pacz roua
Thm OSEGOII 8TATEZMA2L Satau Orvgon, Tuesday r-T-.fjr December 23. 1344
Strasbourg Is Gtj
Of Eozrowod Ilgit
la Shade of War
V
"... .
m r , t
Wo Favor Sways If; Wo Fear Shall Awe" -.
From First Statesman, March 23, 1831
THE STATESMAN PUBLISHING COMPANY
CHARLES A. SPRAGUE, Editor and Publisher
Member of th Associated Press
The Associated Press Is exclusively entitled to the use for publication of all
news dispatches credited to it or not otherwise credited in this newspaper.
ator for .19 years,, comes up ' for reelection la "
1945. He will hare to make it clear long be
fore the election whether he will stand as a can
didate in his old progressive party or whether
he will run as a republican. Republican sena
tors are concerned about this, too, though not
so much as if they had won the election, for La
Follette has seniority, and if a republican would
rate the ranking republican positions on com
mittee assignments. In view of the trend in
Wisconsin it is likely that 1948 will see LaFoI-?
lette running as a republican.
Russia's Dominance
As the Russian armies slowly tighten their
grip around Budapest, capital of Hungary, an
nouncement comes from Moscow of the forma
tion of a "provisional Hungarian government'
wtih a CpL Gen. Bela Miklos as prime minister.
A proclamation is issued calling Hungarians to
wage a war of liberatiorTagainst the Germans.
This adds another" chapter to the political
book of Hungary, The veteran regime of Ad-'
miral Horthy was ready to capitulate and nego
tiate with the advancing Russians when the
. nazis in the capital inspired a coup d'etat and
placed Ferenc Salad, a minion of the nazis, in
office as premier. Then the Germans poured in
troops and defended. Budapest and the line
across Hungary. Russia has finally resumed its
thrusts in Hungary and has set up this new po-
litical regime which doubtless will function as
does the Polish committee with headquarters in
Lublin. .,
So it is that across Europe from the Baltic to
the Black sea Russia is building for the future
with regimes which will be friendly, to, if not
actually dependent on, Moscow. The Russians .
already dominate Rumania; their influence is
predominant in Yugoslavia (Newswoman Ele
anor Packard was expelled from Yugo-Slavia
when she reported that pictures displayed in
that country were of Tito and Stalin, with scant
recognition of Churchill and Roosevelt, though
most of the supplies for Tito had come from the
western allies). Russia has a treaty with Czech
oslovakia arid controls the Lublin Polish com
mittee, while it has moved to incorporate the
three Baltic states of Esthonia, Latvia and Lith
uania into the USSR.
This is a natural result of the military power
revealed by Russian and by the fact that Rus
sian armies, for the most part, are the liberating
armies: It does not of itself violate the Atlantic
Charter, though where territories' are seized and
peoples shifted around, it would.
For one thing, the situation in east central
Europe will be stabilized after this war. The
"cordon sanitarre" raised , against bolshevisra ;
after, the first World war will 'become a pro
tective moat for Russia.
Women and Pipes
Tired Wisconsin Progressives
Third parties have had scant success in the
United States since the alignment of the re
publican and democratic parties was drawn in
Civil war times. The farmer-labor party in
Minnesota, which had considerable state sue- ,
cess, finally merged this year with the demo
cratic nartv in that state. Over in Wisconsin.
long under the LaFollettes a state noted for its
Dolitical irreeularitv. the LaFolIette nrow-essi to t
party is on its last legs. Its leaders are can
vassing the situation trying to decide whether
u un; isu vi in mm. iwsuciigui lias idigeiy
seeped back to the republican party from which
it sprang.
The Wisconsin decision will have to be made
soon because Bob LaFollette, who has been sen-
Editorial Comment
AMERICA'S RESPONSIBILITY
In the course of a dispatch to this newspaper ex- -plaining
the political situation in Italy, Herbert I .
Matthews, our correspondent at Rome, remarked ,
that: ''Britain, Russia, and other European nations '
see war as an instrument of politics, but for the
- United States it is something purely and narrowly
' military to win the war and then go home."
Many Americans not only agree that such a dif
ference In national attitude exists, but pride them
selves on this difference. They talk as if it were
merely selfish and calculating to fight a war for
- any reason beyond itself, and as winning the war
and then going home were the only altruistic and
noble course for us to pursue.
But a little reflection will show how " ill-considered
such an attitude really is. Every war in
which reasonable men participate is fought for a
purpose. For America, as for England and Russia,:
the primary purpose of, the present war was .to re
move a threat to its, national, survival. But once
such a threat is removed, a rational people will use
their victory to try to insure, as far as possible, that
the threat does not arise again. They will try to
establish the conditions under which international
prosperity, good-will and a .lasting peace are pos
sible. We have not spent $400,000,050,000 and sac
rificed half a million casualties in order to have
nothing to do with Europe. - We did not participate
in this war in order to wash our hands of the result
That is, what we did the last time. The ultimate .
consequence was that we were forced to participate
j in a war incomparably more costly to us.
' War is necessarily an instrument of political polt
icy. But too many Americans think of "political
policy only in the bad sense. They associate ifc ,
with schemes for spheres of influence, dubious mil? "
itary alliances, territorial aggrandizement, and with .
all sorts of Machiavellian intrigue. But if we do
nothing, or merely proclaim our intention not to.
"interfere" in this, that or the other local situation
brought about directly or indirectly by our par
ticipation in the war, we shall, in effect leave the
actual framing of policy to others; and we shall be
inconsistent if we later complain that the policy "'
actually adopted is a harmful one from world
point of view or from that of our own national in
terests. The true alternative to narrow and short
sighted national policies is not no national policy at
all, but far-sighted policies that look beyond mi-
mediate national interest to, our larger interests as V
citizens of a single world. . ' ;
But such policies are not to be achieved either .
by self -righteously announcing a "hands-off pol-V-icy
in Europe or by repeating a few "Idealistic slo
gans. They can be put into effect only by specCBc
decisions in specific situations. Our war and post
war policies will not be decided merely by what we -do
regarding the agreements reached at Dumbarton
Oaks.. They are actually being decided every day
by what we do or fall to do, by what we say or fail
to say, with regard to specific situations in Italy,
Belgium, Greece, Yugoslavia, Poland, or a score of
other points. But if in these specific situations we
do nothing, if we fail to make our influence felt, if
we keep -publicly washing our hands of responsij
bility for what is being done in a situation which
we helped to create, we merely leave a vacuum so
far as American policy is concerned; and we shaft" '
hardly be entitled to complain if others rush in to
fill that vacuum with policies that go counter to
our own interests or to those of a durable peace.--
. New York Times.
Papers have reported that the females of the
species are taking up pipe-smoking because of
the shortage of cigarets. In fact, there have
been numerous pictures -of women so engaged.
The pictures looked staged, however, as though
the news photographer had . brought the pipes
along as "props." The gals looked a bit awe
struck at the undertaking. -.
The Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce, in
its desire to be helpful in the present distressful
situation; comes forward with the suggestion
that the ladies fill their pipes with cut plug and1
then take a few whiffs. That surely would grat
ify their appetite for nicotine. We pass on the
Journal's suggestion:
With the cigarette shortage growing more
acute throughout the country each day, oppor- !
tunity is surely hammering and hollering at the
doors of pipe manufacturers. The ladies, it is V
said, are now taking strongly to pipe smoking '
' but there is too much talk about the shape and
- color of the hods that should appeal to women.
The shape and color of pipes take it from us
should not be vital issues. It is the content of
the smudge-pots that is of paramount impor
tance the tobacco, if you please. And to the
ladies we would say: Get into immediate pos-
session of a plug of Navy Cut or Horse Shoe.
Whittle off a chunk and after working it into a
- mixture resembling stoker coal, load your hods 1
carefully even corn pipes will do 10 cents
each at any tobacconist's shop. Then let the
match play lightly over the top of the bowl un-
til a dense smoke resembling that of burning
creosote results. Inhale deeply, forgetting the
while all about the audience and the color and
shape of the vehicle holding the damnable .
mess. i V
As we say, it Is the content rather than the
pipe. itself that counts. And if after a dozen or
so deep draws of that time-tried and extremely
potent Navy Cut you have any desire remain
ing for cigarettes it will be more than passing
strange. There may ensue a sense of extreme
dizziness and you may see black spots before
- your eyes as the tobacco bubbles and sputters
but keep, at it and we are sure you will experi
ence a thrill that no cigarette can impart And
' in passing. It might be mentioned that the price
-of good, black plug tobacco is still within the
price range of all, due probably to the fact that
the demand thus far has been hone too strong,
no doubt, because so few have had the benefit
of our advice in the matter.
- . ' '
No one seems to have told Santa Claus not
to come this year because of the stocking
shortage.1 ''
Interpreting
The War News
' K1RKE L. SIMPSON
. ASSOCIATED PRESS WAR ANALYST
; The war news. from Europe on Christmas day
held two elements mat helped brighten the Yule
tide season on United Nations home fronts. ,
In the west the Nazi counter-attack across Bel
gium and northern Luxembourg clearly had spent
its fh-st force. -Front line observers read the rela
tive lull as a sign that the Germans were regroup
ing of another lunge; but battle momentum once
lost Is hard to regain.
Portents were even more encouraging in the
southeast The battle of Budapest was close to its
end. A vast Russian pincer attack had all but'
throttled Budapests last communications west and
the twin drive on Vienna up both banks of the
Danube was taking definite shape. It is a fair de
duction that the uncertain breathing space attained
at high cost in the west did little to abate the appre
hension with which the Nazi high command watch
ed the . evolution of Russian strategy in Hungary
I and Latvia and above all on the still ominously
s quiet Polish front ; .
h That the moment is close at hand for rested Rus
sian armies of the center astride the short road to '
Berlin to Join in.theattack German military experts
cannot seriously doubt
What happens in the east particularly in Poland,
within the next week or two could go far toward
shaping events in the west ' " '"'
,The savage but risky German counter-attack be- '
tvreen the Roer and the Moselle has attained its first
objective bringing the Allied advance toward the
Rhine in the Aachen bulge to a halt and diverting
much of the American Third army from the Saar
basin offensive.
There has been no bint of Allied withdrawals, on
either stalled attack front however, to cope -with
the Nazi power drive between them.
A critical decision must soon confront the Ger
man commander in the west. His loss of momen
tum westward, as well as his failure to make pro
gress, northward and cut communications sA the
Aachen bulge, probably is traceable to his neces
sity of diverting troops from offensive to defensive
action. He must hold open the neck of the great
sack in Belgium into which he has poured such
strong forces.-' .
The Nazi commander must decide whether to at-
tempt to hold' the Belgian bulge almost to the
Meuse as a leverage to keep the Allied offensives
above and below it in continuous check, or to with- ,
draw again within Siegfried line defenses from
which the saQy was started. To hold that ground
securely more troops must be committed in the
sack. Even to attempt withdrawal would require
a massing of troops to keep the dangerous neck
open again First army punching from the north and
Third army attacks from the south. Otherwise that
"worst defeat which General Eisenhower told his
troops was possible as a result of the Nazi "gamble"
could come.' -
There is "a definite limirto the reserves available
to the foe for west front action. The German high
est military command dare not- pare down east
front dispositions in the face of poised Russian le
gions in Poland. .. ' . . - . .
. pJL ;J w j If
By Wade Werner
Substituting for Kenneth Dixon
STRASBOURG, Dec 23.-(De-layed)-ff)-Thls
has! become m
city of brrowed light In the shad
ow of frontline
war. ; . ; f
Am rl ran
. troops patrol
its - streets,
French flags
float t serenely
over$i'its " roof
tops. But no
more uxan uve , , s v 7
from German,CMBfth u 1?f
guns. Most of it isr closer, and
its waterfront on .the Rhine is
undo- machine gunj and mortar
fire from the opposite bank.
So it was a simple matter for
German artillery to j knock out .a
municipal power plant. The only
surprise was. that jthey waited
v three days before dping it after
the Seventh army drove them out
of town. I Since then nearly a
month has passed and army civil
affairs - detachments j collaborat
ing with French authorities have
managed to borrow enough elec
tricity from towns vell beyond
the artillery range to Illuminate
all Strasbourg. . . J , ; 1 ;
There also was enough for
pumping the city's water supply
and operating refrigeration
plants and hospitali electrical
Only street cars still ! are idle.
Strasbourg's food' situation
Under the Mistletoe
The Literary
Guidepost
By -John Selby
8Jt.O- edited by Bcanett Cerf aa ,
Vaa H. Carunril (Oonbleday, Dor
aa;l S3.15); -THE BEST PLAYS,
1M3-1M4," by Boras afaatte (Ooda,
Mead; S3).
The only play collection I
know in which the vague con
siderations of "art" played no
part is published this month by
Bennett Cerf and Van H. Cart
melL with a most appropriate
title. f" This Is JLO." and
S.Rlb." is the second book Mr.
Cerf has published this fall
through another publisher than
himself. He has, as Is well
known, .a very prosperous firm
of his own.
Anyway, the plays were chos
en because they knew how to
win friends. There are about
four -plays among the 14 includ
ed which would justify the ad
jective "good," and even there
one must usually add, "of its
kind." It takes a really active
and willing imagination to wade
through a play like "The Old
Homestead," a work which nev
ertheless! supported Denman
Thompson from 1875 to his death
in 1911. "The Man from Home,"
which was perpetrated by Booth
Tarkington and Harry Leon
Wilson, both of whom must have .
known better, is another exam- -pie.
Probably the finest of all
is, however, Anne Nichols
"Abie's Irish Rose." It is beyond
belief that anybody could read
through the play, except as an
exercise in theatrical history.
That, most likely. Is what
Messrs. Cerf and Cartmell intend
it to be.
But "Life With Father" reads
welL so does "Arsenic and Old
Lace," and so does "Oklahoma,"
which last is surprising'' since
musical plays are notablv dull
on paper, as-a rule. I enjoyed ;
dipping into Mary Roberts rtine
hart's "The Bat" (Avery Hop
good's, too), and found the suc
cess bf Erskine Caldwell's "To-
bacco Road" strange, as usual.
And John Chapman's introduc
tion is filled with information.
Burns Mantle's. .The Best,
Plays: 1943-1944'; is ready also,
and Mr. Mantle's friends will be '
a little shocked, quite likely, to
see mat he flatly calls the season
of 1943-44 a "war casualty." The
fact that none of the season's
plays is given an unqualified
News Behind the News
By PAUL MALLON
(Distribution by King Features Syndicate, Inc. Reproduction in whole
or in part strictly prohibited.) ,
WASHINGTON, Dec 25-A
strong, generally thoughtful'
editorial writer who is against
the Roosevelt, particularly Mrs.
Roosevelt regime spoke - out
in several met-
Terrors
ropolitan pa-'
pers recently:
(note. I think
the radicals
called him fas
cist - minded
during therlast
' camp a i g n al
though the
charge - was Jof
a political na
ture and there-
Faal Halloa
fore not Intended to be believed
literally):
"There is only one way to as
sure ourselves of military
strength, whenever needed. That
way consists of a system of com
pulsory military training." ;
That Is simply not true. There
are many ways of assuring our
selves of military strength,
whenever . needed. A logical,
straightforward way consists of
putting V military training into
Jthe high schools and colleges' to
develop, and keep trained, the
necessary officer DersonneL and
enlarging and modernizing the y nists,
national guard, giving it wea
pons, including ' airplanes and
tanks, artillery, ammunition and
' commissary to develop a private
personnel.
- That would be the' more effi
cient way, because it would be
constant, always up-to-date, al
ways ready to handle the latest
implements of. warfare scienti
fically, and efficiently, although
there ere of course many other
things which must be done, in
cluding; the maintenance of a
greater permanent military in
ventors' council with laborato
ries, continuance of West Point
and Annapolis at war size or
larger, and an alert, ever watch-
fulv and efficient w a r depart-"
ment to see that we do not fall
asleep to dangers from without!
-
' " - i-
cheer does not lessen the book's
value as part of the Mantle se
ries, which for 23 years has,, in
turn, beene, part of theatrical -history.
- . 5
These are democratic ways.
The taking of a boy from his.
home,' work and career for a
year of service in the army is a
Prussian method instituted by
Prussian militarists after ' the
war of 1870. It must be an inef
ficient way of developing an ar
my because the Prussians have'
never won with it, nor has it
produced results in France and
some other nations which took it
up.
. On the opposite side of the
same fence a radical Editorial
. writer in a metropolitan daily,
(I .think he is the very one who.
called tny above friend fascist-,
minded" and certainly he thinks
the Roosevelt regime, and par-,
ticularly the Mrs. Roosevelt re
gime, is just about "right on ev
erything), wrote recently: . .
, "The only way this country
can get away irom maintaining
' a very large army and develop- -ing
a militaristic caste system
after this war is by compulsory'
military training."
Is this not the strangest col
lection of bedfellows upon any
world mattress? Radicals, con
servatives, people, who think
eacn other fascists or nmmu.
Mr. Roosevelt - and the
"THE YOUNG IDgA" By Mossier
seaswMMaMBMMaMaaMSswaiaMaaaaaa-
" '
chamber of commerce. PM and
the NY Herald-Tribune, Mrs.
Roosevelt and "the fascist mind
ed," an enjoying this same de-lusion-insistenUy.
-
For there is no more truth in
saying this is the only way to
"avoid a large army" than that
it is the only way to maintain
an army. It . would be a large
army of more than a million
youths 17 to 21 years old, a new
large army each year.
But it would hardly be what
we would call a skilled, army.
We would have to mainn an
other one for older men fori de
fense. We would have to nave
an air force constantly alert, a
corps bent on nullifying the ef
fect of rocket bombs, and what
other nes: weapons, daily, a
whole war. department o Just
as much -Strength as if we did
not have compulsion in train
ing. ::; - ; - 'r
These trainees would only be
reserves reserves that mteht
.... . - . . ...
oxnerwise be obtained more ef
ficiently, by a real national
guard. As a friend of mine puts
ifc i
"We must be a military, but
not e militaristic nation," and
we need a national guard which
literally must be "a guard of the.
nation." 1 ,
But a. great many other peo
ple are saying daily m the pa
pers a year of national service
. would cure Juvenile delinqtien-
; cy, promote youth-health, make
better ciUzeni. These are all
non-military excuses for a mili
tary step, which lacks, sound
military grounds.,"
Well, this war - has : cured
' crime. Would these same people
.: advocate continuance of this
I war forever in order to cure
crime? Of course, not
We handle crime otherwise.
' Well, why not handle our non
" military problems in a non
mfliUry way, or at least' in - a
democratic way?
Ltt's amaze everyone by elorlnr
Portland Radio Station
Plans Farming Service
PORTLAND, Dec, 25.-fls)-T h e
first radio farm service in Port
land wfll be established next
month by station KALE. Burton
S. nutton, former staffer at sta
tion KOAC in CorvaUis, win be
in charge. J -
(Continued From Page 1)
result, the flow of money at race
meets in 1944 broke alj records,
amounting to over $300,000,000.
. The same expansion was noted
in Portland for the dog races.
Some of the war activities like
financing of the war bond selling
campaigns were supported by
proceeds of special race' days;
also, the George A. White serv
ive men's center got j big lift
from this source. The state gen
eral fund gets only a trickle of
the many millions 'posted as bets
on "the dogs; but ten per, cent
goes tor county fairs and certain
' live stock shows and the Pendle
ton Roundup. Since most of these
events have shut down for the
duration, they have accumulated
a lot of money fir postwar
spending. These fairs will not
suffer from the suspension of
racing because of their ample
credits, but the Portland special
agencies will lose quite a chunk
of money. v-?:-'- ' -
By taking the state or units
of government into j partnership
for the sharing of the patronage
of man's vices, sponsors of race
' meets and paii-muiuel betting
have made themselves quite im
pregnable from' attack .on. moral
grounds. In Oregon1 there has
been no move to abolish pari,
mutuel betting since Senator
Staples led his ! gallant but un
successful attack in the 1937 leg
islature. . , ;
The war boards are not hesit
ating now to crack down sharply
as they see the necessity for add
ed restraints. WPBj has frozen
civilian production, stopping the
trend toward reconversion; the
manpower commission has im
posed fresh controls over labor
to hold workers at war jobs; the
OPA is renewing raUon controls
on meats and canned goods, with'
higher point-fcost forjmany terns.
The people, in thejir chastened
mood following reverses on the'
western front, win accept these
new orders without complaint, as
it were in' token of jtheir contri
tion over premature celebration
of victory. I hope they win not
be so quick to throw off these
restraints when the next news
of military success ! comes in.
Let's stay oo the job this time
until it really Is concluded.
esti-
presently is satisfactory, too,
largely due to the fact that re
' treating Germans left so much ,
1 behind. A'- "- "! i-;"f!t"if'"V;,v
Major Robert A. Cish, former
Cheyenne, Wyo, engineer and x
now commanding officer of dvH ,
affairs detachments, i estimated
the stock was sufficient for eight
weeks with the city's present
population of HOfiOO.) Under
German occupation Strasbourg
was the distributing center for
Alsace, hence the size; of the
reserves. Additional succlies of
- various kinds win be available
a. . . m ve a
wnenever vne uennani iau uacjc
and the waterfront and its ware
houses are freed from close range
" fire.," y ":- :,-: :'j-f .
Meanwhile, Strasbourg citizens
ration in France - 300 grams
dally. Property damage was rel
atively light, many shops and a
- number of restaurants have op
ened and retail trade has been
, resumed with German marks
and French francs both drculat-
; teg on the basis of 13 francs' to
one mark. The movement of ci
vilians stiH is sharply restricted,
however, and passes are required
to go from one. part of the city
to the other. v " '
There is no refugee problem
here in fact it is just the re
verse since many thnands of
German nationals fled across the
Rhine while bridges still were
available leaving the city's popu
lation below normal There still
are 5000 displaced persons here,
however Dutch, Polish, Czech
and Russian workers who grad
ually are being moved rearward
for eventual repatriation-
On the other hand it is
mated that 130,000 German na
tionals still are living in Stras
bourg. Whit to do with all of
them is a political problem com
plicated by the emotional reac
tion, of the French who live un
der German occupation. For the
time being the Germans are be-
ing closely watched. ; '
The city looks so near normal
during the daytime that it is
hard to get used to a 530 p m.
curfew.. Churches have asked
permision to resume midnight
mass forbidden during the Ger
man occupation but authorities
hesitate to lift the ban too soon.
The curfew was established be
cause of the proximity of the
Germans and the Germans still
are near.
The Germans themselves take
pains to remind the liberated city
that they are Just j across the
riverrnightly using hogcallers to
broadcast across the Rhine: r
: "Take down those French flags
you people. We! are coming
back." , : 1 ..." ; if ;r.
' However, that is just what
American . troops on this front
dont intend to permit
The ,:
Safety Valve
LETTERS FSOM STATESMAN
1EADEE3 -j i .
POSTWAK FLAMS BY SEKVICEMEM
- The Statesman publishes the fol
. ' lowing communication from pvt.
Donald C Ritchie, now to New Gui
nea, who writes in behalf of himself
and two other graduates of Salem
high school, aettinf forth their ideas
on "Postwar Planning" (or Salem.
FSOM A TENT Df
NEW GUINEA
There bis been an over-abun-,
dance lately of loose - talk and
- wild , speculations grouped under ,
the mass heading of "Postwar
Planning." There has been talk
of helicopters, and cooking elec-
- trically, : and gleaming homes
'with, little activity other than
button-pushing and artery
hardening. Yes, there has been
too much rainbow spinning. ,
. To many of us serving over
seas, all this Utopian chatter is
a serious waste, of time. Most of
all, we want to return hornet
and because you are our par
ents, wives and sweethearts , we
1 feel you Want this, too, most of
alL But, indeed, this is not
' enough. Salem is a wonderful
city. It I and its people and its
Institutions have endowed each
of its sons with a peculiar brand
(Continued on page 11)
JEWELRY
Craftsmanship ;
Frankly u . . we're proud of the excel
lent Jewelry manufacturing we are now
doing for the people of Salem and vi
cinity! All of 'tbjj work is done in our
own store by our own craftsmen. -
A full guarantee goes with each job
we do, whether it be setting a diamond.
or. overhauling a watch, If you have a
Jewelry , problem . let us help you
solve it!