davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1945-03-26

The major Americana British offen-
sive. which will take the Allied forces
into the heart of the Reich and result
in the crushing of the resistance of the
once most powerful and feared army in
the world. Is now under way
Less than three months ago the most
optimistic military observers did not
dare forecast that the Allies in the west
would advance farther than the west
bank of the Rhine before spring. They
believed that the actual crossing of the
river would be possible only after long
and costly battles.
They pointed out that the surprise Of
fensive of Field Marshal Won Rundstedt
last December had caused serious holes
in the ranks of the American armies,
although the Nazi commander was
stopped and pushed back. The loss in
men and materiel was heavy and the
American and British military men felt
that Germany's organized resistance
would last at least until summer and
some even thought it might 60 into next
winter.
1t was pointed out that we had to send
to the front not only a large number of
men but also the large amount of war
material which great force must have
TO fight a Well-organized enemy pro-
tected by formidable chain of fortifica-
tions
The supply and transport services
have performed an excellent Job which
Is considered just short of miraculous.
The men and the weapons of war were
taken across the Atlantic much faster
than even Gen. Eisenhower hoped for.
in the meantime, the Russian steam
roller started moving from the west.
The German high commands hopes for
lull in the fighting, allowing it to
organize new reserves totalling more
than 100000 men, were frustrated.
y
Faced with a threat to Berlin. and to
the Reich's remaining industrial areas
in the east, the German general staff
started shifting troops from the west
10 the east and breaking up divisions
TO fight on both fronts.
The combat strength of the German
division was reduced to 1000 and later
TO even smaller number Thus while
we nave been confronted on the west
ern front with the same number of djvi-
Slons as last winter the actual number
OF flghting men has been more than
halved.
The Luftwaffe. which appeared again
In slzeable force last December. was def
lnltely knocked out. The American and
British planes were able not only to
knock out the Reich's remaining indus
trial eSta abllShmentS but also TO inter-
fere more draStically with the German
Evening star., 1945-03-26
Gruss-WhistIe

An hour filled Uith sun and drowsy
stiffness
When idleness has ,pooed and tUon the
heart,
This is the internal aboDe all timino
To lie deep In the orchard grass, apart
From other ,0orlds. Let all else be
forgotten
Lost in the changing siluer, green, and
gold,
While to the heart the mind touched
grasses ,Dhisper
And by them tales OF loneliness are
told.
Press to the thumb keen-edged blade
of tortail
And lay the other thumb along its side,
Then purse the HIPS. As In the days OF
childhood,
Choice dreams upon speet, clear
tUhiStIe ride,
ROSE MYRA PHILLIPS
Evening star., 1945-03-26
A Promising Beginning
BY Maj. George Fielding Eliot

The immediate objective of the Allied
operations across the Rhine between
Nijmegen and Coblenz NAV be very
simply Stated--the destruction of two
German armies, the 1st Paratroop Army
and the 5th Panzer Army. These two
armies include all the really good troops
which the Germans have to defend this
part of their western frontier Once
they are broken, the road to Berlin is
open.
The Germans have three so-called
army groups along their western front,
according to late dispatches from Allied
headquarters. These are. from north
to south, Army Group H tField Marshal
Johannes Blaskowitz) covering the front
from the sea to the Ruhr; Army Group
(Field Marshal Walther ModD cover
ing the front from the Ruhr to the
Main, and Army Group G (Col. Gen.
Wolfgang Hauser) covering the front
from the Main to the Swiss frontier
Army Group H includes the 25th
army, a comparatively new formation
which guards the German holdings in
the Netherlands and probably has re-
sponsibility for the defense of the Rhine
as far east as Emmerich, and the formi-
dable 1st Paratroop Army, which is
VII CSIly opposing tilc hhlCu duFdIlCc
between Immerich and the Ruhr
Army Group B includes the 5th
Panzer Army, part of which is fighting
the United States 1st Army on the
Sieg River, and the 18th army which
suffered heavily in the fighting west of
the Rhine and probably is in part
engaged with the United States 1st
Army on the southern flank of that
armys bridgehead.
Army Group G has only one intact
Army-the 10th which, is. or was, along
the Rhine from Strasbourg south to the
Swiss frontier It's other two armies,
the 1st and 7th, have virtually been
destroyed west of the Rhine, and Gen.
Hauser must now be desperately trying
to get together enough troops to check
the United States 3rd Armys drive
across the Rhine toward DarmStadt and
Frankfurt-am-Main. This drive is prob
ably making considerable progress. Fur
thermore it is possible that the 10Th
army is already more or less pinned
down by crossing of the Rhine by the
1st French Army near Rastatt.
X
Thus every German Army commander
has his troubles with the exception of
the 25th army in the Netherlands, and
that army is at low strength-barely
sufficient to hold its long line and pro-
tect the rocket and E-boat bases which
are of such Importance to the Germans.
We return to the 1st Paratroop Army
and the 5th Panzer Army, which are
engaged in fighting the crucial battles
OF the immediate present-the one re-
sisting the big push of Field Marshal
Montgomery across the Rhine between
Emmerich and the Ruhr, the other
resisting the northward and converging
thrust of the United States lst Army.
The 1st Paratroop Army has long en-
joyed first priority in requirements and
equipment. 1t gets the cream of the
available recruits: the best tanks and
self-propelled guns. It was badly maui
Evening star., 1945-03-26
The Dutch Emergency

One of the merciful by-products
of the mighty Allied drive across
the Rhine should be the early lib
Grafton of all of the Netherlands. 1t
cannot come too soon. Probably no
people in Europe have suffered more
than the Dutch. Since last fall, in
the two thirds of their country still
held by the NaZis, they have under
gone progressively worsening or
deal that now leaves a vast number.
of them on the verge of starvation.
Their heroic railway strike, which
has been of great help to our forces
in the west, has meant that the
Dutch have gone without coal and
other essentials of life for the past
six months. The Germans, mean
while, have carried out wholesale
looting program, have taken away
scores of thousands of men for
slave labor, and have flooded a
fourth or more of the arabic land,
wiping out vital crops and creating
the so-called hunger provinces"
which include the cities of Rotter-
dam, Utrecht and The Hague. In
this region famine conditions
markedly increasing the incidence
of disease and death-are already a
terrible actuality, with daily rations,
according to some reports, amount
ing to not much more than 300 cal
ories in many cases, or only about
tenth of the total considered nee
essary for human beings.
General Eisenhower, we'll aware of
the gravity of the situation, has Just
named a special command to cope
with it the moment the Nazis are
driven from the country. Stock piles
OF food are being held in readiness
to provision the hardest-hit regions
on a minimum basis, and injections
OF vitarAin concentrates are to be
Evening star., 1945-03-26
This Changing World
Bv Constant. /
RrOWn

lines OF communications They also
formed perfect umbrella, as efficient
as on D day last June, for the ground
forces OF Gen. Bradley and Marshal
Montgomery
The lightning offensives of the Allies
on the western and eastern fronts threw
the Germans off balance and caused
the first noticeable break in the morale
OF their armed forces. Commanders
with we'll established regulations were
changed frequently as the fortunes of
war moved against them. Headliners
such as Rundstedt, Guderian, Model,
keitel Mannstein, Liszt and Yodel
flashed for brief moments but some un-
known to the rank and file of the fight
ing men were mentioned as placed in
command of the forces which were to
save the Reich.
This was the first indication that the
once formidable Wehrmacht and it's
younger sister, the Volkssturm had be-
come really shaky. Soldiers, even in
Germany, are not mere machines. They
learn about the prowess of certain lead
ers and while they fight under his orders
they have real confidence in the out
come OF battle, regardless of how much
X
In the last few days, particularly
since the Germans blunder in failing to
blow up the Ludendorff Bridge at Rema-
gen, the American forces have captured
more prisoners in such a short time
than ever before. There is a greater
Willingness on the part of the German
soldiers to surrender after only perfume
tory resistance. This must not be in
terpreted to mean that the whole Ger
man Army is in panic and is ready to
give up There will still be fierce re-
sStance on the part of the men who
have been indoctrinated by the efficient
propaganda. They have been told that
the surrender means serfdom in the
steppes of Russia and Siberia or chain
gang work for the restoration of the
Russian villages and cities DESTROYED by
the Wehrmacht.
But, as in 1918, the flower of the Ger
man regular army and extensively
trained reserves have disappeared. Even
the fanatical SIS corps no longer COM
priseS the same battle-tried forces. The
remnants of the Wehrmacht and the
SS divisions unquestionably will put up
suicidal hight and dispute every inch
OF territory they yield. We may even
nave some setbacks of minor nature
here and there in the next few weeks.
But the backbone of Germanys power
TO stop the Allied advance has been
definitely broken. This is expected to
be demonstrated with finality in the
next few weeks
Evening star., 1945-03-26

ed in its recent fight west of the Rhine,
when it was told off to resist the flank
ing drive of the 1St Canadian army,
But it succeeded, when it could no longer
maintain its position because of the
northWard sweep of the United States
9Th Army against its rear, in forming
bridgehead at Wesel and withdrawing
through that bridgehead to the east
bank of the Rhine
Probably all its units have since
received requirements and additional
equipment. The 1st Paratroop Army
includes at least five parachute di-
visions-which are really frst-class in
fantry divisions of selected men-and
two or three Panzer or Panzer Gren-
adler divisions. 1t also has at least two
and probably three ordinary infantry
divisions. In addition, it may now have
an additional Panzer corps of two or
three divisions in reserve
This is the armv which has the lob
of dealing with Montgomery's massive
assault. 1t is not surprising that little
attempt has been made by the German
command to hold front line position:
his only hope lies in well-timed counter
attack
From Montgomery's point of view. the
immediate task is to get at and DESTROY
as much of the 1st Paratroop Army as
he can-which means getting the Allied
troops across the Rhine as quickly as
possible, exploiting every advantage, and
hitting hard at every German concen-
tratlon by co-ordinated air and ground
attacks so that the Germans can never
get set for a really massive counter
blow
4 X
If this can be done then the 5th
Panzer Army to the south of the Ruhr
will be caught between Montgomery's
right flank and the advancing 1st United
States Army and will have to withdraw
or be destroyed. And if these two good
German armies are smashed, it will not
be the others which will stop a general
Allied advance deep into the heart of
Germany
From this point of view, the Allied
offensive appears to be going well. No
counter attack has yet developed, but
one could hardly be expected so soon.
What is perhaps more significant is the
capture of almost 10000 prisoners on the
first day, largely by the airborne troops,
which suggests that the airborne attacks
were more successful than could have
been hoped, and that they caught the
Germans to some extent by surprise.
The 1st Paratroop Army can not
afford such loss OF prisoners on the
very first day; all too few of these
highly trained soldiers are available to
the German commanders now. One
other element of surprise seems to have
been attained by Montgomery, and that
is the extensive use of naval boats and
landing craft, which seem to have
brought the Allied troops across the
Rhine faster and in greater initial num-
bers than the Germans had counted on.
It Is too soon, very much too soon,
to say that quick victory is assured;
but it is not too soon to say that we
have made very promising beginning.
tOopyrisht. 1p461
Evening star., 1945-03-26
Monpower Compromise

Out OF very good House bill and a
very poor Senate bill the conferees on
manpoWer legislation have reached
a compromise which ought to meet
the need for the rest of the war.
Enforced by penalties applicable
against both employers and en-
ployes guilty of "wilful" violation of
regulations to be issued by Director
of War Mobilization Byrnes, the
effect of the legislation will be to
make manpower available in crit
ical areas or plants engaged in pro-
duction of vital war materials and
to freeze employees in their present
jobs.
Administration of the legislation
presumably will be delegated by Mr..
Byrnes to the War Manpower Com
mission. That administration may
be difficult and, judging from past
experience in, say, New Bedford,
Mass, may cause resentment from
workers which in it's practical effect
could nullify the intent of the legis-
lation.
But if approved, as it should be- by
both houses of Congress, this pro-
gram will have legal standing and
resulting prestige which manpower
regulations based on executive or
ders have never possessed. There is
ample reason to believe that the
American people will accept it, when
they understand the necessity and
the purpose, as they have accepted
other reasonable wartime restric-
tions on their personal liberty of
choice.
In that connection, the declara-
ton Of policy in the proposed COM
promise legislation is highly impor-
tant. That declaration explains that
In order Adequately to support the
Army and maintain the Navy during
the war and to carry into effect the
provisions of the declaration of war
pledging all the resources of the
Nation to bring the conflict to
successful terminate every indi-
vidual not in the armed forces shall
have an obligation, when called
upon, to serve the Nation in an &C
tivity essential to the war effort"
That declaration of policy is ex-
cellent The only trouble with it is
that 1t is about three years late.
American production has been one
Evening star., 1945-03-26
Letters to The Star
Argues for Larger Pay Increase
for Federal Workers
To the Editor of The Star

To the Editor Of The Star:
Much credit is due the Civil Service
Commission and the sponsors of the
wage bill now pending in Congress.
Federal white collar workers long have
been in need of base pay increases to
cope with the increasing high cost of
living. But it is anticipated that a loud
noise will be raised by those who label
us "bureaucrats"
1t Is not a question, however, of
whether such a wage adjustment is
justified. The United Federal Workers
of America (CIO), in an opinion poll of
all congressman. pointed out that the
cost of living had risen considerably
from 194l to 1914, as evidenced by the
following surveys: Presidents Labor
Members of Committee on Cost of Liv-
ing, 43.5 per cent; Chairman Davis, War
Labor Board, 80 per cent; Bureau of
Labor Statistics, 26 per cent.
Thus, by the most conservative figure
offered by the Bureau of Labor Statistics
(Which admits it's survey does not reflect
all increases in living COSTS it requires
only simple arithmetic to show that the
Federal white collar worker, who has
had no increase in wages since the war
started, is in dire need of wage ad-
justment. We must not lose sight of the
fact that the proposed Is per cent base
pay increase does not approximate the
most conservative estimate of the in
crease in living cost. The 25 per cent
base pay increase being asked by UFWA
and other employe organizations seems
to be much more logical
These statements are factual. 1t SO
happens that I am one of those So
called "bureaucrats" whose base salary
is 81 500 per year. My monthly take
home pay, including overtime, is $137 40.
I am married and have six dependents
and my monthly expenses are as follows:
Food, SOS; rent, s5050; clothing, SIP;
furniture, $40; transportation, 81
recreation, $3.50, or total expense of
sl44 month as against an income of
$l3740 a month.
ALLEN w. SAUNDERS.
Evening star., 1945-03-26

used extensively. The latter plan is
a measure of how badly off the
Dutch people really are. When they
are freed, everything possible must
be done-and with the utmost speed
to ease their misery. The GRIM
ness of the emergency can scarcely
be exaggerated.
Evening star., 1945-03-26
This and That
By Charles E. TrQceueU.

DARLINGTON, Va.
Dear Sir:
Will you please tell me the proper
size for the hole in a bluebird house?
Ours is Is inches in diameter, but
they do not seem satisfied.
They f1utter about the house, but
We nave not seen them enter
Please rush answer as we do not want
to lose them
Sincerely, L. T."
The proper size for the entrance to
bluebird house is 112 inches.
An eighth of an inch does not seem
very much, but it might seem pretty big
to bluebird
The top of the hole should be inches
from the roof
IhlS Is matter often overlooked
Sometimes the entrance is placed too far
down In the front, SO that there is not
enough room beneath it for the nest
That is, when constructed, the nest
would cover up the hole.
The wise bluebirds know this by in
stinct, and will not enter such a house
Tor practical purposes, although they
may investigate it for a day or so.
Few species Seem to put more time on
celebrating the merits of house than
the bluebirds. They will fly around for
hours, and just as they seem about to
enter will fly away and not be seen any
more.
There are several reasons in addition
to an entrance too large or too small,
which make house distasteful to them
One Is that it may be placed too high
Up to 10 feet is official" but recent
experiments tend to show that the
lower. the better.
That is, house properly placed on
post at feet from the ground prob
ably will have renters before one at 8
or 10 feet high.
In fact, some investigators recon-
mend no more than feet, especially If
placed on a post in the sunshine away
from shrubs and houses.
This may seem too low, when one
thinks of cats, but it seems as if the
birds do just as well as when the house
is higher.
1t must be remembered that birds have
been facing cats all these centuries.
Cats. and dogs, too, are not the foes to
the cat mind which they often are to
the human mind which has just become
interested in birds.
The newcomer to bird interest some
times feels that the songsters need
more protection than they actually do.
Birds have managed pretty well for
themselves over the centuries. The
truth is that what they need protection
from-as who does motifs man. Each
species annually will lose certain num-
Der from animals, from other birds, from
disease, hunger and the elements, but
the greatest danger they face is from
mankind.
Too many cats around place, GER
tainly, will deter the bluebirds. They
have no way of knowing good sensible
cats from maurauders, and will leave
any yard where the tail wavers prowl.
Too much confusion of any kind will
cause them to leave. Thus children at
play, dogs, games-all these will make
certain that bluebirds will fly elsewhere
for nesting place.
Bluebirds do not like to be in the
midst of shrubbery. Probably such
places make them think of snakes.
Put the bluebird house out in the
open not too high, and with the entrance
hole large enough, and the birds may
come. At best, however, they are ca
PRECIOUS neSters.
Any trouble which one must go to for
them is worth it, since they are true
Americans, in a day when true Amer
icaps of the old school seem dying
raee
Evening star., 1945-03-26
Reasonable Doubt?
By David Laurence.
From the Topeka Capital.

rIUHt lIIe IUpeKd CHpItaI.
Every American who has sons or rela-
tlves in the war will devoutly hope that
the Yalta Conference worked out a
feasible plan to keep the peace. They
will go along with the President so far
as progress shows that it is a workable
program. But when Stain and Church.
Ill begin working outside the program
for their own selfish interests, then we
may be excused for wondering if Roose-
welt didn't surrender, as David Lawrence
SAWS
Evening star., 1945-03-26
One Single Agency Only
I'M the ST. Louis post-Dispatch

From the st. Louis Post-Dispatch.
There needs to be one agency to which
the ex-serviceman can go, one agency
which will thread the maze, sort out the
red tape, worry about the legalistics, and
get results-which will do for him all
that needs to be done for him One
agency which will be responsible for re-
suits, and no alibis. r.
Evening star., 1945-03-26
Speaks Up for Other Veterans

Speaks Up for Other Veterans
To he Editor of The Star:
Your issue of March 10 carries an AS
sociated Press story to the effect that the
OPA has removed ration barriers which
would prevent veterans from setting up
as bakers, confectioners, popcorn or
refreshment stand operators. 1t states
that changes in regulations effective
March 26 will permit homecoming SOL
diers to use rationed foods in starting
small enterprises; that to insure that
they are small enterprises the OPA will
set limits on butter, sugar, lard, ETC.
Why the discrimination against veter-
ans of World War I? Many of them
have now reached that stage in life
when they can no longer engage in
strenuous activity as wage earners. Is
the veteran of World War / "the for
gotten man?
Have the attorneys in the OPA
stopped to consider the constitutionality
of some of their regulations which in
effect amount to class legislation and
class discrimination? H. C. G.
Evening star., 1945-03-26
Calls for Trust of President

To he Editor of The Star:
Most of us who listen TO the radio
these DAYS hear mention of the food
shortage and reports of the wild rumors
being spread over the country. Gov
nerment representatives, according TO
the reporters, say that while there is a
shortage of food, there is no danger
that any. of our people will go hungry.
Meat seems to be the principal item on
the shortage list. We all know from
experience that there is scarcity of
meat and meat products, and pretty
good reasons have been given why that
is the case.
Whether one likes the New Deal or
not, We can only assume that the Presi-
dent and his advisers and assistants
are doing the best they can under very
difficult conditions. The President is
an honorable man and was elected by
substantial majority of the voters at
the elections in 1914 His advisers and
principal assistants are presumed to be
honorable men, some more able than
others, perhaps.
LII SeelIiS 10 HE tldI any American
citizen with the least grain of sense
would accept what these men say much
more readily than what is said by
rumor- -mongers.
1t is about time for public opinion TO
take a stand against the smart alecks
who are dealing in the black markets,
and to let them know that the rest of
us do not consider them smart but
loathsome, and that they are doing
what any fool can do who is sufficiently
unconscionable. H. H. PEEL.
Colonel, U. S. Army, Retired.