davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1945-01-08

The refusal of Washington and Lon
don to recognize the provisional Polish
government in Lublin, at least until
after the forthcoming meeting Of the
Big Three must not be regarded as an
important rift among the major Allies.
At present there are nine friendly"
governments which have been recog-
nized by Russia but are being ignored
by the United States and Great Britain.
These governments are those OF Fin
land, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Ro-
mania, Bulgaria, Hungary. Yugoslavia
and now, since Friday, Poland.
The old governments Of the three
Baltic States, Yugoslavia and Poland,
continue to have full diplomatic rep
resentation in Washington. Finland
and the former Axis satellites which
have surrendered nominally to the
United Nations but are being ruled in
fact by the USSR, which has occupied
them militarily, are considered by
Washington and London as still being
in the "armistice stage" Their gov
ernments have no official contacts with
either Washington or London.
This diplomatic situation has in no
way affected the relations among the
Big Three and it Is unlikely that they
Will De IurCnef QeCerlOfaLeQ Dy RuSS1a'S
recognition OF the Communist govern
ment at Lublin.
There was full exchange Of views
among Moscow, London and Washing
ton prior to formal announcement from
Moscow regarding the Lublin setup and
President Roosevelt and Prime Min
lister Churchill had been informed about
the unilateral action which Premier
Stain had decided to take. AS a mat
ter Of fact according to some diplo-
matte observers, the refusal of his two
Allies to join Stain at this time in
recognizing the Lublin government may
prove to be advantageous to his military
plans.
The Red armies are expected soon to
start an offensive against the Germans
in Western Poland. 1t Is not known
how far this offensive will be pushed,
but it is probable that it will be aimed
at least at the occupation of all Polish
territory by Russian forces. In order
to avoid any later quibbling from Wash
ington and London which feel morally
obligated to support the Polish govern
ment in exile, Stain has decided to
Evening star., 1945-01-08

The public discussion between the
United States and Britain has reached
a dangerous stage. Hitherto there have
been utterances of dissatisfaction on
both sides. But now influential journals
like the London Economist are proposing
measures to enforce the British view
point. Inasmuch as these include the
military conduct of the war. it is likely
they will be badly received here and
possibly with the threat Of counter
measures
This-if it goes on-will mean the
strength of each partner in the coalition
will be modified by counter policies of
one against another, which will end in
dissolution of the coalition, before the
war is over, or after its end - -1..-
alton, therefore, is of great gravity, and
must be discussed with utmost sobriety
There is no purpose to be served by
name-calling. We must ask ourselves
how we got into this state of affairs
No one member of the coalition got us
into it. We got ourselves into it, all
together, at the moment we departed
from the principles of the Atlantic
Charter.
A coalition can only be held together
Dy III common enemy, ana VI COM
monty accepted principles. Once the
enemy ceases to be a common menace,
in the absence of principles everything
dissolves.
There have been three major political
errors in this war, all arising out of the
first one-the discounting of the At
lantic Charter. The second was the
Interpretation that has accumulated
around unconditional surrender; and
the third, the failure to produce any
reasonably policy for a postwar Europe
AS far as I know, the first head of a
state publicly to repudiate the Atlantic
Charter was Winston Churchill, when,
in speech before the House of Com
mons, he stated its terms did not apply
to our enemies. When, today, the Lon
don Economist attacks the partition of
Germany-and attacks it, in my belief,
with great wisdom-it should also see
the moment the principles of the At
lantic Charter were lifted regarding
Germant move to partition the Reich
became inevitable. Only a few days
Evening star., 1945-01-08

his mobile reserves piecemeal; but 1t
became increasingly clear to Won Rund-
stedt that he would presently be con-
fronted with the need for doing SO. un-
less he could put check to the in
exorable Allied pressure by counter
operation of his own.
~ ~
Gen. Eisenhower could not, of course
have his cake and eat it too He could
not maintain his offensive pressure
along the Roer front and along the
Saar and the Lauter, and at the same
time organize and hold deep defen-
slve front everywhere else. He could
hardly have done this with twice the
troops he actually had He had to
leave certain portions of the front rela-
lively weak, and therefore exposed to
German counterattack If Won Rund-
stedt thought fit to undertake such an
effort.
He was forcing Rundstedt to the
choice OF such an attempt, or the even
less hopeful expedient of continuing
the battle of attrition until something
gave way. It would be idle to maintain
that there was no element of surprise
IN what Won Rundstedt finally chose
to do The bad weather, the wooded
terrain, and the German facility for
making movements by night, all COM
bined to secure tactical surprises
front reports attest.
But that Won Rundstedt gained
strategical surprise is very doubtful.
Gen. Eisenhower knew very well the
sort of enemy he faced: and the swift
ness Of his reaction to Won Rundstedt's
attack is evidence enough that he was
well Drepared to deal with counter
operation that the German commander
might attempt
There may have been misjudgment
Of the enemy'x strength in that partic-
ular sector, though the attack seems
to have been very swiftly organized;
there does not seem to have been any
mlsjudgment Of the enemy,s overall
strength and 30 far the steps that have
been taken to deal with the German
counterattack appear to be entirely
adequate
II there has been no such overall
misjudgment, it Is not too soon to say
that the German counterattack has
been contained and is likely to turn
into q German disaster. The one ques-
ton mark which remains is whether
the Germans do have unexpected re-
serves Of power which they can now
throw into the battle and with every
day these reserves fall to put In an
appearance their existence becomes less
likely.
tcopsrisht ls4Sy
Evening star., 1945-01-08
Not q Promising Sturt

Last June the Commissioners
established the District of Columbia
Committee on Services to Veterans
and War Workers, requesting its
citizen members, under the chair
manship of E. C. Graham, to make
a thorough study of facilities avail
able here to war workers and yet
erans; to coordinate such activities
to prevent Implications; to decide
as to the necessity for setting up
city-wide information center, or
additional facilities. The Commits
sioners were wisely anticipating
need, which will become greater, of
providing information and advice or
guidance to discharged veterans and
war workers. Experience in the last
war indicated the demand for such
organized services. Other cities are
moving now to provide them.
The committee of citizens came
to the Commissioners with a num-
Der of recommendations, which the
Commissioners did not accept, and
the citizens committee has been
dissolved. The Commissioners have
set up an information center" ac-
cording to their own ideas and are
stating it with whatever volunteers
are obtainable. Judged by the stand
ards Of such information centers
in other cities, the Commissioners
center is inadequate now and will
prove more inadequate as time goes
on and the demand for its services
increases.
The Commissioners, of course,
having assumed responsibility and
ignored the citizens recommended
tions, are entitled to a fair oppor-
tunity to demonstrate that what
they have done is adequate. But
there is also community respon-
sibility to see that discharged vet
erans in need of work or counsel
on their personal problems and war
workers left stranded in Washington
when their jobs are terminated are
provided with expert assistance.
They must be told where help is
obtainable and how to get it. They
must not be left to shift for them
selves, or sent rambling from one
agency to another trying to find
what they need.
II the Commissioners plan, after
proper trial, does not work, another
must be substituted that will. It is
the concern of this community to
see that matter of great local i'm
portance is not dealt with by half
measures.
Evening star., 1945-01-08
Allied VS.. Nazi Strategy
By Mai. Georee FieIdins Eliot

There are two ways, as the able British
commentator Veritas points out to effect
a penetration of defensive position
which cannot be outhanked. One is to
concentrate tremendous striking force
behind the desired area of penetration,
and then drive ahead. The other Is to
keep up constant pressure along the
whole front until something cracks.
The first method seeks to bring about
decisive battle with the enemy's reserves
behind his defenses. The second seeks
to absorb the enemys reserves piece
meal along the front, so that when the
break through comes there will be
insufficient power left to the enemy to
stop it.
The first method leads to victory II the
original penetration can be followed up
in such overwhelming strength that the
enemy cannot contain it; it demands
power and more power, drawn from
great depth and continually resupphed.
The second method leads to victory If
the enemy is constantly confronted with
the need to put in reserves here and
there to avoid local disaster, SO that In
the end he is ground down to the point
where he can no longer either hold his
line or defeat the attacking troops when
they have broken through the line.
** &*
Gen. Eisenhower was compelled, by
circumstances, to adopt the second
method. His supply situation did not
permit him to accumulate the concen-
trated power required for the flrst meth
cd until Antwerp was open. He could
not, in the meantime, merely take the
defensive along the front Except for
the Schelde Estuary and wait for Ant
werp to be cleared.
If he did that, he would be abandon
ing the initiative to the enemy. He
would be permitting Won Rundstedt to
build up his mobile reserve In perfect
security and to send reinforcements to
the Schelde front in great strength, thus
delaying the moment when Antwerp
would become available. He had to par
Gel out his supplies over wide front,
and do what was possible within the
limitations thus imposed upon him.
He therefore adopted the second
method-that of maintaining constant
pressure all along the front. BY this
means he imposed constant drain on
the German resources In manpower and
material, while his own situation In this
respect gradually improved as new har-
bors were opened, as the French rail-
ways were rebuilt and as the operations
for the re-opening OF Antwerp went
forward toward successful conclusion.
He was only partially successful In
compelling Won Rundstedt to commit
Evening star., 1945-01-08
George Bellows Pictures

FrOpaply Cnere are not more than
half a dozen American painters of
the twentieth century whose work
entities them to representation in
the National Gallery of Art. The
standards of the institution estab-
lished by Andrew w. Mellon properly
are so high that only a very few
individuals in any generation are
likely to be able to attain them. But
George Bellows, who died twenty
years ago today in the full flower of
his dynamic genius, certainly met
the stipulated requirements and we'll
deserves the honor which now,
through the kindness of Chester
Dale, has been accorded him by the
gallery's acceptance of his work.
The first of the two pictures re-
ferred to is well known to a large
public from having been reproduced
in various periodicals. It bears the
caption Both Members of This
Club" and belongs to the series of
studies of professional and amateur
sports which Mr.. Bellows made and
which, as Leila Mechlin said in
The Star yesterday, may seem
coarse and Ill chosen" to some
critics. But it is a memorable per-
Torrance, executed with distinctive
skill-a flashing demonstration of
the artists capacity to catch action
on the fly and to pin it to canvas
with equal force and power. People
who never saw a prize fight and
never intend to see one will appre-
ciate Mr.. Bellows enterprise in this
instance if only because of the
essential drama of it.
Much different, yet thoroughly
characteristic, is the portrait of the
donors wife which he also has
given. Dated to a period by the
costume, it nevertheless is a durable
and permanent achievement. The
modelling of the gloved hands and
of the face and the throat is simple
in Mr.. Bellows familiar manner
yet completely satisfactory. AS
Both Members" should be viewed
In relation to "Forty-Two Kids" in
the Corcoran Gallery, so the inter-
probation of Mrs. Dale should be
viewed in relation to Emma" in the
Phillips.
Mr.. Bellows was an American
by choice as well as by birth and
long descent. He lived only forty
two years, but his name is i'm
mortal. The quantity OF his produc-
tion is evidence of his earnestness.
from childhood onward. He loved
art with burning passion and he
likewise loved people. Eventually, 1t
may be hoped, he will have other
Evening star., 1945-01-08
News Reel

Flax bursts, not only in the far skies,
But, here and notD, in the near mind.
The frozen comet OF
planes exhaust
Streams across the consciousness, notp
and here.
Wings break ouer a distant sea
And the hedrt-at-hon1e plummets,
Becoming the t,oisted metal,
Spiraling through fame and smoke.
Death is as close as breath forced
through the teeth
And ,De and it are no longer strangers.
The latitude and the longitude OF the
iDdr's location
Cross and make an X on the once quiet
body -.
And the mind, perforce. sets course
joreper foripard
With lasting peace as the inevitable
lodestar!
ANoBEL ARMOUR.
Evening star., 1945-01-08
Thut's Whut We Mean
m the Hutchinson (Kans) News.

TIom VIC 1autCLluSOA tnAdHSj NEWS.
Just what is meant when we say
American soldiers have the brains and
initiative to act for themselves In
the pinches and consequently emerge in
control of situations which would have
machine moulded Nazis yelling kam-
Grad or the initiative japanese COM
mitting hara-kiri?
First-class example is provided by
the Pratt County boy and his crew
mates who brought their bomber back
to its home base on German repair
parts and fuel. Crippled on mission
over Germany, the big plane couldn't
fly home, but the crewmen nursed 1t to
bomb -pocked airf1eld in France which
had just been abandoned by the enemy.
Rummaging through equipment aban-
doned by the enemy, they found parts
to repair their ship. They pumped 900
gallone of made-in- Germany gasoline
into the tanks of the Fort and took
off for home bright and early the next
morning.
Isn't that just like crew of Amer
fcan lads?
Evening star., 1945-01-08
Health Is Wealth

The Senate Subcommittee on War
time Health and Education, headed
by Senator Pepper, has not been
winning many headlines, but that it
has been doing a highly constructive
job for some months past is made
clear by the excellent interim report
it has just issued.
AS Americans we rightly take pride
in our standard of living, but that
standard is not nearly good enough.
A few figures from the report will
Illustrate the point: Cd In 40 per
cent of the 3.07O counties in the
United States there is not a single
full-time local public health service,
deficiency which can be translated
Immediately into terms of unneces-
sary sickness. (2) Illness and injury
Largely preventable-are costing
the Nation an estimated annual loss
OF 00,000,000 man-days of industrial
labor, or about At times the amount
OF productive effort lost through
strikes and lockouts of all kinds in
1943. And 90 of the $4,000. 900 men
OF military age in this country, at
least 8 or million, including the 3h
million 4-Fs. are not able-bodied
enough for general military duty.
Although the Pepper committee
emphasizes that we are by no means
Nation of weaklings and that the
number of military rejects is not
quite so alarming as 1t may sound,
the figures are sufficiently shocking
to indicate that we have not the
slightest reason to be complacent
about our physical fitness and that
it demands much more attention
than we have been giving to it. To
this end the committee lays special
stress on the Importance of working
out effective methods for the early
treatment and correction of defects
in children and outlines a far
reaching program which it regards
as essential If the riches that lie
In our human resources are to be
properly conserved and utilized. The
program, calling for local, State and
Federal co-operation-with Federal
grants in aid where necessary
looks forward to the establishment
of a great Nation-wid network of
medical centers and other health
facilities designed to serve individ-
uals of every economic status and in
every community, rural and urban.
The committee does not under
estimate the difficulties involved in
effecting such a program, and it
makes clear that considerable study
remains to be done. one of the prob
lens being how best to insure that
Evening star., 1945-01-08
Reader Prefers The Robe

To the Editor Of The Star:
Ordinarily I find myself in agree
ment with Mary-Carter Roberts when
I read her Sunday book reviews and
literary criticisms, but I must take ex-
ception to her recent remarks concern-
ing those two best sellers, Strange
Fruit" by Lillian Smith, and 1.-THE
Robe" by Lloyd Douglas.
The latter book she regards as an
"ersatz'' performance, whereas Strange
Fruit" in Miss Roberts opinion, is pos
sessed Of real merit something for the
"higher" literary tastes. But regard
"The Robe" as vastly superior work,
both In substance and In literary form.
It's faultless sentence and structure and
clarity Of expression show mastery OF
words on the part of the author that is
lacking in Strange Fruit" The charac-
ters in THE Robe" come to life and
emerge as living, breathing, credible
human beings. There are few '.un-
wieldy," awkward sentences or hack
neyed plot situations to annoy the read
er such as are found in Strange Fruit"
I never was able to visualize very clearly
the hero" in Miss Smiths booka
r, Z. w,
Evening star., 1945-01-08
Unfortunate Reply

1t Is difficult to believe that any
constructive purpose was served by
Secretary Stettinius' reply to the at
tack made by Senator Wheeler on
the unconditional surrender formula.
Senator Wheeler contends that to
insist on unconditional surrender Is
stupid and costly. In his view it Is
prolonging war which might be
shortened by presenting our enemies
with some inducement to surrender.
The correctness of this view, espe-
cially when long-range considera-
tions are taken into account, is de-
batable, to say the least. The real
question, however, is not so much
whether Senator Wheeler is wrong,
but whether there is to be any criti-
cism of the administrators war
policies.
Mr.. Stettinius, in his reply, did not
attempt to show that Senator Wheel
er's view was unsound. What he did
say was that his attack on the un-
conditional surrender principle will
be understood in Germany and ia
pan as meaning that If these coun-
tries "can resist long enough, and
can kill enough American soldiers,
the will of the American people to
achieve a complete victory will be
broken and a negotiated peace can
be secured"
In the first place, it is quite evi-
dent from the record that this has
been the hope of the Germans and
the japanese for some time past. and
that they will continue to resist as
long as possible in the hope of secur-
ing negotiated peace, regardless
of anything that Senator Wheeler
might or might not say.
More important, however, is the
fact that the Secretary of States
position, if valid with respect to the
unconditional surrender policy ap-
plies with equal force to all of the
Governments war policies. And
that, in turn, suggests that no one
can criticize any war policy without
being accused of giving aid and COM
fort to the enemy. Probably Mr..
Stettinius did not intend to convey
such an impression, but his reply to
the Montana Senator certainly car
ries that unfortunate implication.
Evening star., 1945-01-08
Tells About Negro Fighters

To the Editor Of The Star:
Despite the failure OF our Army to
utilize the combat abilities of Negro SOL
diers to the extent warranted, many
have won unstinted praise and honor.
Two Washington boys have gained
high honors in the 332d All-Negro
Fighter Group based in Italy Recently,
Capt. Lee Rayford, whose mother and
father are Washington citizens. was
awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Young Rayford, veteran combat flyer of
Is months, Is squadron commander
and already is wearer of the Air Medal
with five Oak Leaf Clusters and also
the Purple Heart.
The commander of the 332d Fighter
Group is Col. Benjamin o. Davis, jr.,
son of the only Negro the American
Army chiefs have yet honored as gen.
eral. Col. Davis holds the Legion of
Merit. the Distinguished Flying Cross
and the Air Medal with three Oak Leaf
Clusters.
This 332d Fighter Group has been
termed one of the hardest hitting
bomber escort and strafing groups in the
Army. The squadrons have flown more
than 100 missions. On one trip to Buda-
pest last October, pilot spotted low
flying plane and was sent to investigate.
He shot the plane down and radioed for
the rest of his squadron. They were over
an airfield where flyers were practicing
landings and take-offs. The squadron
shot down four more ME-109s, and on
their way back to rejoin the group
they picked up four Heinkel Ills and,
after series of passes, got them all
The squadrons then proceeded up the
Danube and strafed oil barges and rail-
way trains. A third squadron located
another airf1eld and destroyed 18 ships
on the ground, while a fourth came
across motor park and destroyed or
on five-hour mission.
When Col Davis was in charge of the
original 99th, before merging into the
332d, his unit destroyed II planes in
the air and many more on the ground,
all by-product Of their major task of
working in support of ground troops in
the Anzio campaign.
Just now. this group is in tough spot
Because of the segregation system of
the Army, all of the requirements must
emanate from one flying training outfit
at Tuskegee. This practice is a serious
handicap to the prosecution of the war.
E: B. HENDERSON.