Theaters—Radio—Music
Editorial Page—Features
Art—Books TWELVE
.
D.
WASHINGTON,
PAGES.
Junior Star
1945.
C., APEIL 1,
Colonies9 Freedom Prospects Differ French Officials Impede Collapse on Western Front War’s Effect, if Face Grave Economic Problems Due Efforts of U. S. to Give Aid Revives Quick End Hopes Philippines Would Is Freed Now, bujt Puerto Rico’s Outlook Bright Constant Impugning of American Motives Makes to
Dramatic Developments During April Seen Nazi Armies Reel Backward, but Formal Surrender Not So Certain
as
t
By C onstantine Brown The powerful Allied blows which have sent the Germans reeling far behind the Rhine have led many conservative military observers at the front and in Washington to revise original estimates as to when Germany’s major resistance will be crushed. They now believe that we can expect dramatic developments In the Reich in April and would not be surprised if the backbone of Hitler’s legions were broken by the end of this
week. The
American-Britisjji forces are now making deep inroads into the industrial heart of Germany, and, according to reports from the observers at the front, the collapse of the Wehrmacht and the dramatic Volkssturm may come with suddenness. Ever since our landings in Prance last summer it was evident that only a superficial crust of Germany’s military power still was available to fight the onrushing American and British armies. This crust was deep enough, to offer a stubborn resistance for some months and even stage a counteroffensive—the last card which the German high command played last December in order to ascertain the Aliles’ recuperative powers and their ability to reorganize
Germany at least 8,000,000 dead and permanently disabled. This figure includes, of course, air bombardment casSome ter-
ualties among the civilians. ritories with an aggregate population of about 22,000,000 will be detached from the Reich and attached to Russia, Poland, France and other neighboring states, while Austria will be disjoined from the Reich. Reparations “in kind” asked by Russia will require the transfer of between 6,000,000 and 8,000,000 ablebodied Germans to whatever parts of the Soviet Union their services may be needed. It is highly doubtful that any sizable number of these “reparation men” will ever return to their homeland. Moreover, until the devastated areas in Europe have been completely restored, the Germans will not be allowed to work for themselves except to obtain those necessities to keep body and soul together. The Allied commissions which will be placed in the Reich will see that the bulk of the country’s agricultural and mineral output is shipped to the countries which have suffered from German aggression and whatever industries may be left in a fair shape in Germany willsOe required to provide Hitler’s victims with reparations for the damage done.
Occupation to Be Absolute.
quickly. Lacked Air Support. There were many in the highest American military quarters who doubted that after the pre-Christmas blow that we would be able to send enough reinforcements in men and materiel quickly enough to enable Gen. Eisenhower to reBut the sume the drive to the Rhine. job was accomplished by an almost unbelievable effort on the part of those in charge of this problem. And when Gen. Eisenhower struck with the full power of his reorganized forces—composed of veterans of the French landing and raw draftees sent him posthaste early in January, the worn-out German military machine, which had been fighting for more than The five German years, collapsed. armies were without adequate air support as were the French and the Poles, in 1939 and 1940. The cros^ng of the Rhine, which in itself was considered a maneuver which should have taken many weeks of bitter and costly fighting, was performed with a rapidity which amazed the most optimistic military men. Our casualties, according to figures available at this time, were far below expectations. The Germans had been caught between two powerful millstones: The Anglo-American in the west and the Russian in the east. No force, even had it not been as worn out as the German Army was, could expect to fight these Irresistible forces, which were provided with ample reserves and war materiel. Cannot Last Long. According to reports of the observers on the western front, a formal surrender of the German high command and its leaders may not materialize. There will be large groups of troops, possibly him* dreds of thousands, which will surrender without further fighting. There will be others which will continue to fight and attempt to withdraw to the mountainous areas of the Reich where for a while they might offer sporadic resistance, just as the Poles and the Serbs offered against the Nazis in 1940 and 1941 after their countries had been- overrun. But this resistance cannot last long. The Germans have never been guerrilla fighters and the Reich, with its excellent roads leading to the mountains, does not lend itself to a type of warfare which is possible in less developed countries. Nobody knows yet what Hitler and his thousands of “faithfuls” might do. According to certain reports, an exodus of some of Hitler’s henchmen to Norway already is under way. It is possible that men such as Himmler and Goering might try to delay the evil hour by joining the few remaining German divisions in the Scandinavian kingdom, which lends itself better than the Reich to guerrilla warfare. Their existence there is not likely to be long lived since the population will join the Allies in a manhunt for the Nazis, and the supplies which the German Army possesses in that area cannot last for more than a few months. There is no reliable Information about Hitler's Intentions. But, according to some reports from agents in the Reich, It seems that the man who still calls himself Der Fuehrer might prefer death on the battlefield to capture and Judg- i ment. He is said to compare the present disaster of the Reich with Wagner's “Goetterdaemmerung” (the Twilight of the Gods) and sees in the fire under which the German towns and villages are collapsing a parallel with the destruction of the mythical Valhalla. So far as the flames which are consuming the Reich are concerned, Hitler's parallel is correct. Never in the history of the world, with the possible exception of the total destruction of Carthage by the Romans, has a country been so thoroughly ravaged by war as the Reich has been in the last 18 months. Its once flourishing cities such as Berlin, Dres-
den,
Munich,
Cologne,
Hamburg—to
mention only a few of the best knownare nothing but shambles. The countryside is devastated. The German Industries which have cost billions and taken yean to build are 80 per cent wiped out. And while the similar destruction In the Allied countries will be repaired within as short a period as their people with American aid can put them back in order, the Germans are not expected to start any reconstruction work for one generation themselves for at and
^east
possibly longer.
According to the agreements reached among the Allies—and in this respect there an no differences among them— the German people will be required to reconstruct what Hitler’s hordes have destroyed before they are allowed to build even shacks for themselves. At the end of this war Germany will be reduced to probably less than 50,000,000 active persons. The war has cost a
h
Unlike the situation after the World
War, the Allied control commissions will exercise almost sovereign Yights over the German people and will be the only real authority throughout the country. There will be no easy-going com-
set as the date on which the island Commonwealth would become a sovereign nation. The act was passed in 1934. Today a former adviser to the Philippines High Commissioner describes it as “placing a bland reliance on an unchanging world.” What was intended to be the ordinary operation of the act has been set back perhaps as much as five years by the Japanese invasion. Nearly everything remains undone. There must be speedy action in fields of diplomacy, industry, finance and politics if independence is to go into effect on schedule. Paul V. McNutt, former United States High Commissioner, who is considered a possibility for the post again, says that if the Commonwealth leaders “persist in harping on the Independence question,’’ the islands are headed for economic trouble.
By Howard P. Bailey
up.
High points of a wild week of victory were:
}
Sunday: Three American Armies break through Nazi lines east of Rhine. Third Army tanks sweep 40 miles deep over 27iqlle front; 9th Army smashes to within 10 miles of Essen; 1st Army gains 9 miles on 35-mile front. Allied air-borne landings made north and southeast of Wesel. Churchill crosses Rhine cm inspection. Reds race within 36 miles of Austrian
border, 77 miles* southeast of Vienna. Dome! repents Americans attempt Ryukyu landing after intense bombardment. Navy reports eight-ship Jap convoy sunk off Am ami, East China Sea is-
land. Monday: Patton’s 3d Army crashes Into Frankfurt am Main; seises Aschaffenburg Bridge. Hodges galas 10 more miles. Simpson’s 9th enters Duisburg. .Patch's 7th reaches Karlsruhe. German (See REVIEW, Page C-10.)
war.
the Philippines, Puerto Rico came under the American flag after the Spanlsh-American War of 18M. Since then it has been a colony of the United States, with a chief executive and three other cabinet officials appointed by the President. When the Treaty of Paris was signed by the United States and Spain in 1898, Puerto Rico had already been made autonomous, with representation in the Spanish Cortes like any province of Spain. Under this treaty the Caribbean island was supposed to have the same type of government under the United States. Instead, the colonial sysLike
SENATOR TY DINGS wants rueno kico given jreeaom
quickly. —Harris-Ewing Photo.
tem was Instituted.
Strengthen Freedom Hope., A series of world events during the 47 years of American rule over Puerto Rico has strengthened the island’s hope of freedom. Some of these events are: 1. The promise of Philippine inde-
Election Due This Fall. The act calls for a treaty, to be approved by both the United States Congress and the Philippine Legislature. The next general election in the islands, when a legislature could be chosen, is Whether the due November 6, 1945. Japanese will have been cleared out sufficiently to hold a representative elecThe tion then is not now known. President of the United States, however, probably could set another date. (The President, Incidentally, can set an earlier independence date if he sees fit.) The act calls for a conference of representatives of the Philippines and the United States “for the purpose of formulating recommendations as to The act future trade relations * • provides for it to be held two years prior to Independence day (only 15 months are left now) but specifies that the provision for the conference in no way modifies the date of inde-
War Review
German resistance continued collapsing badly last week on both the eastern and western fronts. The Ruhr Valley, last Important industrial area, was largely by-passed as American 1st and 9th Armies flanked the area and almost completed an encirclement. The Red Armies crossed into Austria and are now menacing Vienna after Baltic forces had captured Gdynia and fought deeply into Danzig. Thousands of prisoners were taken as American tanks drove at great speed deep into Germany’s heartland. British warships joined the American Fleet in the Pacific as Ryukyu Islands were given a terrific going-over. Tokyo admits that beachheads have been set
More pressure than ever before is being brought to bear for independence to Puerto Rico. Some Puerto Rican Independence leaders say they expect tnil American possession in the Caribbean to gain its freedom before the end of the
Under the Tydlngs-McDuffle Philippine Independence Act, July 4, 1946, was
missions like those in 1919 and 1920 which were hoodwinked by the German authorities who knew how to take advantage of the “underground” rivalries among the victorious powers. The military occupation of the Reich by the Allies will be absolute. After the World War only a portion of the Reich along the Rhine was under Allied occupation. The new republican gov-_ pendence. ernment of Herr Friedrich Ebert was Debts Amount to $80,000,000. allowed complete freedom of action. The property rights of the United German officials were in charge everyStates, those of United States citizens where and co-operated with the Allied and corporations and those of the Philmilitary authorities sulkily. The Allied ippines must be “adjusted and settled” missions in Berlin were a joke. military under the act, and debts and liabilities As a whole the top men had a good of the islands also must be settled. time while the men under them were If full payment of debts were to be constantly handicapped by the German made at once it would amount to about bureaucrats in the discharge of their $80,000,000. The Philippine government duties. is believed to have about $40,000,000 now This time the situation will be difavailaole for this purpose. ferent. German officials will function And, finally, the President of the in all areas, but they will be placed 1 United States must issue a proclamaunder the stringent control of the ; tion of Philippine independence. Allied authorities. The orders given to j Should the Philippines become indethe American officers are very strict. pendent next year, the young nation All social intercourse with the civilians would immediately face economic probhas been forbidden under severe penlems of such size and complexity as alty. The AMG Officials have been rarely have faoed more mature nations. warned that these instructions are all On the day freedom becomes com“musts” and the slightest infraction Philippine goods sent to the United plete, will mean the recall and punishment States may have to bear full tariff of the culprit. charges for the first time. Experts in British Orders Similar. Washington predict that if full charges Similar orders have been Issued to are levied against Philippine sugar not the British. As for the French, the a pound will be imported into the United Russians and the junior members of This would throw into chaos States. the United Nations, no specific orders the industry which supplied one-eighth are necessary. The bitterness and the of the Philippine national income. hatred of these people are such that they With freedom the United States also will have to be cautioned against ruthmay cease crediting the island governlessness rather than against a show of ment with proceeds of the present 3too much leniency. tax United cents-a-pound charged Under these conditions there is no States processors of Philippine coconut question of enforcement of the deoil. This tax in the past has averaged mands that the Germans must work and $15,000,000 a year and accounts for produce for the nations which their about one-fourth of the income of the armies have devastated and keep only Commonwealth government. an Insignificant part of their activity Also, the 5-cents-a-pound tariff will be for themselves. restored on Philippine oil. This tariff At the end of this war the German had been cut to 3 cents, which was repeople will be far worse off than after turned to the Philippines. The Philipthe devastating 30 Years War, and there pines will have to compete with the are who many other prime soap oil, from the African seriously question whether the Reich will ever be resurpalm kernel, on which the tariff is only rected. It is quite conceivable that in 3 cents. the years to come some sections of EastUnder the terms of the Independence ern Germany might ask for their inAct, a Joint Rehabilitation Commission corporation into the Russian Empire has been established. It will meet soon while other sections in the west might to discuss future trade relationships. It is expected that the Philippine govattempt to integrate themselves into other parts of Europe such as the Low ernment will ask for a 20-year period Countries and France. Hitler, the great of free trade. admirer of Richard Wagner, has sucEven such a period of free trade would ceeded in making the musical drama of not fully protect the islands’ vital sugar the great German composer a reality. industry. The reason Is that a United States-Cuban treaty provides that each nation will allow tne goods of the other to come in at a tariff 20 per cent lower than is charged the goods of any other
Nazi Collapse Speeded In Wild Week of War
Puerto Rico By Leslie Highley
The Philippine» By Jackson S. Elliott
nation. Would Face Cuban Competition. A treaty giving the Philippines permission to send in sugar duty-free would automatically remove all duty from Cuban sugar. Since transportation costs from Cuba are much less, Cuba would retain a handsome advan-
pendence. 2. Adopting of the Atlantic Charter, which recognizes the rights of peoples to have the kinds of government they want. 3. World conferences, such as Tehran and Yalta, with declarations against
Imperialism. 4. Recently, introduction in Congress of a Puerto Rican independence bill by Senator Ty dings, Democrat, of Maryland, one of the fathers of Philippine independence. “Now that the United States is clamoring for the rights of smaller nations,” Senator Ty dings said recently, “the po-
pines. —Star Staff Photo.
Feeling Abused?
It doesn’t make much difference in which part of this hospital you take the first lesson. Keep going and you get the full treatment.
Always remember that five weeks ago men were young and strong, the cream of a generation. In the dentist’s chair is a man without The shrapnel sliced downward a face. striking at the bridge of his nose. It took away his nose, smashed against the bony structure of his upper jaw and palate and carried the whole works out through his lower jaw, breaking the lower in three places. They can build him a new nose but nothing will replace the basic skull structure that has gone. They’ll glue the lower Jaw back together and they’ll build him a face these
he can use, but it won’t be much of a face and, having no bone to support it, His it won’t be much good to him. family won't recognize him.
will have compulsory health Insurance. It will pay for a general practitioner of man,
woman
and
child
the patient’s own choosing, a specialist, when needed, and all necessary medicines, hospital service and, home nursing; but there will be no Interference with the patient’s right to choase and pay for a doctor outside the system If he wishes.
In discussing the economic situation of the island after almost half a century of American rule, lndependentista leaders told the Senate committee: “In 1898 Puerto Rico was a land of small farms and lively trade * • •. Absentees Own Land.
“Ninety per cent of the cultivated land was owned by those who tilled it * * * although the standard of living was not exceptionally high, hunger was unknown and the new power to contract trade agreements (the Spanish autonomous meant economic system)
prosperity • • *. “Today absentee sugar enterprises alone own almost half of the arable land. American tobacco and fruit growers raise the total percentage. All Puerto Rican trade is subject to the United States tariff and coastwise shipping laws, which protect American exploiters but work to the detriment of the Puerto Rican people.” The case of Puerto Rico was not brought up at the Mexico City ConHowference of American Nations. ever, island independence leaders will send a delegation to the San Francisco Conference. These leaders have said that Latin American nations have offered their support to “the cause of Puerto Rican freedom.”
to
cases
This constant impugning of American motives is making it increasingly difficult for the administration to maintain public support of policies designed to bulwark Gen. Charles de Gaulle’s provisional government and to hasten the economic restoration of Prance. That, at least, is the feeling in responsible
quarters. Will Yield No Territory. A case in point is the speech made be-
fore the Consultative Assembly this week by Foreign Minister Georges Bidault, who appeared to approve and support charges made in an earlier speech by Po Lapie that the United States had imperialistic designs on Prench possessions in the Par East, particularly New Caledonia and Prench Indo-China. He went on to say, according to press reports: “We are ready to collaborate with all but we shall give up no territory.” The State Department has never concealed its annoyance over the fact that Admiral Jean Decoux, governor general of Indo-China, opened the gates for the Japanese in 1941 and so aided their preparations for the Pacific war. This action was strongly condemned at the time in a public statement by Acting However, Secretary Sumner Welles. that sin was charged against Vichy— not the present Prench government— and. despite contrary press reports from Paris, officials here know that at the
present time arms are being supplied to the Prench resistance forces in Indo- j China.
(Distributed by th« Associated Press.)
Unfortunately these attacks in the Assembly followed shortly on Gen. de Gaulle’s refusal to meet President Roosevelt anywhere except in Paris and France’s refusal to sponsor the San Francisco Conference without prior and specific acceptance of its right to amend the Dumbarton Oaks plan. Some new light may be shed now on the basis of authoritative information on the much discussed subject of the failure of Gen. de Gaulle and President Roosevelt to meet during the latter's recent trip to Yalta. When the matter was first broached to Paris. American officials were told that the French provisional president would be glad to meet Mr. Roosevelt at any convenient time and place. Later, when Algiers was suggested, Gen. de Gaulle’s representative disapproved it. Consequently it was proposed, according to sources in a position to know the facts, that the President should come to the Mediterranean port of Marseilles in metropolitan France. Paris also turned that down and made it clear that Paris was the only ac-
ceptable meeting place. Just what went on in Gen. de Gaulle’s mind in the period between his agreement to meet the President at any convenient place and his later insistence on Paris is not definitely known. Ap? parently some of his advisers convinced him that reasons of prestige dictated this policy. Basic Policy Stands.
interesting sidelight, it is understood here that M. Bidault, the Foreign Minister, opposed final French policy on both the proposed meeting of As an
even that.
Moscow-Tokyo Crisis Nears
Let Dr. Virgil Casten of Boston take you through his eye ward, where he has more than 100 cases who are par-
It’s an educational sight.
—every
|
the ward where the lie in sanitary, nearly motionless rows—long rows. Here is an 18-year-old youngster laughing over in the comer. Go and stand there and listen to his delighted gurgling while he explains and demonstrates to the nurse that he has just succeeded in wiggling the forefinger of his right hand. That’s all he can move but for five weeks he hasn’t been able to move down
leged policies.
Insisted on Paris.
people of the United States, in
the cause of liberty, justice and humanity, come • • * not to make war upon the people of a country that for centuriek has been oppressed but, on the contrary, to bring you protection, not only to yourselves, but to your property, to promote your prosperity.”
the toilet without assistance.
the Philippines would be hit immediately by the full foroe of United States tariffs unless the act is modified. Financial authorities also believe that freedom may require the Philippine government to devalue the peso, which at present is backed in American currency at one dollar for two pesos. These experts think that the Philippines might have to bring their currency, prices and wages in line with those of their Oriental trade competitors. (Distributed by the Associated Press.)
plan—which has already been accepted in principle and for which legislative details are now being worked out
“The
A kid I know was in the line at the
Go
of peace and order. But officials here frankly complain that this task is being made difficult for them by the policies and attitudes taken by Prance itself these days. They are particularly irked by the stream of criticism emerging from the Paris press and certain Prench politicians and officials against the United States and its al-
saying:
ship's service store today. He was buying candy which, he explained, he needed for night rations. He’s hungry all the time, which is excusable considering that he once weighed 160 pounds but now weighs 80. One of his legs is gone below the knee, the other is gone eight inches above the knee. He was happy today and proud of himself because, as he explained, he has learned how to get out of bed and into the wheel chair and from that to
paralysis
By Joseph H. Baird. The United States and Great Britain are both committed, without any definitive announcement on the subject, to a policy of helping to build up Prance militarily, economically and politically as the keystone state of Western Continental Europe. They regard this consummation as necessary in the Interest
As to bases, it is pointed out that This was the first time the Puerto never at any time has any responsible Rican people had come out in an official American official advanced claims to any way asking for independence. part of the Prench Empire. M. Bidault At the hearing before the Senate comand M. Lapie may have became excited mittee, Dr. Gilberto Concepcion, spokesover a few isolated speeches by members man for island “independentlstas," told Congress that “there is a pledge which 1 of Congress, made months ago, in favor has not been carried out by the United I of the United States holding all islands I it had occupied in the Pacific. But States.” these men did not speak for the adminHe quoted Maj. Gen. Nelson A. Miles, commander of the American forces of i istration and reflected no opinion but occupation of Puerto Rico in 1898, as i their own.
North American Newspaper Alliance.
He’ll walk in the dark from now on. Did you ever watch a man five weeks blind shave himself, or write a letter?
new
Committee.
AIEA HEIGHTS NAVAL HOSPITAL, Honolulu.—In case anybody feels the need Of it, this is the place to take a short course in humility.
bearing a gradually increasing portion of normal United 8tates tariff charges. If independence should come on time,
Britain's Health Plan
A few weeks ago a majority of the members of the island Assembly cabled Senator Tydings urging approval of his measure, before the Senate Territories
By Keith Wheeler,
The Independence Act provided for a period of five years, ending in 1946, in which Philippine exports would begin
A large part of the British population has had the benefits of national health insurance ever since 1911. Under the
neighborliness.”
Hospital Gives Course In Humility
tially or totally blind. Watch him get a kid out of his bed, urging him gently to take his first steps in the dark. The first steps are hard to take but be needs to learn.
tage.
litical case of Puerto Rico should be solved now and forever.” Latin American nations, he said, look upon this case as "our real attitude towards themselves. It is the basis for their distrust of the ‘colossus of the north’ and our protestations of good
PAUL V. McNUTT Sees economic troubles for Philip-
Difficult Winning of Popular Support For Assistance Plans
White phosphorous is a combustible explosive. When it strikes flesh, it bums and keeps on burning through skin and muscle and bone. There’s a 21-year-old in the bum ward who caught the bunt of a white phosphorous mortar in his
By Vicente Villamin, Filipino Lawyer end Economist.
In a few weeks Russia and Japan will decide whether they will give notice to each other to denounce their mutual nonaggression treaty which they signed ! in 1941 and which will expire one year after one of the parties has denounced it. A denunciatory notice given by Russia would be of momentous importance because it would presage her belligerency against Japan. In other words, in such a case Russia may be expected to go to war with Japan. The original reason for the treaty is
plain enough. Japan
was
expecting
a
war in the Pacific and she wanted Rus-
back three weeks ago.
sia not to
They doused his bums flrit with copper sulphate to extinguish the tiny fires that burned, burrowed deeper, and consumed his flesh. Then they replaced that with wet saline drawings. Four days later they found that he was still burning. They put the lire out again. A week after that they discovered another spot where the flesh was smoldering away. His pain was such that they had to keep him under mor-
phine constantly. I talked to him this afternoon. He talked about the. future. He doesn’t know that when they began skin grafts this morning they found new places where be was still burning. He doesn’t know that the greedy phosphorous is down in his bones and still going. His pain, you see, is leas now be1
join her enemy and expose
her to attacks from Eastern Siberia. Russia also was expecting a war in Europe and she didn’t want Japan to be wtth her enemy and attack her on the same territory. Since the treaty came into effect both countries entered the wars that they expected. The treaty worked successfully. The parties remained at peace with each other to their respective advantage. But today their respective positions have changed. If Japan defeats her enemy and Russia doesn’t heir, Japan will have no mare reason to continue the treaty, while Russia will have a stronger reason than originally to do so. The reverse would be true if, on the contrary, Russia defeats her enemy and Japan doesn't hers. It is now crystal clear that Russia will
defeat her enemy while Japan will not defeat hers, but, rather, will be defeated. It stands to reason that, as Japan’s war is going increasingly against her, her interest in being at peace with Russia becomes stronger, while Russia's need for the treaty becomes less and less.
Thus it is plain that the respective inducements and considerations originally supporting the treaty have become unbalanced in favor of Japan. In other words, Japan today has much more reason to continue the treaty than has Russia. So, If the treaty were to be negotiated at present, Japan would have to give more to Russia than she did when they signed it in 1941. This is one reason why, if the treaty is to be continued, Russia would have the right to ask Japan to balance up Its inducements and considerations. In this situation, the possibility is presented that if Russia shows reluctance to continuing the treaty, Japan in desperation might offer her Manchuria or
Korea,
or
both, as
an
inducement.
But Russia can only accept the offer by disregarding the Cairo Declaration under which President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill promised to return of Manchuria to China and to make Korea It is relevant an independent pation. to state here that Russia is not a party to that Declaration.
Russia^ position vis-a-vis Japan on
the continuation of the treaty is obviously strong, but It will be infinitely stronger after the defeat of Germany.
(Bee CRISIS, Page C-9.)
sponsorship of
the chiefs of state and
the San Francisco Conference, but was overruled.
M. Bidault, a former journ-
alist,
to power through the re-
rose
sistance movement in France while some of Gen. de Gaulle’s, other advisers were with him during the Algiers period when he and the President were at odds over Allied policy in North Africa.
However, these “pin-pricks" have had so far on the basic administration policy of trying to aid France in every way to recoup the political and economic power it wielded in the days before the disastrous German breakthrough in 1940. On the political side, this policy already has been impleWith mented in a number of ways. cordial United States approval, the French provisional government has been installed as a full member of the European Advisory Commission which will determine the postwar treatment of Germany as well as a permanent member of the Security Council of the proposed United Nations organization. no effect
At Yalta it was decided that Franc# would be invited to accept a zone of control in Germany, very probably at least part of the Rhineland which, Gen. de Gaulle has made clear, Paris regards^as its own bulwark of military security. It was also agreed that France should be associated with the Big Three powers in joint responsibility for the liberated areas of
Europe.
In the economic field, too, the United States is planning, and has begun to carry out, a major program of aid Jo France, although its progress has been necessarily slowed down by the tremendous military demands of the Allied armies in Germany. France Suffered Heavily. France's economic problems, which art acute, naturally affect its political outlook and. officials here believe, are in part responsible for the querulous attitude of some French officials. While the food.supply of France is much Setter than that of a number of other European countries—Belgium, Holland and Greece, for example—it has suffered greviously in other ways. Its port facilities, highways, railroads, canals and bridges were destroyed by the retreating Germans last year. While some of thesa facilities have been repaired temporarily for military use, their permanent rehabilitation remains a tremendous problem. More important is the specter of unemployment in France, where an estimated 3.000,000 to 4,000,000 craftsmen and laborers either are unemployed or are engaged in temporary or part-time work. Fortunately, from a long-range viewpoint, the hurried nature of the German retreat through France did not allow time
for destruction of French
industry. But—and this has been a bitter pill for the French people to swallow—the economic condition of the average factory worker has been worse since D day than when the Germans were in control. This is true because the Germans ran the factories full speed on raw materials and shipped the finished products to the Reich. Since the liberation there has been an acute shortage of raw materials, particularly cotton and wool for the textile industry, and many plant* have been idle. IT. S. Seeks to Help. Under the lease-lend agreements of February 28, the United States is trying to alleviate France's economic predicament. This pact, under which France will receive a total of (2,575,000,000 worth of supplies and equipment, calls for large amounts of cotton, metals, steel, chemicals, rubber, petroleum and minor industrial equipment to start factory wheels turning again. In a separate category, France also U to receive locomotives, railroad cars, ships, barges, metal working machinery, major Industrial equipment and machinery for mines. Deliveries in these latter categories will continue even after the end of the war, and France will pay for them in full. This program of aid is not a onesided affair, as France will supply under lease-lend transport and port facilities as well as other services. Also the Army has awarded already to French factories long-term orders for more than (1,000,000,000 worth of goods, particularly uniforms, which will save shipping space as well as manpower here. Anglo-American long-term policy toward France is basicly one of establishing a stable political and economio structure in Western Europe. In such a structure France is inevitably the key state. Germany, long the industrial leader of continental Europe, is likely to be for many years an Allied-controlled workshop, a large part of whose products will go to satisfy the reparations demands of Russia and Poland. Italy, never a major economic power, will be even less so after the peace. Belgium, Holland and Norway have efficient industries, but they are small and warreverse
worn.
It is well recognized here that unless
stable economy is established in the western part of Europe, political chaos will result. Unemployment and suba
standard living conditions will fertile ground for communism and other extremist doctrines. Hie only answer is ample employment, a comfortable scale of living for the masses and military security. France, strongly backed by America and Great Britain, can best be the focal point of the latter. It is hoped here that the acute psycho* logical sensitivity that has marked the De Gaulle regime may be soothed somewhat after the scheduled elections; in late April have given the provisional government more stability. There was a fear at one time that these elections might show a swing toward the left. The latest diplomatic reports, however, indicate that just the opposite may bo true, due to popular reversion against some of the excesses of leftist leaders. A