davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1945-07-18

Prom the Manchester Guardian
June 81 is date all men of letter,
should (but possibly do not) remember
for it was then, in the year 1887, thai
Gibbon finished his Decline and Fall. >
He has recorded the moment in his
autobiography:
1t was on the day, or rather the
night, of the 9th of June, 1887, be-
tween the hours of II and IL, that I
wrote the last lines of the last page,
In a summer-house In my garden.
After laying down my pen, took sew
eral turns in berceau or covered
walk of acacias which commands a
prospect Of the country. the lake and
the mountains cat Lausanne). The
air was temperate, the sky was serene,
the silver orb of the moon was re-
fiected from the waters, and all nature
was silent. / will not dissemble the
first emotions of joy on recovery of
my freedom and, perhaps, the estab-
iishment Of my fame But my pride
was soon humbled, and sober mel
ancholy' spread over my mind, by the
idea that I had taken an everlasting
leave of an old and agreeable COM
panion, and that whatsoever might
be the future fate of history. the life
of the historian must be short and
precarious.
The passage might be compared foi
its exquisite and sober sadness with the
concluding paragraph OF Samuel Pepys
Diary: And so betake myself to that
course, which is almost as much as te
see myself go into my grave: for which
and all the discomforts that will accom-.
pany my being blind, the good Coo
prepare mel
Evening star., 1945-07-18
A Needed Chance

In urging Congress to substitute
a single administrator for the three
man board now administering the
Surplus Property Act, President
Truman is asking for a change
which experience has proved to be
necessary,
When the act was under conSid-
Grafton last year, James F. ByrneS,
then director of the Office of War
Mobilization. strongly recommended
that the administrative responsible
ity be vested in one man. This was
in keeping with key proposal of
the Baruch-H Hancock report, and it
had the full support of President
Roosevelt and others familiar with
the problem. But Congress, after
much pulling and hauling. finally
decided upon the three-man setup,
and when he signed the measure in
october the late President did so
only with great reluctance. in the
hope that its shortcomings would in
time be rectified.
President Truman'S special mes
sage on the subject makes clear that
as far as the administration is con-
cerned at least. the time for recti-
tication Is here. With the war
ended in Europe, the volume of
property being declared surplus is
growing sharply. and "the most ef-
ficient possible administrative ma
chinery" Is needed to dispose of it
properly. The three-man board is
not that kind of machinery-a fact
borne out by Senator Gillette. the
retiring chairman. Originally he
favored the arrangement, but today,
on the basis of his own direct expe-
rience, he favors a single admins
traitor.
a, In Mr.. Truman's words, In a
field which calls for quick. and de-
cisive action, it Is undesirable to
dilute responsibility for the disposal
Of surplus property. Administration
by a multimember board has COM
plicated day-to-day operations un-
der the act. I am convinced
that the effective performance of
the vast administrative task re-
naming for the disposal of surplus
property imperatively requires that
authority to make decisions and
responsibility for those decisions
should be centralized in a single
official"
Proflting from experience, Con-
gress should promptly amend the
law as the President requests. The
present three-man setup violates a
basic principle of sound admins
tration, and in a field involving the
disposal of properties worth scores
of billions of dollars, such a viola
ton can lead to inefflciency and
confusion costly in the extreme.
Evening star., 1945-07-18
Secrecy at Potsdum

Nearly all press and radio COM
ment from our correspondents as
signed to "cover" the Potsdam Con-
ference emphasize the Secretiveness
wherein the Big Three meeting is
being held, and their British col
leagues seem to be substantially of
the same mind. PotSdam has been
converted into an island of impene-
trable isolation. ringed about by
multiple barriers of soldiers and
secret police. Newsmen are forbid
den even to approach the closed
area on penalty OF 72-hour sus-
pension from journalistic privileges.
Apparently no official representatives
of the conferees are to give ex-
planatory talks to correspondents.
The correspondents do not like
this state of affairs and clearly in
dicate their criticism of what they
consider unprecedented" secrecy.
How far is this critical attitude JUS
tilted? Perhaps 1t is due In part to
the contrast between Potsdam and
San Francisco. TIE United Nations
Conference was about as secretive
as goldfish bowl. 1t was re-
sounding application of the Wilso-
nian formula: "Open covenants
openly arrived at" The Potsdam
Conference is just the opposite,
which naturally irks eager news
hawks" many of whom have re-
Gently covered the meeting by the
Golden Gate. For them. tempera-
mental reaction was inevitable.
However, the contrast is logical.
At San Francisco multitude of
delegates from more than half a
hundred nations were engaged in
formulating a set of principles and
practices for a new world order.
This involved a vast amount OF dis
cussion, more or less theoretical,
whose conclusions had to be imple-
mented by legislative approval; this,
in turn, involving public opinion.
For such conference secrecy would
have been both impracticable and
undesirable. Publicity was actually
needed.
The Potsdam Conference Is utter
ly different in character. 1t is a
meeting of supreme executives who
must discuss and decide specific
questions and policies. many OF
which are highly explosive In their
Evening star., 1945-07-18
Do-Nothinq Program

The proposal by House Minority
Leader Martin that this country
defer action on a compulsory mill
tary training program while the
Government seeks an agreement
outlawing all such training by the
major countries is the sort of thing
that is perfectly calculated to
accomplish nothing.
If there is any real possibility OF
securing an international agreement
banning military training, and
which would be binding on all
countries that might conceivably
threaten our security, then there is
no doubt that sentiment in this
country would favor such pact
But it would be foolish indeed to
postpone a training program OF our
own while the possibilities inherent
in Mr.. Martins proposal are being
explored-an effort which certainly
would cover a period of years and
which probably would end in failure.
We need to bear in mind that it
is the necessity of looking to our
own security which justif1es post
war military training program. Mr..
Martin says that a system of military
training has long been the practice
of European nations, and has never
prevented war. If we accept that
as being true, however, 1t is also
true that in this country we have
not made a practice Of military
training, and that, too, has never
prevented war. What it has done is
to make it possible for us to be drawn
into wars while we were unprepared
to fight and dependent upon allies
to hold off the enemy while we
hurriedly drafted millions of men
and rushed them through training
program that was waSteful and less
complete than might otherwise have
been the case. Furthermore, we
have seen the great advances in the
science of war, and we should know
that in event of another conflict
the probabilities are that an aggres-
sor will strike first at US and that
we will not then have two or three
years in which to prepare to fight.
We will either be ready or we will
be doomed.
Mr. Martins proposal has GER
tain political attractivenesS in that
it will appeal to that minority which
is opposed to military training. 1t
will not appeal, however, to the great
majority of Americans who believe
in a training program and who are
convinced that, pending the estab-
1ishment of an effective world organ
ization for the maintenance of peace,
we cannot afford to neglect our own
security.
Evening star., 1945-07-18
Differs With Democrats

To the Editor of The Star:
I have just run across an interesting
letter to the New York Sun signed by
r. A. Burford, in which the writer
points out the age-old truth that:
"Ours is republic beyond shadow of
doubt. If Democrat prefers to speak
of it as our democracy or our demo-
cratic fosm of government rather than
as our republic or our republican form
OF government because the nomencla-
ture of the latter smacks too much OF
his arch opponent or perhaps sounds
less euphonious. who is there to say
him nay?"
Alexander Hamilton made this clear
in the Federalist No. 78; much clearer
than any so-called Democrat" treally
misnomer for democratic Republican,
ever has done since.
Too much time is being spent by
Democratic statesmen of the North tthe
Southern statesmen are men of prin-
ciple, ability, courage and scholarship
beating about the bush and on the
wrong track. J. A. g.
Evening star., 1945-07-18
Failure at SimIu

The failure of the Simla Con-
ference re-emphasizes what we'll
informed students of Indian affairs
recognize to be the chief stumbling
block to India'S political evolution.
This Is the inveterate hostility be-
tween the two leading religious
elements, HinduS and MoSlems,
which makes it seemingly impos-
sible for them to agree on anything.
There are, to be sure, other elements
which complicate the problem still
further, such as the Sikhs, the ma
tive Christians, and even subdivi-
sions within the Hindu and Moslem
folds. But it is safe to say that
these minor factors could be dealt
with If the major elements could
be politically harmonized.
The rival protagonists are the
political organizations known re-
spectively as the Congress Party
and the Moslem League. The Con-
gress Party claims to be national"
an character and includes some
Moslems in its membership. making
q point of having a Moslem as it's
titular president; but in fact it is
made up overwhelmingly of Hindus
and is directed by hfgh-caste lead
ers. This has repelled multitudes
Of low-caste or outcast Hindus, col
iectively known as the Depressed
Glasses, who have an organization
OF their own and oppose the claim
of the Congress Party to govern
India. At the other extreme there
Is an ra-orthodox Hindu group
known as the Mahasabha, which
opposes any attempt to conciliate
the Moslems or the Depressed
Glasses. Thus. the Hindus, though
nearly three-fourths of India's vast
population, exceeding 100000, 900,
do not present a united front to
the 8o.000.000 Moslems. most of
whom are adherents of the Moslem
League. However. the prospect of
Hindu domination in self-govern-
ing India is so intolerable to the
Moslems that they demand either
absolute parity in any political de-
velopments or separation from the
Hindus in an autonomous unit
known as "Pakistan."
The chronic agitation for self
. government or full independence
which keeps India in intermittent
turmoil has led the British Govern
ment to attempt a series of evolu-
tionary steps to meet the situation.
Evening star., 1945-07-18
A Blow to Confidence

PUBIC commence is an asset which
should be cherished by the Metro
politan Police Department, and the
rather shocking developments which
have followed the recent raid on a
Pennsylvania avenue massage par
lor" are the more to be deplored
because they are apt to impair public
trust in the city's law enforcement
officers.
The whole history of this affair is
discreditable. There was first the
failure and recovery of memory on
the part of the raiding officer, who,
after the raid, is said to have told
reporters that there were some
pretty high" officials among the
male patrons of the establishment.
Then 1t was announced that this
officer did not have the names of
these patrons, but, surprisingly
enough, he later managed to produce
them under pressure. Next came
the pickering and buck-passing
among high police officials concern
ing the question of responsibility
for supervision of the activities of
the vice squad. Finally, there is
the fact that this establishment
was able to operate for several years
and that a year ago, contrary to
the recommendations of his subor-
dinateS, the superintendent of police
approved the issuance of license to
the operator of the massage parlor.
Colonel Kelly acknowledges the
adverse recommendations, but says
there was not sufficient evidence to
justify him in refusing to approve
the license application. II that was
the situation, it seems rather evident
that 1t was the duty of the super
intendent of police, having been put
on notice as to the character OF the
establishment, to get the necessary
evidence instead of permitting
degrading racket to continue.
The handling of this affair may
or may not be typical OF the func-
tioning of the Police Department in
such matters. But even as an
isolated case it is calculated to de-
stroy confidence in the police, and
may be expected to have that result
unless the Commissioners insist on
obtaining all the facts and taking
whatever remedial action may be
necessary.
Evening star., 1945-07-18

This Is the concluding article o.
series on Yugosldutd.)
ROME (By Air Courier --Josip Broz-
Tito, beyond question the wars ablest
underground soldier, finds himself in
q paradoxical position today.
AS guerrilla chieftan, leader OF
great popular revolt against oppression
and tyranny, he caught the peoples
imagination and welded various his
torically dissident groups into an ef-
fective fighting force. He was the
champion of the individual, doing bat
tie against the police forces of an iron
order. He was fighting for the human
rights of the little man, for his freedom
of speech and religion, for his freedom
from fear as we'll as from want. He
was the magnificent underdog, the
democratic leader bucking the author
itarian machine. And he won.
Now this man from the woods has
entered the marble palace. He Is no
longer the underdog; he is boss. The
secret police are his police now, the
rules of the game his rules. The man
who dares criticize the established or
der of things is no longer his ally.
The wheel has come full cycle, and the
worm has turned.
Caught in the middle, the mass OF
nonpolitical folk who supporte
neither one side nor the other-who
could not shoulder a partisan gun and
would not inform on a compatriot, but
tried only to keep body and soul to-
gether through the storm-wonders in
evitably whether anybody outside OF the
ha xfn wiz
~
The extent OF political support en-
joyed by the marshal's regime is, of
course, the s64 question in the Yugo-
slav picture No doubt Tito himself
would like to know. Neutral observers
I talked to in Belgrade varied consid-
erably in their estimates as TO the pro-
portion of the local population actively
supporting the government, but none
put the figure higher than 20 per
cent. The proportion in certain other
parts of the country is almost certainly
higher. Marshal Tito's assertion that
the national liberation front covers
wide enough political range to assure
the government of the backing of 80
per cent of the people is, however,
unanimously disputed by outsiders who
have been watching things at first
hand in Yugoslavia. These men are
convinced that the government is sup
ported by decided minority.
In theory. of course it is pro-
visional government, designed to bridge
the gap between the wars end and the
time when the people of Yugoslavia can
freely make their own political choice.
To the Communist political core of the
Partisan movement were added demo-
cratic elements of the government in
exile. The theory was that these ele-
ments would provide a moderating in
fiuence and give the new government
some semblance of continuity with the
past.
1t is hard to remember this theory
when you are in Yugoslavia. For in the
first place the moderating balance of
the wise old heads" appears to weigh
very lightly in the political scale. Key
government posts are held almost with
out exception by members of the Par
tisan inner circle, group of tough
minded young Communists. In the sec
ond place, this group seems to be
taking rapid and effective steps to con-
sofidate and perpetuate its position.
Watching the thing in operation YOU
Evening star., 1945-07-18
Letters to The Star
owl Defended as Agency
Needed by the Nation
To the Editor Of The Star:

To the Editor of The Star:
Referring to her letter to The Star
last Friday, I wish Mrs. Ruth E. Buck
would have taken the trouble to get
some information before attacking owl,
which has contributed materially to
the victory in Europe, which now is
helping to consolidate the peace and
which also is saving American lives in
the Far East. Mrs. Buck Is entitled to
her opinion but she should have recalled
that President Truman, Gen. Eisen-
hover, Gen. Macarthur and other top
war leaders consider owl essential.
Europe may be Frustrated" but 1t
remains a potential source OF danger
for world peace. 1t likewise has become
an area where Eastern and Western
political conceptions may compete for
recognition. The United States is COM
mitted to participation In European af-
fairs for reasons OF Its own and world
security. 1t therefore has vital stake
in defending and explaining its policy
which, I am sure, Mrs. Buck would like
to see safeguarded.
She, however, does not seem to realize
that the battle of ideologies still is on.
She should study President Trumans S
statement on the closing of the San
Francisco Conference, an admirable
elucidation of the problems we face.
Food cannot solve these problems; it
can only alleviate conditions tempo
rarily and prevent outbreaks.
Mrs. Buck obviously is unaware of the
fact that there is not one of the free
European nations without an elaborate
ministry of information and that our
Allies spend uncounted millions for the
privilege OF telling their own stories to
the peoples of the world.
She also is misinformed when she as
sumes that the British OWL" the Min
istry OF Information, is doomed" 1t is
istry will be taken over by the Foreign
ONCE, but the British government now
Is debating whether the agency should
receive permanent status. and the
chances are that it will Anyway, con-
fractions in certain sections of the
hiAAiAS1y udFC ucCii HiduC UP ny III
creases in other sections.
We must not forget that the idea of
international cooperation and oficiaI
information is new In this country. Leg
islators and certain sections of our less
Observation-Disclosures fellow citizens are
reluctant to see the necessity of voice
of America" When the United Nations
Charter is accepted, we shall be COM
pelled to undertake international and
cultural cooperation services through
out the world. Otherwise, we would run
the risk of theological isolation.
read in the papers that owl was
granted IS million dollars. That is little
enough but. in limited way. it will give
this Government an opportunity to help
insuring security for our forces of oc-
cupation; it will contribute to German
re-education; 1t will foster American
prestige, and create understanding for
our ideals and our ways of life: 1t will
make 1t possible to tell the American
story to world which knows too little
about us and whose ideas about the
United States have been distorted
through years of enemy propaganda.
Money spent for these purposes is
we'll invested and will pay high divi-
dends to forthcoming generations of
Americans.
Evening star., 1945-07-18
Where Are Jap Troops?
By Maj. George Fielding Eliot

port facilities and to shipping in port.
including the sinking or damaging of
10000 tons of shipping during the most
recent operations of the 3rd Fleet of
the Japanese coast: and a penetration
of the Sea of Okhotsk by American
warships, for the first time In the war
There is, therefore, very good chance
that the Japanese have been caught with
the greater part of their army on the
Asiatic mainland, where it cannot be
transported rapidly to Japan, but where,
also, it cannot be supplied in SUFFICIENT
volume by the japanese industries on
which 1t is almost wholly dependent for
finished munitions
The japanese, OF course, do have a
considerable reserve of manpower at
home which has not yet been incorpo-
rated in the army, probably as many
as 100000 men; some of these will
form the peoples volunteer corps of
which we hear so much, and we must
assume that this force will fight harder
than the wretched German Volksturm
at least until it is proven otherwise
But experience tells us that hastily
raised, half-trained and il-armed units
cannot successfully be opposed to the
magnificent veteran armies with which
We are now closing in on Japan
The Japanese war lords know this as
well as We do. If they have indeed
been caught of balance, with their
army cut of on the continent and their
homeland depleted of its best defend
ers. this fact may have a considerable
effect on their future decisions. 1t
may also have some bearing on the
present and future regard In which
the Japanese civilian elements, and the
japanese people as whole, will hold
the military leaders whose over-con-
fidence Is responsible for this state of
affairs.
lCopyright Ip4S)
Evening star., 1945-07-18
Report From Belgrade
By Neicbold Noyes, T,
Star War Correspondent.

have the feeling IL Is about as pro-
visionai as the law OF gravity.
1t is hard to define the position In
the government of the moderate rep
resentatives of the old political parties.
Professedly they are absolutely loyal
to the regime, completely uncritical of
the manner of execution or nonexecu-
tion of its excellent paper program
They pursue a strict policy Of Hear
no evil see no evil, and (above alb
speak no evil" Perhaps the prospect
out on their ears tomorrow has some
thing to do with this attitude.
Some of them are stooges. Some
still hope to effect moderating COM
promise with their radical and cocksure
young colleagues-to use their influence
in behalf of solution to the nations
problems through tolerance and free
exchange of ideas Some are already
disillusioned.
The attitude of the Communists who
dominate the government Is equally
difficult to pin down. They recoil from
any suggestion that their operating
principles differ at all from those ad-
vocated by jefferson, Tom Paine and
Adam Smith. Not only do they prom
ise that their ultimate goal is stin q
setup brimfuf of civil liberty, political
tolerance, representative government
and freedom of economic enterprise
they also insist that they have right
now the most progressive democracy
in the world.
Without prejudging the question as
to what the ultimate goal may be, it
will not help to kid ourselves about the
present fact. At present, Yugoslavia has
a setup brimful of rule by decree, nom
recognition of dissent, movement to-
ward collectivism, fear of the secret
police. control of the press and of the
educational system, and worship of the
leader. 1t has democracy which is
so progressive that 1t has progressed to
a point where 1t Is not recognizable as
democracy.
Perhaps we would do we'll, too, to
dispense with the notion that Marshal
Tito and his boys are in power in
Yugoslavia on provisional or interim
basis.
There Is nobody to replace them, for
one thing. However widespread may
be disappointment with the regimes
performance thus far, it seems certain
that the reactionary alternative has
been thoroughly discredited. The mon
archy Is through. And there does not
seem to be any organization capable of
giving expression to the hopes of those,
presumably majority, who believe the
answer lies somewhere in the demo-
cratic middle ground between these two
extreme alternatives.
For another thing, Marshal Tito's
men appear to be taking all the neces-
sary practical steps to insure their
tenure for many a long day. The
proposition that they will remain in
power after the holding of whatever
sort Of election Is TO be held looks to
most neutral observers in Belgrade
as we used to say in our alley-like a
lead-pipe cinch.
The hope that the Yugoslav peoples
magnificent struggle win end in the
attaining Of some measure of basic
civil liberty would appear, therefore, to
rest on the hope that once it feels
itself secure the Tito regime, remem-
bering its promises, will move back in
the direction of political tolerance and
moderation