The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1946-02-08


Streicher because they were too
small to be caught In the neshes OF
an all-enveloping law. Since then
the prosecution has shown how al
these men were deeply involved N
the vicious plot and counterpart OF
Nazidom whose prime purpose was
aggressive, predatory war itself.
Why didn't we shoot the conspira-
tors In the first place and be done
with it? Because we wished to show
to the world that democratic ma
tons can put behind them the law
of the jungle, an eye for an eye and
a tooth for tooth. Because we wish
to demonstrate that we, the con-
querors, do not intend to invoke the
law Of the conqueror - victor,
volentes per populos, dat dura"-
that we believe in the dignity Of
man and are willing to give that
spark of manhood chance to be
judged by his peers, that we do not
believe that two wrongs make
right or that that right is imple-
mented by might alone.
Must Reform
German Mind
The battle of the democracies Is
not a fight of body against body,
it is a fight of mind against mind.
The democratic concept which Is
based on the teachings of the Chris
tan religion must triumph unless
the world be divided forever into
race of fighters and a race
of slaves. The long task ahead of
us in Germany is the reforming
of the German mind. That will take
the patience Of the teacher, not the
skill of the fighter. If we are I'M
willing to spend the money and the
time and make the sacrifices neces-
sary to re-mould the German men,
tally, that mentality will be used
by others who know only too well
how to channel it back into the
ways Of the warrior.
It is no trick to kill Naziisnn, that
itself is unpalatable to those who
have borne its yoke. The Germans
are sick of it for it brought them
only defeat. But Naziism was only
a local afflication of the German
people. Their chronic ailment is
militarism. It will take long and
patient schooling to remove that
poison from their blood and to
transmute its power, its sacrifice,
it's stubborn energy into the con-
structive forces without which Eu-
rope cannot survive nor live at
peace with its neighbors.
AS I look back on the efforts
which were made by the United
States military government to ex-
plot the trials as means Of de-
ve1oping an understanding Of
democracy in Germany, I feel that
they have missed a remarkable OPP
portunity. AS far as know at this
writing, the speech Of Justice Jack
son, which explained the purpose Of
the trials and convicted Nazidom
out of its own mouth, is yet to reach
the, Germans in full text. It is ex-
ceedingly difficult for the Informa-
ton Control division (former OWI)
to take any positive steps over and
beyond the established institutions
which they created before the lid
was clamped down (the few estab-
lished American published maya
zines, the one newspaper, the news
service and the RADIO. However,
the speech will eventually be trans
lated and appear as brochure
which will be sold at low price
and will be greedily absorbed like
every other piece of reading mat
ter in the book-hungry Reich.
Nor was the trial properly COW
cred by the German newspaper
men. After long argument an ar
rAngement was finally permitted
whereby certain number of seats
-eight at first-were assigned to
German newspaper men. They were
never all filed while ! was there.
The explanation was that transpor-
tation was difficult for Germans.
Newsmen were furnished with per-
mits to travel but they weren't fur
nished with jeeps, or space in a
bouncing truck, or seats on the
overcrowded trains. They were left
to fight it out for themselves. And
believe me, there is no room for a
'kraut" on a vehicle if anyone else
wants the space and If he does get
a seat, what will he eat? There is
no food available for the itinerant
ex-enemy. The authorities should
have seen to it that every German
newsman for whom space at the
trials was available was occupying
that space. And he wouldn't have
needed second invitation.