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About The Oregon statesman. (Salem, Or.) 1916-1980 | View Entire Issue (May 8, 1945)
fags inns THE OISGOII STATESMAN. SALDL OSEGOII SD pes i F a e : tOoo g e i U : h s Germans Will COmiANDER-IN-nnEF OF US FORCES at Nation's Ruin j Restoration of Beaten Siuntry's Economy Is ne of Ma jor Tasks i By LOUIS P. LOCTTNER S (Former Chief of The Associated A j- Press Bureau, Berlin) AP Features V-DAY EDITIOri Be Appalled - r 1 The United Nations face a whale f a Job to put German economy back on a somewhat workable looting. The German v people themselves will probably, be ap palled when they learn the full facts of nazi economic mismanage ment ' r ; 1 Adolf Hitler set aside all an proved economic principles by de creeing that the German reichs 1 mark was backed r- solely by the la- ... s nor or i iArmnn hands. In real t ity, it was backed by loot and rob- jfbery first of the Jews, then sue cessively of t h e : : churches, the ac- U - z'c u m u 1 itcd liV ' ; wealth of coun j X r"i r'es which came InrX v ix under German Louis lochner "protecUon and finally, the pos sessions, both private and public. of occupied and conquered coun tries. To put German economy back on a sound basis will be one of the first tasks of the United Na tions. ' ! Food And Supplies ' Consumers' goods will be a cry Ins needs in defeated Germany:' doubt whether any other country of the world that prided itself on the processing of materials from the raw to the finished state has ever so completely depleted its warehouses, its shop windows, its store, shelves, as has Hitler's Ger many. - ' : .. Going to a department store, or a clothing firm, or a toy-shop, dr i even , a drinking emporium it is ' always the same picture of empty 1 shelves, of lacking goods and des Franklin D. Roosevelt, who as pre!- the dent of United States was commas- der- la -chief . ' t l - j of t h I a na- j tlon's ; army j :! i ! . " 1 j and navy , la ' ! : .iJ H the; greatest : v - f.i : i j ij of all wars. uously opposed to continuing the German army. But foreign pressure prevailed, and a professional army was the result. This professional army naturally had, hold-over officers from the imperial regime as its nucleus. Moreover, by insisting upon a 12-year enlistment, the al lies themselves by their short sightedness in this regard raised a group of privates, every one of whom was well qualified to be come a drill sergeant when Hit ler changed over to universal mil itary training. World War I Cost j 31,809j Square' Miles Germany's Territory ! AP Features The vicio; , i rious : allies under terms of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 j lopped 31,809 j square miles from German territory and transferred Jthe 6,47 1,53 1 residents of the affected areas to other na tions. The largest cession was the L transfer of, Alsace-Lorraine (5,- 604 souarel miles) i to i France, u olate depletion. Even when we i last Americans left' Germany;, in "iMay, 1941, the simplest. commodi : j ties associated with civilized life j were wanting thread, toothpaste, wrapping paper, soap, shoestrings, . men's suspenders, buttons, floor wax, leather goods of every kind, 1 laxatives and other medicaments, J electric light bulbs, batteries jfor pocket lambs, or what-have-you. I Food Plicht Worse' 4 I 1 Worse even was: the plight of stores dealing with articles of food. My audiences during my lecture tours the past yean, were often startled when I enumerated to them which of the fruits, vegeta bles dairy and meat products which I had seen on display in the shops of the city visited, were simply non-existent in Germany. It is true, that the nazis saw to it that, before they themselves suffered want or their own popu lations starVed, the rest of Europe .was stripped of everything in the way of food that could be carried off to the reich. But even at that, the German people,' too, went to bed hungry. Rickety, puny chil dren were ushered into the world. Master race production continued only in the nazi hierarchy, j Unscrambling Eeonemy Another terrific economic j task awaiting the United Nations is that of unscrambling the omelette - which the nazis have prepared by their ousting of rightful owners, both at home and abroad, of bus inesses, manufacturing plants, and instiutions. Just how to trace the real owners, where to find i their heirs if they have meanwhile been shot or have died, how to separate Into their component parts under - takings .welded into a seemingly indissoluble whole by the nazis from a number of diversified nlant all this will Drove Her- ; culean task.. . -,' I - t The magnitude, of the political ' problem, to . my mind, depends upon the degree to which we may have encouraged democratic un derground leaders, r - The democratic elements in Ger many are there, there can be no , doubt. ": -'J i ' ' End ef Professional Army ! German bureaucracy Is I much like that of all other countries: it i nhova and carries out orders y this I mean the lower brackets of the huge bureaucratic army that tat Dossesses. Given de termined democratic leadership. these run - of - the-mine German rivil servants will do their assign ed tasks faithfully. For all high- J r nfficiML of course, dependable democrats will have to and can be found. The chief military ; problem rfcirh th United Nations will find In Germany is that of really and r ii 1 eliminating , the military ' caste. :-.Vv :.';,'V'V It was a great mistake at the end i f the last war to .foist a profes mrm Boon , the - German 'people. : . . - ' German Army . Oppeeed Th lrpesf Dolitical party, the - t iwimocratic. from whose ranks were chosen men like the first president, Friedrich Elbert; first chancellor. Phllipp Scnel- demann,- and the first defense minister, Gustav Noske, was stren- j 4? - f it 0 THOSE WHO 1 II i ToTTfT GAVE ALU. Here they' HeT Guard themlwell with your life, Gentry eveaas'theyi guarded that for which we are fight ing, with their ownjj , A Peace is theirs. Let it not bcdiA - ! curbed, sentry, even as" the peace tKcyT died to secure for all mankind shall' . - : l ;.: j i i . '-I- - K . 'j j1 - - i 1 once 1 won be T undisturbed! to! future years by murderous marauders' . " !! 1; j ; ; ; such as we have known. . And "we . who tivei letTtis' da more than bow our heads' tn7ever '. ' - -11" N;- i -1 ence. It is for us to make "any sacrifice to quicken Victory. ; j s it I r, 1 SALLY'S Corner Court and Liberty j Salem L: i , J SJ 11'--. i , I r s 5. : ' m -,'' r 1 ft si - - j t. v:.-4v 1 a 7 , ; r mm Yj6TuVpldoneQrand job . "Believe m7 you gave us wharwe needed t-.. ohd plenty cJoooot) i "And We know how.you saved and sacrificed rr. worked overtime..: i 'I i ! !! !: .4 v. -4. i 4 i f'You'd Understand what I mean, if you'd seen-Joecomeibackiafte tney gave mm a snoi 91 uwww piumM ...j "Maybe itWas your bloods.:- ! , "Thanks" too tor the letters they helped, juslremembef yhatvp! were ngnnng ror . . "But ;. . can't stop to tell you more now Vr. WeWgoMa clean up tho Japs . V . and quick with your help 1 o Ifccpup fhoGoodAVcrfr, FoHrs. Don.'f ioLHim Povn JEVILERS OPTOMETRISTS qf i' M ; Ed:nf Ore. lit- -v." 1 1. wv. ! j4"c 1