Evening star., 1946-05-24
Americas Generals
Found Not 10 Be Too
Arrogant as Victors

(Mr. Belldmy, editor OF the
Cleveland Plain Dealer and a
past president OF the American
Society OF Newspaper Editors,
has just returned from trip to
Germany, Austria, Italy and
England as one OF a party OF
American newspapernen. This
is another of series OF articles
ON his obseruations.)
By Poul BeIIomy
CLEVELAND, May "a (NANA)
The American soldier as con-
queror who stays to clean up the
job is something new in the annals
of mankind and on the whole, he Is
rather pleasant sight to behold.
There are some aspects of his con-
duct which probably irritate the
Germans, but in the long run maybe
it is good for the Germans to know
they have been licked. At least. I
am sure that some of them need toI
know it.
For example, the higher COM
manders in all the American-occu-
pied zone are constantly bothered
by the incredible speed at which the
young American CT drives service
cars, including jeeps, trucks and
passenger cars, along the autobahns
and in the crooked streets of me-
dieval German villages. Part of
this is due to the sheer exuberance
of youth and partly, I suspect, to
a spirit of bravado, which may not
be a very admirable characteristic
but is easily understandable.
None Gets Hurt.
I have seen American staff cars
enter the narrow main street OF
little German village at something
more than a moderate pace. I have
heard the driver blow his horn. I
have seen the Germans fleeing in
all directions as if the plague was
on them. I have seen dogs running
for shelter, geese cackling and some
of the populace nearly fainting, but
generally speaking, the drivers are
so skillful that nobody gets hurt.
Now you may say this is bad
thing and ought to be stopped. I
think so, too, in it's more extreme
manifestations, but you can't make
up an army in which all the drivers
are content with Is miles an hour.
Furthermore, the American gen.
eral as conqueror is a rather agree
able person. and not too arrogant.
Some "Side" Expected.
Our American commanders who
were put in charge of the German
occupied zone and of Austria found
early in the game that they were
expected to put up certain amount
of side" in order to hold their own
with the British, Russians and
French, and I agree with this.
They found in the early days,
when they proceeded very modestly
about their business, that there were
loud complaints from their men,
who found that If they moved into
a city at the same time with the
British, the British would show up|
with the best club for their off,
GERS mess, the best quarters for
their troops, the best food and the
best wines, for the British are an
old race and canny, and have been
at this for a long time.
The conquered people, used as
they are to measure worth by out
ward trappings, thought very little
of the homespun, hair-shirted type
of American commander and paid
very much less attention to his Or
ders than to those of a general who
was equipped with some of the
panoply of war when he went abroad
1t has been the custom of con-
quering armies for many years to
requisition the best houses, includ-
ing palaces, for their own use. This
has been done by our Army as well
as by the other occupying armies
in Europe In fact, there is many
noble edifice now occupied by an
American officer whose former Nazi
owner is living in the stable, doing
menial work.
Furthermore, 1t Is quite natural
that the headquarters of command
ing officers. American as we'll as
those of other occupying armies in
Germany, should be the center of
social life in the town.
I do not mean to convey the i'm
preston that our American generals
are living like Roman proconsuls.
On the other hand, I think the
American people will be proud to
know that they have taken their
place in the world at last and rec
orgnize that manners and appear
ances are almost as important in
international affairs as arguments
| and dialects