Evening star., 1951-01-28

w AhtSA sCAiC. llCJ pUlllLcu Cub
the temper of the man in the
street, have been able to assure
Gen. Eisenhower that they ex-
press the temper of the public is
another question. Gen. Eisen-
hover will tell his story to the
executive and legislative branches
of our Government when he re-
turns to Washington.
The philosophy of the Euro
peans regarding war is opposed
to our own. For centuries the
peoples of the world have Waged
wars for profit. Victory meant
territorial expansion, indemnity
money and loot for the soldiers.
Wars were considered like duels--
gentlemen's affairs. Soldiers
fought, but the civilian popula-
ton, by and large, suffered rela-
lively little. Since 1914, however.
| war has shed this gentlemanly
aspect. Weapons cf destruction
have become more damaging to
everybody, and civilian popula-
tions have suffered in many cases
as much as soldiers.
Soviet Got the Spoils
BY our participation in the
European wars we introduced a
new element. We attempted to
remove the element of national
profit. We were not particularly
successful after World War I.
AS gesture toward the Ameri-
can people and their idealistic
President. Woodrow Wilson, the
Allies did not demand that the
defeated Central Powers pay
war indemnity. This was camou-
flaged, however, under the more
palatable name of Preparations"
There were no direct annexations
Of enemy territory. These were
called mandates over backward
areas.
The Allies, who disbelieved our
lack of desire for territorial expan-
sion, offered us the German pos
sessions in the Pacific, the Mari
anas, Marshall and Caroline
Islands. We proudly turned them
down. and they were turned over
to the Japanese. In World War
II the blood of 100000 Americans
was shed to remove the japanese
from these islands, which they had
turned into fortresses.
But the British. the French, the
neWly-created Polish republic and
others who fought the German
and Austro- Hungarian empires got
their pound of flesh. BY and large,
World War was remunerative to
the victors-except for America.
which footed the bill.
! World War II was more bitter
and destructive then the first. At
the end there was only one actual
victor-Russia. Britain and the
Netherlands lost many of their
colonies. which became free and
Independent nations. France in
evitably became a second-rate
power.
We occupied Japan-a finan-
clally costly proposition-but Rus
s1a obtained vast territories. She
arbitrarily took over Eastern Ger
many, which is of little conse-
quence in itself. But we gave her
the green light to bring under the
kremlln's yoke entire nations
Poland, Chechslovakia, Hungary,
Romania and Bulgaria in Europe
and the entire territory extending
from the Urals to the Pacific
Ocean in Asia. No nation in his
tory has ever gained as much ter
rltory-contalning hundreds of
millions of people and untold
natural resources - as Russia
gained after World War II.
Our gain has been involuntarily.
but succintly, expressed by Gen.
Mark Clark when. after the occu-
patton Of Naples, he was asked by
a skeptical Italian what we ex-
pected to get out of this war. He
replied: "All we hope to gain is a
spot to bury our dead" And, in
deed. that is all we obtained at
the end of World War II-burial
places for hundreds of thousands
OF Americans killed in the crusade
to destroy despotism.
Unfortunately, we did not real
lze-all OF us-that we had helped
create a far worse and unhumsn
kind OF oriental despotism, which
now threatens our national exist
ence.
No Profits in Sight
No wonder that there is a layer
OF idealism among the American
people which cannot be matched
by our friends across the Atlantic.
With their background it is little
wonder that the Europeans, es-
pecially the members of the At
lantic pact, have been slow in
responding to our frantic appeal
to rearn against the threat from
the Moscow dictators. There is
nothing in this new war for them
which even VAGUELY car be de-
sc"ihed as profit.
When the United Nations de.
creed last June that the North
Korean aggression must be re-
PEELED, the American people did
not hesitate to approve the order
given by President Truman FOR
our forces to move into Korea.
The fact that 80 per cent of the
Western forces in the U. N. "po-
lice action" were American did
not bother the people of this
country. Nor did they complain
over the $4,000 casualties which
we have suffered In a faraway
land in which our only interest
is the United Nations interest.
Our people know that this
heavy toll-to which must be
added an expenditure of S14 bill