26 104:
: VG June 28. 1947
(Can Dollars
that
5 Save Ejurope? oS =| BY BLAIR BOLLES | Oss Es Ds : ee
ANS
bigotry in B_Flat p) %
BY HOWARD SUTTON
* x and 3 Meet Our Greek Allies { BY CONSTANTINE POULOS Ye w |
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IN EARLY ISSUES OF THE NATION
Charles Abrams
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RACE BIAS in HOUSING
A documented, authoritative, and informative series in which Mr. Abrams will sug- gest definitive measures, legislative and otherwise, for overcomiag the bigotry in housing. His three articles will cover “The Great Hypocrisy,” an analysis of bias in past and present housing; ‘Public and Private Segregation,” showing how the racial tolerance upheld by public-housing authorities has been more successful than the prejudices of private owners; and “A Working Plan.”
Harold J. Laski
HAS EUROPE A FUTURE? THE AMERICAN CENTURY ANALYSIS OF RUSSIAN PROBLEMS
Constantine Poulos
Two additional articles in his brilliant series which
THE FUTURE ECONOMY of the NEAR EAST THE ANATOMY OF THE REACTION
[In Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Rumania, and Czechoslovakia]
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AMERICA’S LEADING LIBERAL
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WEEKLY SINC8B
VOLUME 164
NEW YORK + SATURDAY «+ JUNE 238, 1947
NuMBER 26
The Shape of Things
THE PRESIDENT’S VETO OF THE LABOR BILL has drawn a sharp issue at a point where it should be drawn. Had political considerations and the knowledge that he would almost certainly be overridden induced him to let the bill pass into law unchallenged, then the direst prophesies of an inevitable reactionary trend would have been fulfilled. He has given American liberalism the fighting chance that it seemed to have lost with the death of Roosevelt. Not only did his action unite all branches of the labor movement as a potentially power- ful political force, but his clear-headed analysis of a bad bill was a hopeful sign that the Administration was get- ting back on the Roosevelt trail. Until now, President Truman, in the interests of a phony conception of na- tional unity, has attempted a working compromise with the reactionary forces of both parties which are in effec- tive control of Congress. The Republicans and Southern Democrats should perhaps be thanked for putting their position so baldly that, this time, compromise was impos- sible. Now the fight begins, and it will carry on until the votes are counted in '48. What must be remembered is that the battle cannot be won by vetoes. A bad bill has become bad law, and we may expect the consequences the President predicted. But the resultant industrial strife must not distract the labor and liberal movement from the main task before it—the task of sending to Congress in 1948 men who would be incapable of repeating what the nation has witnessed in Washington this last weck.
+ TO THE REPUBLICANS, TAX REDUCTION IS
the supreme political issue, and it is not surprising that they are both angered and dismayed by the President's veto of H. R. 1. However, their wrath must have de- stroyed their sense of logic or they would not, in one breath, denounce Mr. Truman's action as ‘‘sheer poli- tics” and claim it will insure their own triumph in 1948. Actually, politics can hardly have been a motive for the veto, since tax cuts are always popular, and in this case, while they would have applied on an inequitable basis, they would also have been widely spread. We believe, therefore, that Mr. Truman deserves credit for both courage and sincerity in challenging Congrcss on this issue, although we are not prepared wholly to indorse
his reasoning. The message accompanying the veto de-
clared that the bill represented ‘the wrong kind of tax reduction at the wrong time.’’ We agree with the first part of the sentence but are not convinced that this is the wrong time for some reduction in the government's “take” from the national income. Mr. Truman cited figures showing that we are still on the crest of the boom, with the economy still subject to inflationary pres- sures. But signs indicate that by fall, when tax reduction would begin to have an effect, deflationary forces may be gaining the upper hand. In this event, additional effec- tive purchasing power in the pockets of consumers might prove a useful stabilizing factor. That would require, however, a bill very different from the one just vetoed.
»* HARD UPON THE GREEK GOVERNMENT'S
note to tlfe United States promising the fullest coopera- tion in carrying out the American-financed $300,000,000 rehabilitation plan came the word that seventeen former E. L. A. S. soldiers had been executed in the Aegina Island fortress. This news should be read as a footnote to the article by Constantine Poulos on another page of this issue. It is significant that these men had been under sentence for two years and that their execution had been stayed by protests from the British Labor Party and fifty members of the British Parliament. But America is far away, its Congress not so sensitive to acts of tyranny this side of the iron curtain. And anyway, is not the Greek government the sagging bulwark of democracy that we are determined to shore up? The Greek government, in its note to us expressing its willingness to have us vir- tually take over the running of its economy, stressed its determination to compose internal differences. But how this was to be done was clarified in another section of the note: ‘Aid given for military purposes will be used for the restoration and maintenance of internal order.’’ Nothing could be clearer. Full partnership in the eco- nomic reconstruction of Greece involves also full part- nership in the policy of a regime which, since “‘libera- tion,” directed a campaign of terror against all who oppose it. Is this acceptable to the American people? Can we with a straight face and a clear conscience urge an inter- national bill of rights at Lake Success and actively sup- port the violation of the elementary rights of human beings in Athens?
by Jack Barrett
Editor and Publisher: Freda Kirchwey Managing Editor Literary Editor J. King Gordon Margaret Marshall European Editor: J. Alvarez del Vayo Associate Editor: Robert Bendiner Financtal Editor: Keith Hutchison Drama: Joseph Wood Krutch Muastc: B. H. Haggin Staff Contributors Reinhold Niebuhr, Carey McWilliams, Aylmer Vallance Maxwell S. Stewart, Ralph Bates Assistant Managing Editor: Jerry Tallmer Copy Editor; Gladys Whiteside Assistant Literary Editor: Caroline Whiting Research Editor: Doris W. Tanz
Business Manager: Hugo Van Arx Advertising Manager: William B. Brown Director of Nation Associates: Lillie Shultz
The Nation, published weekly and copyrighted, 1947, in the U. S. A. by The Nation Associates, Inc., 20 Vesey St.. New York 7, N. Y. Entered as second-class matter, December 13, 1879, at the Post Office of New York, N. Y., under the act of March 8, 1879. Advertising and Circulation Representative for Continental Europe: Publicitas, Lausanne, Switzerland. Subseription Prices: Domestic—One year $6; Two years $10; Three years $14. Additional nostage per year: Foreign and Canadian $1.
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Information to Libraries: The Nation is indexed in Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature, Book Review Digest, Index to 4 Articles, Public Affairs Information Service, Dramatie Index.
756 ¢ IN THIS ISSUE - | COVER Cartoon by Oscar Berger EDITORIALS The Shape of Things 755 Human Rights 757 A Slight Case of Murder 757 | Marketing the Plan by Freda Kitchwey 758 ARTICLES Can Our Dollars Save Europe? by Blair Bolles 759 Meet Our Greek Allies by Constantine Poulos 761 The 250 Industrial Giants by Fritz Sternberg 763 Perén’s Expanding Empire by Albert C. Hicks 765 The Chinese Students by Jean Lyon 767 | Bigotry in B-Flat | How the Berkshires Face the Music by Horace Sutton 768 Socialist Troubles by Del Vayo 770 | Everybody's Business: Shifting the Tax Burden | by Keith Hutchison 771 BOOKS AND THE ARTS American Author’s Authority—Round II by Anthony Bower Wie 1 Stalag Luft A Poem by Randall Jarrell 773 | Notes by the Way by Margaret Marshall 74 | Metaphysical or So by John Berryman 775 Understanding Russia by Keith Hutchison 776 | | Memorandum by W. J. Gold et an Film Note by James Agee 778 | Music by B. H. Haggin 779 | LETTERS TO THE EDITORS 780 CROSSWORD PUZZLE No. 217 is |
The NATION DE GASPERI WON A FORMAL VICTORY BUT AT
the price of a moral defeat when, last Saturday, he suc- ceeded in dragging from the Italian Constituent Assem- bly the dozen votes necessary to continue him in power behind the facade of a representative goverament. With that vote the “Chancellor,” as he is acidly called in Avanti, can hardly pretend to govern in the name of a democratic though anti-Socialist majority. His painfully assembled support is the weakest, shakiest, and most heterogeneous on which he has ever stood. It is formed in part of men who had nothing to do with the Libera- tion, who at heart are against the Republic, and whom a more severe anti-fascist policy would have sent to the tribunals rather than to Parliament. De Gasperi may te- main the hero of the Vatican and of Washington, but during this crisis he has forfeited all genuine republican backing. He has thrown himself definitely into the arms of the right, and it is only the right that can continue to carry him. The double role that De Gasperi once seemed eager to play, of a conservative politician leading a pro- gressive coalition, is now finished. He has failed to bring to his side those moderate elements of the left which he hoped to win by playing them off against Togliatti and Nenni. In the Assembly last Saturday he found the en- tire left impressively united against him. Although a few abstentions from those benches helped him win his vote of confidence, this is not a precedent on which he can rely. At the first showdown on major policy, those few will follow their parties’ line and turn against De Gasperi, Perhaps he will be saved by the single vote of Giannini, the semi-fascist leader of !'Uomo Qualunque. But these favors of chance will not help him achieve his main purpose in clinging to power—to delay the gen- eral election and prevent the defeat of his party.
ys
NO LARGER THAN A LADY'S HAND, BUT clearly visible, is the shadow cast by the coming visit of Eva Duarte Perén to the British Isles. An embarrassed Foreign Office, helpless to prevent the invasion, must also give a convincing demonstration of welcome. For Argentina is not only tied to England by old bonds, eco- nomic and diplomatic; it is also today as during the war an indispensable source of food for hungry Britons. To refuse a polite reception to Sefiora Perén would be un- thinkable. At the same time the anti-fascist sentiment of the British people is already expressing itself in hearty press attacks both on the lady and on the government's plans for receiving her. The Sunday Pictorial drew an official rebuke when it charged that members of Parlia- ment were concerned because Sefiora Perén, ‘‘the wife of a fascist dictator,” would arrive in Britain “fresh from a triumphant reception in Franco's Spain,” where she “pro- duced the fascist salute on the slightest pretext.”’ But left- wing rumors indicate that the energetic Eva expects more
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lune 28, 1947
substantial rewards from Britain than the perfumes, jewels, and honors showered on her in Spain. She in- tends to make sure that she is cut in, personally, on all the contracts for Argentine products now being made in England. This may be distasteful—as well as expensive —for British business men of old-fashioned habits, but they cannot afford to be squeamish; nor can the govern- ment. Eva wants money, and England needs meat; and neither propriety nor democratic sentiment is likely to interfere with the success of her visit.
Human Rights
O FORMULATE a declaration of human rights in y ee year 1947 may appear to be a task fit only for philosophers or fools. The nineteenth century, tracing ils springs of action to the American, the French, and the Industrial Revolution, found it easy to describe human liberty in terms of a man’s freedom from oppression by state, church, or other men. The individualism that ex- pressed itself economically in the ascendant capitalist system was the counterpart of mineteenth-century polit- ical liberalism. But today, the rise of socialism, the emergence of new social concepts in economics and gov- ernment, the recognition of rights that a man may claim as a member of society make a generally acceptable decla- ration of rights much more difficult. In fact, it would seem virtually impossible to work out a definition that would satisfy an American, an Englishman, a French- man, and a Russian. An American may claim the right to free speech, to free association, to freedom of worship. But can he claim the right to work or the right to health or to the means of health? And can a Russian, whose security is bound up in his relations to the state, claim the right of protest against what he may conceive to be the unjust powers of that state?
Back of the discussions in the drafting committee of the Human Rights Commission which has been in ses- sion for two weeks, these conflicting concepts of right and liberty lie waiting to assert themselves. A distin- guished group of delegates from the United States, Rus- sia, England, Lebanon, France, Chile, China, and Aus- tralia has been attempting to formulate not one but two statements. On the initiative of Britain, the delegates have been seriously debating a draft Convention of Human Rights which, once passed by the General As- sembly and ratified by member states, would be enforce- able as international law. All have agreed that however worthy this attempt—and it is significant that it is being made—the road ahead is a long and hard one. Would the United States, for example, be prepared to accept an international convention against race discrimination? Would the federal government, which has in the past proved helpless in such instances, be prepared to have a
757
lynching in South Carolina branded as an international crume within the jurisdiction of an international court?
The other statement of human rights, while bound to encounter many difficulties, is more modest in its aims. The statement would be in fact a Declaration of Human Rights which, in the words of one delegate, would con- stitute a “matrix from which subsequent conventions would naturally grow.”’ The basis for such a declaration is to be found in a draft prepared with great care by the secretariat of the United Nations. The advantage of the secretariat draft is that it was written after a careful study of bills of rights written into existing national con- stitutions. Social rights as weil as individual rights are in- cluded. Unfortunately, this draft was considered too long and too detailed, and Professor Cassin of France was given the thankless task of “boiling down” the state- ment into a briefer and more general form. The danger is that in the boiling-down process the meat and the marrow of the original will have been boiled out. Another large pious statement will represent no advance toward binding international law. On the other hand, a firm declaration of rights, passed by the General Assem- bly, while having no legal force, will be bound to exert a considerable moral influence. Before the delegates come together for the Human Rights Commission meet- ing in August, it is to be hoped that they will all study seriously the secretariat’s document, to see if the subcom-
muttee’s work cannot be substantially strengthened.
A Slight Case of Murder
T: House last week gave the coup de grace to fed- eral public housing. The spot was choice, the blow deft, but the hand that delivered it was the buildine- and-loan lobby’s. Whether housing survives or not is now up to the Senate.
Nom her asvasto&b
The lobby, which makes it a point to get its 1 associations to hire Congressmen as its lawyers or offi- cers, first influenced a House investigation into the Fed- eral Public Housing Authority. The andings sound like a dossier by our Puritan fathers, and a few little P-1 clerks may now lose their heads for drinking in public. The “scandal,” released at the strategic moment, formed part of the committee recommendations to slice a third off FPHA’s administrative budget and double the re- quired contribution of the citics in tax exernption.
But the most serious blow is the redaction from §7,-
200.000 to $2,200,000 in annual subsidies due to local housing authorities and the requirement that their re- serves, which are set up annually to cover future rent losses and repairs, be sliced in half.
This may seem harmless, but maintenance of the te- serves and payment by the government of the annual
subsidies is part of the bargain with private lenders,
‘ Savy i ) iI y ) nage ‘ ’ , in-A uncial formula. It has called upon Europe 4 4 ; ' ‘ > 7. rr “yer ‘ ‘ —- see [ if T¢ » reach an agreement AS ) Wale requirements F ' ‘ - st } } wn > than =) 7 ition and the par those countries tem i
sclve n order to give proper effect to what- ever act taken by the American government.” The Administ: n knows, too, that the American public was repelled by the brassy suggestion of a crusade in the Truman Doctrine and by the disclosure that Amer- ica intended to keep the ‘‘free” peoples of Greece and Turkey ler the tive tyrants then haphazardly op- pressing them in order to save them from Russia or from native Communists. It is trying to win over publ: 0} s that seem to offer the hope Ola g I l
Most important of all, the Administration has learned that the « lic plight of Europe is the result of
. th; lac ) an . teuw + Lemme > , something besides Russian deviltry. It seems to have
been caused by the war. So the situation is subject to improvement without the sound effects of moral dia- tribes shouted in the direction of Moscow.
Nevertheless, a man in the inner circles of the State Department laughed when I asked him if the Marshall proposal was a departure from the Truman Doctrine. He said no, and he was right, so far as the ultimate purpose of both is concerned. Both were conceived as a way to stop Russia without war. That is the all consuming passion in the State, War, and Navy depart- ments.
To strengthen the government for the capitalist strug- Zle against communism, Marshall is bringing in two Wall Street men as his top assistants; Robert Lovett is to become Under Secretary of State on July 1, and Charles E. Salzman, vice-president of the Stock Exchange, was mominated yesterday to be Assistant Secretary of State in charge of occupation affairs (German, Austrian, Jap anese, and Korean).
The Soviet government's acceptance of the invitation of Bevin and Bidault to join in a conference to discuss how the American dollars can best be spent may mark the beginning, not of a new peaceful rclation- ship between the two intransigent Brobdingnagians but of a new phase of their struggle. All Europe, not merely the eastern or the western portion, may now be the prize. If Europe, including Russia, agrees on a plan for utilizing American aid, the United States will be able to circulate freely in Danubia, but at the same time Russia will have an opportunity to spread its benefits through the countries fringing the Bay of Biscay and the North Sea.
Europe's attitude toward the Marshall proposal must be judged by the slowly gathering public reaction rather than by the exchanges between Bevin and Bidault at their spectacular Paris meeting. Already we know that
The NATION
the United States does not appear to all people abroad, even in neighboring Canada, as the gentle lamb de- scribed by our statesmen. The proposal to arm Perén, the use of Canada as our Arctic shield, the continued manufacture of atomic bombs, the backing we give the reactionaries who govern Rome—these things puzzle foreigners who have heard that we believe in full free- dom for all nations to deal with others, and with our- selves, as they will, provided it is honorably.
The first reaction of the Russians to Marshall's pro- posal of American aid showed how the seeds of distrust have grown since the Yalta conference, the high-water mark in Russian-American relations. Russia may be won over, but it will not be gulled. “The former political meaning of the United States policy of help remains unchanged,’ Leontyev wrote in Pravda on June 16. In England and France the moderate papers, the Observer and the Times, Libération and L’Aube, approved the offer of aid. Italian Foreign Minister Sforza called it “one of the most noble attempts to save peace.’’ Not all non-Communists in Europe agreed with him. The Socialist radio in the Netherlands broadcast: ‘The trag- edy of the European situation is that in many cases, though not in all, American aid will be accepted by governments which certainly do not have the well-being of the masses of the people at heart.”
The Netherlands government, jointly with Belgium and Luxembourg, sent Marshall a note accepting his sug- gestion in principle. The three countries dispatched the message on the eve of their merger in a tariff union, a step toward European unity which, if extended across the whole Continent, might accelerate though it could not assure its restoration. The simultaneous formation of an economic union in Eastern Europe has increased American suspicion of Russia, just as Marshall's recent statement that he favored a United States of Europe struck Russia as menacing. The tragedy of the world is that the two great countries can see no good in each other.
The success or failure of the Marshall proposal will not be determined by the attitude of Russia. It de- pends primarily on the United States. It draws together all the issues of the time. It affects employment and prosperity. If Europe cut down to $8,000,000,000 the $16,000,000,000 worth of goods it now buys every year, factories would close, jobs would be lost. President Tru- man could not sign the tax bill when he contemplated sending $24,000,000,000 abroad in the next four years. He could not sign a labor bill which would imperil our industrial stability and prevent us from turning out the goods Europe must have. The proposal goes to the heart of the issue between Truman and the Republicans— economy.
Will the penny-pinching Eightieth Congress agree to send $24,000,000,000 across the ocean? It might, if the
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June 28, 1947,
consequences of a drop in exports were dramatized for it. Yet there is strong evidence that a new isolationism is arising to combat the Administration on this issue. The United States is becoming fearful of exporting. The cry, “We are throwing away our substance,” was raised here during the war in an effort to hold to a minimum the movement of lend-lease goods abroad, especially to Rus- sia. Bernard Baruch made the same protest a little over a year ago. In opposing the $3,750,000,000 loan to Britain, he said that the United States should take an inventory of its resources before it sent any more out of the country. Now this miser’s chant has been repeated by Herbert Hoover, who told Senator Bridges of New Hampshire that we are exporting more than we can afford. Senator Byrd, the perennial economizer from Virginia, has joined this export-and-die crowd.
The Administration itself stiffened objections to fur-
76l
ther aid for foreign nations when it encouraged the be- lief not long ago that the need for big spendiag abroad was over. Clayton helped along the revolt by his acquics- cence in the abrupt cutting off of lend-lease at the close of the war with Japan, and by his vulgar statement last summer that the “gravy train” was going around for the last time—meaning the United States would give help through UNRRA for just one more year. Truman could have prepared the country and Congress for the dollar- aid proposal by dealing with it in his budget message Jast January, but he did not say a word. The truth is that the Administration is just awakening to the significance of Europe’s economic problems. It did not understand it in January. Last year's foreign policy, based on eco- nomic optimism and political pessimism, has given way to pessimism all around. Can our dollars save Europe if Congress says yes?
Meet Our Greek Allies
BY CONSTANTINE POULOS
Athens, May 29
O GREECE, still bearing the heavy imprint of the
Ottoman Empire, is now an outpost of the West, a
bulwark against Slavism and communism, almost a forty-ninth state.
We might as well face it. Let’s not cloud the issue with a lot of talk about democracy, free institutions, free nations, and human values. We are out to stop com- munism because it threatens the American system; we think Greece is the place to start; and we will use what- ever methods are necessary, just as the others do, only better and more refined.
Possibly some of the Americans who come to Greece for the first time as members of the American mission won't understand the hypocrisy, arrogance, deceit, and corruption which are the Greek government and the Greek ruling class today. The American embassy will cushion the shock. Dispassionately, patiently, it will brief the newcomers on the ‘‘complexities” of the situa- tion. As a precautionary measure, too, the embassy will place some of its own people (“who, after all, know the situation inside out”) in the new mission as “special assistants” and “‘liaison officers’; just as it did with the
CONSTANTINE POULOS is the Balkan corre- spondent of the Overseas News Agency and a frequent contributor to The Nation. His series, The Revolution in, Eastern Europe, the first article of which appeared last week, has been interrupted to permit the insertion of this pertinent report on Greece,
mission to observe the elections last year and the United Nations Commission of Inquiry this year.
In any case the Americans on the new mission will receive a warm welcome from the nice people, the people who will flatter them in faultless English and say, as one Royalist paper said recently, “It is our great fortune that in this struggle against the left we shall have on our side the most courageous, the richest, and the most decisive power in the world.”
The Greeks in power today are good at this sort of thing. They have been doing it with the Germans and British ever since 1915.
On May 6, 1941, nine days after the Germans occu- pied Athens, Spyros Melas, writing in the newspapet Kathimerini, attacked those who ‘still felt a nostalgia for a liberal economy and for the liberal prattle of pluto- cratic democracies.’’ “We must digest the fact,” he said, “that the idyllic system of economic anarchy, of super- individualism, of greed, of wealth without bounds, of egotistic waste of life’s riches, of monstrous inequalities
and unrestrained exploitation belongs to the past, and it shall never return. We must resolutely sweep out the old molds, Revolt against the liberal plutocratic world!”
On March 4, 1947, the day Secretary Marshall con- firmed the reports that the United States was moving into Greece, the same writer said in the Athens news- paper Embros that America was ‘‘now presenting itself at its proper post, as a Great and True Free Democracy, whose role is to stand as a guarantor of the existence and freedom of peoples. The Greek people believe in the great tivilizing mission of America."” Melas ended by
- IN THIS ISSUE -
COVER Cartoon by Oscar Berger EDITORIALS The Shape of Things 755 767
Human Rights
A Slight Case of Murder
Marketing the Plan by Freda Kischuey 758 ARTICLES
Can Our Dollars Save Europe?
<7
by Bia:r Bolle 759 Meet Our Greek Allies by Constantine Poulos 76l
The 250 Industrial Giants
hy Fritz Sternberg 763 Perén’s Expanding Empire by Albert C. Hicks 765 The Chinese Students by Jean Lyon 767 Bigotry in B-Flat: How the Berkshires Face the Music by Horace Sutton 768 Socialist Troubles by Del Vayo 770 Everybody's Business: Shifting the Tax Burden by Keith Hutchison 771 BOOKS AND THE ARTS American Author’s Authority—Round II by Anthony Bower 772 Stalag Luft A Poem by Randall Jarrell 773 Notes by the Way by Margaret Marshall 174 Metaphysical or So by John Berryman 775 Understanding Russia by Keith Hutchison 776 Memorandum by W. J. Gold 777 Film Note by James Agee 778 Music by B. H. Haggin 779 LETTERS TO THE EDITORS 780 CROSSWORD PUZZLE No. 217 8i
by Jack Barrett Editor and Publisher: Freda Kirchwey Managing Editor Literary Editor J. King Gordon Margaret Marshall European Editor: J. Alvarez del Vayo Associate Editor: Robert Bendiner Financtal Editor: Keith Hutchison Drama: Joseph Wood Krutch Music; B. H. Haggia Staff Contributors Reinhold Niebuhr, Carey McWilliams, Aylmer Vallance Maxwell S. Stewart, Ralph Bates Assistant Managing Editor: Jerry Tallmer Copy Editor; Gladys Whiteside Assistant Literary Editor: Caroline Whiting Research Editor: Doris W. Tanz
Business Manager: Hugo Van Are Advertising Manager: William B. Brown Director of Nation Associates; Lillie Shultz
he Nation, published weekly and copyrighted, 1947, in the
7
U. S. A. by The Nation Associates, Inc., 20 Vesey St., New York 7, N, Y. Entered as second-class matter, December 13, 1879, at the Post Office of New York, N. Y., under the act of
larch 3, 1879. Advertising and Circulation Representative tor Continental Europe: Publicitas, Lausanne, Switzerland. Subscription Prices: Domestice—One year $6; Two years $10; Three years $14 Additional nostage per year: Foreign and Canadian $1.
Change of Address: Three weeks’ notice is required for change of address, which cannot be made without the old address ag well as the hew one.
Information to Libraries: The Nation is indexed in Readers’ Guide to Periodical! Literature, Book Review Digest, Index to Labor Articles, Public Affairs Information Service, Dramatie Index.
The NATION DE GASPERI WON A FORMAL VICTORY BUT AT
the price of a moral defeat when, last Saturday, he suc- ceeded in dragging from the Italian Constituent Assein- bly the dozen votes necessary to continue him in power behind the facade of a representative goverament. With that vote the “Chancellor,” as he is acidly called in Avanti, can hardly pretend to govern in the name of a democratic though anti-Socialist majority. His painfully assembled support is the weakest, shakiest, and most heterogeneous on which he has ever stood. It is formed in part of men who had nothing to do with the Libera- tion, who at heart are against the Republic, and whom a more severe anti-fascist policy would have sent to the tribunals rather than to Parliament. De Gasperi may te- main the hero of the Vatican and of Washington, but during this crisis he has forfeited all genuine republican backing. He has thrown himself definitely into the arms of the right, and it is only the right that can continue to carry him. The double role that De Gasperi once seemed eager to play, of a conservative politician leading a pro- gressive coalition, is now finished. He has failed to bring to his side those moderate elements of the left which he hoped to win by playing them off against Togliatti and Nenni. In the Assembly last Saturday he found the en- tire left impressively united against him. Although a few abstentions from those benches helped him win his vote of confidence, this is not a precedent on which he can rely. At the first showdown on major policy, those few will follow their parties’ line and turn against De Gasperi, Perhaps he will be saved by the single vote of Giannini, the semi-fascist leader of !'Uomo Qualunque. But these favors of chance will not help him achieve his main purpose in clinging to power—to delay the gen- eral election and prevent the defeat of his party.
4
NO LARGER THAN A LADY'S HAND, BUT clearly visible, is the shadow cast by the coming visit of Eva Duarte Perén to the British Isles. An embarrassed Foreign Office, helpless to prevent the invasion, must also give a convincing demonstration of weicome. For Argentina is not only tied to England by old bonds, eco- nomic and diplomatic; it is also today as during the war an indispensable source of food for hungry Britons. To refuse a polite reception to Sefiora Perén would be un- thinkable. At the same time the anti-fascist sentiment of the British people is already expressing itself in hearty press attacks both on the lady and on the government's plans for receiving her. The Sunday Pictorial drew an official rebuke when it charged that members of Parlia- ment were concerned because Sefiora Perdn, ‘the wife of a fascist dictator,” would arrive in Britain “fresh from a triumpliant reception in Franco's Spain,” where she “pro- duced the fascist salute on the slightest pretext.” But left- wing rumors indicate that the energetic Eva expects more
th th
th sit ar
Sik tr st ha
sel ab
m the int W
TION SUT AT
, he suc: Assein- N power at. With alled me of a ainfully id most formed Libera- | whom t to the may fe- on, but ublican he arms ‘inue to seemed } a pro- o bring hich he tti and the en- ough a vin his rich he those nst De rote of ungue, chieve
Ie gen-
BUT risit of rrassed
must e. For s, eco- le war ns. To be un- ent of hearty
nent's ew an Parlia- ‘ife of rom a
“pro- it left-
more
lune 28, 1947
substantial rewards from Britain than the perfumes, jewels, and honors showered on her in Spain. She in- tends to make sure that she is cut in, personally, on ail the contracts for Argentine products now being made in England. This may be distasteful—as well as expensive —for British business men of old-fashioned habits, but they cannot afford to be squeamish; nor can the govern- ment. Eva wants money, and England needs meat; and neither propriety nor democratic sentiment is likely to interfere with the success of her visit.
Human Rights
O FORMULATE a declaration of human rights in yes year 1947 may appear to be a task fit only for philosophers or fools. The nineteenth century, tracing ils springs of action to the American, the French, and the Industrial Revolution, found it easy to describe human liberty in terms of a man’s freedom from oppression by state, church, or other men. The individualism that ex- pressed itself economically in the ascendant capitalist system was the counterpart of nineteenth-century polit- ical liberalism. But today, the rise of socialism, the emergence of new social concepts in economics and gov- ernment, the recognition of rights that a man may claim as a member of society make a generally acceptable decla- ration of rights much more difficult. In fact, it would seem virtually impossible to work out a definition that would satisfy an American, an Englishman, a French- man, and a Russian. An American may claim the right to free speech, to free association, to freedom of ip But can he claim the right to work or the right to health or to the means of health ? And can a Russian, whose security is bound up in his relations to the state, claim the right of protest against what he may conceive to be the unjust _ of that state?
Back of the discussions in the drafting committee of the Human Rights Commission which has been in ses- sion for two weeks, these conflicting concepts of right and liberty lie waiting to assert themselves. A distin- guished group of delegates from the United States, Rus- sia, England, Lebanon, France, Chile, China, and Aus- tralia has been attempting to formulate not one but two statements. On the initiative of Britain, the delegates have been seriously debating a draft Convention of Human Rights which, once passed by the General As- sembly and ratified by member states, would be enforce- able as international law. All have agreed that however worthy this attempt—and it is significant that it is being made—the road ahead is a long and hard one. Would the United States, for example, be prepared to accept an international convention against race discrimination? Would the federal government, which has in the past proved helpless in such instances, be prepared to have a
757
lynching in South Carolina branded as an international crume within the jurisdiction of an international court?
The other statement of human rights, while bound to encounter many difficulties, is more modest in its aims. The statement would be in fact a Declaration of Human Rights which, in the words of one delegate, would con- stitute a “matrix from which subsequent conventions declaration h great care by the
would naturally grow.’ The basis for such a
: is to be found in a draft prepared wit secretariat of the United Nations. ‘he advantage of the secretariat draft is that it was written after a careful study of bills of rights written into existing national con- stitutions. Social rights as weil as individual rights are in- cluded. Unfortunately, this draft was considered too long and too detailed, and Professor Cassin of France was given the thankless task of “boiling down” the state- ment into a briefer and more general form. The danger is that in the boiling-down process the meat and the marrow of the original will have been boiled out. Another large pious statement will represent no advance toward binding international Jaw. On the other hand, a firm declaration of rights, passed by the General Assem- bly, while having no legal force, will be bound to exert moral influence. come together for the Human Rights Commission meet- ing in August, it is to be hoped that they will all study
a considerab! Before the delegates
seriously the secretariat’s document, to see if the subcom-
mittee’s work cannot be substantially strengthened.
A Slight Case of Murder
a Hy yuse last W eek 2 ive the CC up de grac eto fe i- eral public seieiiiee 4 The spot was choice, the blow deft, but the hand that delivered it was the buildine- and-loan lobby’s. Whether housing survives or not is now up to the Senate.
The lobby, which makes it a point to get its memb associations to hire Congressmen as its lawyers or offi- cers, first influenced a House investigation into the Fe
eral Public Housing Authority. The andings sound like
oO
a dossier by our Puritan fathers, and a few little P-1 clerks may now lose their heads for drink’ ng in public. The “scandal,” released at the strategic moment, formed part of the committee recommendations to slice a third
off FPHA’s
quired contribution <
ES eT ee ee CN a ae administrative budget and double the re- the citics in tax exc mption.
But the most serious blow is the redaction from $7,-
sidies due to local
200.009 to $2,200,000 in annual sub housing authorities and the requirement that their re- serves, which are set up annually to cover future rent
i
losses and repairs, be sliced in half. This may seem harmless, but maintenance of the te- serves and payment by the government of the annual
5 b in with private lenders,
co s
subsidies is part of the ba
pee’ (=)
. } » acluvan hana ] C milliane ¢ homncng v Pp L4LANG A vai dD SUI y i AlilLslLIVLAS LU i JU sia
horities at interest rates as little as 1.5 per cent, re- lying on the government's commitment to fulfil its con- tract. The housing-authority bond up to now was one of the prime securities in the country. As a result, housing authorities have been able to dispense with the need for huge federal loans and have also reduced the required federal subsidies to a fraction of the original estimate. If the authorities are forced to revert to government bor- rowing, it is doubtful whether any future Congress will authorize the huge federal loans that would be essential.
One would imagine that the House, in its current mood of economy, would encourage financial savings
and protect the formulae responsible for them. Ye
cr
' 1
strangely, even the faith and credit of our government appears less important to the present Congress than the scuttling of public housing. Not only would the agree- ment with the lenders be breached and the solvency of the projects menaced, but the marketability of public- housing bonds would be affected for all future issues.
Already Wall Street buzzes with the story that the credit of the United States is now good only if the pur- pose for which it is pledged is the kind that will be politically palatable to every succeeding Congress. It is hoped that in the Senate the influence of the building- and-loan associations will weigh less than the faith and credit of the United States of America.
Marketing the Plan
BY FREDA KIRCHWEY
HE job of explaining the Marshall plan to this "Ta and the world is not going to be an easy one—but it is one of the most vital parts of the whole project. First of all it is necessary to let the peoples of Europe know that the plan is in effect a substitute for, not an extension of, the provocative, clumsy anti-Soviet crusade launched by Mr. Truman in Greece and Turkey. Indeed, that crusade itself will have to be amended in practice if the Marshall plan is to succeed. For the co- operation of Russia and its satellite states is essential to the revival of a healthy economy in Europe, as The Nation pointed out last week. It is also essential to the Continent's political health. Even the Vatican has lately expressed alarm over the effect on Europe of the hard- ening hostility between the U. S. S. R. and the United States. As Walter Lippmann pointed out in a comment on the Vatican’s warning, the European nations want American help but not under conditions that will force them toward an irreparable break with the Soviet Union.
The Continent must be convinced that the Marshall plan is aimed at avoiding such a division by making pos- sible a revival of industry and trade on a world scale,
The NATION
Mr. Marshall's slightly delayed assurance that Russia was included in the scope of his proposal, followed by the French invitation to Mr. Molotov, has happily re- sulted in Russia's agreement to join France and Britain in exploring the possibilities of the plan. This is a good start. But it will be necessary, if the usual deadlocks are to be avoided, to make it clear on this side that no con- ditions will be laid down which would shut out nations whose economic and political methods are socialistic or even revolutionary. This final assurance has not yet been offered, and it is admittedly an awkward one to have to advertise. But how can it be avoided? How can we ex- pect Russia to join in drawing up a plan for the restora- tion of Europe's economy and refuse to include those states which are imitating—however half-heartedly and partially—Russia’s economic system? And how can Eu- rope’s economy be restored if a large part of Europe is to be denied the dollars required to reanimate the cir- culatory system of the Continent as a whole?
Furope knows all this. Even the more conservative governments would today refuse to join a coalition against those on the other side of the almost visible ideo- logical line that runs across Europe and through each country. Their best hope lies in a revival of Continental prosperity—east and west, right and left—and in a grad- ual resulting amelioration of the hostility between Russia and America. If Mr. Marshall accepts this view, as his Cambridge speech indicated, he must make it amply clear to Europe.
In doing so, he must also make the American people understand why the emphasis has shifted from an anti- Communist crusade to the restoration of Europe. This will be still harder, for the country has been stuffed with the imminent and overpowering threat of com- munism until a large part of the population reacts only to fear of Russian aggression. It was fear of Russia alone that propelled the Greek-Turkish aid bill through Con- gress. How is the new plan to be carried out in the face of growing reaction and growing nationalism? How are Congress and the people to be convinced of the necessity of spending American dollars to restore Europe? The one way that will work, I believe, is also the only honest way of stating the case.
For the truth is that the United States cannot afford to let Europe’s recovery collapse for lack of dollars. This is a simple fact that should equally impress Robert A. Taft and his most left-wing opponents. Without dollars, the other nations will have to stop buying the equipment on which the revival of their industries and agriculture depends. Without increased output of the products we need, they cannot export enough to America to get dol- lars in exchange. And until both production and exports mount, they are bound to exhaust the limited dollars now available in buying food to keep their people from going hungry. The problem, viewed from this side, is not pri-
ily re- sritain , good ks are 9 con- ations stiC OF t been ave to ve CX- stora- those y and n Eu- ope is
e Ccir-
vative ition -ideo-
each nental grad- Russia as his y clear
eople | anti- This tuffed com- s only alone Con- e face ww are essity ? The
10onest
ord to . This ert A. ollars, pment ulture tts we *t dol- xports rs NOW going ot pri-
June 28, 1947
marily a problem of foreign collapse or suffering; it is a problem of America’s balance of payments with the weild as a whole. The Marshall plan, put simply, is an attempt to reestablish the capacity of the world, starting with our best customers, to buy American goods. Our own economy will slump, our prosperity will disappear almost overnight, if the huge output of American fac- tories, whose capacity to produce—as Mr. Sternberg re-
calls elsewhere in this issue—increased 50 per cent dur-
ing the war, cannot find overflow markets outside the United States. In essence, this means that our balance of payments will be restored only if we give away goods, or the dollars required to buy goods. If we fail to do so, a depression will result which would not only produce the dangers and miseries we well remember, but would drag the rest of the world into economic depths from which no Marshall plan could pull it.
This story, told fully and honestly by persons, like those included in President whose knowledge is widely respected, should convince most Americans of the need of appropriating the billions
Truman's new committees,
759 necessary for Europe's recovery. Kt wiil tend to offset the panic fear of Russia, generated partly by Moscow’s own provocative methods, partly by the chauvinist press in America, and partly by the monumental blunder of the Truman Doctrine. It will reassure Europe and relieve it of the horrid burden of American benevolence, for the Marshall plan, in essence, is an expression of long-range, intelligent self-interest, not of charity
Above ail, it will relieve this country of the temptation to proceed unilaterally as we did in Greece and Turkey. A new, Europe-wide, anti-Russian crusade would pre- clude action through the United Nations; but the Mar- shall plan, based from the start on a request for Euro- pean initiative, logically implies full utilization of the agencies and powers of the United Nations. The Eco- ded by the noted Swedish economist Gunnar Myrdal, has already prepared a preliminary report on Europe's economic needs. With
this as a basis, the specifications called for by Mr. Mar-
nomic Cofnmission for Europe, hea
1
shall can be rapidly perfecte
by-passing the worid organization.
There must be no ques- tion this time of
Can Our Dollars Save Europe?
BY BLAIR BOLLES
i ‘ashington, June 22 NE difference between war and peace is that during war men are hopeful. World War Il was still in progress when Harry Truman, on June 26, 1945, welcomed the signing of the Un ited Nations Charter as the birth of the “Parliament of Man As huzzahs resounded from San Francisco around the globe, most people foresaw the development of “one world” and the maintenance of peace through the Unite ] Nations. Now that peace is with us, the enthusiasm is gone. And the world seems to be cracking in two. In these depressing circumstances President Truman and Secretary of State George C. Marshall have made an offer of the use of United States dollars as an adhesive to hold it together. Will the dollars do the job? The grand purpose of their expenditure is to win Russia from the isolationist ways of Communist 1m- perialism and induce it to support our notions of set- ting the world in order. If Russia fails to go along in the project, the secondary purpose of the money is to create a Western European bloc without Russia and without the Eastern European states which the United States, by its refusal to understand the political currents in those long-oppressed countries, has worked hard and
BLAIR BOLLES is director of the Washington burean of the Foreign Policy Association.
successfully to push into the Russian lap. General Lu-
cius D, Clay, the American administrator in Berlin, said on June 18 that the rehabilitation of Germany “woulc fit into Secretary of State Marshall's plan for European recovery to great advantage.’” Evidently German peace- time factories are to back up the dollar in overcoming the destruction caused by German war factories.
The use of American dollars to restore world sta- bility was first suggested by Under Secretary of State May 8. at Harvard
on June 5 as a combined American-Euro pean reconstruc:
Dean Acheson at Cleveland, en on Secretary Marshall presented t Ae tion plan. It is the result of sot learned painfully y President John Snyder and the State Department since Alcide de Gasperi, the Italian Prime Min to Wash-
ington looking for money last January and was sent
om
Truman and Secretary of the Treasury ter, came
home with a promise of $100,000,000 in Export-Import lits did not blem. He
anie +e “tT, rc tte At cal hee nm ank cres dit >. The crearts did nor soive nis pr | yr wa. ‘ wetter } ~4¢ OVR aca iO FecoMsucte NIS COUNTY, ang ne Was Qiven a
. é
: - we hie > 7? san
i - — r > » oe 12°47 . .
chance to buy some goods in America. During the
next six months the Administration came to understar.d . + Birvenr bye, ae 7 ‘ > ; -
that it cannot revive Europe by offering individual coun-
tries limited commercial oppostunities. The economic ,
problem of Europe is how to become productive itself, I
ant hea ’ s ¢h Persate PF As an
not how to enjoy the fruits of American production.
". A Aminictes m | » 3 etn ) Loe at - The Admunistration has learned that the Continent
i a ) ) \ i rope cor py »> a mace : i f ll formu | is called Europe i 4 , f rr nn) Tent ¢ juirer + I , Ail All CCali ‘ > Pale 1CUUse > C sho , ‘ 4 oa th. — +} > + - $$} I Li i 1 ALIG tile P i tnose COuntrics wUile Tt 1 5 € e in order to > proper effect to wna evcra f t be taken by the American government. Ihe Adm n knows, too, that the American | » ] +] ey en% schian “meade publi ; 1 by the brassy suggestion of a crusad in the Truman Doctrine and by the disclosure that Amer- ica intended to keep the “free” peoples of Greece and rae ee nee, © Sartor og Senay Le, eee . lurkey Inger the I ive tyrants then napnaz ardly Op- y TY) t to save them from Russia or from na ( sts. It is trying to over publ 0} mn at | sals that seem to offer the hope la " I. ( q A st ° —— Most important of all, the Administration has | irned a ae “Oe ee desi ey or that the economic plight of Europe is the result of i
something besides Russian deviltry. It seems to have been caused by the war. So the situation is subject improvement without the sound effects of moral dia- tion of Moscow.
' } , > mer LAit Usb Ol
tribes shouted in
Nevertheless, a man in the inner circles of the State Department laughed when I asked him if the Marshall proposal was a departure from the Truman Doctrine.
Je said no, and he was right, so far as the ultimate purpose of both is concerned. Both were conceived as a way to stop Russia without war. That is the all consuming passion in the State, War, and Navy depart-
rents.
To strengthen the government for the capitalist strug- gle against communism, Marshall is bringing in two Wall Street men as his top assistants; Robert become Under Secretary of State on July 1, and Charles E. Salzman, vice-president of the Stock Exchange, was nominated yesterday to be Assistant Secretary of State in charge of occupation affairs (German, Austrian, Jap anese, and Korean).
The Soviet government's acceptance of the invitation of Bevin and Bidault to join in a conference to discuss how the American dollars can best be spent may mark the beginning, not of a new peaceful relation- ship between the two intransigent Brobdingnagians but
.ovett is to
of a new phase of their struggle. All Europe, not merely the eastern or the western portion, may now be the prize. If Europe, including Russia, agrees on a plan for utilizing American aid, the United States will be able to circulate freely in Danubia, but at the same time Russia will have an opportunity to spread its benefits through the countries fringing the Bay of Biscay and the North Sea.
Europe's attitude toward the Marshall proposal must be judged by the slowly gathering public reaction rather than by the exchanges between Bevin and Bidault at their spectacular Paris meeting. Already we know that
The NATION
the United States does not appear to all people abroad, even in neighboring Canada, as the gentle lamb de- scribed by our statesmen. The prop “a to arm Perén, the use of Canada as our Arctic shield, the continued
nufacture of atomic bombs, the backing we give the reactionaries who govern Rome—these things puzzle foreigners who have heard that we believe in full free-
dom for all nations to deal with others, and with our-
selves, as they will, provided it is honorably. 1¢ first reaction of the Russians to Marshall's pro- posal of American aid showed how the seeds of distrust have grown since the Yalta conference, the high-water mark in Russian-American relations. Russia may be won over, but it will not be gulled. “The former political meaning of the United States policy of help remains unchanged,’ Leontyev wrote in Pravda on June 16. In England and France the moderate papers, the Gpeereer and the Times, Libération and L’Aube, approved the offer of aid. Italian Foreign Minister Sforza called it “one of the most noble attempts to save peace.” Not all non-Communists in Europe agreed with him. The Socialist radio in the Netherlands broadcast: ‘The trag edy of ihe European situation is that in many cases, though not in all, American aid will be accepted by governments which certainly do not have the well-being of the masses of the people at heart.”
The Netherlands government, jointly with Belgium and Luxembourg, sent Marshall a note accepting his sug- gestion in principle. The three countries dispatched the message on the eve of their merger in a tariff union, a step toward European unity which, if extended across the whole Continent, might accelerate though it could not assure its restoration. The simultaneous formation of an economic union in Eastern Europe has increased American suspicion of Russia, just as Marshall's recent statement that he favored a United States of Europe struck Russia as menacing. The tragedy of the world is that the two great countries can see no good in each other,
The success or failure of the Marshall proposal will not be determined by the attitude of Russia. It de- pends primarily on the United States. It draws together all the issues of the time. It affects employment and prosperity. If Europe cut down to $8,000,000,000 the $16,000,000,000 worth of goods it now buys every year, factories would close, jobs would be lost. President Tru- man could not sign the tax bill when he contemplated sending $24,000,000,000 abroad in the next four years. He could not sign a labor bill which would imperil our industrial stability and prevent us from turning out the goods Europe must have. The proposal goes to the heart of the issue between Truman and the Republicans— economy.
Will the penny-pinching Eightieth Congress agree to send $24,000,000,000 across the ocean? It might, if the
U;
fort \ witl nat! mut thin ever bett P, for won corrt Gree cush brief tion. place the s assist,
a
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ION
broad, b de- Perdn, tinued ve the yuzzle
free-
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1 will It de- gether it and )0 the y year, t Tru- plated years. ril our ut the » heart -ans—
ree to if the
June 28, 1947
consequences of a drop in exports were dramatized for it. Yet there is strong evidence that a new isolationism is arising to combat the Administration on this issue. The United States is becoming fearful of exporting. The cry, “We are throwing away our substance,” was raised here during the war in an effort to hold to a minimum the movement of lend-lease goods abroad, especially to Rus- sia. Bernard Baruch made the same protest a little over a year ago. In opposing the $3,750,000,000 loan to Britain, he said that the United States should take an inventory of its resources before it sent any more out of the country. Now this miser’s chant has been repeated by Herbert Hoover, who told Senator Bridges of New Hampshire that we are exporting more than we can afford. Senator Byrd, the perennial economizer from Virginia, has joined this export-and-die crowd.
The Administration itself stiffened objections to fur-
76l
ther aid for foreign nations when it encouraged the be- lief not long ago that the need for big spending abroad was over. Clayton helped along the revolt by his acquies- cence in the abrupt cutting off of lend-lease at the close of the war with Japan, and by his vulgar statement last summer that the “gravy train” was going around for the last time—meaning the United States would give help through UNRRA for just one more year. Truman could have prepared the country and Congress for the dollar- aid proposal by dealing with it in his budget message Jast January, but he did not say a word. The truth is that the Administration is just awakening to the significance of Europe's economic problems. It did not understand it in January. Last year's foreign policy, based on eco- nomic optimism and political pessimism, has given way to pessimism al] around. Can our dollars save Europe if Congress says yes?
Meet Our Greek Allies
BY CONSTANTINE POULOS
Athens, May 29
O GREECE, still bearing the heavy imprint of the
Ottoman Empire, is now an outpost of the West, a
bulwark against Slavism and communism, almost a forty-ninth state.
We might as well face it. Let’s not cloud the issue with a lot of talk about democracy, free institutions, free nations, and human values. We are out to stop com- munism because it threatens the American system; we think Greece is the place to start; and we will use what- ever methods are necessary, just as the others do, only better and more refined.
Possibly some of the Americans who come to Greece for the first time as members of the American mission won't understand the hypocrisy, arrogance, deceit, and corruption which are the Greek government and the Greek ruling class today. The American embassy will cushion the shock. Dispassionately, patiently, it will brief the newcomers on the ‘‘complexities’”’ of the situa- tion. As a precautionary measure, too, the embassy will place some of its own people (“who, after all, know the situation inside out’) in the new mission as “special assistants” and “‘liaison officers’; just as it did with the
CONSTANTINE POULOS is the Balkan corre- spondent of the Overseas News Agency and a frequent contributor to The Nation. His series, The Revolution in Eastern Europe, the first article of which appeared last week, has been interrupted to permit the insertion of this pertinent report on Greece,
mission to observe the elections last year and the United Nations Commission of Inquiry this year.
In any case the Americans on the new mission will receive a warm welcome from the nice people, the people who will flatter them in faultless English and say, as one Royalist paper said recently, “It is our great fortune that in this struggle against the left we shall have on our side the most courageous, the richest, and the most decisive power in the world.”
The Greeks in power today are good at this sort of thing. They have been doing it with the Germans and British ever since 1915.
On May 6, 1941, nine days after the Germans occu- pied Athens, Spyros Melas, writing in the newspaper Kathimerini, attacked those who “‘still felt a nostalgia for a liberal economy and for the liberal prattle of pluto- cratic democracies.” ‘We must digest the fact,” he said, “that the idyllic system of economic anarchy, of super- individualism, of greed, of wealth without bounds, of egotistic waste of life’s riches, of monstrous inequalities
and unrestrained exploitation belongs to the past, and it shall never return. We must resolutely sweep out the old molds, Revolt against the liberal plutocratic world!”
On March 4, 1947, the day Secretary Marshall con- firmed the reports that the United States was moving into Greece, the same writer said in the Athens news- paper Embros that America was ‘‘now presenting itself at its proper post, as a Great and True Free Democracy, whose role is to stand as a guarantor of the existence and freedom of peoples. The Greek people believe in the
“ivili ; America.” Melas ended by
great civilizing mission of é
1
e‘tacking those “who dare to criticize the supporters of the freedom of the world.”
This sort of thing, if they become aware of it, should not upset innocent Americans who come to Greece. They will have to get used to dealing with the people who dealt with the Nazis. Besides, there are too many things
1 Greece that may upset them. If, for example, they see a photograph such as was published in one of the Royal- ist papers on April 10, showing seven decapitated heads neatly arranged in a triangle on the ground, they may shudder. But unless someone translates the small items from the newspapers for them, they will not learn about the heads of five boys between the ages of fifteen and twenty which were displayed in front of the gendarmerie station in Sparta as a warning to others who might be thinking of going to the mountains.
Yet the Greek government under our pressure will certainly make some new farcical amnesty offer to the guerrillas, and the American embassy will explain to the neophytes: ‘You see, the government is acting in good faith. We cannot understand why the bandits don’t come down out of the mountains. Of course, most of them would if they could, but their fanatical Communist
leaders won't let them.”
There are lots of interesting little items in the news- papers that help one to understand what is going on in Greece today, but they are easy to miss, and “besides, there's so much more to the story,” as the American em- bassy explains whenever anyone refers to them. For in- stance, it was reported in the newspapers on March 26 that Miltiades Bambakas was arrested on a street in Athens. At the police station he was beaten to death. No action was taken by the government. The newspapers didn’t mention it again.
Demetrios Androvitsaneas, a sixty-two-year-old vet- eran of the Balkan wars and a member of the 7th Regi- ment of E. L. A. S. on the island of Euboia during the occupation, was being treated for advanced tuberculosis in an Athens hospital. Last month they caught up with him. They told him the hospital didn’t have room for “traitors” and “Slavo-Communists” and put him out. He died a few days later.
Estia, the newspaper of the big industrialists—the lib- eral papers have been calling it “the fascist widow” ever since Mussolini's death—recently unburdened itself. “It's a good thing that the Jewish-Communist organiza- tion UNRRA is concluding its activities in Greece, for UNRRA thought it could remain neutral in our struggle and give food, clothing, and medical assistance to every- one, regardless of their politics.” Now Estia is attacking the Greek War Relief Association of America for having the same incomprehensible attitude about relief.
“The Security Battalions,” formed by the Germans with the help of the last Greek quisling government to
The NATION
fisht the resistance forces, “are considered instruments f the enemy,” declared a statement signed in Italy on September 26, 1944, by General H. Maitland Wilson, Supreme Allied Commander in the Mediterranean Thea- ter, and by Harold H. Macmillan, British Resident Minister. On April 16, 1947, the Athens daily Ethnikos Kirix said in an editorial that “the successful organiza- tion and arming of the Security Battalions during the occupation was a stupendous accomplishment on the part of Rallis and his coworkers.” Rallis was the quisling Prime Minister.
One minor collaborator was executed on Decem- ber 4, 1944, as a gesture which it was thought might halt the revolt then beginning. The second collaborator to be executed since the liberation of Greece was shot three days after President Truman unveiled his famous doctrine.
“There is freedom of the press, isn’t there?” “Why, sure, just look at the leftist papers published here in Athens.”’ But let the American members of the new mis- sion try to buy a leftist newspaper in any city except Athens and Salonika, in Levadia, Lamia, Larissa, Tri- kalla, or Volos, or even a centrist paper in Sparta or Preveza. Since last July the E. A. M. paper in Salonika has been suppressed three times and the Communist Party organ five times. Each suppression has meant court decisions against the editors and printers, with one man sentenced to five years’ imprisonment, two to seven years, one to fourteen and one-half years, one to twenty years, one to fifty-two and one-half years, and three given life. (The data on sentences were obtained from the Informa- tion Department of the British embassy in Athens. )
Of course, there is another way of taking care of the press. On March 30 three armed men entered the print- ing plant of the Communist paper in Salonika, fired at the workers with tommy-guns, and then threw a grenade as they withdrew. Three printers were killed and seven wounded. The gendarmes guarding the plant “happened to be away from their posts,” the government explained. No one has been arrested yet. (Fifty-five leftist papers have been closed down by official suppression, terrorism, or destruction of the printing plants by rightist mobs and security authorities since the present government came to power in April last year.)
One more story to fill in the picture. First Lieutenant Panayiotis Katsareas, a Greek army reserve officer, joined the Security Battalions and fought with the Germans against the guerrillas during the occupation. After the resistance movement disbanded and laid down iis arms, Katsareas was made a regular army officer with the rank of captain and took up the struggle against the unarmed members of the resistance.
With a band of his own although he was on the gov- ernment pay roll, he roamed the Sparta area killing men, women, and children. From August 1 last year to Octo-
\TION
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June 28, 1947
ber 10 he killed at least fifty-eight persons, thirty-five of them on one day in the little mountain village of Bam- bakou in Laconia. The government in Athens issued statements ‘denouncing him’’ and ‘“‘ordered his arrest.” But Katsareas knew they were not serious. He sat calmly in Sparta visiting with his friends in the gendarmerie and the army, attended public functions in the company of federal and provincial authorities, and made speeches on holidays.
The resurrection of the guerrilla movement cramped his style, however, and he didn’t go very far up the mountains. One day last March he strayed a bit too far from Sparta and in a battle with the guerrillas was killed.
The next day, March 21, the military commander of Laconia, Major George Kourkoulis, addressed a letter to Katsareas’s men in which he said: “You must not cry for your unforgettable leader. He did not die. He is with you and with us. . . . Inspired by the example of this heroic figure, go forward with us to the great vic- tory... . Vengeance on the cowardly murderers!”
That day Katsareas’s men entered the town of Gytheion, dragged thirty-two political prisoners out of the local jail, and executed them in the public square. Major Kourkoulis’s statement was published in the Sparta newspaper Ethniki Phoni two days later, and in the next few days Katsareas’s band killed thirty-two more people in villages near Sparta.
Three ministers rushed to the Peloponnesus from Athens—by sea. No one was arrested. No one was
763
punished. The Minister of Public Order, Napoleon Zervas, informed the government from Sparta of his decision not to remove Major Kourkoulis from his post. Returning to Athens, the Ministers of War and Interior explained that the massacre of the political prisoners was a ‘natural rising of the nationalist populace.”
The Royalist press in Athens ho-hummed and noted that since most of the men in the prison were under sentence of death anyway, it did not really matter very much, and one paper even recommended that political prisoners held in other jails should be transferred to Gytheion. (British sources estimate that there are 11,000 political prisoners in Greek prisons today.)
Still no one has been arrested or punished. And all this happened while the Howse and Senate were con- sidering President Truman’s request for aid to the gov- ernment of Greece.
It is a miserable situation we are inheriting, full of hatred, cruelty, bitterness, and iniquity. But let’s not kid ourselves on this point, either. We are not likely to bring about many fundamental changes. The Greeks in power will use us for all we are worth. We think we are doing them a favor; they know they are doing us a bigger one. They'll take the dollars, they'll make some revisions in their economic and political policies to please us, and sooner or later they'll ask for more money. Even $250,- 000,000 won't go far toward winning a civil war and rebuilding a shattered and looted economy. That will take more millions, and “stronger” methods.
~~ The 250 Industrial Giants
BY FRITZ STERNBERG
OW that American credit and American produc-
tion are to be geared to the economic needs of
the war-damaged nations of Europe in an effort to avert the progressive disintegration of the political and economic life of the Continent, it becomes more than ever necessary to examine the structure of the system on which this whole enterprise depends. We know that the productive capacity of the United States outstrips that of the other nations of the world put together. We know the dollar is the currency on which all others, even the pound sterling, are based. What remains is to see clearly how the controls of the American system are operated, to identify the groups and individuals that have in their hands the economic levers. For under our free-enterprise
FRITZ STERNBERG, a German economist now living in this country, is the author of "The Coming Crisis.”
theory, however modified in practice, the people who dominate American business are also, to a large extent, the economic dictators of the world.
Today the amazing fact is that 250 leading corpora- trons in the United States produce a volume of goods equal to that of the rest of the capitalist world, including the residual industry of this country. This state of affairs is the result of two lines of development which began long before the recent war.
The first is the steady growth of America’s share in total world production. Throughout the last hundred years American output has increased faster than that of the rest of the world. Britain, whose production in 1850 equaled the combined totals of all other countries, was outstripped by the United States as early as 1880. After that date the United States not only had the lead but steadily increased the margin between itself and the other industria] powers. America’s share of production at
764
the outbreak of World War I was a little more than one- third of the world total. Nothing more clearly indicates the declining importance of Europe and the growing pre- ponderance of the American role.
In 1913 Europe accounted for 53 per cent of world production, but by 1919 and 1920 this had sunk to 41 per cent. The goods turned out in the United States in 1928 actually exceeded in volume those produced by the whole of Europe. In that year, the last before the great economic crisis, the relative contributions to world pro- duction of the major industrial countries were: the United States, 40 per cent; Germany, 12 per cent; Great Britain, 9 per cent; France, 7 per cent. This country was already producing 60 per cent more goods than the three next largest industrial nations combined.
But the effect of World War II on the balance of eco- nomic power was even more sensational. During and since the war American productive capacity has enor- mously increased; so that in the present year it is approxi- mately 50 per cent greater than it was before 1939. What is even more important than the rise itself is, of course, the fact that it has occurred in an epoch during which the rest of the world has experienced a sharp decline. Physical destruction and the depletion of resources and capital have increased the disparity which America’s huge war production would in any case have created. Years will elapse before the Soviet Union can reach even its pre-war levels of output, and Germany will not re- gain its pre-war productivity in any near future no mat- ter what policy the occupying authorities adopt. In varying degrees this holds true for most of the other countries directly involved in the war. The result is that, on a conservative estimate, the United States is now pro- ducing 60 per cent of the entire output of the world, including Russia.
At no time during the last hundred years has any single state achieved such economic preeminence. Nor is American superiority only a question of manufactured goods, for industrial growth has naturally been accom- panied by a huge expansion of financial power. Before the First World War the big capital-exporting countries were England, Germany, and France. Britain alone pos- sessed as great a volume of capital invested abroad as the rest of the world combined. Germany became a debtor country as a result of the war of 1914-19, while France not only lost the greater part of its foreign investments but found itself unable to continue to make loans to other countries. In the decade between the two wars only Britain among the European nations continued to export any considerable amount of capital.
It was in the ten years following Versailles that the United States appeared on the scene as a major exporter of capital. “From 1919 through 1929 foreign loans floated in the United States provided some $7,500,000,- 000 of new capital to other countries,” says a Depart-
The NATION
ment of Commerce bulletin published in 1943, “‘or more than the total of similar issues floated in the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, and all other capital- lending countries combined.” Since World War II, of course, Britain has joined the debtor countries, and American superiority in the financial field is unchal- lenged. Today the United States possesses not only the most powerful of all productive systems but also a mo- nopoly of money power,
This establishment of world dominance has been accompanied by a rapid tightening of industrial power within the United States. The development was sum- marized in a recent Senate report on “Economic Concen- tration in World War II’’ in these words:
Closely paralleling the rise in importance of corpora- tions was the increasing sphere of activities controlled by a relatively small number of corporate units. Thus the 200 largest non-financial corporations increased their relative importance from ownership of one-third of the assets in 1909, to 48 per cent in 1929, and to 59 per cent in the early thirties. The sharp upward sweep in the twenty years before the crash of 1929 is confirmed by another series [of figures} showing that the percent- age of the total net income of all non-financial corpora- tions (income corporations only) earned by the 20 largest . . . increased from 33 per cent in 1920 to 43 per cent in 1929.
Developments during the last years of peace and the first part of the Second World War are described in the Senate report as follows:
For the period 1931 to 1942 data are available indi- cating the percentage of total manufacturing assets held by corporations possessing more than $50,000,000 in assets. This group of corporations represents the giants of industry and may be used broadly to measure the trend in concentration up to recent times. In 1942 there were 205 such giant manufacturing corporations. This group of manufacturing corporations, after declining in im- portance from ownership of 46 per cent of the total in 1931 to 37 per cent in 1934, rose sharply to the point of ownership of 49 per cent of all the corporate manu- facturing assets in 1942.
The power concentrated in the big corporations be- came even greater during the war than in the preceding decades, The value of the nation’s present facilities for production can be estimated by adding to the $40,000, 000,000 of gross capital assets of the year 1939 thic $20,000,000,000 worth of new war-time plants that are available for peace-time use. Who owns this vast, highly equipped productive system? How much of it is con- trolled by big business and how much is held by smaller firms?
The answer to these questions is to be found in the holdings of the 250 largest manufacturing corporations,
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June 28, 1947
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31 of which are controlled by 5 financial groups. corporations are, for the most part, the traditional giants of American industry. In 1939 they owned 65 per cent of the nation’s fixed capital. During the war they _ ated 79 per cent of all new plant facilities built wit
federal funds, and in September, 1944, held 78 per cent of the primary war-supply contracts. Possessing nearly $30,000,000,000 of capital assets in 1939, they have added $3,700,000,000 in privately financed new facil- ities snd have operated additional plants accounting for nearly $9,000,000,000 of the ‘$11 500,000,000 war-time facilities estimated to be usable for peace-time production. If these industrial giants finally acquire the plants on which they have purchase options, their hold-
765
ings will come to $38,500,000,000, or 66.5 per cent of tot al usable facilities in America.
Even today these 250 huge corporations control two- thirds of American industry. They are able to produce as much as the whole American economy before the war, when the United States produced almost half of the world’s goods. Today with European industry hampered by lack of material, plant, and buying power and by the destruction of capital values, the 250 American giants can produce as much as the rest of world industry within and outside of the United States. This is an economic fact to be pondered by the nations of Europe as they prepare to qualify for American help under the Mar- shall plan.
Peron’s Ex ‘Da ndin I Em pire
BY ALBERT C. HICKS
HROUGHOUT its 122 years as an independent nation Bolivia, landlocked Andean republic, has dangled as a tempting prize before a succession of Latin American caudillos In the nineteenth century they covete gald. During the twentieth it has offered tin and oil and
thirsting for power and riches. its silver and
the potential wealth of its vast unworked mineral de- posits. Always a weak nation despite its natural resources, Bolivia has never relied upon its own military power to protect itself against its neighbors. The four biggest countries of South America lie adjacent: Argentina, Chile, Brazil, and Peru. But in the event of a threat by any one of these, the other giants check the aggressor. For the nation that gets control of
would combine to
Bolivia’s natural wealth can dominate the continent. This fact lies behind many of the politicai maneuvers
of Juan Domingo Perdén
Prevented from using force against Bolivia,
chief of the Argentine staie. Perén has taken a more devious but very effective course.
After the Bolivian revolution of July, 1946, the Revo- lutionary Junta produced documentary proof that the fallen dictatorship of Gualberto Villarroel had been in league with Perén and had planned vassal siate of Argentina. With his friends the militar- ists out of power and the interim government opposed to his schemes, Perén could only hope for a counter- revolution. Four major efforts to bring one about were made before February, 1947, and although all were abor-
to make Bolivia a
ALBERT C. HICKS, author of The Life and Rule of Trujil
from a ivip through South America.
Blood in the Streets:
* pas recently reintnea
tive, they served to shake the structure of the struggling democracy.
As soon as the interim democratic government was set up under Judge Tomas Monje Gutierrez, Peronista news- papers in Buenos Aires loosed a barrage of vituperation at Monje and his ministers. Two months later a former Bolivian army officer made an attempt on Monje’s life, and a mob of revolutionaries, mating a mutitarist coup, hanged the would-be assassin and two of Villar- rocl's former henchmen. Perén at once had his Congress condemn the La Paz government, ch arging that it had instigated the mob action.
When Bolivians went to the polls to choose a constitu: 1947, free and democratic by
tional President in January, the elections were
declared entirel Vv objective
observers. Perén’s new spapers, however, screamed that
they were a fraud. Before the results were made official,
Bolivian counter-revolutionaries told Aymara Indians in
the Lake Titicaca region that the La Paz government
planned to massacre them and confiscate their lands. d
‘ ; “} : hey th the In-
en passed out arms and ammunition to dians and the expected uprising o |
i After it had t down there was an investigation into the source
ccurred. een pu - the arms, since it was known that Bolivian militarists had not been alle Whate public. If the trail led to Perén, the Bolivian government could hardly have Perén’s strongest weapon was starvation. all shipments of foodstuffs, packed meats, from pon entina to ~— a. While the order was put in force immed
the Bolivians did not feel the resu rey of it ato
wed to retain any after the revolution. ver facts were uncovered, they were not made been expected to reveal &.
le forbade including livestock and
iately after the revolution,
nce. But pparent that they faced a serious
shortage of food. The interim government appealed to < ‘ aa the United States for help. Washington rejected the plea i on the ground that commitments for food deliveries elsewhere precluded further exports. This left Bolivia
almost wholly dependent upon Perén, Surrender to his demands was inevitable if Washington persisted in refusing aid.
Unfortunately Washington also refused to pay the price Bolivia sought for the tin of the independent companies headed by Mauricio Hochschild. Great Britain has Jong contracted for the total output of the Simon Patino mines. In 1942 the United States government signed a contract for the 17,000-ton yearly output of the independents. The contract ran out this year, and Hoch- schild, acting for the independents, negotiated with the Reconstruction Finance Corporation for its renewal with a rise in price from 69 cents a pound to 76 cents. The mining companies, backed by the Bolivian government, which depends upon the exportation of tin for revenue, argued that the seven-cent rise was in line with the soar- ing prices of all minerals. The RFC offered to pay first 72, then 73, then 74 cents, but the Bolivian government stood firm on its demand for 76 cents, maintaining that increased production costs made mining tin unprofitable unless this price could be obtained.
Left begging for a tin market, running out of food, torn by internal strife, its democracy tottering, Bolivia was ripe for Perén’s plucking by the time Enrique Hert- zog, elected President in January, took office in Magch. A trade mission from Buenos Aires headed by a special ambassador had spent February in La Paz furthering Perén’s plans with a lavish display of generosity—it offered to pay 76 cents for the entire tin output of the independents, to provide a loan of $65,500,000, and to resume the movement of foodstuffs into Bolivia. Perén’s reward was to be Bolivia's eco- nomic dependence upon Argen- tina, which in a very short time must lead to political depend- ence. Most of the funds in- volved in the agreement were to be used for industrial and transportation projects greatly needed in undeveloped Bolivia. These projects, however, were to be managed by a joint com- mission dominated by Perén's appointees.
President Hertzog’s first ma- jor act was to sign this trade treaty. One of its provisions bound Bolivia to ship Argen- tina 8,000 tons of the independ- ents’ 17,000 tons of exportable
The NATION
tin in 1947, The tin started moving immediately, the first shipment being made in March, whereupon the RIC belatedly rushed in with an offer of 76 cents and salvaged 9,000 tons of the 17,000 tons.
Having obtained the treaty with Bolivia, Perén an- nounced to the Argentine Congress that the time had come to modernize the army. “Our pacifist tradition of respect for all peoples is not sufficient,” he said. “A minimum of foresight is necessary in the midst of an armed world.” The army, he declared, would be the guardian of the republic and contribute “to the defense of the southern part of the American continent,” These utterances were intended not only to intimidate his neighbors but to remind Washington that in the event of another world war the Argentina of Perén, proud possessor of a modernized army and with Bolivia's min- eral resources at its disposal, would be a force worthy of respect.
Blueprints for a pan-American military alliance have long been under consideration in Washington. Spruille Braden has opposed such an alliance. Even before he became Secretary of State, General Marshall was con- sidered one of its leading advocates. Perén wants it because then the United States would send him more arms and ammunition.
In his bigger-and-better army speech Perén spoke of his industrial-socialization program, which would enable the nation to produce “armaments and materials of war.” For advocates of the pan-American military alli- ance in the United States these were reassuring words. For Bolivia and other neighboring countries they evoked the image of a bully flexing his muscles. With Argen- tina in control of Bolivia’s minerals and receiving arms from the United States, Brazil, the only South American nation now powerful enough to stand up to Perén, will find it- self virtually impotent. Of course if a military alliance of all the Americas is formed, Bra- zil will also receive material aid from the United States. But Pe- rén is now in a position to build a great, aggressive war machine.
As a formidable military power Argentina would be- come the Latin American pivot of a pan-American military- defense program, The United States would then be obliged to rely on Perdén’s integrity and respect for democracy. But alli- ance or no alliance, Perén’s rec- ord indicates that he will fight on whichever side will best
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June 28, 1947
767
The Chinese Students
JEAN LYON
Pez tping, € hina, May 23
MIXED sense of
tory in the making pervades university
here this week. Nearly five thousand students pa-
traded through Peiping’s main streets three days ago in spite of a proclamation by Chiang Kai-shek and an emer- gency measure adopted by the State Council which sug- gested, although ie was no definite prohibition, that
impending tragedy al of his- circles
student demonstrations were not welcomed by the gov- ernment authorities. Other thousands of students in Nan- king, Shanghai, Tientsin, and more remote university centers also held demonstrations. Reports of clashes be- tween students and police or between students and un- identified persons are still coming in, and several reported deaths have heightened the tension.
Martial law was invoked in Peiping last night. The garrison commander has stated that in the future parades will be forbidden. University authorities, fearful of more violence and bloodshed, are trying to persuade the stu- dents that their job is in the classroom and not on the soapbox.
But the students have certainly found their tongues and the courage to use them. How significant their movement becomes may in part depend upon how far the government means to go in controlling or suppress- ing them. They seem in the mood this week to defy any attempt to stop them. “We have a new constitution which guarantees us freedom of speech,” one of the student leaders remarked on the day of the parade. Some ob- servers think this movement may prove to be of as great historical importance as the student protest against China's acceptance of Japan’s Twenty-One Demands after the First World War.
But the political atmosphere in China at present is such that no one seems quite certain how spontancous, how unified, or how genuine the movement is. Many persons, particularly those in government circles, insist that the strikes were incited by Communist agitators within the universities. The Generalissimo outlined thts view in his statement to the nation on the evening of May 18, after several students had been hurt in a fracas in Peiping with the 208th Division of the Youth Army, and at the moment when student strikes were threaten- ing to become widespread. Some of the students and a
good many acute political observers believe that the agi-
JEAN LYON is correspond nt in China for the North
“American Neu Spaper Alliance.
hin the Kuomin-
tation was first instigated by a clique wit tang to discredit the group which now dominates the newly reorganized government. It is thought that as the demonstrations became widespread, the agitation snow- balled, and its instigators lost control. A third theory ts that the students may have a few indeper ndent ideas of their own, and that the movement is largely honest student reaction to conditions in the country.
It is indisputable diet in their college
that the students live on a subnormal dining-rooms. Only those with funds from home for supplementary food and those who can qualify for the limited supplies of bean miik and the like supplied by international relief organiza- tions can hope to keep their energy and health up to the standard necessary to handle their work. The inci- dence of such diseases as tuberculosis is startlingly high. Moreover, throughout the war period and in their trek back east last summer, the students have seen more of the country and of the conditions prevailing in vast areas of it than any other student generation in all China's history. It is not strange, therefore, that in their demon- stration at Peiping they had two slogans: The people of China must not starve; the civil war must stop. With irrefutable logic they maintain that the nation’s economy has been distorted by the heavy costs of civil war, and that until the ctvil war ends the people will not have enough to eat. They have carried their protest far beyond their own personal needs.
The demonstration was impressive. The students marched for five hours through the city streets. By the end of the afternoon their black hair was grayed by the dust. Hundreds of them ran beside the marchers doing special jobs along the sidewalks and up the alleys. Some plastered posters on city gates and garden walls. Some talked with the shopkeepers and coolies, housewives and peddlers, who lined the streets. Girl students in blue diate overalls and boys in faded khaki trousers cartied buckets of tar and wrote large black-lettered slogans on whitewashed walls and paving stones. Their hands were
black and their earnest faces smudged and perspiring. Among the paraders were perhaps a hundred air-force and army veterans in uniform, a number with service stripes from Burma campaigns—all now college students.
Behind the demonstration, at least apparently, was an orderly representative body of thirty students in Peip- ing from eleven different institutions. Strike headquarters were in a large classroom building on the Pei-ta (Peiping National
colleges in the city stayed out of the joint strike and
University) campus. Only two important
Catholic college and China College. On trike committee were the presidents and officers regular student associations, which one student
; are R are organized very much like your Amerti-
ment. We have a congress and an executi'
b udent associations and student assemblies repre- Senting the entire student-bodics voted on the strike
tion. Tactics were heatedly discussed. One of the argu- ments was about whether telegrams urging the end of civil war should be sent to the Communists as well as to the National Government. Peiyang University students did send a wire to the Communists. In other universities the yument prevailed that since they were not in Com-
munist territory messages would have little effect.
Money for the printing of fliers and for the paper of the hand-made posters was raised in the lobby of strike headquarters, Students who went in and out of
the building dropped their money in cardboard boxes.
Some forty professors and lecturers at Pei-ta came out with open expressions of sympathy for the students. Dr. Hu Shih, Pei-ta’s president, although he had pre- viously urged the students not to take so much time off from their studies, allowed them to quote him on
May 19 as being sympathetic, and contented himself with urging them to keep their demonstration orderly and controlled.
It would be difficult for anyone not to subscribe to the two major protests made by the students—against starvation and rising prices, and against the civil war. One hears the same protests from almost everyone in China, whether he is a government representative or a oadside huckster. In voicing them, the students are only saying publicly what millions feel. Neither protest in its simplified form can be called the exclusive prop- erty of any one political party or group within a party.
Although the students offer no solution for China's problems, they may, if their actions win widespread sym-
-
pathy among the people, exert effective pressure upon the government to make it seek and find a solution. Whether or not the students will gain great popular support remains to be seen. It depends partly on the methods the government adopts to handle the increasing unrest among them. And it depends partly on the Students themselves—on whether they are being used as political puppets or are actually developing a genuine, unified student movement.
Bigotry in B-Flat
HOW THE BERKSHIRES FACE THE MUSIC BY HORACE SUTTON
Pittsfield, Massachusetts, June 19 RECISELY at 3:30 p.m., Sunday, July 13, Dr. Serge Koussevitsky will rap his baton on a music stand at Tanglewood, Massachusetts, and leading the orchestra in an all-Bach program formally open the 1947 Berkshire Music Festival. Before the series ends four weeks later at least a hundred thousand people will have poured into the village to hear the concerts, operas, and chorales. They will jam Tanglewood's Finnish-de- signed, $80,000 Music Shed, spill over on to its green lawns, lie under its birches, evergreens, and pines. On Saturday afternoons the crowds will come with their pic- nic baskets and pay a dollar to listen to the Boston Sym- phony in rehearsal. On Sunday mornings they will stretch out in the sun and watch the waters of Stockbridge Bowl ripple in the summer wind. When these music lovers seek a place to lay their heads at nightfall, the story will become less melodious
HORACE SUTTON contributes monthly articles on travel to The Nation.
than malodorous. According to Haydn Mason, director of public relations of the Berkshire Hills Conference, the annual music festivals at Tanglewood aggravate a Berkshire sore point into what the county now considers a very important problem. Of the forty-three hotels and inns which the conference lists in its 1947 vacation guide Mr. Mason estimates that 50 per cent will not wel- come Jews. At least one is militant on the subject. “Actually we would have a problem here anyway be- cause of our proximity to New York,” says Mr. Mason, “but the Jewish people are artistic as a race, and the festi- val has amplified our predicament. I would say that 98 per cent of our inns would have no objection if Jews would conduct themselves according to ordinary stand- ards, but they don’t. Here’s what happens. A car pulls up full of boisterous people. If they turn out to be Irish —o. k. If they're Italian—o. k. If they're Americans, no- body says anything. But if they're Jews, thumbs down.” As the official information center for the Berkshires, Mr. Mason’s office gets some 15,000 inquiries about accommodations each year. The letters are opened and placed in a huge cardboard bia, Regardless of the type
The NATION
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"type
June 28, 1947
Mason says, each applicant is sent a copy of the
f name, ]
Berkshire Hills Vacation Gu lide, which lists the hotels, nd another pamphlet which lists guest houses. Neither mentions clientéle restrictions. The prospective Berkshire
vacationist then makes a selection and writes to one of
the hotels. Mason says that half the hotels listed write ick, “‘Please be advised we only cater to. ..”’ or “We
' The guest houses, he indicated,
and Jews d
have as much opportunity to mingle with other guests During the 19
only welcome. . . not so strict since they do not serve food, o not 16 summer season the festival and its related activities drew an estimated 160,000 persons to
Berkshires. Of
only one-half coul
this number Mason estimates that
ows
be accommodated with the type of service and facilities the county would have liked to pro- vide. Some 10,000 rooms in the county, Mason's office figures, brought a total return to the area of $100,000 a day. With perhaps an even larger crowd coming this year, some festival ticket-holders will be sleeping as far away as Danbury, Connecticut, sixty-two miles to the south,
The smart Jew who is aware of the local attitude, Mason says, does not even attempt to find a place in Berkshire County. He goes to a hotel in rings or he takes a room at a tourist house on the road before he gets to the Berkshires. There are 117 tourist houses, cabins, and small hotels between Danbury and Tangle- according to Mason's tally. “Other Jews,’ he says, “may sleep in their cars.”
From Albany to Tanglewood is a thirty-seven-mile trip, but Mason explains that “it's only ten miles to Lebanon Valley, which is lined with guest houses.” Copake Falls, New York, like the Catskills.’” And Canaan, Connecticut, just over the state border, he says, is ‘wide open for them
The Berkshire Hills Conference, which functions like
wood,
“90 per cent Jewish, just
a local chamber of commerce, is supported by a tax-
payers’ appropriation and by voluntary contributions. Although it is denied officially,
exists between the conference, an old, established agency
apparently some strain
which aims to promote the whole Berkshire region over an eight-month period, and the infant music festival, which though it lasts only a month overshadows all other community activities. Mason 7 a townsman as say- ing last year, “I wouldn't give a dime to the Berkshire Hills Conference; look at “a the Jews it has brought to the county.”’ ““We didn’t bring them,” Mason explains “it’s the music festival that brought them. But . Some of our best families in Pitts-
privately, don’t get me wrong field are Jewish.”
he Berkshire Hill ish members, has gone on record against racial discrimi- nation. They say that if any anti-Semitism exists in the area, they have not fostered or supported it. They agree that “some resort hotels in the county pursue a restricted-
s Conference, which has two Jew-
769
t Toe, °° + ] mala «it wlan t! 1, : policy,” but they make it plain that such an atti-
Berkshire
clientéle ude “does not epresent the policy of the Hills Conference.” Pittsfield journalists believe that local anti-Semitism stems mainly from the types of dress af- fected by the counselors and children from nearby Jew- ish camps and from the public's behavior at the a rather than fron A scorching letter was printed last year in the Berkshire Eagle
itors for sun-bathing and iiaaaes dressin; ¢, With this
“names and faces.” berating vis-
exception the Eagle has given complete support to the festival.
Though Pittsfield elders have clearly rejected anti- Semitism, Jewish visitors to the Berkshires this year may
expen a chilly welcome. A few weeks ago a man and his ill wife arrived at a New England hotel which they found to be run down and dilapidated. Hearing of an- other place where he thought his wife might be more
comfortable, the man called and explained his predica-
ion went like this:
ment. The rest of the conversa
“Yes, we have a double room.’
“Oh, that's fine.”
“Are you a Christian?”
“No, I'm not.”
“Well, then I don’t think you'd be very comfortable here.”
Tanglewood i parking space on oe grounds for 4,000 cars Haven Railroad furnishes limited train New York to Great Barrington, Stockbridge, Lee, Lenox and Pittsield. The New Y Bostor iulso run to Pittsfield. Commercial air service
Massachusetts. There is The New
service from
ear Lenox,
rk Central and and Albany operates to Albany and to Springfield-Westfield, and
there is direct bus service to
} - + a ¢ a r me concer
. . 1! ea from all neighboring towns.
}’ ~ Qin Tangle ewood § first two Sund
5
v.aftern ¢ - -ort ‘ uternoon concer, on
’ > ‘ “11 1 Sane q ! } July 13 and 20, will be given by skeleton orchestras of
3 , nICICtT ec ‘The Poi! forty musicians. ihe regu ) é
lar week-end series begin on
July 24, with three sets of programs scheduled for each Thursday evening, Saturday evening, and Sunday after-
: 1 1 noon thereafter until August 10. Some 400 students who é : — > at Tang wd will neemen? chadion .. re $ Ua) in at ingiewood Willi pe se student-orcines é ‘ ; ' ¢ } she > tra concerts, student operas, chamber music, and choral ncerte 5 leete far the sonlar ceries are E64 far haw concerts. ickets for the regular se©ries are ¢g AU WUADGS, as we 4 én ; } naeal aul $4, $3, and $2 for other reserved seats. General ad mM > is §? and natran 1 #5 hringe hlainke mission 1S 9, 1d pa § are vire g Di ets, ¥ .. shotes n ae Pn ‘ lan ¢ ‘ peacn chairs, an cnic iskers. AGM $s 1 to student , I T a > ‘ we ‘ concerts is limited to the Friends of the Berkshire Mus
Center, which invites inquiries at Tanglewood, Lenox \ ts. All the con oy : Mas achusett 4 A Lait © cercs OF tne rePuiar series W - 9 1 be performed by the full Boston Symphony Orchestra I
pe ~ 4 ~ } ) ~~ with Serge Meee Pes as director.
’ t —
The first cuest conductor in the history of the musi
festival will be Lec nee: Bernstein, who will appear on eS ee b eee ey eee
Sunday afternoon, July 27—a fact I thought interesting
mae > rmerume? . under the circumstances.
The NATION
Del Fayo—Socialist Troubles
June the
/ oe ‘ , weel in wie second ween Ol
; of Europe met at Zurich. Other bigger
s, Secretary Marshall's Cambridge pass almost unnoticed. Yet it he
lis van
Second
i
International. Like
sessions at Clacton, Paris, and Bournemouth, the
Ziirich conference failed to find a solution. A new committee under French chairmanship was instructed to carry on the effort and maintain contact among the national parties, But the problems at issue were fully discussed, and the debate threw new light on the obstacles ahead.
The main one, of course, arises out of the difficult mterna- tional situation. The continuing tension between Soviet Rus- sia and the West has exercised its baneful influence on the Socialist parties more than on any other political group, creating such wide divisions as to leave little common ground on which an international organization could be set up. While eastern Socialists have tended to move nearer to Russia, in the degree to which the chance of an accord among the powers diminishes, Socialists in Western Europe have generally taken the contrary course. This obstacle to the re- establishment of the Second International would disappear as soon as relations between the three big powers improved. It may have been in the hope that ultimate reconcilia- tion may be achieved next November at the Foreign Minis- ters’ conference in London that the Socialists decided to hold their next meeting one month later, in Belgium.
Intimately dependent upon the course of Russian-Western relations is the other major problem with which the Euro- pean parties have been wrestling since the end of the war: what principles should control Socialist policy toward the Communists? An intelligent previous report by Dennis Healey, secretary of the International Section of Transport House, recognized the special situation in which the Social- ists of the Eastern European states find themselves. Unlike certain self-styled progressives who stamp as a Moscow tool any Socialist leader willing to work with the Communists, Mr. Healey emphasized the loyalty and wisdom of those east- ern Socialists who, by adapting their policy to the situation existing in their countries, have maintained the parties and preserved a considerable measure of Socialist influence.
The problem is not one that affects Socialists in the eastern areas only. France has the same problem. So has Italy. And it presents more than one aspect. It is not merely the ques- tion of whether one wishes to collaborate with the Com- munists but of what are the alternatives to collaboration. British Laborites are here in an advantageous position. While n power they need not worry lest errors on their part give Conservatives or Liberals a chance to capture any consid- erable section of the party’s membership—as, in France, the M. R. P. has captured from the Socialists considerable num- bers of voters who oppose collaboration. Nor is there a threat from the far right such as De Gaulle’s leadership offers the
French Socialists. On the other hand, British Labor is secure against the left; the Communists so far provide no serious competition. At each convention the Labor Party promptly turns down the annual Communist request for affiliation an passes on to other subjects. In France the highly organized Communist Party, with 1,000,000 members and 5,000, voics, cannot be so lightly disposed of. On the contrary, t French Communists are in a position to capitalize on every Socialist slip, every sign of weakness, In these circumstances it is almost impossible to rebuild the Second International on the basts of a rigid position for or against collaboration th could be applied indiscriminately to all national sections.
The problem inevitably repeats itself inside each national party. The Italian Socialists split at the beginning of this year as a consequence of a long and bitter controversy over relations with the Communists. In France the party divided almost evenly in the National Council debate on Premier Ramadies's decision to govern without the Communist Party. Out of this dispute came the Executive Committee's dissolu- tion of the Socialist Youth organization. During the Socialist commemorative celebration before the Mur des Fédérés the Socialist Youth had demonstrated against that decision, shout- ing: “Ramadier must go! Long live workers’ unity!” The dissolution order followed. Thus another issue has arisen tc plague the party convention in August.
The Socialist crisis which began soon after the Russian Revolution and dragged on through the inter-war years until the authority of the Second International was largely dissi- pated has been accentuated by the contlicts growing out of World War II. To the old subjects of controversy have been added new ones, There is, for instance, the dispute about the real substance of democracy. Here in America an oversimpli- fied attitude dismisses as purely Communist any doubt about the effectiveness of pre-war types of democracy. In Europe some of the most learned and liberal Socialists are engaged in a continuing debate on the question of the various repre- sentative forms of government. There are some who even maintain that “direct democracy” as practiced by the Com- mune and the insurrectional sections of Paris seventy-six years ago was a more genuine expression of the will of the people than the parliamentary system. Socialists are also divided om wage and financial policy. Another controversial point is how to handle the new fascism, which, encouraged by Allied support of reactionary regimes on the Continent, is growing increasingly insolent and aggressive.
It is to be hoped that somehow the Socialist parties wil! succeed in overcoming their present difficulties. Europe needs them. There is a great mass of Socialist opinion, traditionally educated in freedom and radicalism, which does not fit in any other party. Its loss as an effective political force would be a great one, even for the Communists, although they
e
often prefer to ignore this and do everything in their power to weaken the Socialist position. Only the reaction would
benefit by their success.
+ Al
NATION
OF 1S Sec) > NO serious promp iliation a y Organized 5,000.(
ynitrary,
eon eve cumstances 1ational on
ration that 1 sectio
h national 1g of this versy Over ty divided 1 Premier nist Party, 's dissolu- e Socialist ‘dérés the on, shout. ty!” The arisen tc
Russian ears until ely dissi- g out of ave been bout the *rsimpli- bt about
Europe engage is repre e nO even e Com- enty-s | of the fe also Oversial uraged uinent,
es wil] > Meecs ionally > fit
would h they power
W ou! d
_ — ‘ etna
———
EVERYBODY’S BUSINESS
BY KEITH HUTCHISON
Shifting the Tax Burden
1 ‘HE tax bill which President Truman has successfully
“ra
vetoed was planned by its Republican authors as a mere ppetizer, something to keep the G. O. P, angels in a good imor until the main dish was served next year in time to stimulate campaign subscriptions. Several reeks ago the voks began their preparations when Representative Knut-
n’s Ways and Means Committee opened hearings on re- vision of the Internal Revenue Code. At the same time » committee summoned to its aid an allegedly bi-partisan oup of advisers, heavily weighted with conservative busi- ness men, under the chairmanship of Roswell Magill, Colum-
1 law professor and former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury.
Despite this paraphernalia of careful inquiry there is some reason to suppose that leading Republicans on the com- mittee have already made up their minds about the broad changes to be made in the tax system. In its Tax Report on June 11 the Wall Street Journal gave an interesting preview of fiscal events to come. The Republicans, it said, would not succeed in trimming federal expenditure this year to less than $34 billion, and further economies in the 1949 budget, which will precede the Presidential election, are not likely to be impressive, since ‘Republican leaders are already passing the word that they will be more generous next year in appro- priating funds for reclamation projects and other domestic I The Wall Street Journal goes on to explain that this means budgets well in excess of $30 billion at least until June 30, 1949, and only modest margins for tax reduc- tion, apart from that provided in the vetoed bill. Conse- quently “the emphasis in Congress is shifting from tax re- ief to tax-law revision, meaning redistribution of the tax
programs.”
yurden,””
The probable nature of that redistribution is indicated by the choice of Professor Magill to head the advisory commit- tee, for he is well known as an advocate of excises and other In the Tax Review of March, 1947, he set
eas on what to do about taxes. His ‘since we believe in free enterprise,
indirect taxes. forth at some length his id major premise was that ° we must do all we can to make it work.” What makes it “Essentially the driving force . . . of business man- answers the Professor, whose minor premise, therefore, is “that the tax system should be so drawn as to encourage and develop the incentives of American business men to produce and work.”” What will do this? More “take- home pay’ for executives and investors. So, Professor Magill concludes, the first step in a sound tax program would be a sharp downward revision of surtax rates with a ceiling of 50 per cent on any income. A second necessary step, in order to encourage investment, would be the elimination of the present double taxation of that part of a corporation's in- come which is distributed in dividends,
work ?
agement,”
71
1
r Magill believes that the budget can be trimmed
Professo farther than it has been but concedes that it will remain much higher than before the war. Hence there is need to
compensate for the loss of revenue which his tax reforms produce, Formerly, he points out, the government drew most
of its revenues from indirect taxes, but in recent years it
has relied increasingly on income taxes. We should now, he
considers, reverse this trend and “make use of the excises
to mect a substantial share of the tremendous expenses we face.”
The idea, in short, is to shift the tax burden from invest- ment to consumption, from the high to the middle and low brackets, which will no doubt be consoled to know that ia theory taxes on consumption make for more stable revenue. Supposedly, when national income nose-dives, the yield from income taxes drops much more steeply than that from excises and sales taxes. As Professor Magill “People
smoke and buy liquor and go to the movies in bad times as
explains:
well as in good.” but most people indulge in such
luxuries very much less in bad times, And they certainly buy
Perhaps, fewer automobiles, tires, radios, refrigerators, sporting goods, transport, and telephone calls—some of the goods and serv- ces on which excises are now levied.
Personally I am very skeptical about the theory th: taxes would prove a stable source of revenue in the event of a sharp fall in national income. Our present system of excises and although it covers luxuries, it also covers few
has never been tested by a depression, many things which are hardly it is based on arti-
that are absolute necessities. That is to say,
cles for which the demand is fairly flexible. To make the
system proof against depression
'
it would be necessary to
include within it the real essentials of life—basic food and clothing. A good stiff sales tax on bread, for instance, would under all conditions. It
be a very steady source of revenue
might even yield more in bad times, for then people eat more bread and less of the quality foods. A tax oa milk would also help to fatten the Treasury. Alas for the tax re- formers! The exclusion of staple food and clothing is, as the Wall Street Journal regretfully admits, ‘politically necessary.”
It seems to me, therefore, that wc e the Republicans get very far with their current going to
find themselves in a three-pronged dilemma. If they want to
investigation they are
use sales taxes as stabilizers of revenue, they must commit political suicide by levying them on basic necessities. If, on the other hand, they decide to cross the depression bridge when they come to it and concentrate on increasing excise revenue now so as to compensate for income-tax reductions, they will have to tax all currently untaxed articles, except food and clothing, very si ween, ially in order to lion or two extra. It is doubtful, in fact, if the 7% to 10 pet
Gearhart is toying with would prove sufficient.
to be very
the price level, and
raise a bil-
cent manufacturers’ excise tax which Repceecntetive of California
It would be hig at a time when everyone is kicking at might well cause a substantial shrinkage in demand. In that case the shifting of the tax burden from investment to con- sumption would result investment. Sometimes our tax even more important incentive to producers an effective demand for the product,
h enough, however, unpopular
discouraging to forget that an than low taxes is
in conditions ver “reformers”
BOOKS aud the ARTS
AMERICAN AUTHORS’ AUTHORITY—ROUND II
'HE plan for the establishment of pe American Authors’ Authority, brain-child of James M. Cain and the » Writers’ Guild
sceimcd to nave
OI Hollyw ood,
reen 1
been smothered
w Dich
by controversy a few months after its
, ! ! LK InCCy tion last July, nas recenuly been re- ,
. <a aa rT vived. The Screen Writers’ Guild has
published a special supplement to the March number of its official magazine setting forth some of the arguments for and against the proposal to set up a cen-
tral authority of which the four guilds of the Authors’ League of America— Writers’, the Radio Writers’, and the Authors’—
} and to
the Screen the Dramatists’, would be member organizations, which authors would assign their copy- rights with a view to facilitating bar- gaining for fairer practice in author-em- ployer relations. The supplement con- tains a breezy foreword by Mr. Cain describing the ‘Tough Mag’’ whom he designates to captain the team of “ring- backfield”
forward-passing, swivel-hipping guy at “fast ends’”—which
ers in the ‘\drop-kicking, quarterback” and constitutes his prospective leadership of the A. A. A.; among other items are the proposed Articles of Incorporation and the By-Laws, couched in legal terms and claiming to incorporate ‘modifications of the original proposal.”
That the revised plan contains any modifications of or improvements over the original plan is vigorously denied by the American Writers’ Association, a body formed under the presidency of Rupert Hughes specifically to combat the A. A. A. plan at the time of its launch- ing. The American Writers’ Association asserted then, and still asserts, that the A. A, A. would set up a control over authors similar to that exercised by Petritlo over the musicians of this coun- try, that it threatens the writer's freedom ef expression, that the revised plan gives the proposed authority “the same abso- lute power over the work of writers that
was so dangerous in the first plan,” and
BY ANTHONY BOWER
; that it completely ignores the profound difierence between the problems con-
1 +}
creen writers ana tne pro
fronting: lery ironting i€ims
r j ' >t
faced by free-lance writers, poets, novel- ists, and textbook authors.
That there is a profound difference between these two categories of writers The ployed on a salary basis lives the
1S very true. screen writer, em-
t
Dy a movie company, uncomfortable life rs on.masmine Gchbinkcowsta+ mince. O1 a wage carning cnenerazade; more and by
over, his work automatically
established custom becomes the prop- erty of the company as he writes it. The free-lance author deals with his pub- lisher on very different terms. The usual contract—for an author whose popular- ity is not absolutely established—would give him an advance of between $500 and $1,500 against royalties of 10 pex cent on the first 2,500 copies of the book sold (based on the retail price), 121/, per cent on the next 2,500 copies, and 15 per cent thereafter. This is stand- ard practice and, in general, is consid- ered fair. Practice in regard ‘> subsidiary rights is, however, by no means stand- ardized and very often not considered fair; it is in this field that the A. A. A. declares that the free-lance author is insufficiently protected and would benefit by the establishment of a centralized au- thority. Subsidiary rights are book-club, reprint, first-serial, second-serial, movie, radio, dramatic, foreign (British), and translation (foreign non-British) rights. The publisher usually retains a 50 per cent share of the beok-club, reprint, and second-serial rights, and an interest, sub- ject to negotiation, in the foreign and, if possible, the film rights. The rest of the subsidiary rights customarily remain with the author, but the contract varies according to the ability of the author's agent, the popularity of the author, and the disposition of the publisher.
No one denies that the author is sometimes the victim of sharp practice, particularly in the matter of subsidiary rights; the present professional organi-
zations—the four guilds, the Authors’ League, the American Pen Women, the A. W. A., and the prospective A. A. A,
ire all in agreement on this point. B the A. A. A. contends that the present Organizations have, in all the years of their existence, done too little to im- prove the situation in the matter of “the copyright laws, separation of rights, re- vision of tax laws, or protection of civ! rights.” The present copyright law is superannuated, dating from an era when movie and radio rights were undreamed of, and allowing an author no claim to his copyright until the publisher makes it for him—an act interpreted by some publishers as giving them a permanent interest in all rights stemming from the copyright. Conformity, and more lberal- ity toward the author, in the matter of subsidiary rights is generally approved. The present tax Jaws are most certain'y unfair to writers, and an 2 thor’s civil rights, particularly in regard to prosecu- tions for indecency, are sometimes too feebly defended. All this is recognized more or less by both sides
It is the method of approach which is the subject of contention. The esta! lished organizations and the A. W. want to leave things to t'me and themselves. The A. A. A. wants to en- bark on an immediate crusade and to sct about “belling cats,” in the form of publishers, editors, and radio and movie companies, in short order The means by which it proposes to do this are stated in two of the proposed Articles of Incorporation of the A. A. A. Para- graph 3 reads: “To hold in trust for the creators, the copyright, title, and forms of interest and ownership in, liter- ary properties of all kinds, and to as- sign, deal in, transfer, dispose of, li- cense, lease, and grant interests an rights of all kinds in such properties. And Paragraph 4 reads: ‘To act as trus- tee, representative, or in any other ca- pacity on behalf of creators of literary properties and owners of interesis
”
Authors’ omen, t!
A. A. A, point. b le prese: years of le to °r of “the ‘ights, re n of ci it law is era when idreamed claim to er makes by some ermanent from the e liberal- natter of pproved. certain!y rs civil prosecu- imes too cognized
h which 1e esta! WwW. and
5 to em- id to set orm of d movie » means this are Articles \. Para- for the ind
n, liter- | to as- of, li- ts and erties.” as trus- her ca-
litera ry ile resis
June 28, 1947
therein, including, without limiting the zenerality of the foregoing, to take all iwful steps to preserve, enforce, and protect rights arising out of, or under, ypyright, title, or other interests in liter- ary contracts, give quittances and re- leases.”
It is to these articles that the A. W. A. takes particular objection. It maintains that with the legal title to his work as- signed to the A. A. A. the author would be completely at its mercy; it would be
th a holding company and a closed shop, the owner of his property and the eventual dictator of his thoughts. Once the Authority had established its con- trol over the literary market, which to be really effective it would have to do, it could easily dictate the moral and po- litical content of the works it handles and successfully boycott any writer of whom it disapproved. By its very con- struction it could, and probably would, come under the control of a militant minority, and the freedom of the writer and his essential integrity as a creative being would be intolerably threatened.
Without doubt there are valid argu- ments on both sides. Publishing has be- come a vast commercial enterprise. Banks and stockholders demand a good return On their investments and dictate up to a point the policy of some houses, and the author is at times the victim of increasing commercialism. The Authors’ League has been in existence for thirty- five years, and all abuses have not yet been righted. The A. A. A., if it were established, would undoubtedly start its career with vigor and redress some wrongs; later it might well become mo- nopolistic and dictatorial. The remark- able part, however, of the whole contro- versy is the vituperative quality of the attack and counter-attack. The A. W. A. has said bluntly of the A. A. A., “It happens to be a notorious fact that those who hatched the plan and those most
energetic in pushing it are of the pro- Communist persuasion.” Mr. Cain is here excused (‘It is only fair to say that Mr. Cain himself does not seem fully aware of the implications of the plan but to have been the carrier of other men’s ideas”). Mr, Cain says of the op- ponents of his plan that though they might not compose “as one newspaper said, a fascist front, there was no getting away from it that some of its more vocal members had got themselves nice little
Stalag Luft
In the yard, by the house of boxes,
I Jay in the ditch with my bow;
And the train’s long mourning whistle Wailed from the valley below
Till the sound of my rabbit gnawing Was the grasses’ tickling shadow, And I lay dazed in my halo
Of sunlight, a napping echo
I saw through rainbow lashes
The barred and melting gaze
Of my far-raiding captors.
(The dappled mustangs graze
By the quills of the milky leggings.) After some feverish days
They smile, and the numbing laces Are cut from my wrists with praise. When I woke the rabbit was gnawing His great, slow, ragged bites
From the wood of the wired-in hutches, And dusk had grayed the white Leghorns hunched on the roosts of their run The train mourned below
For the captives—a thinning echo....
WHAT YOUNG PEOPLE OUGHT TO LEARN
‘Plato and Shakespeare, or manual training and
business methods? The battle raging on the subject ef curriculum is here joined by two witty and un- inhibited men. They arrive at a unified, humanistic curriculum aimed to unbind Smith (the average college freshman) from the shackles of mal-educa- tion. Whether you agree with them or not, you will never again be complacent on the subject of educa- tion after reading their stimulating argument.
$2.50 at all bookstores MACMILLAN
By ERNEST N. DILWORTH and WALTER LEUBA.
reputations OVC as militant react! for corporate
Among the caln
r publi hed in
I Id ha
Mar 1] ment of the Screen
lan because he rrender of copy-
the author and because of the
inherent possibility of boycott and con- trol by the A. A. A., an well, in an makes the that ‘‘of
best-sellers have nothing to worry about,
Taylor Cald-
interview which she
rather surprising statement
course writers who are not so they can despise any sort of union of authors,” comes out in full support ot the Authority.
When even the ideological lines are none too clearly drawn—what with Up ton Close and Dorothy Thompson in op- position to the plan and Taylor Cald- well, poor deluded Mr. Cain, and the how is the To climb on
crypto-commies in favor outsider to choose sides? the fence requires more effort than rest- ing in statu quo, and for the line of least resistance there seems to be a valid argu- ment. The present airing of grievances may provoke movie and radio com- panies and publishers to a general adop- tion of practices more favorable to au- thors; moreover, most authors are in the capable business hands of agents, and
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the victims among them are
tively few. The A. W. A. seems to have proved that there is at least a slight dan- ger that a central authority such as the A. A. A. might establish a monopolistic control over the output of authors, and though writers have survived through the ages the most drastic threats to their freedom, and though as Henry James re- marked there is always “the periodical prattle about the future of fiction,” there is no point in self-inflicted coer-
still
cion.
NOTES BY THE WAY By MARGARET MARSHALL OME WEEKS AGO I reviewed “The Girl and the Ferryman” by
Ernst Wiechert, an anti-Nazi German
writer who stayed in the Third Reich
and yet managed to survive honorably.
The book seemed to me to be permeated
by the elements we have come to think
of as Germanic in the bad sense—crude mysticism of the earth-and-birth variety and an utter humorlessness—which bothered me until I found that it was
an old novel published in 1932.
Now Greenberg: Publisher has brought out “Forest of the Dead” ($2.50), a new book by Wiechert, in which he gives an account, in the third person, of his quarrel with the Nazis and his sojourn in Buchenwald.
The name Wiechert assigns to his principal character is Johannes. The hero of Johannes was, and apparently still is, Martin Niemdller. When the pastor was taken, Johannes’s dreams were haunted, and it was his obsession with Niemdller’s fate that led him fi- nally to write a letter to the branch office of the Nazi Party in his district, a letter in which he quoted the Fihrer of the Reich, no less, who had “‘dared to say: ‘Justice must be justice, even for Ger- mans.’ ” Johannes knew what must hap- pen as a result of his act but was easier in his mind for having taken his stand. He quietly went about preparing for the ordeal, disturbed only by fears for his family and doubts of his capacity to resist his torturers. Soon afterward he started on his journey through hell.
After some preliminary stages he reached the Forest of Beeches. Buchen- wald then was filled not with “foreign slaves” but with Germans who were
opposed to the regime and whose fate
The NATION
was so persistently 1gnored by the world at large. Mass exterminaticn had not yet begun, but cruelty in all its forms, both crude and subtle, held holiday in the dismal place—leaving its marks not only on the beaten bodies of the vic. tims but even more vividly on the faces and bearing of the persecutors.
Johannes was maltreated less than many others, but his imagination and his sympathy for his fellow-prisoners caused him to suffer even the kicks and blows and indignities which he himself, by chance, did not incur.
That morning Johannes stepped out of the barracks to see the elegant physician busy throwing rocks in order to disperse the patients that had gathered. . . . When the yard was empty, he brushed off his gloves and said, “Cowardly mob!’ and went back into the barracks. When he had disappeared inside, those who had fled came from behind the trees and took up their old places.
A stone in the back of the could '- fatal, and Johannes was present on one occasion when an old man was struck down and killed in this way. And there were other, equally haphazard ways. Death was truly a casualty in Buchenwald.
After several months Johannes’s re- lease came, unexpectedly and suddenly. “Everybody came and wished him luck. His heart was heavy as he looked into their silent eyes. No farewell anywhere hurts more than that from a concentra- tion camp.” And Johannes departed, but he carried with him a heavy burden.
head
The wounds Johannes bore were not merely his own, not only those of the thousands whom he would leave behind, nor even were they only those of his own people. All of humanity had been shamed here, and who could say that this was possible only with his own nation and the other “dictatorships”? Time had dug deep into the ground beneath the nations, and from the depths stink- ing springs had gushed forth. But no one knew how far they branched below the earth and what would be the fate of other people if their soil were drilled.
Wiechert tells his story in muted and rather pious terms—he is a devoutly re- ligious man—but it is none the less impressive. One may feel that Johan-
‘ATION
+ the world 21 had not its forms, holiday In marks not f the vic. 1 the faces rs.
less than ation and -Prisoners kicks and
e himself,
stepped elegant cks in its that re yard ; gloves
and When se who ie trees
he head $ present man was ray. And iphazard ualty in
1es's re- iddenly. im luck. ed into 1ywhere ncentra- eparted
burden.
were those vould they All of x and ssible 1 the | dug } the tink- But iched id be > soil
ed and tly re- e less
Johan-
June 28, 1947
nes's admiration for Nieméller was mis- placed and find his simple religious approach a bit archaic. But one can only have profound respect for his purity and integrity, his modesty and his cour age. And in an age when that minute
particular, the human individual, has alli but disappeared from the calculations of those who rule and misrule the world, and always in his name, Wiechert'’s abiding respect for “God's image”’ is salutary.
I] RECENTLY SPENT a week-end in Vermont, where the spirit of Coolidge still broods over what is surely one ot the most beautiful of landscapes. Walk- ing about the courthouse lawn in a little town I remarked upon the fine view to a man who was cutting the grass “Yes,” he replied, and it might have been Cal himself rejecting my fancy language, “you can see off quite a piece. ’
Metaphysical or So
THE WELL-WROUGHT URN. By Cleanth Brooks. Reynal and Hitch- cock. $3.50.
R. BROOKS'’S new book on the
well-made poem — his pleasant title is from Donne, naturally, but re- fers also to urns in Shakespeare, Gray, and Keats—comments at length on ten well-known English poems in terms of their structure, the key word being “‘par- adox”; an eleventh chapter essays a theory of poetry; in appendices the au- thor argues with other critics, and re- prints the poems, except “Macbeth” and “The Rape of the Lock.” He is reliably acute on Donne's “The Canoni- zation,” Herrick’s “‘Corinna’s going a-maying”; interesting in developments of Miss Spurgeon’s discovery of the ob- sessive clothes imagery in “Macbeth”; very good on the light-dark symbolism in “L’Allegro—Il Penseroso,” and on Yeats’s “Among School Children,” though “Her present image’’ unques- tionably refers to an aged woman (the error produces a whole system of mis- understanding), and to dismiss the poet’s doctrine of prenatal recollection as merely “fantastic” is fantastic. The same dismissal in part accounts for an unacceptable reading of Wordsworth’s Ode,. but other critical defects are re- sponsible as well: a disbelief in the literal, and oversubtlety. For this last
775
Practical Psychiatr
(Between Mental Health and Mental Disease) BY DR. B. LIBER
Adj. Professor of Psychiatry, Director of a Mental Hygiene Clinic
PRACTICAL PSYCHIATRY is a book on mental hygiene dealing with EVERY- DAY difficulties of the average person rather than with rare or very abnormal cases. It deals with conditions which oc- cur in all classes of society, among ail sorts of people. There is hardly a family eamat wil free from some mental trouble.
As a guide to mental health and psychic happiness, it helps the individual to solve his own and his family’s problems and to adjust himself and others to surrounding circumstances and to society as a whole. In the first place it teaches where the trouble lies. It traces the growth of the mind from childhood through adolescence to maturity and discusses the question of SEX and MARRIAGE frankly.
It is recommended by reviewers and great authorities
New York World-Telegram: “A well- known physician tells how some of our most alarming anxieties and difficulties yield to mental hygiene.”"—The Pbila- delphia Inquirer: “Dr. Liber has per- formed a valuable service in giving the layman a means of intelligent understand- ing of mental health without tiring, scar- ing of boring the reader.” — Medical Times: “The practical aspects are empha- sized without delving into the. contro- versial theoretical considerations or tech- nical terminology. It is one of the best books the reviewer has seen for the intel- ligent layman in which sense psychiatry is kept to the front.”—Dr. Adolf Meyer, Dean of American psy- chiatrists says: “I like your direct com- mon sense which gives valuable data to the reader.”"—Upton Sinclair: Out of your long experience you have offered your readers a great deal of common sense and
common
advice." — The Atlanta Journal, N. Y. State Journal of Medicine, N. Y. Medical Week, The Daily Worker have also
praised this book.—Etc., etc.
From the Table of Contents:
What Is the Mind?—Mental Adjust- ment—Confiicts—Causes of Mental Dis- eases—Personality—Bad Habits—Indus- trial Intoxications—Normal and Abnormal —Incipient Psychoses—Child Uphbringine —Feeblemindedness—Child Delinquency — Masturbation — Impotence — Homosex- ualism—Incest— Marital Troubles —psy- chosomatic Life or Body and Mind—Pub- lic Enemies or Who Is Who in Driving? —Mental Depression—Neurosis—Psycho- neurosis — Hysteria — Schizophrenia or
The book contains 432 pages, is beautifully printed and elegantly bound in cloth. Price $3.50.
Ask for it in bookstores or order direct from
Distributor: HARTSDALE HOUSE
220 WEST 42 STREET
With a minimum of theory and tech- nical terminology and about 250 case his- tories as illustrations, all taken from the author's wide experience, this volume of- fers a practical and sensible approach to the almost normal and slightly abnormal or mildly unadjusted person seeking to correct the mental entanglements that confront him in this complex world.
PRACTICAL PSYCHIATRY is the pioneer book on the incipient or light mental cases or the transition cases be- tween mental healih and mental disease.
It is written for doctors and for in- telligent laymen. Anyone who can read any book can read it with much profit.
From the Newest Reviews:
The Deseret News, Salt Lake City (June 12, 1947): “This book is intended for the laiety and, while avoiding technical discourse as much as a doctor can, it gives fascinating descriptions of the symp- toms of oncoming troubles with analysis of results, prevention and treatment. And it provides the information in a lucid and authoritative manner.” — Frank Winn. (This reviewer calls some of the stories “literature worthy of the classics’ and about other parts he says, “they could be easily seized upon by some morte mag nate desirous of making an authentic picture.”’)
The Sunday Mirror (New York, June 8, 1947: “When an expert like Dr. Liber writes a popularly slanted book ‘Popular Psychiatry’ and writes it so that the aver- age paper-cover bookman can get plenty of help from it in matters sexual and mental, we give pause and thanks.”— Charles A. Wagner.
Splitmindedness — Dementia Praecox — Alcohol and the Mind—Fear and Sugges- tion—Paranoia—Hitler’s Mind and Sim- ilar Minds—The Mental Health of the Soldier and of the War Veteran: Induc- tion, Rehabilitation, Patriotism and Pseu- do-Patriotism, Back to Civilian Life, Pop- ulation and War — Poverty — Wore and Mind — Mental Health, Prevention and Treatment of Mental Disease—Glossar: and generous Index
NEW YORK 13, N. Y.
~
776 Mr. Brooks Apol v1Z¢ so ofte 1 tl at it seems unan able } h m W th
to charge it, but there it is, and it corrupts also the ac Urn”
one feels perhaps some failure of taste,
ounts of the “Ode on a Grecian
and as with eighteenth-century poetry. He does not recognize the Housman-like passion flickering in the opening stanzas and steady in the final stanzas of Gray's “Elegy” (for West's death, when he first began the poem, as well as for himself, the “Elegy” wants compar- ing with “Lycidas’); and his study of Pope is not likely to satisfy anyone familiar with the magical variety, of Be- linda’s great poem—for instance, of the
couplets where the rape occurs:
The Peer now spreads the glitt’ring Forfex wide,
T'inclose the Lock; now joins it, to divide. ees
The meeting Points the sacred Hair d ssever
From the fair Head, for ever and for ever!
The book contains admirable remarks and much truth, besides having the merit of directing attention to such poems. Taking a low view of its reader, however, it is perhaps good teaching rather than criticism; and its prose is troubling. Three points related to the analyses have general interest for even a brief review. Of Macbeth’s speech about the grooms’ daggers “‘unmannerly breech'd with gore,” paraging quotation from Abbott (p. 29) just short of the sentence in which Abbott, following Warburton and John- son, explains what Mr. Brooks ignores, that “language so forced is only appro- priate in the mouth of a conscious mur-
he stops a dis-
dissembling guilt.” Tennyson's ships in “Break, Break, Break’ seem “idle and finally irrelevant” only if in connection with the “vanished hand” of the next line their stateliness on their way “To their haven under the hill’ has failed to produce in the critic the image of a funeral procession it recalled in the poet. And more talk about Keats's insistence on “Beauty is truth, truth beauty” was made unneces- sary some ten years ago by H. St. Quentin's realization that “Ye’’ means not everybody-in-time-to-come but the figures on the urn (whose experience now is limited to the Beautiful as there
derer can
Tears, Idle Tears.”’ But here
‘tease ws out of
depicted—whence thought,” the above); the aphorism alone should be
in quotation marks as in Forman and
line always ignored
De Sélincourt, though regrettably not in Garrod’s recent edition. Critics from Eliot on have wasted time largely over this,
Either I imperfectly understand Mr. Brooks's theory of poetry (‘‘a structure of meanings, evaluations, and interpre- tations; and the principle of unity which informs it seems to be one of balancing and harmonizing connotations, attitudes, and meanings’) or there is nothing very new about it. A poem, I take it, cannot contain one thing only: out of several things it makes its single effect. Some of these, we learn, are different from
others. In the laboring of this, “para-
dox”” behaves like an acrobat. I share Mr. Brooks's interest. in the history of English pcetry and his resistance to the pinch the di- versity of observable phenomena into a
critical relativists, but to
single set of terms or insist on anything
resembling a unanimity of style
seems to me to be indiscreet, or worse. Worse, because it will blind you. Every man is entitled to insensitivities; but when, in one of his rare forays into the ju- dicial, the critic writes of “More happy love! more happy, happy love!” “I am not sure that this stanza can altogether be defended. . . . There is a tendency to linger over the scene sentimentally: the repetition of the word happy is per- haps symptomatic of what is occurring,” one wonders what he thinks of another line hitherto much and miserably ad- mired: “Never, mever, never, never.”” He writes, in fact, "The method of art can, I believe, never be direct—is always indirect.” I wonder. JOHN BERRYMAN
never,
Understanding Russia
A HISTORY OF RUSSIA. By Sir Ber- nard Pares. Fifth Edition. Revised and Enlarged, Alfred A. Knopf. $5.
RUSSIA IN PERSPECTIVE. By George Soloveytchnik. W. W. Norton and Company. $3.
Russia it will not be the fault of the publishers. Here we have two additions to the spate of books designed to dispel our ignorance of that country by au-
Ls WE continue to misunderstand
The NATION
thors who may fairly be described as anti-Communist but pro-Russian. Both are historians, and both make the point that the policies of the Soviet govern. ment can be better explained by their examination in the light, of Russian history and geography than by reference to the works of Marx and Lenin.
Sir Bernard Pares has given both heart and mind to Russia since he first went there in 1904, The period of revolution caused a painful separation, but once Stalin had consolidated his power and proved he was first and fore- most a Russian patriot, reconciliation was achieved. Now Sir Bernard is prob- ably as persona grata at the Kremlin as he once was at Tsarskoe Selo. Neve:- theless, he is a candid friend who has plenty of harsh words for the purges and for the frequent brutalities of Sovict economic policy.
At the same time in an epilogue, which together with a chapter on “‘the second Fatherland War’ forms the new material in this edition, he admits to “much general sympathy” with the broad aims of Soviet foreign policy. He regards it as unfortunate that “nearly all the sharpest debates in the U. N. are challenges to a Russian recovery of what she had before 1914 or to questions that are to be solved on her doorstep.” That is to say, they are geographical rather than ideological challenges and appear to the Russians an effort to reimpose the cordon sanitaire. As such they will be strenuously resisted and, Sir Bernard suggests, could lead to a Russian-Ger- man combination that would be a deadly threat to the West. To avert that danger, he declares, we should try to understand the historical basis for Rus- sia’s policies and concede to it the equality of treatment to which it is en- titled by its power and achievements. That done, the Soviet Union would be likely to concentrate on peaceful inter- nal development and the ghost of world revolution would be laid.
The author of “Russia in Perspective” makes much the same point. Mr. Solo- veytchnik, who fled from the red terror as a young man and is now a British subject, urges us to remember that ‘‘de- spite all possible relapses into Com- munist technique and phraseology, Rus- sian history has resumed its course and that the world is once more dealing, not with a synthetic revolutionary body, but
ATION
cribed ag ian. Bot) the point t govern- by
~ Russian
referer @ in. ven bot)
e he first eriod of »paration, lated his and fore- nciliation
1 is pre
Kremlia ». Never- who has
e purg S of Sovict
epilogue, on “the the new dmits to vith tl olicy. He | “nearly J. N. are of what ions that p.” That al rathe: j appe ipose t! e will be ernard ian-Ger- 1d be a vert that d try for Rus- » it the it is en- vements. vould be ul inter- of world
pective” Solo-
-d terror British hat “‘de- o Com- gy, Rus- irse and ling, not ody, but
lune 28, 1947
e eternal Russia ie he gives us an impressionistic un hi
‘tch of Russi tory which stresses
continuity between the old Russia
the new. Like the most modern ol of Soviet historians he sees a ir line from Vladi ind Prince of in the Terrible and Generalissimo Stalin All the same, fellow-traveiers will
like this book, for although it hes many of their conclusions, it es facts and argumen ‘ tevotees of the U. S ° R. will find rhly embarrassing. Mr.
oloveytchnik the last thirty years in Russia, not advance toward socialist
ocracy, but as a bloody retreat from
a glorious
antastic utopianism to a more or less
We need
munism,
rmal system of autocracy longer fear “militant com ures us: ‘There is a new Soviet
xcracy today, and it does not differ atly from any other privileged class its formative period.”
While I believe this statement has a ge element of truth, I do not find rticularly reassuring. Nor am I happy be told that the Soviet state of today ‘presents a tionalist tra- That
mixture, as Napo-
synthesis of na ms and revolutionary im} pulses. a very explosive con once proved.
KEITH HUTCHISON
Memorandum REFUGEES IN AMERICA. By Maurice
R. Davie. Harper and Brothers. $4.50.
EPRESENTATIVE Frank W. Fel- lows of Maine is a man with a House
d natu-
evance. As chairman of the
subcommittee On immigration an ilization, he told the New York Times
aba he has been receiving
vast juantities of mail from all parts of the ountry urging favorable action on a bill to ease our immigration restrictions a favor of D. P.’s in Europe. Mr.
“tremendous pres- ” IT wish he
what type of tre- y}
ead described it as re of the type I
~ A cr step ad gone on to specify
don’t l ke mendous pressure he did like; never- theless, because I had some experience luring the war in handling government paper in Washington, I sympathize with the Representative from Maine and his hard- pressed staff, which is having to
, , e ot me toting bags : + ram I ing Oags Ol = ims
tead of thinking. It occurs
I that it might be
eel its tis
to me, ful if I
America,’
cast my review of ‘Refugees in
tative and
} nave
. P
t} rouct investigation eo
ChHOTr¢ ugn Investig’ oO! we a 6
had on this subject, in the form of
Se Se ee OEE AOS a memorandum waicn tas UDCOTRT =~
might use. I don’t know whether Mr. Fellows likes this “type,” either, bu y}
sure that he and his fellow-
° 1 co itteemen | ive iong go ore 1 é ‘ } a med to 1 SUBJECT: B Imi 1
eprescntat ve
Chairman ization Subcommittee, House of Rep 1. Attention is directed to the recent
publicat
Ze
, Immigration a tadic ciary Sai
ifatives.
reset
mittee Titree,
ion of “Refugees in America,”
a book of 453 pages (including an in- dex and some pages of photographs,
with appendices), study of
together which, it is believed, may prove relevant to the work of the addressed subcom- Brothers,
| scioses to
Publisher is Harper and ich careful investigation di be an old-established firm in New York City, with no known Communist, leftist, or prematurely anti-fascist connections (though it appears to have foreign ties in the form of an office in London, England).
Book is the final report of the Com- e for the Study of Recent Immigra private body sponsored by v
Organizations: Amer
mitte 1r10us
ican
tion,a social-service Christian American Friends’ Service Committee, —— for Refugees,
e es Committee for European Children, Refugee Service.
Note should be taken of the fact that
Committee for
efugees, Catholic I National ations cit
the organiz ed represent various
religious denominations. It is fearec also, that they do not fall into the cate-
gory of leftist or Communist organiza-
ions, though ought to have displayed evidences of excessive activity on behalf of anti-Hitler, anti-Fr and anti-Mussolini refugees >efore the United St. more, Cat
they are th anco,
vv > 1'ar, Further-
ites entered the
holics are known to have s7-
ternational connections, whereas the Friends (also known as Quakers) are
pacifists, and it is considered possible that the names of the organizations may
hide Jewish participation.
Author of > book is Maurice R
[ ~ d yr of the research staff of
the aforeme: 1 Committee for the
S yf R t | igration, and chair-
ma he D rtment of Sociology of
Y i t \ an ‘ tio | cate i N A ri Con L
Lhe (¢ ) > to he Study of
R Imn ) ym Europe, the
l r | mm to tne b 0k leclares, was
idlished to conduct inquiry into num-
. ) bers of gees admitted since 1933, : me t rco es Of origin, religious atnlia-
eff ects
ions,
essions or occupat
MANY THOUSANDS
of the regular editions of these books were sold at $1.75
NOW AVAILABLE—
For economical gifts to your friends who have not yet read these two great books—
The New Low-Priced
Pocket Editions H. G. Wells, CRUX ANSATA: f ‘ An Indict- f ment of the Roman Cath- olic Church.
ww
k
f *
f
: Pocket Edition... 50¢@ | Five copies for $2.00
, Pee Hundred, $30.09 L. H. Lehmann, BEHIND THE DICTATORS: A Fully Docu- mented Anal- ysis of Vati- can-Fascist Collaboration.
re
Pocket Edifion . . . S0¢ Five copies for $2.00 Per WHurdred, $35.00
These New POCKET EDITIONS are complete in every respect and contain, word for word, the same text as in the higher priced cloth-bound editions. The purpose behind these NEW POCKET EDITIONS, at these extraordinarily low prices, is to encourage OUR friends to distribute them
>
to THEIR FRIENDS.
These books should be in the hands of every American. We at Agora have done our part toward making this possible. The next steps is YOURS.
AGORA PUBLISHING CO. Dept. 651NA 120 Liberty St., New York 6G, N. Y. P. &8—The Regular Cleth-Beuad Editions ef both these books are still availabte for your library. at $/ 75 each. or
$3.00 f the twe beets. Combination prices de net apply t. the KET EDITIONS
on ‘ j ( ’ I! a ( ic 2) Am ) ey co i ef thi ii u i i Uri i > > }‘ while rf ‘ ceptions \ ‘ read Information was obtained he ot he f bs oases } mroucn tne ws Or questonnaires a iDuted Dy local community organiza- 4 | nt ‘ id rons, rom pers ai «mterviews, ane from refugee organizations. Method of ' eseniation was d scovered by und
]
signed tatistical, with
and
ons from statements by
to be factual refugees i by the . -
ac-
enotat
documenting conclusions rea
author. No overt editorializing or
pendence on mass emotional appeal was fo ind.
+. Book professes to show that many incorrect ideas are entertained by gen-
| of
eral American public on the subject refugees. It is suggested that the most
mportant of these may be that pertain-
book states that refugees en away jobs from native-
g to jobs: mok tak born Ameri
have ans but that in many cases
they have even established new indus- tries — ling employment for native- horn whites. Book also argues that de- spite bie shortage of physicians it was very difficult for qualified European
physicians to practice as a result of what
tate laws
assOcia-
d ‘‘d lory ecical
1 the attitude of
i. Book quotes a number of refugees
o the effect that they found dishearten- scrimination here
is stated that
Z amount of d s, and it
refugees
unst minoritic
non-fewish were sur- that as refugees they were
E and
assumed to pe on occasion,
inv rised to find
opularly
[ Jewish,
re fused admi sion,
» hotels, etc. (Same of the evidence in
\
1S cOnMmection from writers,
omes 1 the like, and can therefore,
be ignored.) Most ref-
iinters, an
is thought,
ugees have nevertheless, according to book, managed to establish themselves
ocially and intend to stay in our coun- ry. It is significant that a large number have already become citizens.
5. It is earnestly recommended that he chairman authorize the purchase of a quantity of copies of book sufficient to permit distribution to all members of the subcommittee. The early chapters, summarizing conditions in Europe which led to the are alone believed worth the price ($4.50) s a handy reference to largely forgotten pre-war condit is true that this aspect of the immigration question has
in the delibera-
flight of the refugees,
ions; it
thus far been avoided
The NATION
tions of the subcommittee, but it js known that certain organizations—mos leftist, hope to it into hearings on modification
of them undoubtedly subversive, Communist, or humanitarian- inject of restrictions on the entry of so-call displaced persons into the United States as re ted by the Executive.
6. It is further recommended that the staff of to begin work without delay on refuta- et forth in book, ¢
ques
the subcommittee be instructed
tion of statements
° 4 . ° to take steps to restrict circulation of pears to give substance
subcommittee is
same, since it ap to charges thet the blameworthy in its refusal to revise quota restrictions on immigration in view of conditions in Europe, a con- tinent which lies on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. Ww. J. GOLD
Film Note
EAN VIGO'S “Zero de Conduite” J and "L’Atalante” are being shown for the first time in this country, at the Fifth Avenue Playhouse Reviewing space is unavailable until next week, Meanwhile I urgently recommend both films, to readers who can get to them. Vigo was, in my opinion, one of the most gifted men who has ever made movies. JAMES AGEE
MOTION PICTURES
STAGE PLAYS MANHATTAN BRONX S unn MAX GORDON esents ALHAMBRA CASTLE HILL - en . d - COLISEDM NOW W CHESTER play, brilliantly Bist ST FOROWAM i _ “Eneaagin A Ni. on."—N. Y. FRANKL written, acted = Ronald EA AG - Ai SRAET MARBLE HILL ” q PELHAM and caged. iitarlous Comedy Hi ty GARSON KANIN Ret Lex. & rd mater SCOTT ROVAL Garland. tvesues THEA., 45th Street, East of B’way. CH 4-256 pemngeetaas ‘STALLION ROAD’ a Journal-Amer. Evenings 8°40 Matinees Wednesday & Saturday 2:49 {25th ST. WT VERNON REGENT From STEPHEN LONGSTREET Novel —and— NEW ROCH. RIVERSIDE “Merry little farce.”"—N. Y. Werld-Telegram | wH PLAINS 23rd ST. *“LOVE & LEARN’”’ Jock CARSON | YONKERS [ RONGERS & HAMMERSTEIN Presents} | * * * * * * ——__________-_ - - — . PROOKLYN “ARRESTING SCREEN FARE. —N Y¥ Pos! 1 QUEENS | Finn ee MIDWAY In associotion with JOSHUA LOGAN Give euenwien Leraine DAY © Febert HAP T CHUM LT | corest Hits “HILARITY IN PLENTY.''—Bernes, Her. Trid | ° Caita's GREENPOINT yg PFLusaine JOHN LOVES MARY to help KENMORE ‘The LOCKETT?’ Jie." 4 New Comedy by NORMAN KRASNA . mwhetan STR v - Direeted by MR LOGAN ORPREUM Far Rockaws MUSIC BOX, 45th Street, West of B'wav fight nea ‘Trail Street’ RANDOLPH SCOTT Ty cya TTAN Air-Conditioned — Matinees Wed. and Sat. 2:40 CANCER! cae ANNE JEFFREYS | aa | Coney Istang Based on WILLIAM CORCORAN Nove? B'way & 52 ‘A DELIGHTFUL COMEDY. “—<Atiinson, Times zax ke&krk *
HELEN HAYES ” HAPPY BIRTHDAY
4 New Comedy by ANTTA LOOS
Directed 'p JOUBHUA LOGAN BROADHURST, 44th St.. West of B'way Sir -Conéit!oned Matiness Wed. & Sat. 240
“A SMASH RIT "—Li/e Megas ETHEL MERMAN in the Musical @mash
ANNIE GET YOUR GUN
Aivetc end lyrica by IRVING BERLIN Rook BERBERT & DOROTHY FIELDS
ine
7th RAY MIDDLETON Directed by Joshua Logar 'MPERIAL Theo., Air-(
West ef B' way 2:30 Shara
45th St.,
editiene@® Mats. Wed & Sat
= TWlemo to SNation Readers == re: Advertising
When ordering your theater tickets by mail, making reservations for your vacation, buying a book, etc., please tell them you saw it advertised in The Nation.
dem« dress one
pose as W undi: must tead thele critic scian pianc off, i hou vey a Music
NATION but it 1$
sive, leftist n hope tc modification of 2U-CaALieéd nited States se
ded that th e instru
y on refuta- in book, or culation of e substance mmittee is | to revise igration in ype, a her side of
con-
J. GOLD
Conduite”
sing shown mtry, at the Reviewing next week, mend both t to them. yne of the ever made ES AGEE
RONX ASTLE HILL HESTER OROHAM RANKLIN JARBLE HILL ELHAM OYAL
POC TMMESTER
1¢ 28, 1947
; Music
READER has written me a report
on
B. H. HAGGIN
y
some of the
y A be > oO
vard Symposium ot which no texts or summarie 1ed One 1s Pri ms my surmise that he had had no
1 of what Forster was talking about Lang began the statement that isic CriticisM 1s an art, not 1 a critic must convey an illusion of
with
a science,
life in the music and the love he
; ae : irs for it—an obvious bow to Forster.
en, in logical sequence, our critics
therefore bad because they were ae} -
musicians, they couldn't read score
y the piano, they music of
“y couldn’t even pla in't know the liter wut
ature of music: for instance a music critic New York spent most of his railing at music scholars had only
weeks earlier discovered the fa- mous de la important french music scholar whom everybody and he hadn't discovered him but through a correspond-
who
1 few Laurencie, an
knows; himself,
1.” And my reader comments: : Dou! vt ss his inaccuracy about the whole sical scene is as scandalous as his
sreading of your article.” The report is interesting ber of ways. For one thing, it reveals Lang’s inaccuracy enables him to
he impact of a demonstration answering a piece of writing by Newman he suppressed the es- sential part and misrepresented the rest
in a num-
escape t at in Ernest
—or that his articl
1T. VERNON EW ROCH. (H PLAINS ONKERS UEENS 1OWAY
Forest Hills Kaito's L''SHING Kerth's
lori. WILL FRANU
Far Rockawty LANMATTAN DLONIAL Bway & 52 ee ae
theless hurls fort critics are bad because scians, piano. He is, also, off, ehout the critic's function being to con- vey an illusion of the life in a piece of Music. He is,
e on nineteenth-cen-
tury chamber music in a New Friends woklet was a schematization of imag- ved data. That may sound as though I nsider all this in conscious; mut the report on his Harvard address nvinces me that it isn’t. The man who frst elicits and then misreads those demonstrations is the man who—ad- an audience which includes
acCuracy
dressing
one distinguished critic who is a com-
poser and presumably able t
f to read score
as well as write it, and a number of undistinguished critics with professional musical education and the ability to
tead score and p! ay the piano—never- th his charges that the they are not can’t play the the man who takes from a statement
nu- can’t read score,
these charges,
in short, a man with a
muddled mind, A man with a muddled, inaccurate mind whose job at a great university is to teach student historical research rigor and accuracy.
S in musico- Two choral works commissioned for performance at the seen Syn posium were repeated in New York ‘i Robert Shaw's Collegiate Chorale at its Carnegie Hall concert. They were Hin- demith’s “Apparebit Re ‘penti ina Dies,” setting of a Latin hymn of the fourth to Copland’s “In the Beginning,” a setting of the verse Genesis which tell the story of th creation. In the Hindemith work found the recitative of the Judge anc the judged expressively effective an moving; but the rest, for me, had no power or interest to make its contrived ugliness worth lis- tening to. As for the Copland work, I ind the word “lovely’’ written in my program next to “And on the seventh
nrst
seventh centuries, and
fa Cs met
expressive
elaborately
day God ended His work” and “And God blessed the seventh day,” but nonsense for mezzo-soprano” written
next to the heavens”; and about the res the complete
ody’s progre:
“These are the pee of t I recall s of the mel- way it went
arbitrarines
a sions—ine
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which meant that I hear some of the about. Beautiful perform: rram-making
music
00F Pros
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th the Robin Hood Dell Orchestra of Philadelphia (Set X-278; $3). The recorded sound is good, with the violins «
lustrous
by Mitropoulos wi
lear, though not And on a single disc (71963- D; $1) are two inconsequential piano pieces, B -ethoven’s Polonaise Opus 89 and Mendelssohn's Scherzo a Capriccio in F sharp minor, a played by Kilenyi, with the recorded sound dull and wooden
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The NATION
Letters to the Editors
Dear Sirs: Me. M ; article, Under the Sign ¢ I Red Horse (1 Phe 7 ,M >) § a Cra rack fam par larly im d by the skill I ich hh 5 e {0 uggees the Pp litical atm phere of pre sent-day bexas out using any offensively dire hara
The only ina y I noticed occurs in hird p raph on page 510 \ et ys, Lhe regents set up an inquisith The Res $ ob- tained 1 inves on by stat senare.. ” to ‘ te n.
As it happened, that committee had been set up for other purposes by the previous legislature, then adjourned. It was definitely sympathetic to Rainey. The lieutenant governor, John Lee Smith, a fascist out-and-out, did all he could to prevent the committee from
acting, even to threatening its members committee apporntments. ttee appealed to the at-
ation of juris- got a favorable decision, and proceeded. The Bullington testimony was not sought by the committee but forced on it by Bullington. Indeed, when Bullington had finished the long harangue on the subject of Rainey’s alleged dereliction in the homosexual
with loss of But the commi torney general for clarific
aiction,
matter, Senator Wardlow Lane, who was doing the questioning, inquired
Do you have more dirt you would care to spread on the record, Mr. Bullington ?"’ The whole committee record was so favor _— to the Rainey —has never been
. > ? , sweetly, any
cause that it was buried
published or, so far as I know, tran- ribed from the stenotype script. This,
of course, was the work not of the
committee but of the lieutenant governor
1
+ ric a > legislature.
and the next Cc. E. AYERS
Lone Star Liberals
Dear Sirs: There are a few cheering ex- ceptions to A. G. Mezerik’s generally haracterization of Texas news- papers (in Tbe Nation, May 3). A small but growing number of Texas people are being reached by honest, liberal weeklies. Several returned vet- erans have bought or started smail-town weeklies which will immunize their readers against N. A. M. handouts. The unpretentious Siate Observer, founded
accurate ¢
n r9006, ery x 1S Out a vigor- ous and accurate ; mint of what Locs 1 in the state capital The Texas Sj ris dk vastatingly id impudently critical of the boys that own Texas. A city editor and an expert porter on a large Houston daily re-
ned good jobs to found it in Octo- ber, 1945. While using up the stake of original backer, they gained two housand subscribers loyal and enthusi- h to raise more than $8,000 to see the paper through its second year. The fund came largely in smal} amounts from liber uld hardly pay the
Is who co rintion meice rptuon price.
- enoug
aca
€5 sub
Che Senate investigation of Rainey's dismissal was not obtained by the Regu- lars. Through their spokesman, Lieuten- ant Governor Smith, they did their utmost to prevent it. It followed Bul- lington’s sensational pee release about the ‘heel and gave Dr. Rainey his only opportunity to offer testimony from responsible officials praising his handling of the matter. In general, the testimony was so damaging to the “ gents’ position that they prevented t publication of the record. At the bone election they saw to it that Penrose Metcalfe, chairman of the committee, was Ousted from the state senate.
It is not surprising that Mr. Mezer‘k’s information about the investigation was inaccurate: the record is not available. Under the Sign of the Flying Red is a brilliant account of what JACK CARTER
»
Horse roes on in Texas. Austin, June 15
Beloved Gentleman
[We have refrained from making any editorial changes in this letter lest we be accused of distorting the writer's meaning.—EDITORS THE NATION. }
Dear Sirs: In the edition of your weekly magazine, Vol. 164, Num. 19 of May 10, 1947, appeared an article en- titled Election Day in Santo Domingo by Albert C. Hicks, who is the same bitter writer of the loathsome book “Blood in the Streets,” which the Amer- ican public rejected because of its un- truthfulness.
Mr. Hicks has proved by his attitude to be an evil-disposed writer attacking offensively and systematically the Hon- orable President of the Dominican Re- public, Generalissimo Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina, whether by books or
Mavazines
whi
in newspa — and with insults and indignities, prove his ostensible irritation him and when a man reach this is because undoubtedly he does uot have nobler arms to use and necessarily has to receive the contempt of the rest of the public because he is judged as not having any of the qualities of a gen. tleman.
It is very easy to put in evidence this Mr. Hicks who boast so much infamy, paying a visit to my country, only a few hours from Florida by air. I extend a cordial invitation to any newspaperman who might be imterested in knowing the exact truth, to visit the Dominican Republic, where a solid and _ lasting peace is enjoyed and where a progress, never dreamt of in its history, has been achieved. Generalissimo Trujillo was elected on May 16, 1947, President of the Dominican Republic, term 1947- 1952, by an overwhelming majority never registered im any other election and is very beloved by his people that gratefully return in this way everything he has done for them.
The truth of all this can be easily verified, as I said before, paying a visit to my country, the Dominican Republic. R. COMPRES PEREZ,
Consul Genera!
wit all ATLALICS ch only against
gro r d
New York, June 11
The Whitewash Won’t Stick
Dear Sirs: Et Consulado General understandably disturbed by my article which appeared i in The Nation's May 1) issue. His is a difficult task, slappin whitewash on such a black background.
Sefior Compres Perez says that Tr jillo, in the alleged elections of May 1: won “by an overwhelming major't never registered in any other election He knows better. Trujillo in previo elections won by a xnanimous vote. Lost May, with a shabby display of pseudo- democracy, Trujillo had 40,000 or sd votes registered against-him out of 3 announced total of more than 800,000 votes, or approximately half of the en tire population.
I predicted in my article that after th elections, should the Dominicans b “encouraged to exhibit their dis for the regime, the marae woul be prepared for any emergen " Toda there has appeared in several Ne ew Yor newspapers, under a P, R. dateline,
, N ev
iS ur,
gene Chic: mate: prom
Chica
Wa Dear raphy
NATION |
Magazines which ¢ ion against this ground ves not have essarily has the rest of iged as not
; of a gen-
vidence this ich infamy, only a few I extend a yspaperman n knowing Dominican and lasting a progress, ry, has been tujillo was resident of term 19-17- majority her election people that ; everything
o 2.
n be easily ing a visit in Republic ES PEREZ,
sul Genera!
wn’t Stick
General
y my art on’s May | k, slapp back grou
1s that ° of May ! 1g major'ty er election in previ us vote. I of pseud 0.000 or §s n out of ian 800,0°
f of the en;
hat after tl minicans reir distast actor woul ney.” Toda 1 New Yor dateline,
June 28, 1947
ws dispatch saying that numerous Dominican oppositionists have been thrown into prison. That cable, I pre-
ne, was sent by U. P.'s correspondent Milton Carr, whom I know to be a highly reputal newspaperman. Mr. Carr, Sefor Compres Perez, was in your
guntry very recently, albeit not as an
ficial guest of your government. Your government, in fact, has attacked every independent newspaperman who has visited Santo Domingo.
Here is something that was not in the newspapers. Your government has placed in prison or in chains this past ' from 100 to 150 Dominicans, smashed the press of the clandestine weekly published by the Juventud Democratica, and imprisoned its staff yr its critical appraisals of Trujil
” eck
Ilo. As for your attack upon me, I am
both amused and curious. Where did
you get the sales figures that would in-
licate that “Blood in the Streets’ was jected by the American public? ALBERT C. HICKS
New York, June 19
Recollections of Judge Tree
Dear Sirs: I am engaged in research into the life of the late Judge Lambert ree of Chicago, who was prominent in blic affairs in the 1880's and 1890's, d who served as ane States Min- er to Belgium and to Russia.
Anyone who has recollections of Judge Tree, and particularly anyone with letters from or pertaining to him, is urged to get in touch with the under-
ened at 8800 South Wabash Avenue, Chicago 19, Illinois. Letters and otber
aterial wili be carefully handled and promptly returned.
re
HARRY BARNARD
Chicago, June 21
Wants Data on Debs
Dear Sirs: 1 am now revising my biog- raphy of Eugene V. Debs, which re- eived a major award in the 1947 H Hopwood Contest in Creative Writing. nd would greatly appreciate any in- mation about persons or libraries who might possess pertinent material —letters, diaries, printed material, or reminiscences. I will be touring the East in the autumn, and would like to inter- view any persons who knew Debs. My iddress is 604 Madison Court, Ann Arbor, Michigan. RAYMOND 5S. Ann Arbor, Mich., June 15
GINGER
781
Crossword Puzzle No. 217
By JACK BARRETT
27
13
25 26
25
35
ve Rer ky
es et pe wre >
16 17 19 21 23
om -
ACROSS
My hat! I am in a horse bus! lather—and short, as usual!
Mined material
Led to us in disarray
Covered wagon
A Wren’s reply
A bird having imbibed ginger-beer becomes a parrot
It is not unusual to turn brown on a mountain
Pictures seen in the pic Carl leaves town Woman at the wheel Is at the wine
3oth clothes and their wearers need one occasionally
Carting? No, the operat that
Artistic table Throws over Former (5-4) A French battleground and lish cathedral city are not connected
Not well-fed
tures
ion before
attitudes presumably
= an Eng-
? an cioseiy
Dr. Johnson never took one; it toox him The water’s edge is partly composed
of it
DOWN
Whereby the Germans _ju st fai
to reach the “wise men” in 1918 What made the sub rise?
They produce solutions, but no. to
crossword puzzles Doubly imperative to act, but noth- ing can save him now
5 “After death, the ------ ” 6 Put off the track 7 Natives noted for their blankets and silversmith work 8 You haven’t had it until vou've spent it 12 Scrapers 13 Baskets to catch our quibbles? 14 Spectacle presented by a boy with an insect 16 She will give you aid 18 Easier to say if we like this English fellow when he comes out of his sh ell 20 Fancy dress or nothing is put before us 22 “Was this the face that launched a thousand ships, And bur ned the -~------ towers of Ilium? ” I - >4 Detains (anag.) 25 Fi yllowed suit °6 Sea between Greece and Asia Minor 27 Scottish fillet, not of fish but of fish- ing 29 Fashion that is mostly an eyesore 30 Cut off to i toge rf —_—— = _-
SOLUTION TO PUZZLE Ne. 216 ACROSS :—1 GRAND SLAM; @ LOCAL: ® ALLOWED; 1 APWIN ll PAN; 12 AMBUSH, 13 LAS 15 SHEPHERD; 16 CINEMA; 18 CARMEN; 20 PIPR-LINE; 23 COOK; 24 RICHES: 2% APT: 2B OUTCROP; 29 CLARION; HOI SEB; 31 DE IPRESS!} Lv. DOWN :-—1 GRASP: 2 ALLONGE: 8 DOWN- AT-HEEL; 4 LADYBIRD: 5 MULISH; 6 LOPS; 7 CUIMATR; & LEGISLATE 1 FIRE-ESCAPE: — SACKCLOTH; 17 NIGHTCAP; 19 STK R; 21 ITALICS; 22 LIMPID; 23 TUN 27 FREA.
782
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