The Charlotte News

Monday, August 23, 1943

THREE EDITORIALS

Site Ed. Note: The front page reports that day and night raids were carried out by the Americans and British on Salerno Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights, encountering in the process increasing enemy fighters and anti-aircraft fire.

On New Guinea, the Allied forces had taken a ridge overlooking the airstrip at Salamaua, with only the forested down slope and the Francisco River standing between their lines and the objective. Its taking appeared imminent, therefore, but the lessons of Munda taught that the Japanese would tenaciously fight to the last, conceivably necessitating a yard by yard offensive.

A story tells of the escape from trailing Japanese by Hugh Bar Miller, quarterback of the 1931 Rose Bowl champion Alabama football team, coached by Wallace Wade. More lately of Duke, presently in the Army for the duration as a major, having volunteered in mid-1942 at age 50, Coach Wade had recommended Miller for the Navy. Miller had spent 43 days on the run from pursuing Japanese after going into the drink as the U.S. destroyer Strong sunk on July 4 in the Kula Gulf above New Georgia in the Solomons. Five Japanese tracked him when he made land; all five wound up killed by Miller when he landed a grenade in their midst.

From the Russian front came a report that the summer offensive of the Russians had reached a turning point with a tank battle to the west of Kharkov and new operations being conducted in the Donets Basin to the southeast, as Kharkov, itself, Russian steel center, fell back into the possession of the Russians, having changed hands four times during the previous two years, including a quick exchange between the Russians and Germans in February and March, respectively.

At President Roosevelt's request, T. V. Soong, Chinese Foreign Minister, had flown to Canada for the Quebec Conference, presumably to discuss use of Chinese bases from which the Allies could bomb Japan.

From Kiska, taken August 15, the Allies moved out to take Segula Island, twenty miles to the east.

It was reported from Bern, Switzerland that the Italian press was admitting that the Badoglio Government wanted peace with the Allies but was being blocked by Italy's Nazi masters in the pursuit.

On the editorial page, "The Men at Quebec" speculates on the decisions being made at the Quebec Conference.

"Columbia's Man-Hunt", while disavowing any religious affinity to the Jehovah's Witnesses, decries their treatment, Ancient Roman-style, in Columbia, S.C., where they had been made subject to arrest for appearing on the streets and were socked with a $150,000 bond in order to use an auditorium. The people of Columbia were wrong, says the piece, even if their motives might have been understandable in light of recent reports of Witnesses refusing to salute the flag. But such emotive patriotism did not present grounds for religious bigotry. It was, concludes the piece, no less than a man-hunt in the Ancient Roman tradition.

Samuel Grafton again looks at the absence of articulated policies by the American Government with respect to conquered lands and its adverse impact on achieving a democratic peace--first in North Africa, now with respect to Italy.

Raymond Clapper again pushes for Congress to take charge in foreign relations. For, he points out, no matter how much planning for the future FDR and Churchill did, if the Congress would not support the efforts, naught would come of it, much as the ill-fated Fourteen Points of Woodrow Wilson died aborning.

Drew Pearson reminds that for every Flying Fortress which failed to return from a mission, up to ten men failed to return along with it. Nevertheless, he reports, morale was high among the Air Forces.

He also informs that Emil Ludwig, German historian, had advocated a strong Allied army of occupation of Germany after the war for five years to prevent another Hitler from rising to power. He also favored dividing the source of German militarism, Prussia, from the south and west of Germany from which came its culture. Germany had to be disarmed, have its education supervised, and provided political protection. Otherwise, he predicted, in twenty years, another war would erupt. He further offered warning against tenderness toward the Prussian Junkers, equally as ruthless as Hitler, that the Allies not be fooled by entreaties by them once Hitler was out of the way.

Lastly, he reports of Admiral King's supposed critical remarks of Army air power after the Battle of Midway, that the Army’s air force should stop at the shore line. The Washington Post had been examining whether the Admiral was really for air power or still placed his faith in big battleships.

A local N.A.A.C.P. leader writes a letter to the editor to complain of the segregation of the Charlotte and Mecklenburg Planning Committee, advocates appointing black representatives to the Board and its Executive Committee to insure fair representation throughout the community.