davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1945-12-18
This Changing World
By Constantine Bvo,On

Molotov In London and used as one Of
the principal reasons for the breaking
up of the conference of foreign min
listers there.
While Secretary Bevin is likely to find
many barriers in the path Of better
understanding with the U. S. s. r. be-
cause of Mr.. Molotov's insistence on
naval and air bases in the Eastern Med
iterranean, Mr.. Byrnes' principal prob
lem will be the control Of Japan.
Some concessions were made to Rus
sia by the American Government be-
fore the start of the Moscow Confer
ence, but it is doubtful If the State De-
partment has gone far enough to please
the acting Russian Premier.
The last Russian communication to
the State Department requested that
the authority of Gen. Douglas Mac
Arthur, the supreme Allied commander
in Japan, be limited. 1t reiterated the
demand that control commission COM
posed of representatives of America.
Russia, Britain and China be organized
In Tokyo and decisions taken by q
unanimous vote. That is to say, any
of the Big -Four delegates should have
the veto power.
Secretary Byrnes replied with the fol-
lowing suggestion: A control commits
sion composed of delegates representing
the IL nations interested in the Pacific
should be formed with headquarters in
Washington. All decisions regarding
Japanese affairs should be taken by a
majority vote, with any one of the
Big Four delegates having veto power.
This suggestion was communicated to
the Russian government before Mr..
Byrnes' departure for Moscow and there
have been no indications so far whether
it has received favorable considera-
tion by Russia's acting Premier
The Russian demand that the Red
forces in Japan be given Hokkaido as
their separate zone of occupation on the
ground that Russian troops do not mix
well with the forces Of other nations is
not likely to be accepted. The Secretary
Of State knows that President Truman
and the joint chiefs of staff are def
nitely opposed to this request.
Besides other considerations, they be-
lieve that for the sake of better under
standing and future international CO.
operation the forces OF the Allies who
have fought together since 1912 should
be given a chance to know each other
better.
Evening star., 1945-12-18
The Political Mill
By Gould Lincoln

elected with the aid OF the American
Labor party. How much influence Mr.
Morris may exert in the gubernatorial
election next remains to be seen. Pre-
sumabH he and Mr.. La Guardia will
do their best to see that Mr.. Dewey
does not have second term.
From another quarter-Gov. Dwight
H. Green of Illinois-the COP also
received a round of advice. The Gov
ernor was speaking to the Republican
National Committee in Chicago. He
charged the Republican leadership of
recent years with having fallen down
on the job-losing the last four presi-
Dental races and failing to elect ma
jority in either house Of Congress during
the last IA years-"a record of failure
we should not attempt to gloss over "
According to the Illinois Governor,
Republican leadership had attempted to
copy the New Deal Democrats instead
Of standing Staunchly for the Repub-
private enterprise, in economy and bal
anced budgets, and in sound" labor
policy. -.
The Green speech seemingly was di-
rected particularly against the leader
ship of the late Wendell L. Willkie in
1910 and Of Gov. Dewey in 1914. Gov.
Green is a strong advocate of more
control of the Republican party by the
Middle West and West, and less by the
East.
While Gov Green and Mr. Morris do
not like the party leadership of Gov.
Dewey and Mr.. Brownell, they dislike it
for different reasons. Gov. Green un-
doubtedly would admit he was progress
sive If pressed but it is unlikely he
would be principal speaker at CIO-
PAC gathering, or that he would COM
pliment the PAC for its political activity,
as did MIR. Morris.
Gov. Green, however. told the Ma
tional Committee it was futile for the
Republicans to encourage themselves
because they have won State and local
victories. The Republican party" he
said, was founded to elect not sheriffs,
but Presidents. If it cannot win
national elections. it has lost its main
reason for existence"
Whether the party will heed either
Mr. Green or Mr.. Morris is a question.
II it fails, however, to win the con-
gressional election of 1916, the COP
will have all the appearance of being on
final toboggan slide.
Evening star., 1945-12-18
The Moons S Eclipse

If the sky is clear this evening, the
people of Washington may have
opportunity to witness one of the
great pageants of the heavens from
start to finish. A total eclipse of
the moon will begin at 6:38 o'clock
and terminate at 1902. The period
when "the lesser orb" is to be COM
pletely obscured by the shadow of
the earth is scheduled to commence
at $40. During that time the sur
face OF the satellite will appear to
be painted with gold. It will not
be altogether blacked-out, but it
definitely will be overcast. Mean
while, the earth will be in transit
across the sun. The reddish orange
hue of the moon when darkened is
accounted for by the absorption of
its blue rays in the earth's atmos-
phere. A watcher on the moon itself
would see the sun in total eclipse by
the earth. In other words, the three
heavenly bodies will be in approx
mate Indian file tonight
Such spectacles always have been
meaningful to all classes Of observ-
ers. Careful records of both solar
and lunar eclipses have been kept
In China for thousands of years. The
AssyrianS, the Babylonians, the Per-
slams, the Greeks and the Romans
knew enough about them to be able
to predict their occurrence with
accuracy. In 413 B.C., an obscura-
ton OF the moon caused an arbi-
trary delay in military operation
resulting in the destruction of the
Athenian fleet and army in Syracuse.
Another event of the same character
is chronicled in 1853 BE-, when Rome
was at war with Macedon and the
shadow on the moon was interpreted
as an OMEN symbolizing the defeat
of the Macedonian king.
Much naturally depends upon the
approach to all occurrences of a
celestial character. Thus Shake
speare, setting the scene for the
tragedy of King Lear, has Gloucester
declare: These late eclipses in. the
sun and moon portend no good to
us. Love cools, friendship falls
of, brothers divide: In cities mu-
TIMES; in countries, discord; In
palaces, treason, and the bond
cracked between son and father.
''' We have seen the best of
our time: Vaccinations, hollowness,
Evening star., 1945-12-18

Little information is expected con-
cerning negotiations among the Big
Three foreign secretaries until the end
of the conference which started last
Sunday. American and British diplo-
mats believe the conversations will be
lengthy and that Soviet Foreign Com
missar Molotov will be more adamant
than ever before.
This belief is based on the fact that
Mr.. Molotov's hand Is no longer re-
strained by any one, since he Is tenn
porarily acting as Premier and de facto
head of the U. S. S. R.
This was indicated clearly when Sec
retary of State Byrnes and Foreign Sec
retary Bevin arrived in Moscow.
According to well-established diplo-
matte protocol, visiting dignitaries must
be met by an official of equal rank. For
instance, when Prime Minister Church.
i'll visited Moscow he was met by Premier
Stain. At the Moscow Conference in
November, 1913, Secretaries Hull and
Eden were met by Commissar Molotov.
If President Truman or the King of
England visits Moscow it would be up to
Mikhail Kalinin, the president of the
Praesidium of the Supreme Council of
tllE ". .. .. ~, W llCEt 1llIIl dt tliC
railway station or airfield.
The Russians are very punctilious
about international protocol and the
fact that an assistant foreign commits
sar met the American Secretary of State
and British Foreign Minister Is consid-
cred as a definite indication that Molo-
tov now considers himself acting head
of the Soviet government and conse-
quently of higher rank than his dis
tinguished guests.
- X
AS such he is expected to conduct the
negotiations without interference from
any quarter in Russia. And, according
to those who attended the Moscow,
, Teheran, Yalta and Potsdam Confer
ences, Mr.. Molotov is far more unre-
lenting than his chief.
Stain, those who participated in the
previous negotiations say, became con-
ciliatory after he gained the important
points he had outlined as the minimum
he wanted for Russia. Molotov is quite
different. On several occasions, and
particularly at Potsdam, he attempted
to keep his chief from complying with
the demands Of the American delega-
tions regarding control of the Pacific
and Japan.
This matter was taken up by Mr..
Evening star., 1945-12-18

The Grand Old Party-the Republican
party, If the younger generation is not
familiar with its past-is receiving
plenty of advice. Newbold Morris, form
er president Of New York's City Council
and more recently the mo Deal" candi-
date for mayor, is one of the latest to
come forward with his ideas of how to
rejuvenate and save the COP. At a
dinner given by the PAC, Mr.. Morris
urged the formation of a Republican
PAC, to which independent Republic
ans, and other independents, may rally
The main immediate purpose of such
an organization. Mr.. Morris said, would
be TO root out reactionary Republican
leaders.
Mr.. Morris went further, however and
urged the CLOS PAC to stand with the
proposed Republican PAC in support of
liberal state and national candidates
He warned the PAC against tying itself
into the Democratic party, on the ground
that the Democratic party could never
shake itself loose of reactionary Demo-
cratic leaders in the South. =.
- He declared that, with the death of
President Roosevelt and elevation OF
Mr.. Truman to the presidency, liberal
ism fed Washington. Implicit in his
address was threat of new political
party, for he said: The liberal move
ment, the progressive movement, is big
ger than any one of us and bigger than
any party" He did, however, contend
that the Republican party had better
chance to become the real liberal party
than has the Democratic.
Mr.. Morris has no use for Gov.
Thomas E. Dewey, for Republican Ma
tional Chairman Herbert Brownell, jr.,
nor for former Gov. John Bricker of
Ohio and his followers. While he at
tackled President Truman for "futility, :"
Mr.. Morris said But I would not
necessarily exchange the homespun op-
portunism of the White House today for
the slick, well-tailored opportunism of
one segment Of Republican national
leadership or for the bumbling reac-
tion of another"
While MIR. Morris has been a figure
in city and State politics, this is the
first time he has tried the national
field, and he is doing it on the strength
Of having received 100000 votes in the
mayoralty race last month, the candi-
date OF Mayor La Guardia. He split the
Republican and fusion vote wide open
and the Democratic candidate was
Evening star., 1945-12-18
Time to Act Now

Last June three special investiga-
tors assigned to the task by Chair
man O'Mahoney of the Senate Sub
committee on District Appropria-
tions brought out the results of
their study of a fair formula for
dividing Capital City expenses be-
tween the local taxpayer and the
Federal Government. The formula
followed the principle advocated by
Senator Overton of basing the Fed
eral payment on the ratio of Fed
eral land holdings in the District
to the total land area. With mod
ifications of that principle the
formula showed that the Federal
contribution should be in the neigh
borhood of $12 ,OOO-as compared
with the existing lump-sum pay
ment of $s,000,OOO.
The formula was made part of
the subcommittee record of hear
ings on the appropriation bill then
pending, but the Investigators were
directed to make additional studies
and report later on. These studies
are now completed and Senator
OMahoney hopes to make them
available soon as a report of his
subcommittee.
This Is the appropriate time to
do it. The inadequacy of the lump
sum payments, dating from the de-
preston days, has become apparent
to every one concerned with District
Federal Government fiscal relations.
Municipal salary increases alone,
voted by Congress earlier this year,
almost equal the amount of the
Federal payment. Out of the cur
rent discussion Of postwar salary
adjustments in the Federal Gov
ernment, legislation is certain to
result which will raise municipal
salaries above the present scale.
The operating costs of the munich
pal government, already high, will
reflect these higher scales, prob
ably in the next fiscal year. And on
top of the rising costs of operation
there are approved plans for cap
ital improvements in excess OF $50
100000, not including other pro-
posals for projects which are needed
but for which no financing plans
have been made.
The District budget, which will 60
to Congress in January, is based on
continuation of the existing lump
sum. But unless that lump-sum
payment is substantially increased
local revenue availability will fall
short of necessary commitments in
providing for the needs OF greatly
increased population.
The preliminary study presented
TO the Senate Subcommittee on Dis
trict Appropriations last spring, am
pHfied now by more complete find
ings soon to be made available,
should provide a fair and equitable
method of increasing the Federal
financial obligation. 1t is to be hoped
that the House Subcommittee on
District Appropriations will include
this fiscal relations study as part
Of its work in framing the next Dis
trict appropriation bill.
Evening star., 1945-12-18

baijan is beside the point The facts
are that there has been an uprising of
some sort, that the legally appointed
1ranian governor has been expelled from
the province, that the Iranian govern
ment desires to restore its authority,
that to this end it deserves to send ad-
ditional military and police forces into
the province. and that it has been pre-
vented forcibly from doing so by Soviet
forces.
It is also beside the point for David
Zaslavsky to ask in Pravda why the
presence of Soviet troops in Iran is be-
ing challenged" by America and Britain
when American and/or British troops
are in Java, Egypt, Greece, Palestine
and China. Mr.. Zaslavsky should know,
or should be informed, that neither the
American nor the British governments
have questioned" the presence of Soviet
troops in Iran. 1t Is well understood
that these troops are on Iranian terri
tory pursuant to treaty arrangements
and collateral understandings to which
all three nations, and Iran, are parties
The Soviet government has a legal
right to keep its troops in Irah until
March 2, 1916, though mutual with
drawal at an earlier date has been pro-
posed by the United States, urged by
Iran, and would have been accepted by
Britain if 1t had been possible to obtain
Soviet agreement, which it was not.
There is feeling in Washington and
London that the Soviet purpose may
be to leave behind its withdrawing
forces in March, these Azerbaijan rebels
so firmly entrenched in power that they
cannot be overthrown-as they might
have been had the Iranian government
been enabled to take timely action.
There is the further feeling that this
condition Of affairs may be subject to
further political exploitation by Moscow
along lines which are becoming pain
fully familiar.
It is to be hoped that Secretary Of
State Byrnes and Britain's Foreign Min
lister, Ernest Bevin, may find means to
convince the Soviet's Foreign Minister.
" NJ Molotov, that this sort Of shenani-
gan cannot serve in the long run either
the legitimate interests OF the Soviet
Union or the cause Of world peace, 10
which the Soviet Union Is devoted and
upon which its future security depends.
Evening star., 1945-12-18
Trans Rights Plain
By Maj. George Fieidins Eliot

Small countries-such as Iran-main-
tain armed forces largely for the pres
ervation of domestic order. They do
not expect to be able to resist invasion
by powerful neighbor. For security
against such a danger, should it occur
their reliance must be on the United
Nations Organization and on the gen.
eral conscience of the world. Their hope
must be that the world will remember
Ethiopia, Manchuria and Czechoslovakia
and the consequences of permitting
these nations to be violated
But the world, and the neighbors of
such small countries in particular, may
properly expect they will maintain
within their borders decent order, con-
ditions in which there shall be in all
parts of the country responsible au-
thority to which travellers, merchants
and resident aliens can look for the
protection of their legal rights.
In ordinary circumstances, such con-
ditions can be assured by the normal
agencies of government-that is, local
civil officials, courts and police
Where circumstances are not normal
as, for example, under the conditions
Of war or wars immediate aftermath-it
may be necessary for a great power to
maintain forces in the territory of a
weaker neighbor, with which it is at
peace, to prevent an enemy from gain
ing dangerous advantage there But
the law of nations as we'll as long
custom alike dictate that these con-
ditions must be regarded as extraordi-
nary, and must be brought to an end
as soon as the justification ceases to
exist.
There can be no justification what
ever for a policy which, while offering
disorderly conditions as q pretext for
occupation or continuance OF occupation,
forcibly prevents legally constituted
government from using its forces to
abate the disorderly conditions COM
planned of. To say--as the Soviet gov
ernment has said Of conditions in the
Iranian province Of Azerbaijan-that the
reinforcement of the Iranian garrison
in that province would only make con-
ditions worse, is to assume right Of
sovereign Judgment as to Iranian affairs
which is wholly outside the proper
sphere Of Soviet considerations.
AL discussion Of the political nature
Of the uprising In the province Of Assf-
Evening star., 1945-12-18
Affrontine Common Sense
By David Laurence
rom the London Sunday Dispatch.


There is undoubtedly great distress in
Europe. We do not need to look as far
as Germany to see that. There is dis
tress in Holland and Greece; there is
scarcity in Belgium, in France and in
Norway among others. And if the Ger
mans now distressed had not heiled
their war mongers and exalted in the
advance of the swastika, both they and
their victim countries would have been
spared much suffering though the suf-
ferings of the Germans came late. But
the distress in Europe is such that no
one in this country would resent call
to continued sacrifices If such sacrifices
could bring aid to the people who have
shared our cause. We do not wish to
fare better than our Dutch, Greek,
French, Belgian or other Allies. But to
launch relief scheme under the gen.
eral title of Save Europe Now" and to
declare as its primary aim the succor-
ing Of Germany, is an affront to senti-
n1ent and to common sense.
Evening star., 1945-12-18
Winter View of Birds Nests

A hint OF Woodland drama long con.
cealed
By dr1pery OF summers rich DESIGN
Stands out in stark reflection ro,o
repenled
BY ,Dinter's contour drawn ,uith
sharper line.
The pattern OF the tender sprinqtine
dreams
That human eyes, untnught. could
not detect
Among the summer leapes. notD fallen,
seems
TO stand on pieU IN haunting ret
respect.
The nests ,ohere mating birds kept
springtime tryst
Are DGcGnt notu, and only notc are
seem
They mock the human duHness that
has missed
The drama played behind ,roodtand
screen;
Ths theater,s poignant emptiness Z
shotDn
Against the hush Of actors long stncs
fotDN.
FLORENCE JANssoN.
Evening star., 1945-12-18
The japanese Throne

AS General MacArthur'S lengthen-
ing list of suspected japanese war
criminals moves closer and closer to
the imperial throne, court circles
and the press of Japan are openly
beginning to discuss the possibility
of Hirohito's abdication. If it is our
intention, however, to let the coun-
try function for the time being
within the framework of its own
basic law, such a development ap-
parently cannot be brought about
overnight by simple decree or by
the Emperor's personal decision.
According to the japanese who
are now specializing on this subject,
Japans present constitution does
not permit abdication. nor can the
constitution itself be revised under
regency form of government. This
means that should Hirohito wish to
quit sae throne, he must first direct
his cabinet to initiate steps to effect
the necessary constitutional revi-
sion. Then, given the revision. he
would be free to step down. Beyond
that, whether or not regency were
established, the people of the coun-
try would have the right to decide
IN keeping with the terms of the
Potsdam ultimatum-on the future
Of the Emperor institution.
Since Japanese law is subordinate,
OF course. to the law of the victors,
the technicalities surrounding the
act Of abdication need not inhibit
General Macarthur Thus, if it is
deemed wise to do so, Hirohito can
be listed at once as a suspected war
criminal, in which case he could
hardly remain on the throne, ire
spective of Japan's present constitu-
ton. This involves questions of high
American and Allied policy, how
ever, and possibly-if he is to be
tried at all-he may be ordered per-
sonally to prepare the way for his
fall by inaugurating the legal proc
esses called for in his own land,
thus softening the shock and unrest
which his sudden arrest might cause
among those OF his subjects who
Evening star., 1945-12-18
Fewer Miruqes
rom the Victoria Colonist.

From the Victoria Colonist.
One of the real successes of this age
is the number OF people ready to train
themselves, to take special courses, to
prepare themselves for what they wish to
work at. There is an objectivity behind
1t which speaks well for the young men
and the young women of today, they who
will be running things after few to-
morrows. One suspects that they will
follow fewer mirages, and test the fore
ground more carefully than many Of the
generations that have gone before They
will have world Of mistakes to profit by
avoiding
Evening star., 1945-12-18
What Does He Offer?

1t was to have been expected that
Senator Brooks, Republican, of
Illinois and those who think as he
does, should oppose the proposed
loan to Britain and the virtual can
celation of lease-lend Indebtedness.
Nor is it surprising to read that the
Illinois Senator has predicted that
the loan, if made, will never be
repaid by the British.
AS a matter of fact, he may be
right on that score. The projected
loan is admittedly a gamble, and
there are responsible men on the
other side of the Atlantic who have
expressed grave doubt concerning
Britain's ability to pay both prin-
cipal and interest on the obligation.
Yet the question is not so much
whether we can afford to take this
gamble, as Senator Brooks would
have us believe, but whether we can
afford not to take it.
The Illinois Senator complains
that the loan terms call for rate OF
interest which will result in a loss
of $33, 900, 900 year to this country.
At the same time he predicts that
the British will not be able to pay,
even at the scheduled rate. So the
question is, what does he propose?
If the loan were to be made at lower
interest, or at no interest, he would
complain more loudly of the loss to
the United States, or he might even
say that the loan, like the lease-lend
arrangement, was a fraud. Yet If
the interest rate were boosted to
insure against loss, then he would
predict with even greater confidence
that the British would never be able
to pay. Hence, when the American
people listen to complaints of this
sort, they should ask the complain
ants what they have to offer as an
alternative to the plan proposed by
the administration as a means of
enabling the British to get back on
their feet. If they have any pro-
gram, except a return to futile and
dangerous isolationism, they have
been exceedingly careful not to
reveal it.