The midland journal., 1945-07-06
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POLITICAL UNREST
GROWS IN EUROPE
WASHINGTON. - Those senators
back from Europe had far more to
say than they offered in interviews.
Their private reports on their quick
study of the western end Of the COM
tinent would make your ears curl.
Here are some of the things they
did not make public:
De Gaulle is staving off an elec-
ton in France because he fears the
communists will sweep him and all
democrats into the discard. The inn
pending election in the British Isles
may do much to determine how
she will stand against the sweeping
surge, as defeat Of Churchill would
mean appeasement of communist
expansion. He, himself, is afraid Of
it. Yet Churchill and De Gaulle are
fighting each other.
De Gaulle ordered the Syrian
shooting by his French forces
because he saw Britain going
back into the Middle East in
the old way and thought he
could do the same thing. Chur-
chill dislikes him and is suspi-
ci0us of him, although the
French general is probably the
nvN1wy sv1sp UnnA hvAnk In
communism in France. De
Gaulle is existing in control
only by adroit double-handed
juggling Of French political fac
tiOns.
The French people are not as
fully filed with admiration of us as
the cheering movie newsreels some
times suggest. They see American
soldiers not always as their liberia
tors but as highly paid strangers
(etrangers) who travel in jeeps
while others walk, and are well-fed,
while they are not.
The French powers likewise re-
sent the presence of American
forces in North Africa because
we tend to give the Arabs ideas Of
liberty which the French do not con-
slider healthful for their colonists.
Their ruined industries, short
ages Of materials and unbelievably
extreme decay in morals are COM
bining to break the stamina of the
nation and make it an easy prey for
any opposition to existing rule-and
the sole, present, powerful OPP
position is the political absurdity
known as communism.
Their heritage runs back into a
great love of liberty as deep as our
own, but they are to considerable
extent peasant people, and there
fore easily subject to harsh, disci-
plined leadership of dictators. So far
they have not come to that yet, but
there is resignation apparent among
millions of them who do not have
enough to eat and not enough work.
They are in the mood for subjection
by any overrunning political power.
In Italy, communism is much
stronger than dispatches have led
us to suspect. The revolutionary
movement is kept down mainly by
the American military force of oc-
cupation. 1t seems to have all the
political spending money there is in
hand-to-hand circulation there. All
the symptoms of detected resigna-
ton apparent in France are also
present in Italy, including the de-
cline in morals.
The Belgians and Dutch seem to
have much more character, more
stamina, are more insistent upon
liberty and christian principles.
They are trying harder to revive.
Their people show less moral decay.
Whether the people in Anglo
French American Germany can be
made democratic is yet unclear.
They are not only detected but
sullen and all believe they face
years of dire existence as their PEN
atty for making war. The anti
determination policy Of General
Eisenhower is likely to be changed
to permit our soldiers to mingle
more with them.
But these areas, all Of them, are
in our sphere Of democratic infiu-
ence, and therefore the most ia
vorable sections of the continent.
The Russians have everything
else in their lap Except possibly
Greece, which is held on one
knee, so-to-speak) and everything
the Russians have is completely
blacked out from the rest of the
wide world.
Nothing valid Or penetrating is
known by as Of Yugoslavia, Ro-
mania, Bulgaria, Austria, or Czech
oslovakia, except that Stain is there
setting up the kind of governments
he wants, and one other confirmed
fact = all anti-communist opposi-
ton is being liquidated.
The Polish issue, which we dis
cuss so extensively, is a minor mat
ter as compared with this whole Of
middle and southeastern Europe
operating on Russian axis.
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