal
to the problem during the eight
years prior to the war. This gives
Mr.. Dewey a weapon, but it will not
be an effective weapon unless he
has some real alternative program
to offer the country.
Evening star., 1944-08-01

the granting Of knighthood Is not an
exclusive privilege Of royalty. King
George In the tableau with Sir Oliver
Is acting ~ "the chief Of the army
rather than - head Of the state.
But the code Of chivalry sets forth
that practically any valiant knight
may bestow the accolade. A case in
point 10 that Of King Francis I Of
France, aged only twenty-one, hon
ored on the bloody field Of Marig-
nano In italy. September IL, 1915, by
the hand Of Pierre Terrail. seigneur
de Bayard, '1e bon chevalier sans
pour ct sans reproche," then forty
two years old and the most de-
servedly famous soldier In Europe.
Evening star., 1944-08-01
Speaks for Landlords

10 the Dditor Of The star:
While We are on the topic Of CONNER
.cial rent gouging, let's bear in mind
that there are two sides to the question.
1t would be interesting to hear from
the many landlords who suffered ter
rifle losses in commercial rents during
depression times. They were forced to
make substantial reductions in leased
property or the tenants threatened to
resort to bankruptcy to avoid their
obligations. Now the same tenants can
80 no Justice In having to pay addi-
tionaI rent. although they are well able
to do 20.
The landlord seems to be the forgotten
man. His cost Of living has increased.
too. yet he is besrudesd an increase IN
income. pREWAR LANDLORD.
Evening star., 1944-08-01
Elusive Killers

While dictated In part by the need
for increased output in other cate
gories, the Nays decision to reduce
its submarine building program u
based primarily on the highly grati-
tying fact that our undersea yaiders
have proved themselves as elusive a.
they are deadly. Their record 10
brilliant. Since Pearl Harbor to date,
in addition to hundreds probably
destroyed or damaged. they have
definitely sunk no fewer than e7l
japanese vessels. including So war;
ships. In the same period their own
losses have totaled only ~, three Of
which went down accidentally In
maneuvers and one Of which was
sent to the bottom to avoid enemy
capture.
Stated another way, for every
American submarine lost in combat
so far. almost 80 Japanese surface
ships have been sunk. When we
compare this with the massacre in
flicted on Nazi U-boats-destroyed
at the rate Of one q day over ex-
tended periods-we can better ap-
preciate what the Navy means when
it says that the success of our UNDER
seas fleet in "evading and resisting
enemy attack has exceeded early
expectations" The record has been
50 good that the original building
program now can be cut back, with
out any relief whatever to Japan.
This prospect exists for two rea-
sons: First, because British subma-
rines, now that they have less work
to do elsewhere. are beginning to
operate more and more extensively in
Far Eastern waters, so that against
these and our American raiders, the
Japanese are currently losing more
than two ships q day; and second.
because the farther our forces ad-
vance In the islands Of the Pacific,
the narrower becomes the shipping
area left to the enemy and the easier
the hunting for our underseas fieet.
For an empire heavily dependent on
seaborne traf1ic, this Is q very grim
outlook indeed. ranking among the
most decisive factors guaranteeing
the total defeat Of Japan.
Evening star., 1944-08-01

ported-and may soon be joined-on it,
right by another advance, probably OF
American troops, which has taken To-
rigny and seems to be threatening the
flank Of the German forces which are
still active In the area Of Tessy-sur-
Wire. It is here that the Germans have
made their major counter efforts in an
attempt to dislocate the American
thrust along the west coast Of the
peninsula, but 30 far these efforts have
not been attended with any notable
success.
The battle Of Normandy now hangs
In the balance The Allied forces have
made q great effort. They have at.
tanned very great results In gaining
increased elbow room, even II they gain
no more. But they are not resting con-
tent with that. They are, indeed, within
an ace Of attaining really decisive re-
sults-the tearing loose Of the German
left fank from any anchor on the sea.
If the Americans can stay In
Avranches," as one British military OBJ
server remarks, where can the Ger.
mans fght US next?"
Where, indeed? They will be lucky II
they can eventually make their escape
behind the Seine without sustaining
crushing losses. It comes back, then,
to the decision of the German com.
mander in chief. If he II as willing to
take risks to keep the Allies penned up
in the Normandy Peninsula as the AL
lied commanders seem to be to break
out, then he is even now moving toward
the front every division on which he
can lay his hands, regardless Of the
possibility Of exposing Brittany or some
other part Of France to q new Allied
landing. A German ,counterattack in
the area Avranches- -Villedieu will fol-
low. +
On It's success or failure will depend
the decision Of the battle Of Normandy
at this point. But II the German COM
mander is not willing to take risks,
then-unless he Is actually counting the
destruction of great part Of his 7th
Army-we would very soon see signs
that he Is in full retreat eastward,
abandoning to the Allies much Of France
between the Seine and the Loire.
One thing is certain: The Germans
cannot continue to play the game Of
trying to coop up In the constrained
area Of the Normandy Peninsula force
greatly superior to their own. The Al.
lied commanders have found Q means
to break the deadlock imposed upon
them by lack Of space and congested
supply routes. The Germans must now
night for decision with everything they
have. or see that decision 60 against
them.
tcepyrisht. 1914. New York Tribune. mel