Evening star., 1946-11-17

years TO transport Cnem Dack To-
their own countries In an orderly
way. 1t is the strict obligation Of
all nations to treat these prisoners
as we demanded that our combat
ants, who fell into the hands Of the
enemy, be treated.
It Is unworthy Of the victors to
revenge injustices by violating hui
man rights and heaping insults on
human dignity. As things. are now,
future generations may well charge
the yictors with guilt Of inhumani-
tiles which are reminiscent of Nazi-
Iism and Fascism.
1 Humane Treatment of Displaced
Persons.
i A serious problem which chal-
leEges the nations is finding way
rightly to provide for the hundreds
lof thousands of refugees from per-
Isecution and dire danger now In
camps in Central Europe. These
victims OF injustice have the right
Of refuge right that is sacrosanct
lin our history and culture. To pro-
wide for them and to give them an
opportunity to begin life anew In
Iuseful pursuits without fear is the
unacceptable responsibility Of the
nations.
AL Of them, the displaced persons
and the prosecuted peoples, must
be treated humanely without dis
Termination. A perfect solution Of
the problem would be to give them
the full guarantee for the enjoy
ment of their native rights in their
countries of origin. Since this
solution is not Forthcoming, the
nations must extend to them the
help which their very human rights
demand.
1t is plain that to continue indefi-
lnitely to support them in camps is
not a solution Of the problem and
is. IN fact, an injury to them. ToI
force them against their will toI
return to their countries of origin,
where, with reason, they fear that
grave dangers await them, is stark
inhumanity.
BY agreement among the victors
those in the displaced persons
camps, allegedly guilty of crimes
must be returned to their countries
Of origin. If guilty, they should be
punished, but they should not be
made the victims Of political perse-
cution with the cooperation Of the
authorities of the military occupa-
ton. Before honoring demands for
the return of these persons to their
countries Of origin the military au-
thorities are obligated to give the
accused honest judicial preliminary
hearings to prevent grave injustice.
A Tragic Decision.
Tragic, indeed, was the decision
of the United Nations Committee
on Refugees that "all measures be
taken" to repatriate child refugees
to their countries of origin. Nor
can we condone with any sense Of
humanity the alternative of either
returning refugees against their will
to their countries of origin or throw
ing them on the economy of an al
ready overcrowded and impover-
ished Germany.
With justice to all these unfortu-
nate men, women and children, and
without discrimination in favor Of |
any group of them, the nations
must find way to resettle them in
countries where opportunities to
begin life anew await them.
tits heartening that the President
of the United States has pledged
himself publicly to ask our Congress
to enact a law which will permit the
entry Of considerable numbers Of
them into the United States. III
this Is done the generosity Of our
country will stir other nations to
give these unfortunate people a
haven and a chance to live in the |
enjoyment of their God : given
rights. s7stea
The problem Is admittedly veryl
difficult, but the difficulty in it
should be challenge to the nations
to solve it in a constructive, humane
way, in which charity will do even
what justice does not compel.
Ruthless Herding Of Uprooted People.
Something has been happening in
Europe which is new in the annals
of recorded history. BY agreement
among the victors, millions Of Ger
mans who for centuries have lived
in Eastern Europe are being forced
from their homes, without resources,
into the heart of Germany. The
sufferings of these people in their
weary travels, the homelessness of
them, and the hopelessness, make
sad story of the inhumanity of
their transplantation Had there
prevailed in the councils Of the vic
tor nations a right appreciation of
the dignity of man, at least arrange
ments would have been made for
transplanting these people in a.
humane way. We boast of our de-
mocracy, but in this transplantation
Of peoples we have perhaps unwit-
tingly allowed ourselves to be in
huenced by the herd theory Of
heartless totalitarian political phi
losopny.
The reports Of the deportation of
thousands in areas of Soviet aggres-
sion to remote and inhospitable re-
EiOllS JuSU UCCdlcC C1ACy SdAA1lOu Gdb-
scribe to Communism tell of a cruel
violation of human rights. These
men are men and have the rights of
men.
Our sympathy also goes out to the
technicians and skilled workers in
enemy countries who have been
seized and forced to work for the
strengthening of the economy of
victorious nations. 1t is not in this
way that peace is made and the
nations are united in mutual CO.
operation. No lasting good can ever
come from the violation of the dig
nifty Of the human person.
Continued Relief Imperative.
In many lands. men, women and
children are in dire need of the very.
necessaries of life. In some large
measure this need is the consequence
of the stoppage of that normal inter-
change of goods between the indus
trial and agricultural areas of
Europe, which for centuries have
been at the base Of European
economy.
In some places it is the result of
tnoE4;,oI ,oo;oJ opI rolioio,1c por-