Evening star., 1948-10-19
Dachau Trials Also CHALLENGED


When; in your October edition, you pub
lished Leon B. Poullada's letter describing the
dubious methods and procedures of the So
called war crimes trials, you did a great
service to the American people who are be-
ginning to shake OF the lies of 10 years OF
war propaganda.
Confirming Mr.. Poulladas courageous de-
scription are the disclosures of Judge E. Leroy
van Roden, member Of the two-man COM
mission reviewing the Dachau war crimes
trials Among other things he charges that:
defendants were kept in solitary confine-
ment many were badly beaten . = in
vestigators, dressed in army uniforms, would
conduct mock trials and sentence them to
death = . Often the hoods placed over the
prisoners. heads would be bloody from the
beatings given other prisoners. !" Some in
vestigators tried to get confessions by dressing
themselves as priests philadelphia Inquirer,
October 81.
But you really hit the nail on the head
and suggested the only honest approach to this
whole matter of the Taft-condemned war
crimes trials-in your editorial of September
10. There you wrote what should be trumpeted
into the ears of all the victors. Here it is:
But before we get ourselves worked up over
reducing from life imprisonment to four years
the sentence imposed on the miserable wife
Of one slave master at Buchenwald we should
ask ourselves whether it Is equal justice under
law the law newly made at the war criminal
trials) to condone by our silence the continued
operation of Buchenwald under a new tribe
of commandants," for under the Russians "the
horror camp at Buchenwald is still operating
at full tilt" A. j. APP, Phi. D.
Montgomery Charter DECISION
To the Editor Of The Star:
AS one of the attorneys who represented
Hubert A Schneider in the Montgomery
County Charter action, I wish to express my
whole-hearted approval of The Stars editorial
on the charter.
That portion of your editorial which COM
mends the Maryland Court of Appeals for
having decided the recent suit on its merits
rather than on some jurisdictional point is
particularly worthy of commendation
Curiously enough, the Charter Board, in
oral argument and in briefs, repeatedly urged
both courts not to take jurisdiction and not
to consider the merits of the case. Even more
curious was the statement by the Board that
they were satisfied with the decision of the
Circuit Court of Montgomery County, which
would have ordered submitted to the voters
truncated charter. You will recall that it
was Mr.. Schneider who appealed in order
that the voters could vote upon an entire
ana workable charter or none at all. Had
Mr.. Schneider not taken his appeal, the situ-
alton today would be extremely confused. He
did not prevail in the Court of Appeals, but,
as your editorial points out, the net result
has been to clarity the atmosphere. For this
clariication, credit goes to Mr.. Schneider
rather than the Charter Board.
MORRIS MILLER.
Thoreau and Nothing To Fear"
To the Editor of The Star:
Recently letter to your paper recommended
the philosophy of Thoreau as expounded in
walden"
The writer's point was well taken, for Tho
reaus philosophy adds greatly to ones way of
life.
When President Franklin D. Roosevelt in his
first inaugural address made use of the words:
I'VE have nothing to fear but fear ITSELF" he
was quoting directly from Thoreau. Yet many
persons ascribe authorship of this aphorism to
F. D. R., entirely overlooking its real author
FRANK j. TRAZNIK.
Horn Blowing Defended-And Not
To the Editor of The Star:
In your editorial entitled "Nitwits at the
Wheel" October 12) the barbs should have
been aimed at the nitwits who fall asleep at
the lights rather than at the people who find
it necessary to wake them up. In these days
of increased trafdc and contested streets II