davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1946-10-25
On the Record
By Dorothy Thompson

united or not, will, by their presence
here, have a chance to taste it and
decide whether it exhilarates or de-
presses. For we, though the United"
States, are, at this moment, united
neither in capitalism nor socialism, nor
social democracy, nor syndicalism, nor
anything that ever was on land or sea
except as the prelude to something else
that might occur as an act of revul-
sion. We have achieved such re-
fined balance of power in our economic
life that We have locked the wheels
Of the economy and even achieved,
against heavy odds. poverty in the
midst of plenty. We have the most
efficient factories. the most productive
labor, the most scientifically advanced
agriculture and everything bigger and
better than any one else. But while the
Assembly is sitting, the furnaces may
stop because there Is no coal, the lights
90 of because handful of power work
ers belonging to neither of the great
labor organizations, and in fact de-
nounced by them. as in Pittsburgh, are
exercising civil liberties" The dele
gates may suddenly find nothing to
eat and no transportation. And they
will then certainly ask themselves:
What goes en- here? Mr.. Byrnes may
be pleading ever so eloquently, but If
the radio breaks down or the lights
go out, American leadership will SUI
fer an eclipse like the sun.
Delegates will no doubt curiously ask:
Who runs this country? The answer
cannot be 1.-The Government" because
government governs, and ours today,
like the British monarch. ''reigns but
does not govern" The answer cannot
be 1.-The industry capitalists" because
capitalists are only functioning when
they are producing goods; it cannot
be the laborers, because laborers are
only functioning when they are labor
ing. Shall we reply: I'VE have found
something new, hitherto untried, the
complete anti-system, under which
labor checks management without as
suming its functions or providing for
its own payrolls; capital checks labor
without producing profits; Government
sits as an umpire to see that neither
wins and nothing changes, and the
world is admonished to observe and
emulate the blessings of liberty-liberty
no longer for the miserable private
citizen, but for the leaders of power
fully organized groups, each with power
to halt the wheels, and all without
responsibility to create and keep func-
tioning.
tReleased by the Bell Syndicate. IncD
Evening star., 1946-10-25

AS I write this, a parade of cars has
passed by my window-the private We
hicles that normally use this street as
a free open-air garage for days at time
in happy unpunished violation OF city
regulations having been miraculously
cleared away-and a member OF my
household having held conversation
with a policeman, tells me that Mr..
Molotov has just passed by.
Out in Flushing Meadows the fags
were being unfurled for what some like
to believe is the beginning Of the par,
lament of man, the federation OF the
world. 1t would be pleasant to think
they were right, and that President
Roosevelt's analogy between the United
Nations and the American Constltu-
tional Congress would be justified, de-
spite the fact that the reasoning of the
Federalist papers is considerably more
convincing than that of the Dumbarton
Oaks documents, and that the Constitu-
.tion of the United States had from the
BEGINNING the essential elements OF a
genuine charter Of union, while the San
Francisco Charter has none OF them
at all.
Then my eye fell on the newspaper,
and a picture of Elliott Roosevelt as he
appeared. on a radio program with Mar
gerry Sharp and Bob Hope, and wished
Bob Hope had cracked wise on Elliotts
profound -admonition that this Nation
must supply the leadership for ''rebirth
OF the means whereby we achieved unity
during the war; to which Mr. Hope
might have quipped. You mean the re-
birth of the German and Japanese war
machines in active operation, because
they, which are now missing, were exact
ly and exclusively the means of achiev-
ing unity"
Unity-one world-demands an an
swer to the question: What sort of one
world? And that's what the real fight
is about Is it to be one world of social
democracy, capitalist democracy, liber-
tartan democracy or tyrannical democ-
racy, if we can use the word "democ-
racy," in association with what Amerl-
cans have hitherto considered its OPP
posite? But maybe the Soviets who as
sociate despotism with democracy are
the better classicists and students OF
Aristotle. 81
Anyhow. that's the issue, although
some think they can all be shaken up
together into new United Nations
cocktail
We are shaking up peculiar cock
tail in the United States, and the rep
resentatives Of the worlds nations,
Evening star., 1946-10-25
This Changing World
By Constantine BrosCn

of prisoners OF war to their homeland.
No definite date was set but 1t was
understood that repatriation was to
start as soon as transportation con-
ditions permitted.
The Russians have never honored
that agreement. Gen. Macarthur has
been needing them for months with
out avail to give him figures as to the
number of japanese prisoners in their
hands. Now that the British have
taken advantage of loophole in the
agreement to keep prisoners in former
war areas, his position has been made
far more difficult.
In his reports to Washington, the
general has pointed out that he lacks
the necessary moral prestige to lecture
the Russians when one of our own
western allies fails to live up to the
spirit of the agreement 1t Is easy to
understand how the Russians can say
that since the British are refusing the
return of the Japs to their homeland
there is no reason why Russia should.
They also can say that they need the
prisoners to repair the damage done
by the army in Manchuria, Korea and
other places.
Soon after the surrender of Japan
the British explained to the supreme
commander that they lacked the nee
essary facilities to repatriate their war
prisoners. Gen. Macarthur offered
American shipping and other transport
facilities to our Allies, although the
action represented heavy cost to the
American taxpayer. The offer was
taken advantage of principally by the
Chinese, who have repatriated most of
their enemy prisoners excepting few
thousand specialists who are said to
have volunteered to remain in China
to aid in reconstruction work.
Gen. Macarthur is still hopeful that
the British will recognize the difficult
and untenable position in which they
are placing themselves from the moral
point of view. He is taking the po-
sition that because the japanese acted
with fendish cruelty and disregarded
all the laws of war, there is no reason
why the Allies should follow their ex-
ample. The Allied governments are in
a position to dictate harsh peace terms
to the Tokyo government and he be-
Ieves that they should do so. But in
order to set moral leadership in the
world they also must painstakingly live
up to their pledges without seeking
diplomatic" loopholes to evade them.
Evening star., 1946-10-25
The President Votes Yes

BY his outright 1ndOrSement yes
terday of national and local suffrage
for the people of, Washington, Pres
ident Truman in effect answered
Eyes" to both questions to be
submitted in the unofficial plebiscite
here November S.
The questions are:
Do you want the right to vote
for. officials of your own city
government in the District of
Columbia? ..>
Do you want the right to vote
for President of the United States
and for members of Congress
srom the District of Columbia?
Most Washingtonians who vote
here November probably will fol-
low the Presidents example. In the
1888 plebiscite, when the same two
questions were submitted, there was
a 13-to-1 vote in the Affirmative
on Question No. 2 and 7-to-1 vote
for Question No. l. 1t will be in
teresting to see whether this pattern
is repeated next time.
While there is no essential conflict
between the two questions, the diff
ference of opinion between the advo-
Gates of local suffrage" as opposed
to those favoring national repre-
sentation" is based on two funda-
mental considerations. One is the
fear that should Congress grant
mere local suffrage, the resulting
conflict between some semiautono-
NOUS municipal government and
the exclusively controlling National
Government might work to the
disadvantage of the Federal City
and prejudice further extension of
suffrage Other opposition to local
suffrage is based on preference
for the existing form of commission
government.
The essential difference, therefore,
is over what form of suffrage Cori-
gress should grant first. Repre-
sentation for the Washington1an In
Congress and the Electoral College,
If granted first, would go far to
assure the sort of local government
that best serves the interests OF the
city: There are many who regard
the Mashingtonian's, right to repre-
sentation in the National Govern
ment as the keystone of any form of
suffrage.
But Washingtonians want to vote
and should have the right to vote.
They are united on that. And the
President speaks for most of them
when he favors both forms of Suf-
frage. Which comes first is a mat
ter of practical detail, to be decided
after Washingtonians make an
overwhelming demonstration OF
their desires through the homemade
ballot boxes on November S.
Evening star., 1946-10-25

Gen. Douglas Macarthur, Allied SUI
preme commander in the Far East, has
been complaining bitterly to Washing
ton over the failure OF the British gov
ernment to set definite time for the
evacuation of the japanese prisoners
Of war who are still being held in
Burma, Malaga and Siam and doing
what may be described as slave labor.
Gen. Macarthur is responsible for the
Allies living up to the peace terms with
the defeated enemy in the Far East.
He has already lodged strong protests
over the action of the Russian govern
ment which SO far has refused to re-
patriate the personnel (sone 100000
officers and mem of the japanese
Kwantung army. These prisoners are
engaged in slave labor" in Manchuria,
Siberia and Korea. Moscow has given
evasive answers to the repeated re-
quests of the supreme commander for
an accounting Of what happened to that
lost army"
The British now appear to be fol-
lowing the Russian pattern. There are
about $4,000 japanese prisoners Of war
in Burma, about $4,000 in Malaga and
about $4,000 in Siam.
Gen. Macarthur has asked that the
British abide by the stipulations OF the
armistice with Japan and has offered
the necessary transportation to return
the men to their homes
i y
Recently he informed the responsible
British authorities that he could not
guarantee naval facilities for the re-
patriation of the prisoners beyond next
January l. Under these conditions he
wanted to complete the work within the
next two months.
The British replied that the Japa-
nese prisoners were now engaged in
the cultivation of the rice paddles;
that the Japanese army had killed so
many natives that unless the prisoners
continued their work the people of the
areas involved would starve. They say
that Burma in particular has been de-
populated as a result of the war and
Malaga is no better of. The British
declare they may be in position to
repatriate the prisoners some time
after 1947, but no definite or even ap-
proximate date has been fixed.
While the arguments may have some
foundation from the practical point OF
view, the action of the British is def
nitely contrary to the laws of war. It
is true that at Potsdam the Big Three
reached an agreement on the return
Evening star., 1946-10-25
Red Forced-Lubor Issue

The current wholesale shipment
of skilled German workmen from
the Russian zone in Berlin to the
Soviet Union raises in intensified
form not merely the problem OF
inter-Allied policy toward Germany
but also the broader issue of forced
labor as practiced alike In Soviet
Russia and in the satellite states
under Soviet control.
It appears to be definitely estab-
lished that large numbers OF high
grade technical workers are being
rounded up by the Soviet authorities
in the Russian zone, loaded onto
trains, and shipped to undisclosed
destinations, presumably to parts OF
the Soviet Union. 1t is equally Ger
tain that, in most If not all cases,
such action was taken against the
wishes of the individuals concerned,
their removal from their own homes
being accomplished by force.
The fact that these mass seizures
began the very day after the re-
sounding reputation of the Mos
cow-backed Socialist Unity Party"
lends color to the deduction that
they are Russian reprisals against
the Berlin voters. Yet, while Soviet
anger at the election outcome may
have precipitated the labor seizures,
the weight of evidence tends to
show that they would have occurred
anyway because they appear to be
part of Soviet plan for labor "re-
cruitment," not merely in Germany
but in virtually all countries under
Russian domination. For instance,
our State Department recently lifted
a corner of the veil when it protested
against the condemnation to the
status of slave labor" of American
citizens in Yugoslavia, some OF
whom were shipped to Russia Tor
similar involuntary servitude. The
department protest alluded to SINH
lar cases in other Russian satellite
countries, the American victims
being, of course, an insignificant
fraction of a presumably large total.
That forced labor is the basis OF
Soviet economy has been established
by ncontrovertible evidence, the
number of this servile class running
well into the millions Nevertheless,
Russia's postwar labor shortage,
especially of skilled labor, is so acute
that additional sources are being
tapped throughout the Soviet zone
Evening star., 1946-10-25
(This Is the second OF a series OF
articles on the political situdtton.)


In the preceding article IN this series.
1t was calculated that 50 of the 2l8 seats
necessary to a Republican majority in
the House of Representatives are in
nine sure and solid Republican States,
in two almost solid Democratic states
and in Massachusetts,, Ohio, Connecti-
cut and Michigan, where the lines are
we'll drawn at this time.
From here on, an analysis must
proceed to States where q larger and
larger element of doubt exists. These
are, to use a Roosevelt word, 'iffy"
States.
In New Jersey things seem to be
fairly we'll settled, unless tremendous
trend Is beginning. Republicans will
probably win IL seats there.
Indiana has been solidly Republican
for several years, except for two House
seats. These two seats present special
problems The 1st or Gary district
is heavily industrial. Even optimistic
Republicans say that the race there is
close Ana when Republican Party
workers say that, wise people count the
district Democratic. The Indianapolis
district has been represented for 18
years by Louis Ludlow, an eccentric
Democrat who gets many Republican
votes. He is unable to make an active
campaign this year. His opponent is
Albert Beveridge, son of the great Bull
Moose Senator It is contest between
two notable names. If. as predicted,
Indianapolis goes Republican by 10000.
Ludlow may lose. But considering the
close and factional fight in the district
represented by an eccentric Republican,
Charles La Toilette, it is best to check
one close fight against another and
give Indiana the same number OF Re
publican seats as at present, which is
nine.
After checking and rechecking !lli-
nois, a conservative guess Is that the
Republicans will gain one seat in Chi
cago and one in the East st. Louis dis
trict The Democratic Congressional
at large will be replaced by Repub-
lican CONGRESSMAN at large. That gives
Illinois 18 Republicans.
The fight in Wisconsin is over the two
Milwaukee districts. There the ttua.
Evening star., 1946-10-25

him Black Wolf. Probably that was
the honor Of which he was proudest.
But Mr.. seton's claim on posterity
would be compelling If only because
of the hundreds Of drawings he did
for the Century Dictionary. They
are as attractive and useful now as
they were when he turned them IN
fifty years ago, and they will remain
good as long as dictionaries are
published.
Evening star., 1946-10-25
Ernest Thompson Seton

The career OF ErneSL 1nOupSoN
Seton is best understood by remem-
bering that he was man OF Ideas,
To say, that he was an artist, a
naturalist, an author of best-sellers,
q teacher and organizer of children
and, to, almost as great an extent,
an educator of adults is to tell only
the most obvious part of his story.
His interests were multitudinous and
his energy was tremendous. The
combination of creative intelligence
and prodigious physical force
brought him fortune and fame and,
especially. the opportunity to ride
his hobbies triumphantly. He made
a business of achieving the kind of
happiness he wanted-the joy of
seeing his dreams materialize.
What. gave Mr.. Seton's endeavors
their particular value was the fact
that his ebjectives always were So
cially constructive. He wanted a
kindlier world. Specifically, he de-
sired that human beings should
comprehend their elemental kinship
with nature. wild Animals I Have
Known" viewed ain that light, was
a tract. It was produced with a
missionary purpose, and it succeeded
beyond its sponsors expectations.
The forty-odd volumes which fol-
lowed were combinations of his
original text. Three generations of
readers went to school" to him. He
went to them also. The number of
his lecture platform appearances has
been estimated at more than three
thousand, but his informal preach
ing, was incessant-any group he
encountered was an audience to be
persuaded. His converts were legion.
Among them were Theodore
Roosevelt and Rudyard Kipling,
both of whom acknowledged their
debt to his example. But the "pu-
pills" Mr.. Seton preferred were the
youngsters. The Boy Scouts, the
Girl Scouts and especially the Camp
Fire Girls grew out of his Woodcraft
Indians. It also is true that much
of the conservation movement, now
worldwide in it's scope, traces back
to his pioneer labors. In the field of
ethnography, he contributed TO a
new appreciation of the native cul-
lures of the American aborigines.
His study of sign language kept him
occupied for many years. The In
dams paid him the tribute OF calling
Evening star., 1946-10-25
of control in Eastern and Central

of control in Eastern and Central
Europe.
So far as Germany is concerned,
such forcible recruitment Of civilian
German labor is unsanctioned by
any protocol or decree of the Allied
Control Council, and the indications
are that the matter will be raised by
the American and British represent
atives on the Council in the near
future. The issue, already discussed
in the matter of German war pris-
oners, has now assumed an even
more clear-cut character. It again
illustrates the profound difference
in principles and practices which
exists between Russian and the
western countries.
Evening star., 1946-10-25
Our Line of Defense
From the Toronto Globe and Mail.

From the Toronto Globe and Mail.
If it was not possible for many to
grasp the danger of Russias march OF
power through Europe last February,
the experiences in peace-making
through which we have since passed
give ample support to Field Marshal
Montgomerys assertion of the need for
union" now. Certainly his advice will
be understood in Washington. There 1t
cannot be forgotten that the line"
which rampant power has drawn
through Europe has a counterpart on
Canada's northern borders. Their line
of defense is our line of defense. They
know the weight 'the hinge" must carry
and, like the field marshal. cannot
ignore the fewness Of our numbers.
Evening star., 1946-10-25
An Object Lesson

The announcement by naval Off
cials that Calvin E. Dove will be
given an undesirable discharge"
clears away any impression that the
United States Navy can be used as
a substitute for a jail. This is a
result that will be welcomed by
those who value the good name of
the armed services. 1t is not a re-
suit, however, that is calculated to
enhance the prestige of law enforce
ment in Fairfax County.
Dove, young veteran, struck and
killed a man in a fight in Virginia
tavern last May. He was indicted
for murder, but the Commonwealth's
attorney, believing that the evi-
dence would not support the indict-
ment, reduced the charge to assault
and battery, to which Dove pleaded
guilty. On the representation of
defense counsel that Dove was try
ing to enlist in the Navy, Circuit
Judge Brown postponed imposition
of sentence. Last Saturday, after
Dove had assured the court that he
was actually in the service and that
the naval authorities were familiar
with the facts of his case, he was
fined $500-which was paid by a
relative-and given a years sus-
pended jail sentence. I'm discharg-
ing Dove, the naval authorities
denied that he had fully informed
them Of the facts of his case)
There the matter stands. Since
the Commemorative attorney had
recommended that Dove be required
to serve six months in jail, and
since the apparent reason under
lying the suspension of a Jail sem
tence was his enlistment in the
Navy, it would appear that the ad-
ministration of justice in this case
misfired somewhere along the line.
The incident is regrettable, and it
should serve as an object lesson to
all concerned in the future.
Evening star., 1946-10-25
They Have Earned 1t

The American people generally Will
indorse President Truman's expressed
hope that some way can be found to
take care of those Estonians who
crossed the Atlantic to the United
States in small boats after their
native country had been gobbled up
by an expanding Soviet Union.
There are more compelling reasons,
however, for finding some way OF
taking care" of the four Yugoslav
flyers whose quest for American
citizenship has run afoul of a mar
rowly worded statute.
These young men came to this
country in October, 1912, as mem
bers Of contingent of forty Yugo-
slav airmen sent here by the late
General Mihailovich for advanced
training. A year later they were
sent overseas to fight with the
United States Air Forces, and nine
teen of the original forty lost their
lives in combat.
This Government made a cere-
monial occasion of their departure
for the fighting front in 1943. At
Boiling Field the group was pre-
sented with four Liberator bombers,
and the late President Roosevelt
personally extended good wishes.
They were regarded then as a SYM
boil of the cause of freedom for
which we were at war.
But time was to work its changes.
The young flyers, under the COM
mand of the United States Army but
receiving their pay from the Yugo-
slav government in exile in London,
fought through the African cam
paign and then moved on to Italy.
In September, 1914, the British gov
ernment, in a move which smacked
of international politics, abandoned
the Yugoslav government in exile
and extended recognition to the
regime headed by Marshal Tito.
That stopped the pay of the Yugo-
slav flyers, but they fought on for a
year without pay. Then. by presi-
dental order, they were formally
commissioned in the United States
Army.
This occurred in Italy, however,
and the law under which the Yugo-
slavs applied for American citizen
ship specifies that aliens in the
armed forces, in order to become
citizens under the statute, must
have been indicted or enlisted in
the United States Thus, the acci-
dent of having been inducted in
Italy while fighting for this country,
instead Of receiving their commits
zsions here, stands as bar against
citizenship. It is hardly conceivable
that Congress intended any such
result
If these men are deported to
Yugoslavia they face the possibility
of being shot, as General Mihailo-
vich was shot after Tito came to
power. One of the flyers-Captain
Skakich-is a veteran of f1fty-one
combat missions, and holds the Dis
tinguished Flying Cross, the Air
Medal with four Clusters, eleven
Battle Stars and three Presidential
Unit Citations. The military service
of the others has been hardly less
distinguished. Certainly, it would be
a shameful thing to ship them back
to the Yugoslavia of Marshal Tito.
They have richly earned the right
to American citizenship, and a way
should be found to see that they
pet III