Evening star., 1946-08-24
By Doris Fieeson

By Doris Fleeson
PARIS. Aug. 23.-When the violent
clash of stimulating personalities sub
sides, the great gray problem of mil
lion displaced persons under Allied pro-
lection in Germany will still remain.
It's gray is made up of white charity for
Nazi victims-the Department of the
United Nations Relief and Rehabilita-
tion Administration-and the stark,
black reality of military security, which
is the Army's pigeon.
UNRRA is right. We have duty to
cherish these homeless innocents. The
Army is right. We must protect our own
interests and not permit the Soviets
and/or the Jews to embarrass or harass
US.
uNRRA complains the Army is un-
sympathetic with its humanitarian aims.
The Army protests that UNRRA inter-
feres with its efforts TO eliminate Com
munist spies and criminals from the
camps.
No situation could be more difficult
or require more exact coordination, in
view OF the delicate international situ-
alton which finds us now in a war of
nerves with the Communist countries.
Instead the top men-UNRRA Director
General Fiorello La Guardia. 1t. Gen.
Sir Frederick Morgan, whom La Guardia
has just fired as UNRRA director in
(JpfmQnU
ney, American zone commander-are
staging three-ring circus. From it
the public will derive much excitement
but will learn nothing.
La Guardia Wins Round.
This correspondent had a front-row
seat at the first round of the current
battle during the UNRRA Council meet
ing at Geneva. The bell rang in Geneva
with La Guardia in the center of the
ring, fists clenched, waiting for Gen.
Morgan to come out and fight. Instead.
Morgan returned to his headquarters at
Arolsen, Germany.
La Guardia, being boss. would obvi-
ously knock him out in time. 1t was
equally clear that the conditions in
Germany which had aroused such spir-
lted emotions would continue to exist.
This correspondent elected, in the linn
tied time at her disposal. to look at
the latter and has Just returned from
within Germany.
From the start, displaced persons
were dynamite at Geneva. There are
still nearly a million in the camps.
chiefly In the American zone. The num-
Der constantly increases as Polish per-
secutlon drives the Jews out of Poland
and Russian pressure on the Baltic
countries squeezes out a steady trickle
OF EstonianS, Latvians and Lithuanians.
The balance are mainly anti-Tito Yugo-
slavs.
Long ago, the French, Belgians and
Dutch were sifted out of the camps
and sent home, In the vernacular of
the occupied zone, the balance are the
hard core who cannot or will not re-
turn to their homelands. There is no
other place for them to go, so their
care must be continued until a perma-
nent solution is reached A further
complication is the passion of the Jews
for Palestine.
A common misconception Is that Jews
comprise the majority of displaced per-
sons. However, even with new infiltrees
those who slip past the borders into
the American zone-the Jews comprise
less than one-flfth of the total.
Soviet Wants Nationals.
AT Geneva, the Soviet-dominated bloc
demanded primary emphasis on re-
patriatjon, except for Jews. They feared
the resettlement plans of the interna-
tlonal refugee organization which was
destined to be UNRRAs residuary
legatee. They realized that their ma
tionals, given scent of a possible home
in the New World, would never turn
back.
The Communists also attacked the
use OF political exiles as members of the
UNRRA missions which run the camps.
All camp administration is in the hands
of UNRRA, with the Army furnishing
The supplies and making security
checks The Communists charged the
Army deliberately blocked repatriation
and vowed they would never abandon
their nationals
La Guardia and the American, Brit
ish and Canadian delegates agreed that
repatriation was the prime objective
and assented to various plans for i'm
proving and accelerating it. Coinci-
dentally. they insisted none must be
forced to return where they feared re-
igious or political persecution.
AS the council committee handling
the problem began to hammer out a
compromise in private, the colorful fig
ure of Gen. Morgan appeared. Morgan
previously had survived one storm he
had raised when, last January, he as
serted that a secret organization ex-
listed to further mass movement of Jews
from Europe. Morgan's critics con-
tended he spoke out of turn and gave
an impression of hostility improper to
one in his position. 1t is now an un-
disputed fact, however, that illegal jew
ish immigration from Europe to Pales-
tine has been secretly organized on
large scale for some time.
North American Newspaper Alliance)