davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1945-10-09
There Is No Connection

Is the million-d dollar lump sum
appropriated annually in the District
bill, ostensibly representing the Fed
sral Governments share of National
Capital expenses, in reality hush
money bribe, given in lieu of the Dis
trict citizens right to vote?
If 1t is, it is a pretty cheap sub
stitute. Not only is it cheap, but
the people of the District are being
bought off more cheaply every year.
A few years ago this Federal pay
ment amounted to 40 per cent Of
the Districts appropriations. Today
it is less than 10 per cent.
AS a matter of fact, of course,
there is no connection whatsoever
between the admittedly inadequate
Federal payment of six million dol
lars to meet a part OF the National
Governments obligation to National
Capital support, and the denial of
representation in their Government
TO the votelesS citizens of Wash
ington.
The cynical suggestion that If
Americans who live in Washington
were given the right to a voice in
their Government all Federal sup
port of the Capital City would cease,
is a misrepresentation of the Fed
eral payment and is highly uncom-
plimentary implication both to Con-
gress and to the people of the
District.
The right of the people of Wash
ington to a voice in their Govern
ment should be considered by de-
cent Americans as inalienable. The
pending Sumners-Capper amend
ment does not change the wise
constitutional provision placing ex-
elusive legislative control over the
seat of Government with Congress.
But 1t gives to Congress the power,
now lacking, to make voting Amer
leans of the people who live here.
The lump-sum payment, on the
other hand, is inadequate recogni-
ton. of the Federal Governments
financial reSponsibilityin maintain
Ing and developing the Capital of
the United States, the Federal City.
It is designed to meet some of the
purely national and extraordinary
expenses arising from the fact that
this is the Nations city. To place
such charges exclusively on local
taxpayers would be to prejudice the
interests of the Federal Government
as greatly as those of the taxpayers.
To connect the lack of vote here
with the Federal payment is to mis-
represent both issues, adding insult
TO the injury already inflicted on
Washingtonians by their lack of any
voice in their own Government.
Evening star., 1945-10-09
This Changing World
By Constantins BroiOn

"by the strategic requirements u the
alliance" Thus IL Is revealed for the
first time that the acceptance Of the
American general as supreme comman-
der by Premier Stain was not without
mental reservations.
The American position In the Pacific
is far more vital to the security Of this
country than the squabbles in peren.
nially strife-ridden Europe.
This country has shed much blood
and spent much Of Its wealth to destroy
tho Nazi- Fascist dictatorship across the
Atlantic. It is naturally concerned with
the establishment OF 4 democratic sys-
tenn without which our policy-framers
believe that peace cannot be made
secure
Until the London conference broke
on we could have hoped that all In
terrational disputes leading to another
war would be taken care Of by the
United Nations Organization whose
charter was unanimously adopted at
the San Francisco Conference. The
American Senate was the first legisla-
tive body to confirm 1t. with record
speed.
**x
But the failure of the conference of
the five foreign ministers representing
the powers with permanent seat in
the all-powerful Council Of the United
Nations has raised doubts in the minds
Of our policy-framers about how well
that international organization would
work and whether it would achieve even
the meager results Of the now obsolete
League OF Nations
The American Government Is not
easily disheartened when it comes to
international cooperation and still ex-
poets the UNO to become a vital factor
in maintaining peace in the world. But
at the same time American leaders,
particularly in the Senate, are not
blind to the possibility of the new
organization becoming about as ineffec-
tive as the Kellogg BRAND Pact out
lawing wsr.
With such possibility in mind, the
American position in the Pacific as
sumes particularly important signi-
ficance In the national defense of this
country. Any yielding to the Russian
demands to replace the American con-
troll Of Japan by an international board
appears out OF the question at this
time.
Evening star., 1945-10-09
The Political Mill
BY Gould Lincoln


many small corporations measure of
relief which would not have been
effected by excess profits tax repeal
Individual income taxpayers who also
are workers covered by the Federal So
cial Security Act also escape, under the
new tax bill, an increase in social Sc
curity tax-withheld from their pay
and so do the employers The social Sc
curity tax has been per cent, which
would have been boosted to 21A per
cent without this proposed new freeze"
And finally. the individual taxpayer will
benefit by repeal of many wartime ex-
cises taxes. the repeal to take effect at
the close of the fiscal year.
4
Mr.. Carlson not only is responsible for
the new formula on personal income
taxes, but he was leader in the fight
for the so-caDed pay-as-you-go method
Of collecting income taxes. He spon-
sored the Ruml plan which proposed
to levy income taxes 100 per cent cur
rently, without regard to the previous
year. Eventually he came round to the
rs per cent proposition. which was
adopted, levying Is per cent of the last
years tax but making all income taxes
current from that point on.
Had 1t not been for the fact that in
come taxes have been levied currently,
under the pay-as-you-go plan, it would
have been far more difficult to finance
the war. Also, If these taxes had not
been paid currently under the with
holding plan, it is dollars to doughnuts
the Government would never have COL
lected on income from wages paid last
year and this year to men and women
who have been and will be thrown out
of work during the reconversion period
In many cases they would not have had
the money to pay the taxes
Mr.. Carlson is an outstanding ex-
ample of the constructive work which
is being done in Congress by members
OF the minority party. Republican
Leader Joe" Martin of the House is
doing his best to persuade Mr.. Carlson
not to be candidate for Governor of
Kansas next year, on the ground that
Congress vitality needs men of his cali
Der and experience. Mr.. Carlson is serv-
ing his sixth term in the House-al-
though he Is comparatively young
man-and has been a member of the
Ways and Means Committee for seven
years. He has an ambition to be Gov
ernor, however, and if he runs 1t is be-
lieved he will be certain winner.
Evening star., 1945-10-09

enemy from ever getting strong enough
to attack us. II it ever comes to
matter OF defense again, we are already
lost, the world is already doomed to
destruction. The next war must not
start. Our mission is preventive. not
defensive; it IS therefore offensive In
its nature.
The policing of the world is not an
easy task. Our part, and Britain's, OF
that task Is largely based on seapower
and long range airpower. For the
free, flexible and timely use of such
power, we need bases, well-stocked and
adequately secured, by which we may
effect in any part Of the world rapid
concentration Of power when such .
concentration becomes necessary. The
mere fact that we can do this will In
most cases serve as a restraint against
prospective disturhers Of the peace, II
they know that behind the ability to
concentrate power lies the will to use
to talk of national defense" and de
fensive bases"
Fleet Admiral Leahy, now chief Of
stan to the President, once told this
writer Of the difficulties he had when,
as chief Of naval operations, he used Q
chart Of the Pacific with line drawn
on it from Dutch Harbor to Hawaii and
thence to Panama In explaining Pa
cific strategy to a congressional COM
mittee. What Admiral Leahy was try
ing to tell the Congressman was that
this line represented the western limits
Of the area In which American naval
dominance must be supreme, and OF
course that it would be, II war did come
q line Of departure for offensive opera
tions directed against an enemy based
in Asia.
But the Congressmen could not get
1t out Of their heads that this was Z
defensive line, q line which we were
going to hold" against possible attack
There was even considerable support
In Congress for the enactment Of 9
Law which would have prevented ths
Navy from ever sending any warships
west Of that line. One such bill went
so far as to try to limit the radius o,
action OF all new warships to 500 milei
SO that they could only be used II
defend" our coasts.
Well, we have seen In this war tha'
Z neet must be used ofensiyely If 1t j
to be victorious; and we have seen wha
happens to q nation - Japan which
tries to use an originally powerful nee
in 3 defensive manner.
(copyriEht l94S.l
Evening star., 1945-10-09

In an attempt to repair some Of the
damage done to the United Nations
structure by the failure Of the London
conference, Secretary of State Byrnes
and Foreign Secretary Bevin have
agreed to make some minor concessions
to the Russians in Central Europe. But
1t is improbable that Russia can be
"appeased" by such minor gestures. So
long as the western powers maintain
their stand toward Romania and Bull
garia, the stalemate is likely to-continue.
The American-British decision to
recognize the Hungarian government
was followed by similar decision re-
garding the Austrian regime headed by
Chancellor Carl Renner. Both admin
istrations were established by the lib
Grating Red Armies without previous
consultation with the American and
British representatives.
The vital cabinet posts were placed in
the hands Of Communists, nationals OF
those two countries but Moscow trained.
Because of this unilateral action, WASH
ington and London persistently refused
to recognize the regimes, Finally. the
American and British governments con-
cluded that, after all, the matter was OF
little importance and to prove to Prem
Ter Stain that they were willing to be
conciliatory, they decided to remove
their objections.
In spite OF this gesture of good will
there still is good deal Of pessimism
in American ofiicial quarters concerning
the prospects of another Big Three
meeting, because Of what Is being de-
scribed as an unyielding attitude Of
Moscow toward Americas ruling of
Japan.
According to Cyrus Sulzberger, the
correspondent of the New York Times
in London, who together with his COLI
league, Herbert Matthews, covered the
London conference, in one of the most
outstanding diplomatic reporting jobs
In this war. the Russians are strongly
opposed to the wide powers given Gen.
Macarthur in Japan. Mr.. Sulzberger
reports the heretofore undisclosed fact
that there had been a sharp brief oral
encounter between Commissar Molotov
and Ambassador Hartman in the
Kremlin" over Gen. MacArthur's SUI
preme command over Japan as the Pa
cific war was ending. This was ball
anced," according to Mr. Sulzberger,
Evening star., 1945-10-09
Rehabilitation Program

This week has been set aside by
President Truman for attention to
the problem Of employing the physi-
cally handicapped men and women
who are capable of working. 1t is
estimated that no less than % 3,000, 900
Americans are "variously disabled"
In the District of Columbia alone 479
persons completed individual re-
habilitation programs under the
sponsorship of the Rehabilitation
Service during the fiscal year 1945.
AS explained by David Amato,
chief of the local bureau, the train
ing Of handicapped scitizens is de-
sirable ION the basis Of dollars and
cents and without recourse to senti-
mentality" The total annual earn
ings of the Washington group re-
ferred to will amount to $3.50, 1000 one
year after rehabilitation. "This is
only one indication OF the contribu-
tion to the community's wealth
which the rehabilitation and en-
ployment OF handicapped persons
make possible" Mr.. Amato says.
There are also savings of thou
sands of dollars which otherwise
would have been spent in support
ing many of these persons in idle
ness"
The Federal Government provides
for vocational rehabilitation under
the Federal Security Agency. But
the employment opportunities must
be furnished predominantly by pri-
vate enterprise. 1t, therefore, is to
private employers that the National
Employ-the = Physically Handicap
ped Week program principally is
addressed. The handicapped work.
ers of the period of the Second World
War have been shown to have excel
lent production records-"in many
instances better than those of nom
handicapped workers."
Equally important, however, is the
appeal which the Office of Vocational
Rehabilitation is making to handi-
capped Americans to take advantage
OF the opportunity offered by Con-
greSs for rehabilitation service. A
multitude OF people, 1t seems, might
be helped to help themselves, If only
they would apply. The District of
Columbia headquarters is at 400
Sixth street Northwest.
Evening star., 1945-10-09

y
Representative Carlson, Republican, Of
Kansas, farmers -stockman, has made
definite imprint on the Federal tax
laws-an imprint that has proved bene-
ficial TO the Government as we'll as to
the individual taxpayers. 1t was this
modest Representative from the Sixth
Kansas Congressional District who came
forward with the income tax amend
ment proposal which recently swept the
House Ways and Means Committee like
a prairie fire. The committee wrote the
proposal into the new tax bill by an
overwhelming vote. To do so 1t threw
overheard Secretary of the Treasury
Wilson'S recommendation, which was
repeal Of the present per cent normal
tax on individual incomes.
The Vinson, or administration, tax
reduction plan, as it affected the in
come taxes of individuals, gave COM
plete tax relief to some $4,000 900 tax
payers-those with the little incomes.
It gave a very slim measure Of relief
to the great middle-class taxpayers who
produce large percentage of the
Government revenues from income
taxes. What the Carlson plan does is
to give relief to the 100000 little tax
payers-bY granting the same personal
exemptions, including those for depend
ents, In connection with the normal
tax as are granted now in connection
with the surtaxes.
At the same time, the Carlson plan
provides additional relief to the middle
class and upper bracket incomes, by
providing q 4 percentage points re-
duction in each bracket. This has been
further amended so as to provide that
in no case, in the higher bracket of the
surtaxes incomes, shah the total re-
duction in tax be less than 10 per cent.
*<
The Vinson recommendations for i'm
mediate tax reduction have, however,
proved the basis for consideration and
draft of the new bill. The Ways and
Means Committee proposals reduce the
estimated revenues by something more
than $1,000 900, 900 next year-but that
was approximately what the Secretary
of the Treasury suggested.
Further, he proposed that the excess
profits taxes levied on corporations be
repealed, and this proposal has been
amended SO as to cut the rates Of the
tax without actual repeal, and at the
same time reduce the combined normal
and surtax rates on corporations by
per cent. The effect will be to give
Evening star., 1945-10-09
Judicial Beur Garden

France has long been known for
sensational trials, its methods of
court procedure affording degree
of latitude and informality star
tlingly strange to those accustomed
to Anglo-Saxon rules of juriSpru-
dence. But the current trial Of
Pierre Laval shocks not only Ameri-
can and British legal standards but
those of France itself. 1t is safe to
say that never before in modern
times has high court OF justice
been turned into a veritable bear
garden, wherein judges, jurors and
attorneys yielded to a tempest OF
passion which fatally discredited the
whole proceeding and transformed
what purported to be legal trial
into an extemporaneous lynching
bee.
II the defendant were not SO afro
ciously contemplate, he might win
a measure of sympathy, and If the
consequences were not so serious the
blow-up could be dismissed with a
laugh as farce comedy. Unfortu-
nately, the matter Is q grave one.
The arch-traitor of the Vichy regime
Is on trial for his odious crimes. He
is undoubtedly the most despised
and hated man in France today.
His conviction and death sentence
are virtually foregone conclusions.
Nevertheless, both the letter Of the
law and civilized standards require
that he be given fair and honest
trial, with due opportunity to defend
himself and answer his accusers.
With the craftiness Of his diabolical
intelligence, Laval from the FIRST
adopted an aggressive and provoca-
tive attitude. Yet this was all the
more reason for dignity and strict
adherence to legal procedure on the
part Of the court, the public prose-
cutor and the jury. Instead, all Of
them appear to have lost their heads
and to have We'd with one another
4 e.
in gross breaches Of legal conduct
and ethics. Presiding Justice Mon
gibeaux couples questions with ac-
cusations Of the most damning char
acter, which gives Laval the chance
to comment devastatingly: 'If that's
the way you feel, 1t will be better in
this trial for you to keep on answer
ing your own questions" At this
point the jury breaks loose in tor
rent Of invective, one Juror shouting
"Swine!" and another Juror taunting
the defendant with the promise that
he would be dead within fortnight
The one saving feature Of this
! truly disgraceful affair il the moral
Evening star., 1945-10-09

indignation exhibited by the French
press and public opinion. Paris
newspaper ruefully admit that the
willy Laval has gained a moral VIC
tory" while the judges and jurors
are alike roundly condemned for
their conduct. Editors warn that
this mistrial pillories French justice
before France and the world at
large, and urge a new trial as the
only proper remedy. The most likely
explanation of the sad affair is the
abnormal state OF French national
psychology, from which almost no
one seems wholly exempt.
Evening star., 1945-10-09
Letters to The Star
Hopes Others Share View That
New Theater Is Needed

To the Editor of The Star:
For many years have had a wistful
yearning for new theater In the city
of Washington. In the old days we had
Polls and the Belasco.
Now for some time the National
Theater has had to carry the burden
and provide as best 1t could entertain
ment in the way Of musical shows,
light operas and dramatic plays for
enthusiastic playgoers.
During the war naturally sacrifices
were expected and freely given. Every
one felt that the price of theater
tickets should be saved and the money
put into War Bonds. But now that the
war is over. believe this would be a
proper time for bringing up the subject
of at least one new theater in our fair
city. 1t could be built with the most
modern improvements large, adequate
stage and fine acoustics-using the best
inventions of science to create a per-
feet theater.
Statistics no doubt would prove that
the National has turned away thou
sands of people seeking entertainment,
and therefore a new theater would
prosper.
To my mind. comparing Washington
with New York and many other cities,
Washington is far down the scale in its
ability to present some Of the finer
dramatic plays. I don't know how
Others feel about this idea. but hope
am not alone in my wistful yearning
for improvement in the theater situa-
ton here.
MILDRED U. MICHAELSON.
Evening star., 1945-10-09
Desires Guilty Punished

TO the Editor OF The Star:
With reference to the recent letter
signed ~. 8. Citizen" the views ex-
pressed apparently were dictated by
the heart and not the mind. Since
when does the punishment OF criminals,
after q fair and impartial trial, justify
branding the members of society as
savages? Because Germany and Japan
were at war with the United States,
did that fact give their leaders license
to abuse, to torture and to wantonly
kill those unfortunate enough to fall
into their hands? Has Mr.. U. s. Cit
izen forgotten the slain bodies of our
boys lying in the snow where they
were lined up and shot after being
captured in the Ardennes break
through last winter? Has he forgotten
the human skeletons released from
prisons and concentration camps, the
eficient factories for the methodical
determination Of human beings as If
they were insects, the processing Of
human bodies into fats and fertilizers,
the beheading OF American airmen,
the death march of Bataan? Apparent
1y not.
We here in the United States, In
common with other nations, have courts
Of law. Criminals are brought before
the bar Of justice for trial and punish
ment is imposed upon the guilty. In
most states. the punishment for murder
is death, Does Mr.. U. 8. Citizen think
we are savages because that is our
system? Should we open wide the
doors of our domestic prisons and death
cells? Or should that practice be ap-
piled only to Germans and Japs be-
| cause Cd the guilty are 50 numerous
and (O they have lost q war to en-
| slave humanity?
Mr.. U. s. Citizen need not be
ashamed to look at the Statue OF Lib
erty. It symbolizes . great Nation
which could not exist II 1t did not have
the courage to punish those guilty o,
infringing human liberties. We woul6
be ashamed to look at 1t II we did any.
thing less.
ANOTHER U. 3. CITIZEN.
Evening star., 1945-10-09
Our Atomic Secrets

President Truman probably echoes
popular sentiment in saying that
our atomic bomb secrets-the secrets
of the industrial "know-how" essen
tial to production Of the weapon
will not be shared with Russia or
any other nation. This is a declara-
ton of policy which can hardly be
received without misgivings, how
ever, for both Its character and. the
manner in which it was made sug-'
gest that the President was deliver
ing something in the nature of a
"curbstone opinion" which may
require considerable explanation
and modification later on.
1t Is extraordinary, to say the least,
that the President should have COM
mitted the United States to perma-
nent secrecy in this matter without
consulting Britain and Canada, the
nations which collaborated with us
in developing the atomic bomb, and
which share its secrets. To be sure.
Mr.. Truman says that he is confident
the British and Canadian govern
ments will agree with his position,
and he may be entirely correct in
this belief. Nevertheless, 1t is more
than surprising that the President
should announce such a momentous
decision as this without having first
come to a settled agreement with
the governments which share the
secret that he is determined to keep.
The timing of Mr.. Truman's an
nouncement is also worthy of some
attention. From some of his other
comments, 1t seems evident that
he does not share the general con-
Germ at the outcome Of the recent
London conference. AS matter of
fact, he seems quite hopeful that the
western democracies will achieve an
understanding and good relation
ship with Russia. What is the
explanation, then, of the timing of
his unexpected statement, which
almost certainly will be interpreted
as an attempt to put pressure on the
Russians, and which is quite apt to
be resented by them?
1t may also be wondered how Con-
gress will react to this presidential
statement. Because the matter is
so important to the future OF the
United States and the world, 1t had
been expected that the House and
the Senate would share in formu-
lating national policy with respect
to our atomic secrets. But now the
legislators are excluded, and the
widely-held hope that it would be
possible to work out system Of
international inspection which would
enable us safely to share the secrets
of the bomb seems doomed TO dis
appointment. ..as +~
The Russians, we maybe sure, will
apply themselves with redoubled
energy to the production of an
atomic bomb of their own. Most
scientists agree-and the President
does not deny it-that eventually
they will meet with success. In that
event, we will be faced with a COM
petition in atomic armament-and
we will not even have the comfort
OF the knowledge that we tried to
find some other solution. The pros
pect-if MIR. Truman has said the
last word for this country-is not
a happy one.