Evening Star Newspaper, May 3, 1940, Page 15

Issues, Not Personalities, Feed War Toppling of Hitler Useless Without Nazi Antidote By DAVID LAWRENCE. Long after the scheme hatched in Pittsburgh to offer a $1,000,000 re- ward for the capture of Herr Hitler is forgotten, the reasoning which prompted Ppublication The theory | the present war has been coupled with the idea that if he were David Lawrence. eliminated peace would come. Again and again issues have been per- sonalized without regard to the fundamental problems that lie back of the issues. Few of the diplomats here who know Europe consider that the elimination of Hitler would mean peace. They recognize only too clearly that the German people are today supporting Hitler in war part- ly because of propaganda, to be sure, but mostly because patriotism is easily aroused when foreign armies and navies are threatening at the doors of the nation. It is, of course, easy to simplify the European war by centering its whole program around one man. But totalitarianism is not the creation of one man, nor does it stay in effect because one man wills it. Economic conditions give rise to dictatorships. If the German people wanted to get rid of Herr Hitler tomorrow they could readily do so. They exiled their emperor in 1918. The Russian revolutionists murdered their Czar during the last war. Until the Ger- man people believe that Herr Hitler slone stands between them and a genuine peace, they will cling to their present leader. Every bit of official information here points to that conclusion. The solidarity of the German people in war behind Hitler is one of the things some Americans may not believe is logical, but nevertheless it is a fact attested by every returning observer. Unified By Common Foe. Tt is true that a controlled press and suppression of freedom of speech have allowed only a pro- government point of view to develop in Germany, but it is also true that, when war is on and an external enemy is threatening, domestic dif- ferences are customarily sidetracked in favor of uniform support of the government in office. If the $1,000,000 which the Pitts- burgh folks have available were to be spent in an impartial study of the causes that led to the present war—the events of the postwar period and the mistakes of national and international policy between 1820 and 1930—much valuable light might possibly be shed on the best means of preserving peace when once the present war comes to an end. The issues are rarely personal, but impersonal. Herr Hitler saw the ruins of the infant German republic which struggled for a place in the sun, but which was loaded down by reparations payments and allied burdens that weakened the demo- cratic government in Berlin. The terrible inflation of 1923 brought economic chaos which by 1933 had created a fertile field for Nazi doc- trine and leadership. Herr Hitler capitalized the situation. If he were eliminated tomorrow, his successor in the Nazi ranks would rise prompt- Iy to rally the German people. Until Naziism is countered by something that the German nation considers more advantageous for its future, it will make little difference what the personnel of the government happens to be at Berlin. Applies to America, The same tendency to personalize 1ssues exists in America. Many people believe that radicalism would come THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, FRIDAY, The Capital Parade Obseryers Say American War Thinking Is Muddled, That Allies Kept Nazis From Main Objectives By JOSEPH ALSOP and ROBERT KINTNER. The reaction to the tragedy of Norway all too clearly suggests that American - thinking about the war is hardly less muddled than it was eight months ago, wh:n Hitler committed his orizinal aggression against Poland. The allies lose a few thousand men in an incomparably difficult campaign which they undertook only as a gamble, and it is widely coa- cluded that they have been finally defeated. Actually, American experts take the view that while the allies may have been slow and bungling, they succeeded in preventing the Germans from gaining-the main objectives of their Norwegian campaign. It is no longer doubted here that Hitler expected Norway to succumb almost as easily as Denmark did, and it is strongly suspected that if he had been able to keep to his timetable in Norway, Holland would have come next within a very short time. The time- table was completely disrupted, first by the British naval operations against German . transport in the Skagerrak and Kattegat, and then by the daring if finally unsuccessful ex- peditionary force led by Gen. Carton de Wiart. The fact that the Germans will Norway may have tremendous reper- cussions among the European neu- trals. It may even cause Neville Chamberlain to be replaced in the premiership by Lord Halifax. But the fact remains that the timetable was interrupted, and the chance for an easy grab in the low countries has apparently passed. Dutch Are Determined The Dutcn have renewed their determination to resist. Contrary to common report, their defensive lines and arrangements for flooding their country are regarded by the experts as quite adequate to delay seriously even the German force of almost a million men now on the Dutch frontier. Although the Belgians have refused commitments, it is taken for granted that on his hasty trip to The Hague during the crisis last November, King Leopold promised Queen Wilhelmina to- give passage to allied troops coming to Holland's aid. And the experts now believe that if the Germans do attempt an invasion of the low countries—the chances are put at about 1 per cent less than even—they will be stopped before they can reach their grand objective, the sea. In the tragedy of Norway the facts of war too rudely obtruded them- selves; the result has been a hysteria ot defeatism. On the other hand, thinking about the broad picture seems to be almost happy-go-lucky. It ought to be realized now, and realized by every one, that the war is likely to be very long, very horrible, and a very hard fight for the allies. In Western Europe, in addition to the low countries, there are many danger points in the Western Mediterranean where there will be trouble if Italy goes in. At the moment Mussolini is obviously considering joining the Germans. In the last war, when Paul Cambon was asked whether the Italians would join the allies, he replied, “Ah, Italy will fly to the aid of the victor.” ‘The Italian people, the King and the church are all holding him back, but Mussolini is known to be deeply impressed by German military power, and he will go in if he decides Germany is the victor. Thus Gibraltar, Tunis, the Balearic Islands, Pantelleria, Malta and the valley of the Po may all or severally succeed Trondheim and Dombas in the frantic head- lines. Three Stages of War The three-cornered Italo-Russo-German pact to neutralize the Balkans, sought by Hitler in the famous conference on the Brenner Pass, has not yet been concluded. Besides her Western Mediterranean ambi- tions, Italy has her eye on the Dalmatian coast of Yugoslavia, and on Greece and the Greek islands. Rus- sia, while dampened by her experi- ence in Finland, has not yet relin- quished her ambition to take Bes- sarabla. Thus the alternatives in the Balkans seem to be a blowing up of the powder-keg, which ‘would present many difficulties for the allies. or neutralization, which would assure Germany of many needed supplies, Omitting the dangers in the Far East, in fact, it is not improbable that at the end of the first stage of the war, the allies will either find themselves attacking a Germany which has achieved a peaceful domination of most of the European hinterland, or a Germany which is in actual physical control of most of the European continent. Then will come the second stage, when it will be seen whether the Germans can reduce the allies by use of air power. And after that test, which American experts expect the allies to survive, will come the third period of the application ofmt:\:vl;}:o‘ghde, which American experts still believe will probably end in al ry. ‘The moral i‘.: very simple, that this country ought to stop losing its head over temporary allied setbacks, and settle down to serious considera- tion of the long-term meaning of the war. One of the questions which might be pondered is how long the war can go on without producing gen- al economic chaos. . g (Released by the North American Newspaper Alliance, Inc.) to an end in America if President Roosevelt did not run for a third term. These observers ignore alto- gether the powerful forces that have given the New Deal its strength— the labor and agricultural groups. If Mr. Roosevelt doesn't run, a New Deal candidate, just as enthusiastic about his program as he is, will arise to seek support in his place. In the field of labor, the person- alized issues have grown even more dramatic. There are many who stand on the side lines who think the A. F. of L. and the C. I. O. could get together if it were not for the clash in personalities of William Green and John L. Lewis. Hence the cry for the elimination of them both has often been raised. But it is not the controlling factor. The cleavage between C. I. O. and A. F. of L. is deeper than mere personal- ities. It goes to fundamental issues. But it is often easier for the public to rationalize problems by person- alizing them, and hence there is a tendency to seek simplification by merely finding a way of disposing of the chief persons involved. Inevitably, the unsolved prob- lems which give demagogues their chance to win public power must be solved, and that’s where impar- tial minds and $1,000,000 for re- search would help democracy here and abroad find ways of restoring to peoples the power to make peace and keep it. For although the war has gone on for eight months, the whole world still waits to learn what is to be the basis for peace when once armies and navies and air- planes have exhausted themselves and bankrupted the treasuries of the belligerent governments. (Reproduction Rights Reserved.) Fellowcraft Dance The annual dance of the Fellow- craft Club, Mount Pleasant Lodge, No. 33, will be held tonight from 10 to 1 o'clock at Almas Temple. Here It Is/! The Nationally Famous Slecpy -Zime MARVEL CHAIR-BED With Deep Bedding Compartment Repeated by Request! A newly arrived shipment enables us to repeat last month’s sell-out event! S 3 EXTRAUSES Free Parking in Rear of Store Open Evenings until 9 P.M. ., trfll opinions of the writers on this page are thetr own, not necessarily The Star's. Such opinions are presented in The Star’s effort to give all sides readers, although such opinions o] questions of interest to its be_contradictory among themselves and directly opposed to The Star's. Washington Observations Edison’s Claim That Planes Have ‘Temporary’ Advantage Over Warships Backs ‘Billy’ Mitchell . By FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE. In Valhalla, or wherever the shade of Gen. Billy Mitchell disports itsel, there must be vast rejoicing over Secretary of the Navy Edison’s pro- nouncement that airplanes have at least a “tem- porary” advan- tage over battle- ships under modern . condi- tions of warfare. That bears out the Dbelligerent Billy’s conten- tion to his last gasp. Never un- til now, from so authoritative a source, has sup- port of his the- ory been forth-Frederic Willlam Wile. eoming. Mr. Edison does not go the length of backing the flying gen- eral's claim that aircraft has “doomed the battleship,” but, in proposing rebuilding of the “top- sides” in existing capital ships and “real basic changes” in the design of new ones, the Secretary goes far to sustain the Mitchell thesis. While Mr. Edison does not hold that air- craft can actually sink battleships, he believes bombers can seriously damage a ship’s controls. His opinions are based on observations during recent maneuvers in the Pa- cific, when at least one ship—the destroyer Warrington—theoretically was sunk “under him” while he was aboard, observing solution of a fleet problem. Throughout the airplane vs. battleship controversy, Mitchell did not lack naval supporters, but the preponderance of opinion in the service was against him. * x % % ‘War Proved Nothing Yet. Nothing in the present war, in- cluding the important role aircraft is playing in the Norwegian cam- paign, has proved whether Billy Mitchell was right or wrong. To date, the burden of evidence is against him. German bombers have scored innumerable hits on British warships of various types and done donsiderable damage, but no capital craft was sunk by air attack. Goer- ing’s mighty sky armada has yet to demonstrate it is the master of the British Navy. The feat of the “silent service” in covering the landing of the British Army in Norway, despite the combined efforts of German naval and air forces, at- tests that the ironclad rides su- preme, and that air power has still to establish its ability to destroy, or render impotent, the historic mission of the battleship. While Mr. Edison’s revelations and recom- mendations substantially bolster Billy Mitchell's view, events in the North Sea any day might blow it sky high. The Navy Secretary’s disclosures are bound to reopen the aircraft-battleship debate t the world, with actual developments in the northern war Zone probably destined to supply decisive evidence, pro or con. Mean- while, Uncle Sam continues to bet on the flofiting fortress, the battle- ship, as invincible, * X % % ‘War as Paramount Issue. Signs multiply that the war, as in 1916, may become the paramount campaign issue in 1940. Neither Democrats nor the Republicans will advocate American participation. Both, on the contrary, will vociferate that the United States must “keep out.” Sentiment on that score is overwhelming. It knows no party lines. The question is whether the war will keep out of us, now or eventually, and whether it may not GLENURQUHART PLAID TROPICAL SUITS $07.50 be the part of wisdom to take time by the forelock and help the allies— by all means “short of war”—to pre- vent Naz victory. Whether Roose- velt influence in the Democratic convention would seek to commit the party to relaxation of restric- tions which the Johnson and Neu- trality Acts place on credits to belligerents cannot today be fore- cast with any certainty. The Re- publicans seem far surer to choose both a nominee and platform, pledged to oppose an yaction directly or indirectly “pro-war,” as G. O. P. leaders would construe even a pro- gram labeled “methods short of war.” To date, the only Republican, avowed candidate or dark horse, to favor anything but outright isola- tonism is Wendell L. Willkie. Dewey, Taft, Vandenberg, Gannett and all other hopeful sons of the elephant are 100 per cent stay-out- of-war. At this writing, while pro- allies sentiment is unquestionably growing, the Republican viewpoint seems invincible. What it will look like in November—if a Hitler tri- umph should appear to be just around the corner—is something else again, * ok % x Baltimorean in East Indies. | Wallis, Duchess of Windsor, isn’t the only fair Baltimorean who may | be destined to play a stellar role in world affairs. The wife of the Gov- ernor General of the Dutch East Indies, Jonkheer A. W. L. Tjarda van Starkenborgh-Stachouwer, is the former Baltimore beauty, Chris- tina Marburg, daughter of the United States Minister to Belgium in 1912-4¢. Mr. Marburg is occasion- ally described as the patentee of the League of Nations idea. The one- time Maryland belle has presided since 1936 over the Governor Gen- eral's palace at Batavia. Jonkheer Tjarda van Starkenborgh-Stachou- | wer and his American consort are | viceregal rulers of an empire of nearly 70,000,000 souls and an area of 735,000 square miles. * % x % Garner Boom® Exploded? Politicians think the Garner boom has been deflated by the Texas har- | mony pact with the Roosevelt third- termers. Recent primary results showing the President’s overwhelm- ing popularity, as compared to “Cactus Jack’s” appeal to the Demo- cratic rank and file, had already pretty well torpedoed the Vice President’s cause. The peace treaty, negotiated by House Majority Leader Sam Rayburn and Texas Represent- ative Lyndon Johnson, is considered to have sunk Garner without trace. | Some third-term enthusiasts indulge in wishful conviction that the draft- ing of F. D. R. is now a first ballot certainty at Chicago, if he's not nominated by acclamation. The | Garner boom never really “took” as & Nation-wide proposition. Not only did many Democrats look upon the picturesque Texan as ineligible, be- cause of age; incapacity for the White House job at this time, or other reasons, but the New Deal ultra-faithful accuse him of infidel~ ity to the “boss.” The charge is often leveled in the same quarters against Jim Farley, but both the V. P. and P. M. G. proceeded on the theory that Roosevelt was never out | to succeed himself. Young Soldier Looks Ahead His father having planted an or- chard before enlisting for World War I and finding all the trees full | grown when he réturned, a youth | has planted another in Australia and enlisted in Melbourne for the pres- | ent conflict. | French fleet was worrving them, but the addition of important British OPEN THIS EVENING ‘TIL 9 P.M. s the greatest space and Mosey Saver we have ever ofiered The Marvel CaairBod instantly changes ot will o 0 CHAISE LOUNGE or @ COMFORTABLE INNERSPRING BED. As an upholsiered Living toom chair. it adds lasting beauty and comiort te your home and 1o 1op it o the Marvel ChairBed hass & roemy compartment for bedding or general slorage space. You bet if's @ sensation that will give real service and save its entire cost for you by giving all fous uses a1 the price of onel Get your Marvel ChairBed Toda sithout fofl! Easy Choice of Many Covers and Colors! PEERLESS 817-819-821 7TH ST. NW. $27.50. G VIO VOGN NN 6 INTD G MINTD MO G M0 6N 6D G MNTD G MNL) 6 NTD VINTD M0 W EATURED in the above illus- tration is .one of the smartest summer suits of the season—the popular Glen Plaid, available here in the season’s new versions of Gray and Tan. They are also shown in soft pastel shades of Sun Tan, Dove and Pearl Gray, Wood Brown and Navy Blue. Styles are both single and double breasted. As fine a value as we have ever shown at "LEWIS & THOS. SALTZ |: 1409 G STREET N. W. NOT CONNECTED WITH SALTZ BROS, INC. INC. CAHRAICHRMAD CAMLICHIAI LI LA CHIAI CIRAI CHMAI CHRAI LI I IR b This Changing World The Real War, Involving Millions of Men, Believed Likely to Begin This Month By CONSTANTINE BROWN., ‘The real war is by way of beginning only now. Poland, Finland, Den- mark, Norway and the various sea encounters have been only appetizers— power tests in which the Axis powers have won on points. The real battles involving millions of men will start this month, and, according to observers Wwho have just returned from abroad, will continue relentlessly until fall. The Norwegian episode will become a side show as soon as the blows begin to fall comewhere else. And that “somewhere else” is taken in order of precedence as follows: An Italian campaign in the Mediterranean, ¢ a German campaign against Hol- land, Belgium or Switzerland and finally an attempt on the part of the Germans to break through the Maginot Line. The allied high command has . received information that II Duce will join bhis axis partner in the course of this month. Where the Italians will strike is, of course, un- known. But the following points are considered the most likely: Greece, where landings at Salonika can be made without much trouble and invasion from Albania comparatively easy; An air attack against Bizerta, which is a thorn in Italy’s side because it harbors the main French submarine force, and A sea and air attack by the Italians and a land offensive by the Spaniards against Gibraltar. ‘There is a fourth possibility: renaica. Allied Fleet Move an Indication . The massing of a strong allied naval force in the Eastern Mediter- ranean, after Signor Mussolini had given some vague assurances to Am- bassador William Phillips Wednesday that Italy will not change her status for the present, is considered in authoritative quarters here as indicative of the situation. While the British and the French recognize the present superiority of the Germans, they have a poor opinion of the Italians’ fighting ability. This is based not so much on the military inferiority of the Italian soldiers and their equipment as on the fact that the Italian people don’t want war. The allies want to be prepared for any emergency in the Mediter- ranean; they want to hit hard and hit suddenly if Mussolini makes the slightest bellicose gesture. The French aré confident—some say overconfident—that they can defeat the Italians without trouble. The numerical inferiority of the An attack against Egypt from Cy- units gives them a superiority which they believe cannot be met by the Italians. Hence, while operations against Greece alone would assure Mussolini a quick victory, if the allies are present it might well be a different story. The plans of the allied military headquarters have dove-tailed for the first time with those of the dip- lomats. Both groups agree that a setback for Mussolini’s plans would have a tremendous repercussion on the Balkans and countries like Ru- mania and Yugoslavia, which heretofore have been cowed by the Ger- mans’ successes. The Russians, too, might be willing to join a victorious | allied army. Preparing for Italian Moves According to reports dating back several weeks the French have been busy strengthening their forces on the Italian frontier, while Gen. Wey- gand, who has visited Paris twice during the last three weeks, is reported to have started transferring some of his divisions to Thrace whence they could be sent by rail to Salonika to bolster Greek resistance. The French generals in particular feel that they can wage a campaign against Italy with the greatest of ease and the political results as far as the Balkans are concerned would be of such import that all the present success of the Germans would be nullified. The Balkans are the granary of the Reich; they also provide large quantities of oil and other raw materials for the prosecution of the war. Most of the Danubian countries are strongly sympathetic to the allies, but have not dared budge because they all saw what happened to Poland | | and Czecho-Slovakia. tor of laws by Franklin and Mar- shall College. Dr. John A. Schaeffer, president By the Associated Press. of the college, announced the pres- LANCASTER, Pa., May 3.—Robert | entation will be made at the 153d McLean, president of the Associated | 81nual commencement June 5. Press and president of the Phila- S RN G delphia Evening Bulletin, Wil be | jnieenny 1 e, Tave, been awarded an honorary degree of doc- war started. Robert McLean to Get Doctor of Laws Degree A Roosevelt Supports Taft Alice Longworth Speaks Up for Ohio Senator By CHARLES G. ROSS. That is an extremely readable piece in this week's Saturday Eve- ning Post in which Mrs. Alice Roosevelt Longworth asks “What's the matter with Bob Taft?” and answers that ¢ Bob is all right. It was just 28 yeaTs ago, as Mrs. Longworth recalls, that her father, the first Roosevelt, was locked with the father of Sena- tor Taft in that bitter, history- making Repub-~ lican fight that 7 eventuated in Charles G. Ress. the clection of the Democrat Woodrow Wilson to the presidency. Now Mrs. Long- worth is doing her political and drawing room best—which, on both counts, is a considerable best—to make Bob Taft President. ‘Whatever one's politics, there's something appealing in this latest evidence of the happy ending of the Roosevelt-Taft feud and some- thing, too, as Mrs. Longworth sug=- gests, to stir one’s pride in a demo- cratic system where hard blows are given and taken without “lasting wounds of the spirit.” B Friend Active for Dewey. If Mrs. Longworth’s support of Senator Taft adds piquancy to the pre-convention Republican cam- paign, so also does the fact that one of her warmest friends, Mrs. Ruth Hanna McCormick Simms, the daughter of Mark Hanna, is equally devoted to the cause of Tom Dewey. Washington rumor has assigned to the dynamic Mrs. Simms the role of chief financial “angel” of the Dewey campaign. This part she has disavowed; she has, however, poured her abundant energies into the cam- paign, of which she is co-manager. If Dewey is elected he will owe as much to Mrs. Simms as to anybocy else and undoubtedly she will ke one of the powers near the throre. It's odd to see these two o friends, Ruth and Alice, fellow c-r spirators in the fight that kept ti- United States out of the Leagu~ ¢ Nations, now on opposite sides o the political fence. Back in 1927, when Mrs. Simms. then Mrs. McCormick, was the R"- publican national committeewom: 1 from Illinois and was getting res: to run for Congress (she was electc to the House in '28), I wrote thet she and Mrs. Longworth were the cleverest two woman politicians at the Capital. There was then this difference: Mark Hanna's daughter was in the thick of the fray, the boss of a sizable political machine in her home State; T. R.'s daughter used her influence strictly behind the scenes. Time has wiped out the difference. Mrs. Longworth, on the firing line for Bob Taft, will go to the Philadelphia convention as one | HERZOG o THE STORE FOR MEN We expect a big year... so we have prepared a big, big stock of fine Gabardine "SUITS FOR MEN e GABARDINE SUITS that include many new ideas that distinguish them from those of past sea- sons. 1940 MODELS. NEW 1940 SHADES. ¢ Greys, Greens, :r,amu All sizes, of course. Budget and Charge Accounts Invited MANHATTAN SHIRTS INTERWOVEN HOSE o ROW SHIRTS @ MALLORY HATS INT CLOTHES @ NUNN-BUSH SHOES | of the delegates at large from Ohio. | Disagrees, Too, With Brother. | But it isn’t alone with Mrs. Simms that Alice Longworth—politically |and for the time being only— finds herself in disagreement. Her | brother, Theodore Roosevelt, jr., i3 in the Dewey camp. They are in- dividualists, these Roosevelts, both the T. R. and the F. D. R. variety. If Col. Roosevelt goes to the Re- publican convention, as he will if he follows his custom, there ought |to be a good shot for the news photographers in Alice carrying a banner for Bob and Ted whooping | it up for Tom. Mrs. Longworth’s sympathetic | picture of Bob Taft gives a good | idea of the man. (I hasten to add, iin self-protection, that this friendly word of mine concerning Mr. Taft is not to be construed as telling the Republican party whom it ought to nominate.) He is a hard worker; he gives the impression of entire sincerity; he “sticks his neck out” on virtually every issue that comes along; quizzed by reporters, he has the refreshing quality, upon occa- sion, of frankly saying “I don't know,” instead of throwing off a lot of inanities. Though he is no speech-making genius, and he doesn’t pretend to be, some of the reports that went out from Washington after his Gridiron Club “flop"—which Mrs. Longworth mentions — gave a wrong impression. His speeches are adequate. They are not polished and slicked up, but they express clearly enough what he has to say. In the Senate debate over the arms em- bargo, when, breaking with the ma- jority of his Republican colleagues, he voted for embargo repeal, he gave a thoroughly good account of himself. No master of the witty comeback, somewhat on the pon- derous side, he has yet managed by a certain ingenuousness to es- cape serious damage even at the hands of such an expert heckler as Senator Tob Connally, who has made him a special target. Defends as ‘Own Speeeches. | “He may make some poor | speeches,” says Mrs. Longworth, but, she adds, and you can imag- | ine the malicious glint in her {eye, “at least they are his own. Look at the record of the glamour boys. Look at the record of the glamour President.” ‘What are Senator Taft’s chances? Mrs. Longworth doesn't go into de- talls. She only asks the reader not to be “fooled” by his sedate methods. “Quietly and methodically he is going about the business of getting the nomination.” That says about all that can now be safely said. His managers claim he will ‘go into the convention with 350 to 375 delegates. They say he will have more than Dewey. It is expected that Herbert Hoover will control the votes of around 100, that the Lan- don-Knox combination will be able to swing a subsbtantial block, that the millionaire oil man of Pennsyl- vania, Joe Pew, will have the dis- posal of the 75 votes of that State. If you knew what these poli- ticians were going to do you would probably know the name of the Re- publican nominee. You might know it if you had the confidence of Mr. Pew alone.