davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1945-02-13
Letters to The Star
New Political Alignments Wanted
by Spokesman for Liberals
To the Editor of The Star:

To the Editor Of The Star:
The congressional fight over the ap-
pointment OF Henry Wallace to the post
of Secretary of Commerce has dram
atized the real political split in the
country. The line is clearly drawn
between the liberals supporting Mr..
Wallace on one side and the conserva-
tives opposing him on the other. Ex-
pressed in another way, 1t is the struggle
between the left and the right.
This is the real and crucial philo-
sophical division and the line upon
which every critical issue must be de-
cided.
The present political grouping into
Democrats and Republicans is COM
pletely artificial In any crisis of policy
such as the present one the utter mean
inglessness of these two party labels is
apparent. With eash major party
composed Of an inharmonious con-
glomeration Of all shades of liberals
and conservatives the man with prin-
ciples does not know which ticket to
vote for, with the result that often he
does not vote at all.
The time now has come for the liberals
Of both parties to make a clean break
with their opponents and create politi-
cal lineup which reflects the true divi-
sion of political thought. This need not
mean third party. The Southern
Democrats are ready to leave the party
at the slightest encouragement and the
liberals should give them that encour-
agement. At the same time the liberal
Republicans should be invited to join
them in a revitalized popular Demo-
cratic party.
I believe that only in this way can
progressive opinion in the Nation be
united for effective action. We already
have the nucleus of an organization in
the National Citizens Political Action
Committee and we could not wish for a
better leader than Henry A. Wallace,
who already has aroused the enthusiasm
Of the working men and women all
over the world for a democratic world
community.
further believe that the common
people Of this country are ready to
support unified liberal program at
the polls in 1916 and 1948.
KARL HUDGINS, Jr.
Charlottesville, Va.
Evening star., 1945-02-13
The Political Mill
Bv Gould Lincoln

mittee is preparing to bring out COM
pulsory bill-leaving no discretion to the
employers and very little to the COM
mission. Senator Taft of Ohio, Repub-
lican, frankly disagrees with this kind
of legislation, although he is strongly
opposed to racial and religious discrim-
ination in the awarding of jobs. He has
offered in the Senate a bill which goes
about the matter in different way. He
proposes the establishment of Federal
commission of five with power to set
up local commissions in all regions of
the country. The commission is au-
thorized to make comprehensive studies
in each district to determine how dis
elimination can best be eliminated. It
can call witnesses and inquire into spe-
ciflc cases s of discrimination, make
recommendations and take every pos
sible step to obtain community interest
and cooperation and voluntary" COM
pliance by employers and labor unions
there are both which now discriminate
against minority groups, especially
Negroes.
1t will be up to Congress to decide
whether to write into law a plan seek
ing voluntary compliance against racial
and religious discrimination in handing
out jobs, or a compulsory plan, with
penalties attached.
There is the danger that the COM
pulsory plan will hinder progress
toward solving the race problem In this
country. Certainly Senator Taft feels
that will be the case. In his opinion,
too. the compulsory bill goes far toward
providing an almost complete regi-
mentation of employers. 1t will give
to any one who is refused a job or
dismissed from one the right to bring
an action against the employer, alleging
a motive of discrimination because the
applicant or employe Is white or black,
Protestant. Catholic, Jew, Czech, Pole
or German. The decision is left to
commission. Such actions could be
started by millions of individuals
just by comparatively few labor
unions
Employers, Senator Taft points out,
will finally seek to protect themselves
by choosing their employees approx
mately in proportion to the division Of
races and religions in his district Race
and religion will enter into every de-
cision-which certainly seems a good
way to stir up trouble
Evening star., 1945-02-13
Dangerous Practice
From the London Daily Mail.

From the London Daily Mail.
Last year the National Union of
Journalists proposed, and the TUG ac-
cepted, a ban on the attendance at the
Congress of reporters who are not mem
bers of the NUJ. The newspapers there
upon decided that they could not send
representatives to the TUG. The Daily
Mail has no quarrel either with the TUG
or with the NUJ, with whom its rela-
tons are very friendly. But when the
unions attempt to dictate to this and
other newspapers who should or should
not be sent to report their proceedings,
we feel that they are going outside
their province. 1t is common sense for
a newspaper to send to any particular
gathering the journalist best qualified
to report it, irrespective of his political
or trade union affiliations. As a matter
of principle no newspaper can allow
any outside organization to make the
choice for it.
Evening star., 1945-02-13

One Of the most important pieces of
legislation that has come before Con-
gress in long time is expected to be
reported from the House Labor Com
mittee this week-a bill to establish
permanent fair employment practice
commission. Its purpose Is to prohibit
discrimination in employment because
of race, creed, color, national origin
or ancestry. Such a commission has
been in operation during the war, set
up by executive order of the President
" has been an advisory body in the
mainland has aided in removing dis
elimination in employment. The pur-
pose of the proposed new legislation is
to establish commission which shall
have power to compel.
The House Labor Committee has a
dozen bills before it-turned over to a
subcommittee headed by Representative
Randolph. Democrat Of West Virginia.
Two OF the bills have been offered by
Mrs. Norton, New Jersey, Democrat,
chairman of the Labor Committee, and
Representative Baldwin of New York,
a Republican. The prospects are that
a composite, compulsory bill will be
reported favorably to the House.
In the main it will provide for a
Federal commission of five members,
at salaries of $4,000 each. The COM
mission will have power to hear COM
plants of discrimination against en-
ployers and to issue orders to cease
and desist" from such practices, which
are made unlawful by the proposed act.
jurisdiction will run in cases of en-
ployers who have five or six employees
or more and whose business Is consid-
cred interstate commerce. Under re-
cent rulings of the Supreme Court
great deal Of business has been held to
affect interstate commerce, even that
part which does not operate outside
State limits.
The effect of the new law will be
another labor relations act superim-
posed on the National Labor Relations
Act, although administered by an en-
tirely separate commission. The issue
raised for employers-and for en-
ployes-is far-reaching in the extreme
Involved in the legislation also are
racial issues which will make them
selves felt in great degree in various
parts of the country.
AS has been said. the House COM
Evening star., 1945-02-13
Imminent in the West

Though still too limited to be de-
scribed as general all-out offensive,
Allied activity in the west leaves no
room for doubt that great drive is
in the making and that it may soon
break upon the Nazis in full force.
In capturing Kleve the Canadian
First Army has pulled up a key
northern anchor point of the Sieg-
fried Line, and, as a glance at the
map suggests, has thus put itself in a
position to threaten the whole enemy
flank west Of the Rhine. Meanwhile,
some 100 miles to the south, the
American Third Army has seized
Pruem, a communications center of
major Importance, while, below that,
other Third Army elements have
firmly established three large bridge
heads across the Our and Sure
Rivers. At the same time, at the
southern end of the western front,
the American Seventh Army and the
French First Army continue their
steady forward pressure.
The area where a great offensive
blow seems likely to come at any
moment runs southwark from Kleve
to Pruem. North of the Third Army
at Pruem the American First Army,
having taken the Urft and Schwam-
menauel Dams, is moving up the
Roer River, and between this Army
and the Canadian First Army at
kleve, two other Allied armies-the
British Second and the American
Ninth-are poised to strike across
the flooded Roer onto the Cologne
Plain to the Rhine and the rich Ruhr
industrial region. Judging from their
radio comment. the Nazis appear to
be more than bit bothered by the
prospect, and they predict--some-
what nervously-that the big drive
will be unleashed momentarily in
the Venlo-Aachen sector, where the
British Second and the American
Ninth Armies now stand.
We shall have to wait for events
themselves to disclose Allied plans,
but 1t seems a safe assumption that
the entire western front-particu-
larly between Kleve and Pruem-wilI
explode into great and perhaps de-
cisive action in the very near future.
Evening star., 1945-02-13
This Changing World
BY Constantine Brown

According to the recent reports re-
ceived In Washington, Count Won den
Schulenberg, former German Ambassa-
dor to Russia, has died in an SIS prison
near Berlin. No details were given as
to the cause of his death, but those who
know the SIS methods believe he has
been "purged."
At the same time it is reported from
neutral sources that the former presi-
dent of the Reichsbank and Germany's
prewar financial wizard, DR.. Hjalmar
Schacht, was arrested about two weeks
ago for the fourth time by the GestapO.
At the same time, one Of the highest
officials of the Ministry Of Interior, DR..
August Spieckler, also was arrested and
removed from Prussia.
These purges and arrests are believed
to have been ordered by Himmler be-
cause the persons involved were sus-
pected of having secret communications
with Field Marshal Won Paulus and the
leaders Of the Free Germany Committee
in Moscow.
Count Won den Schulenberg was re-
garded as one of Germany's most distin-
guished diplomats. He was the artisan of
the 1889 Russo-German pact which en-
abled Hitler to begin the war in Europe
He remained at his post until June 20,
1941, when the Fuehrer changed his
mind and attacked Russia. He was "loyaI'
until the purge of last summer during
which the Gestapo arrested and killed
a number of high-ranking officers and
a still undisclosed number of civilians
belonging to the German upper classes.
From that time on according to re-
ports, the former Ambassador divorced
himself from the Nazis whom he had
served and became suspected OF being
mittee in Moscow Although he was
ordered to remain in a restricted resi-
dence," which means that he was not
allowed to leave the suburb in which
he lived and his movements were fol-
lowed closely by Gestapo agents, he
managed to establish an underground
contact with the leaders of the Free
GERMANY movement
Evening star., 1945-02-13
BeIoium Turns the Corner

The complex political Crisis Whlch,
for weeks, has kept Belgium in tu-
multuous uncertainty, has ended in
the establishment of what appears
to be strong national government
comprising all four of the principal
parties and headed by Prime Min
lister whose dynamic qualities have
captured the popular imagination in
g. manner somewhat reminiscent OF
that enjoyed in neighboring France
by General Charles de Gaulle. The
new Premier, Achille van Acker, is a
Socialist, as is his Minister of For
eign Affairs, Paul-Henri Spaak, who
had the same post in the former
cabinet of Premier Pierlot. However,
the Socialists hold only their proper
tional share of seats in what truly
is a coalition" government. The
other parties-Catholics Liberals and
Communists all are duly repre-
sented. From a purely parliament
tary point of view, that likewise was
true of the former Pierlot govern
ment. The real difference is that
while the Pierlot cabinet functioned
mostly in exile and thus popularity
was nicknamed a government of
London" the new cabinet, made up
chiefly of persons who stayed in Bel
gium during the German occupation
is generally termed government
of the interior"
This prestige, combined with the
popularity of the Premier, gets the
new government off to favorable
start which should enable it to take
the strong measures necessary to
maintain order and put through
drastic economic measures required
by the exceptional conditions which
prevail. Belgium, like the other lib
Grated lands, is suffering keenly from
cold, hunger and mass unemploy-
ment. But those sufferings are due
chiefly to lack of transportation
both within the country and from
abroad. And that lack, in turn, is
due to the priority necessarily ac-
corded the Allied armies which use
Belgium as a base from which to
prosecute the final stages of the wal
against Germany. The end of the
war in Europe, which should not now
be very long delayed, will be quickly
followed by an easing of the supply
situation for the civilian population
and likewise for the import of raw
materials which would do much tt
ameliorate unemployment. Basically
Belgium's economic outlook is favor.
able. It's liberation involved relatively
little material destruction, it ha,
preserved its gold reserve abroad
and its rich colonial empire in thu
Evening star., 1945-02-13

DR.. Schacht was never q 100 per cent
Nazi, although he was known to have
been an intense nationalist. He served
Hitler in the same way he had served
the Weimar republic. Even before the
war when he was the head of the
Reichs financial and economic system,
DR.. Schacht was on q special list of
suspects. Hitler sent him to many
foreign countries, including the United
States, to discuss economic and financial
problems but Gestapo agents always
followed him to watch his nonoficial
activities. Because Of his prestige with
the western powers he was named by
Hitler to confer with the Myron C.
Taylor Committee organized to deal with
the Jewish problem in Germany
DR.. Schacht took the official attitude
that Hitler would be glad to cooperate
But at the end of the last meeting,
which vas held in his Offices at the
Ministry of Economics, he asked one
Of the American officials, member Of
the State Department, to join him for a
few moments at the window. DR..
Schacht told the American in a whisper
not to interpret too literally" his official
words since Hitler was in no mood for
any concessions. Il am talking to you
at this window because otherwise the
dictaphone would register my words, Z"
he added, explaining why he had chosen
that spot for such an important state
ment.
DR.. Schacht, like the rest of the men
who had played an important role
during the days of the Kaiser and later
the Weimar republic, was put to use
by the Nazis, but was never trusted
Since the outbreak of the war he had
his ups and downs, moving from high
office to Jail and back to high office
Now he is reported to have landed in
the much-feared Moabit Jail from which
few inmates manage to get out alive.
The fact that these men have beer
purged or are by way of being purged
shows how much importance the Nazi
government has attached to the activ-
tiles of the Free Germany Committee.
Evening star., 1945-02-13
DO Your Part

To the Editor Of The Star:
If you were sent to war, would you
like to feel you were being backed to
the utmost by the folks back homer
You would. Then do your part.
II you were ordered to a battle front,
would you hope that suficient airplanes
be put into the air to afford all possible
protection? You would. Then do your
part.
II those planes were not available
and you had to go into battle without
adequate protection. thus increasing
your risk Of being killed, would you
feel let down by the home front? You
would. Then do your part.
And II q report came from a battle
field that many boys had lost their lives
because OF lack Of airplanes, would you
feel guilty If you knew you had been
q Stacker? You should. Then do your
part.
Fellow workers, you know that If you
continue to shirk your work, many .
soldier and sailor will not come back
because of that Sinking. To that ex-
tent their lives are in your hands. You
know that. Then do your part.
Don't you think you owe to our fight
ing men as much as, or more than,
they owe to you? You do! Then do
your part.
Haven't you the best of the bargain
in remaining at home and working in
Safety for good wapesp Certainly you
have. Then do your part.
And do you think that shirkers are
worth fighting for? They are not.
Then do your part.
So don't shirk your work, for If
ever your work was your duty it is now
Remember that you are the home front
fighters and your. valiant brothers
keepers.
You can make yourself worth fighting
for-only by doing your part.
FRED WENDELL.
Evening star., 1945-02-13

fortress of Glogau, commanding the
most important of the Oder crossings
along this line. But for the moment
the great city OF Breslau Is of even
more strategic Importance
Marshal Konev's army group, having
forced a crossing of the Upper Oder
southeast of Breslau, was apparently
checked by stubborn German resistance
before 1t was able to cut the communi-
cations of the Silesian capital with the
southern part Of the province and with
the fortress of Neisse
Konev thereupon launched powerful
drive northwest of Breslau, between that
city and Glogau, which has driven a
deep salient into the German defensive
zone and has, according to late Russian
reports, succeeded in tapping round
south of Breslau and completing the
encirclement of that CITY, To the west
ward, Konev has reached Primkenau,
which is southwest of Glogau. Thus
the encirclement of that fortress is
likewise threatened.
But the point of view we have been
taking so far is exclusively that Of the
progress of the Russian offensive. We
must now consider the enemy's reactive
capabilities. 1t is the classic German
method OF warfare to launch a counter
attack against hostile offensive when
it first loses its initial momentum.
Latterly the Wehrmacht has not al
ways been strong enough to do this,
but the opportunity is always sought.
No one knows better than the generals
OF the German high command that
there is no future in mere static de-
fense. 1t is, therefore, virtually a GER
tainty that the Germans have been
trying to get together sufficient forces
for a counterattack in the east.
This counterattack, they must rea-
son, should come deep in German terri
tory, under conditions where SUPERIOR
ity in communications would offset Rus
sian superiority in overall numbers
of men and weapons. It's purpose, like
the attack in the Ardennes, would not
be victory, but delay.
Since the German foothold in Pome-
rama lacks sufficient depth for major
counterattack, the Silesian front seems
to offer the sole attractive opportunity.
AS a probable objective for such a
countereffort, Poznan looks most likely.
And lGlogau and Breslau are, from the
communications point of view, well To-
Gated as the twin springboards of a
German reaction. A secondary drive
from Pomerania might we'll be fea-
ture of the plan.
If we do not see German counter
effort in sizable strength very soon,
We may assume that the resources of the
Wehrmacht are unequal to this new
responsibility in the face of the con-
slant Russian blows.
(copyrisht. 1o4b. N. 7. Tribune. Ine.)
Evening star., 1945-02-13
Discusses Fate of Manchuria

To the Editor of The Star:
On January 80 Constantine Brown,
in his This Changing World" column,
suggested that should Russia partici-
pate in the war against Japan she
would be likely to require the restora-
tion Of her power in the East to the
position it held before the Russo-Jap-
anese War of 1904 and possibly more. !"
Accordingly, Manchuria, "a border state
Of Siberia, will be taken from Jap
anese tutelage and made into an inde-
pendent republic with a government
friendly to the U. s. S. r." Likewise,
Port Arthur may be requested by the
u. S. S. r. to be restored to its pre-1905
status as Russian military naval base.
After pointing out Gen. Hurley's at
tempt to bring about a better under
standing between the Chungking gov
eminent and the Chinese Communists
in Sinkiang Province, Mr.. Brown con-
cluded that Russia then would have
only friendly governments" along the
entire Siberian border. Thus he fore
cast that "Manchurian and Korean
problems might thus be solved to the
satisfaction of the USSR without giving
offense either to the Chinese govern
men or to the Korean people Man.
churia and Korea would become inde-
pendent entities under the unoficial
protectorate of the strong neighbor in
the north"
While all these ideas seem to be con-
jectural, 1t Is necessary to point out
that whatever the Big Three COZ \er-
ence will decide it will not be binding
on the Chinese government with re-
gard to the REIMBURSEMENT of Man
churia. The Chinese people and gov
ernment will not agree to this because
the restoration OF Manchuria to China
as an integral part of the Chinese ter
ritory is one Of chief aims of China's s
eight years OF heroic war. Moreover,
at the Cairo conference the Big Four
agreed that China will have returned
to her all her lost territories, including
Manchuria.
With regard to Korea, there should
be no doubt that she will become once
more an independent state, but for
obvious reasons she will not become
either an unofficial protectorate of
the strong neighbor in the north" or
"oficial protectorate" of any OF the
Asiatic nations.
For practical reasons the United
States has cause to stand on the side
Of China. Equally, Great Britain would
not like to give offense to the Chinese