The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1939-1949, 1945-01-04

ton will show considerable yes.
and-no evidence.
The hinge-point is whether the
Russians held back on their march
through Poland to Berlin in order
to gobble up the Balkans and Bal
tic states for themselves, whether
they deliberately delayed conquest
If Germany proper.
Some Polish organizations
have claimed the Reds did not
throw in enough power in
their Warsaw drive last August.
but the military evidence shows
they put 80 divisions into that
fray. Also Warsaw is easier to
defend from attack from the
east than the west.
The Vista river is supposed to
run through the city, but actually
the important part of the me-
tropolis is on the west bank, which
is higher and commands the east
bank from which attack must be
made. The Reds appear to have
made a real fight and lost in
August and then let that matter
60 in favor of their southern cam
paign through Romania, Hungary,
etc.
Buited Real Wall
The Nazi Notifications 10 to
Is miles inside the East Prussian
frontier are old Quilt before the
war;, and comparable with those
we are. facing in the west. Here
also the Red army butted its lead
= against a real wall in September
and let the fighting degrade into
trapping. g.
Reports have been published
that a Russian drive is about to
start on the dormant Polish
front. but you cannot tell about
hat until action starts and pro-
Eesses far enough to gauge the
size of it. .- -. za--,5 l.. -:
The Nazis fought the same, de-
laying tactics against the Reds in
the Baltic states as they used
against us in France, holding ports
and pickets of resistance with sui
eide squads. Indeed, elements of
10 German divisions still hold the
Riga estuary, multiplying the cap
ture of that port as at Antwerp.
@.: Russian Waltz
On the other hand the southern
drive through the Balkans was
a waltz up to Budapest. After the
Prut river was crossed and Ploesti
was captured, Romania dropped
like a plum to Stain as did Bull
garia and Yugoslavia. It is I'M
deniable that this military cam
paign has worked Russia's way po-
litically, not only as to the Bal
kans but by keeping Poland on
the rough edge until Polish politi 3
and Churchill settled the Russian
way. The Russians are further
from Berlin at Budapest than they
were in Poland at the end of sum-
mer.
The facts from Europe seem
inwardly and outwardly- to be
kept in a yes-and-no state. In
deed, there is arising here an atti-
tude like that of the New Deal
-se9Rtor whose statements you may
Ne seen. He says it is all Brit
lsh propaganda about the, Com
munists wanting the Greek gov
eminent or being involved in the
revolt.
I'VE hear conservatives yell
ing Communist every time a
peoples movement rears its
head" he says. This is the
same line familiar since the
Spanish revolution of 1T is" on
one side. 1T isn't" on the other.
with no one getting at accept
able facts of the truth.
Personally, for myself, I rely
mainly on the judgment of the
military in such matters, but not
on politicians here or abroad. By
and large, military men care little
about Communism or conserva-
tives, but want to win their war.
They know more about the facts
than senator's. Their Army and
Navy Journal reflected the view
point of a large segment of the
defense services, although other
army experts are inclined to give
Russia the benefit of the doubt, a,
least until they see how big {
drive now develops in Poland.
In this kind of yes-and-nc
game of news from Europe, where
skilled propaganda forces are al
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