Show No Special Immunity A A NEWS dispatch from L London quotes the bishop of Lic Lichfield field Dr Edward S S. S Woods as declaring it would be a CIa crime erime against civilization if Rome Italy were to be bombed by the united nations It is difficult to understand how any Englishman Englishman Englishman Eng Eng- lishman who had seen his capital city London London London Lon Lon- don bombed so ruthlessly and murderously by the Germans with some trumpeted much-trumpeted aid by the Italians themselves could take such a stand Our enemies didn't spare Warsaw or Amsterdam or Belgrade the capitals of Poland Holland and Yugoslavia when they invaded those countries They didn't spare London or Moscow We on our side have not hesitated to bomb Berlin or Tokyo Why should Italy have any special immunity for her capital city It is after all the largest city in Italy the military and civil and fi financial financial financial fi- fi headquarters and an important industrial industrial industrial indus indus- trial and transportation center To omit the bombing of Rome means that Mussolini and his fascist leaders can in perfect safety at Rome direct Italy's whole war effort and concentrate concentrate concentrate con con- an important part of Italian war production in and around that city Rome means no more to Italy than London does to England or Moscow to Russia And we cant can't see that because of its greater antiquity antiquity antiquity an an- it would be any more of a crime against civilization to bomb Rome than to bomb Washington which may not be so ancient ancient an an- n- n but is probably a lot better and actually worth more to civilization for its very modern- modern ness Were We're fighting this war for keeps Its It's a avery avery avery very practical and bloody business in which there just isn't any place for sentiment The Germans and the Italians saw to that a long longtime longtime time before we were forced to accept it We should do whatever is necessary to win this war and bomb any city Rome included when it is militarily profitable to do so so |