T14V M11 111V-'A iri fi V __ m r t l[tgFttt Patin Fifty-Third Year 1 :I a ! iwa "'J i I t. I11 f e "'t Ali N 4 i I I'd Rather Be Right By SAMUELGRAFT ON WHO WILL RULE CHINA? _ Ai -14J' IVII u .I /I-F N V 11jI EDNE SDAY, :Jae30, 14 43 Chiang Will Fight Reds :. OW I,". *DwT1 A= Edited and managed by students of the University of Michigan under the authority of the Board in Control of Student Publications. Published every morning except Monday during the regular University year, and every morning except Mon- day and Tuesday during the summer session. Member of The Associated Press The Associated Press is exclusively entitled to the use for republication of all news dispatches credited" to it or otherwise credited in this newspaper. All rights of repub- lication of all other matters herein also reserved. Entered at the Post Office at Ann Arbor, Michigan, as second-class mail matter. Subscriptions during the regular school year by car- rier $4.25, by mail $5.25. Member, Associated Collegiate Press, 1942-43 Editorial Staff Marlon Ford Bud Brimmer Leon Gordenker Harvey Frank Jeanne Lovett loly Winokur BusIifles . Managing Editoi . . . Editorial Director .* - . City Editor * . . . Sports Editor ss Staff . . . Business Manager Associate Business Manager Telephone 23-24-1 NIGHT EDITOR: MARJ BORRADAILE Editorials published in The Michigan Daily are written by neiabers of The Daiy staff and represent the views of the writers only. TAX-TALK: Treasury Report Shows Congressional Failure THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT has again broken all spending records, but this year there's some solace for taxpayers in the treas- ury's fiscal report for the year ending today: the total expenditures were five billion less than the administration figured. But there's another side to the treasury re- port. The revenue collectors took in less than 22 billion dollars and were one billion short of their goal. This is the outcome of months of tax-talk resulting in a new tax law which fails to come anywhere near raising an adequate amount of revenue. The Secretary of the Treasury's failure in dealing with an unusually bad and hostile Con- gress is as conspicuous as the administration's neglect in outlining a specific tax program. An- other reason for this tax-money shortage is Con- gress' squabble about how to get on a current- payment basis. Now a new start and a new tax measure must be planned so that during the next fiscal year the deficit may be whittled down and the 40 bil- lion dollar inflationary gap closed. With luck and more Congressional-Administration cooper- ation, we'll perhaps have a more suitable tax plan by Jan. 1, 1944. - Bud Brimmer PARTISAN WAR: Davis Resignation Paves Way for Open Struggle THE RESIGNATION of Chester C. Davis has proved again that appeasement neither pays nor works. Let's hope the President has learned his lesson. Early during the war in Europe, President Roosevelt appointed Stimson and Knox as Sec- retaries of War and the Navy respectively. This broke for the first time the solid ranks of New Dealers who were carrying out Admin- istratio~n policies. In these two Republicans he found two of the ablest men in the nation q When the Japs bombed Pearl Harbor, the President, anxious to maintain national unity, and pleased with his Stimson-Knox experiment, decided to appoint more conservatives in order to appease the Republican-Democratic anti- New Deal coalition in Congress. Here he made one of the worst mistakes of his career. WHILE the Commander-in-Chief strove at all costs to refrain frot partisan measures, even neglecting the 1942 election campaign, the reac- tionaries led by the Republican party were gath- ering their forces for one of the most vicious irresponsible attacks on the U. S. that has ever been launched by a political group. Carefully refraining from adopting any pos- itive program the opposition .smashed every major Administration program on- the home front. Now that it has smashed the supports, it is sitting back waiting for the house to farl,. fall. Mr. Davis was Food Administrator throughout the entire dastardly campaign. He was food chief when Congress smashed the anti-inflation program. He was an administration official when the subsidy plan was wrecked. Yet, Chester C. Davis had the temerity to charge that the subsidy plan was unworkable because it was not coupled with heavier taxes and forced savings. The man whose tacit ap- proval was one of the big factors in the disas- #m. dc ."ivtn n hideima_ hoailnver ehfore 2' 1' C C '9 I NEW YORK, June 30.- In simple fairness, someone must say the following: If the President were to bring up a big, new domestic reform issue, he would be accused of playing politics instead of fighting the war. But it is perfectly all right (or is it?) for Mrs. Clare Boothe Luce to deliver a long speech to the Re- publican State Convention in Wisconsin, telling, withglee, how the New Deal is "dead" on the home front.. The President must take no notice of this speech, for that would be politics. No cabinet member must take any notice of it, for that would be politics. But the speech itself is con- sidered not politics. This is open season on big game. The big game is not allowed to fight back. THE STORY OF THE QUICK REPRINT' It is perfectly all right for Senator Byrd of Virginia. to write a special article for the New York World-Telegram, on June .21, demanding the firing of hundreds of thousands of Federal employees. SenatorByrd is not considered to be playing politics when he does so. It is all right for anyone who wants to, to propose the most serious changes on the home front. But the President may not engage in home-front argu- ments. The President is not supposed to lift his eyes from his task, while the nibblers nibble and the privileged munching goes on.. That this is a real campaign is shown by the fact that on Friday, June 25, I was able to buy a copy of the July issue of The Readers' Digest, which, lo and behold, "reprinted" the Byrd ar- ticle of the preceding Monday, giving the date and crediting the World-Telegram. The Digest is even now printing more than 5,000,000 copies per month, and so it must have had the "reprint" in type weeks before it appeared in the news- paper from which it was "reprinted." I know this is not unusual, that such arrangements are often made. That is my point, that arrange- ments were made, thoughtful arrangements for a concentrated campaign against the one Ameri- can who isnot allowed to play politics. THE WAR AGAINST POLITICS Heavy artillery is brought into play, in the shape of the Congressional blitz to dismantle the domestic branch of the Office of War Informa- tion, on the charge that it is a "political" agency. The attack was begun by Representative Starnes of Alabama, who, using the high Con- gressional privilege of not having to make sense, denounced Elmer Davis as "an American Goeb- bels." A furious speech followed by Representa- tive A. Leonard Allen of Louisiana, who accused the O.W.I. of "fomenting racial discord," prob- ably because it had isued a pamphlet outlining the war contributions of American Negroes. I pause to point out that Representative Starnes, now setting himself up in business as an expert on information, is the same-man who won passing fame in 1939, when, during a probe of the federal theatre, he was discovered to be laboring under the impression that Christopher Marlowe was a contemporary, and probably on the relief rolls. I would be willing to leave to a jury of any ten men picked off the street the question of who is more political, Elmer Davis, who gladly gave up $50,000 a year to work for all of us at $10,000, or Messrs. Starnes and Allen. I also wonder which is more Goebbelsian, to print a pamphlet outlining the fine work done by American Negroes, or to attack that pamph- let. LOOK AT THAT VOTE! I can find nothing in the work of the domestic branch of the O.W.I. one-tenth as political as the vote against it, with 160 Republicans and 55 Democrats howling it down, and only 5 Republi- cans defending the agency, along with 108 Dem- ocrats. That, baby, is politics. By ending the domestic work of the O.W.I., Congress will undermine its prestige throughout the world. People of other countries will ,no longer consider it to be an agency dealing in news, and truth, but an agency dealing in propa- ganda. Else why should the things it says be rejected for home consumption? When the O.W.I. calls for support for the four freedoms, the reaction abroad will be: "That is fine stuff, but they peddle it only to us; they don't let them say that at home." To pull down this agency, to reduce its effectiveness in the war, is not politics; only to support it is politics. We are losing our way. The grapes in the vineyard are being eaten. The air is heavy with the stench of politics. A man is being fought unfairly, his hands are tied by the war, he is a prisoner of the war. Someone must say these things. For the President cannot. (Copyright, 1943, N.Y. Post Syndicate) LET US IMAGINE for a momen that victory has coe and Allie EAmerican, British, Chinese, an perhaps Soviet) troops marc through the streets of Tokio. China at last a victorious, independe power, will have an opportunity t decide her own destiny, and a voic in the destiny of Japan, Indo-Chin Malaya, Burma and even India. What will China do? What will its leaders say? And for that mat- ter, who will its leaders be? The answers to those question will be determined and in fact ar now being determined, by China' two most powerful forces-Chiang Kai-shek's Kuomingtang and Mao Tse-tang's Communist Party an their respective armies. Both of these groups have had a chance to put their theories into practice, though the Reds have neve controlled any of the larger cities o China. Countless other politica parties and pressuregroups hav sprung up, mostly during the war but these are on the whole small and powerless. On the left there are what might be described as the "popular front groups" which gen- erally lean on the Reds for support. On the extreme right are the Na- tional Socialists (Chinese Nazis) who, with certain rightist Kuoming- tang elements form the die-hard anti-Red bloc. In the "center" stands the Kuomingtang, reaction- ary, fascistic, but the only "center" China has. Yet the coming struggle will not find the Kuomingtang in the cen- ter, for the rightist-extremists and Nazis are weak. The Kuoming- tang will find itself as the Right in the coming battle for power. ALL political parties in China, with the exception of the National Socialists, base their philosophy on the three principles of Sun Yat-Sen, the father of the Chinese Republic: Nationalism, Democracy, and the People's Livelihood. The difference in their platforms nominally stems from the diverse interpretation of these principles which Sun Yat-Sen never really clarified. The Kuomingtang, Chiang's Na- tionalist party, has in general stressed the principles of National- ism as foremost. By nationalism, Sun Yat-Sen did not mean jingoism but the spread and unity of Chinese culture. To accomplish this aim, Chiang introduced in 1931, the New Life Movement, an answer to com- munist agitation. The movement's success has been one of China's most debated issues. The Kuomingtang also committed itself to a program of limited democracy Under the gui- dance of China's elite, appointed by Chiang Kai-shek. The spread of education, though encouraged, was slow and ineffective. The Nationalists practically modi- fied the Principle of People's Liveli- hood out of their program. Some small reforms were attempted as a result of the increasing influence of Communist propaganda, but these proved ineffective for Kuomingtang officials regarded the measures as temporary, to be abandoned with the complete extermination of the Reds. The Kuomingtang policy as a whole has been shaped by two main factors: (1) an attempt to satisfy its most powerful support- ers, who are the rich merchants and land owners, and (2) a fear of the influence of Red propaganda. THE POLICY of the Chinese Com- munist Party since 1933, on the other hand, has been molded by its national unity anti-Japanese plank and its attempt to spread its influ- it ence over the peasantsrand worke 3d of China. Today, as part of the le d bloc and a minority party, it is d h manding complete and unlimite a, democracy, though, were it in powe t it would install a Communist gov o ernment by a Red elite, and limite e democracy. The difference betwee a, the two largest parties of China o the question of political democrac is: 1) The Communists have prac tically eliminated :illiteracy in area s under their control, while. illiterac e is widespread in the rest of China s which has been under Kuomingtan g rule for 16 years. 2) The Kuoming tang elite would d come largely from the upper classe while the Red elite woul come from a the especially gifted among th o masses. . r The Reds, however, have alway f regarded Dr. Sun's principle of th I People's Livelihood as the most im- portant of his proposals. In thi , connection they have followed it im plicitly, confiscating the land of th absentee landlord and the rich and redistributing it among the landless and land-hungry. peasants. Private ownership has been retained in gen eral, though there is, reason to be- lieve that as education progresses collectivisation miglt be attempted THE POLICY of the Communists in China therefore could not help but be popular both in theory and practice. It is a realistic policy adapted to China's p roblems. It is a people's answer to the challenge of nature, capitalism, and imperialism. Prior to the war, China's Com- munists were known to the large majority of Chinese as "bandits". Fewer than 50,000,000 had seen the Reds in action, and the Nationalist Government suppressed Communist publications. Today rare indeed is the Chinese who has not heard of the exploits of the Eighth Route Army. Tens of millions of peasants have seen the Reds at work, have been helped by their armies, and have worked with. them. From these there have been only words of awe and admiration. The Chinese Communist Party's influence in the country is ten times what it was prior to the war. No wonder then, that Chiang and his friends tremble at its growing power and try to limit its propaganda. Even Chiang's own army has come to respect and admire the Reds. Kuomingtang peasants and soldiers alike were amazed to find that the "Red bandits" are the most orderly and democratic troops in the world. However, the mass of Kuoming- tang generals, merchants, rich land- lords and the Kuomingtang bureauc- racy were not impressed and still hate and fear the Reds. They have persuaded Chiang Kai'shek, if he needed persuasion, to limit the free- dom granted to the Communists as a result of the 1937 concord. THUS Communist papers have been censored, and their publication and distribution forbidden in certain areas. Red troops have been ordered out of certain areas of Free China in spite of their strategic importance in the struggle against Japan. Ac- tual armed clashes have taken place during the present war between Chi- ang's troops and the former Red armies. These clashes did not de- velop into civil war only because both sides realize the need of crush- ing Japan first. Of course, no one can predict the course of events but it seems rs evident that only a miracle can eft prevent civil war in China soon e-after Japan's defeat. This "mira- d cle" would be the adoption yW r, Chiang Kai-shek of most of the - present Communist principles and d practices and the inclusion of n Communist leaders in the Govern- n ment. y If such an event does not occur, - we can expect a renewal of civil war. is The question at once arises, "Who y will win?" The answer will depend on a g number of factors: (1) The atti- tude of the Soviet Union and the United States, (2) The strength of the Red armies, which will in- n crease as the war progresses. (3) The effective influence of the Reds ondChina's peasantry at the war's s end. e - hOf course every American must s hope that Chiang Kai-shek, perhaps - through the influence of his famous e wife, can be brought to effect a com- promise with the Reds for the good of China. However, the chances for this at present are very slim. If the Civil War does come, it ' will be a clear-cut war between those who would rule for the good of the people, and those who are the enemies of progress. America and the Soviet Union must not re- main aloof from the struggle, but place their mighty forces on the side of the people who in China will be led by the Chinese Red Army and the Chinese Left Bloc. American history has shown us time and again: a people fighting for liberty, by evolutiondor revolution, must triumph. -Ed Podliasuk Reveal Support For FDR If War Lasts At last the appeasers have a rea- son for wanting to get the war over in a hurry. The latest Survey of Pub- lic Opinion of Fortune magazine re- vealed May 28 that % of American workers would support Pres. Roose- velt for a fourth term if the war is still on by election day next year. As a matter of fact, enough people in the higher income bracket feel the same way that the percentage of fourth termers in all groups is 64.8. as compared to 27.8 opposed and 7.4 undecided. All of which gives point to a re- mark made by Rep. Will Rogers Jr., at a legislative conference of the Newspaper Guild of New York: "The reason you have the kind of congress that sits in Washington today is that labor didn't vote in the last election. There is no use blinking the fact. And something had better be done about it in the 'next election." Negro .Squadron Beats Off Nazis The first U.S. Negro fighter squad- ron to see action successfully beat off a force of Nazi F-W 190's.which outnumbered them more than ;three- to-one over Pantelleria June 18. A War Dept. report says the U.S. pilots, in six P-40 Warhawks, were attacked by 12 Nazis convoying a bomber formation while 10 more German fighter planes hovered over- head for further cover. Two of the enemy planes were damaged and the rest withdrew, All the Americans returned safely. The leader of the U.S. flight was 1st Lt. Charles W. Dryden, 22, 800 Holmes St, the Bronx. -PM The WASHINGTON MERRY-GO-ROUND By DREW PEARSON .I WASHINGTON, June 30.- Several weeks ago this column revealed that the Truman Commit- tee had unearthed a startling situation at the Wright Aeronautical works at Cincinnati where airplane motors, with cracks in their cylinders, were passed by the company. Certain Govern- ment inspectors who protested that these cylin- ders were faulty -were transferred, and one in- spector was told never to set foot on Wright property again. It was also revealed that the War Depart- ment had investigated the matter and that Lt. Gen. William Knudsen, former head of General Motors, reported that the defects were not serious and occurred from time to time in most motor manufacturing. On the basis of this and other Army findings, the War Department submitted a report to the Truman Committee. It was prepared under the supervision of hard-hitting Col. Bill O'Dwyer, famous Brooklyn prosecutor and candidate for Mayor of New York. O'Dwyer has been made one of the Army Air Corps' chief investigators and has been doing an Al job. In this case, however, the Truman Committee did not compliment him. Calling Bill before them, the Senators cross-examined him closely regarding the defective motors manufactured by Wright. They inferred that the Army was try- ing to save face, and that the forthright New York prosecutor, in deference to his superior officers, was not as forthright as in civilian life. Senator Ferguson, Republican of Michigan, was the most relentless of all. Himself a De- troit prosecutor, Ferguson grilled O'Dwyer as though he were on the witness stand, finally accused him of issuing a whitewash. "Just come out in the alley and say that," bristled O'Dwyer. "I'll take you to lunch and say it," replied Sen- ator Ferguson with a smile, "but I won't qome out in the alley." The meeting ended harmoniously. But the Truman Committee insisted that the Army take back its report and examine the situation again. Weaker Gasoline Transportation Boss Joseph Eastman is wor- ried over the fact that the public is now getting not only less gasoline but poorer gasolines. He finds that busses and trucks are operating less efficiently as a result of this, plus two other fac- tors-namely, increased loading and decreased maintenance. Though the public is not generally aware of it, real fact is that the gasoline it buys today is of lower grade than before the war. Pre- viously, the gasoline sold to