Show second front in africa points north to italy underground anti fascists in italy want strong brand of democracy for aiding allies seek U S pledge by BAUKHAGE news analyst and commentator service 1343 11 street NW washington D C according to a number ot of people in washington of whom your correspondent Is one the most startlingly thingly important event of the war in may y be taking place and nobody including ina including c luding the enemy will admit it A second front has been opened the first carefully planned and meticulously culo u sly timed offensive against the axis since the war started has begun in africa there are diplomatic developments as well as military which some believe indicate that the path to victory will lead through rome of course you get even a whiff 0 of f official confirmation for such a P presumptuous sumptuous re assumption from anyone higher than a first sergeant nevertheless there seems to be quite a bit of circumstantial evidence to support the observation of such a development at the same time certain happenings in the diplomatic field add their touch of verisimilitude to what the military might say was a bald and unwarranted if not unconvincing statement such military information as I 1 m might offer which has not been it a part of official statements would not be wise to print but it Is bermis able to recall that the germans claim that th the e british have a million men under general alexanders command in africa the official accounts account s of the number of american flown p planes lanes in almost continuous activity over a huge area indicate that the american air force in egypt is not inconsiderable even in these days of giant armies and armadas abinad as apprehension in tunisia there are diplomatic reports of apprehension on the part of the populace of tunisia a vital strip of territory lying along the coast of the narrow waters that separate it from sicily the axis stepping s tone stone from italy to africa which hint that activities may extend even further west than libya these are some of the outward signs which are there for all to see from a military standpoint italy Is the jibe weak sister ot of the axis partnership from the standpoint of ef anti nazi fascist internal subversive organization she Is perhaps the strongest ally for far the united nations an african offensive might logically end la in an invasion of italy the recognition of these anti fascist underground organizations as important elements in the general allied offensive against the axis can be taken as a st straw raw a showing h w which wy way the tide of war may be flowing and they are being re recognized c one very significant development was a recent statement from london which at first blush simply seemed to dampen any hopes that the king of italy might be a force in bringing about a separate peace with italy but this negative suggestion when taken together with certain other indications has quite another meaning the london report indicated that the tl e king was no longer the prisoner of ct mussolini he had bad been pictured but really the friend of fascism this seemingly gratuitous statement may well have been offered as a piece of firing data for the diplomatic marksmen indicating that they must change their sights and an inkling of just what must be done in order to obtain the support of the elements in italy which can be of service to the allied cause comes from an objective report on the underground in italy this repot originating with anti ant fascist sources in the united states clearly analyzes who these people are what they have already accomplished and what must be done to get their operation cooperation co A realistic program Is laid down by in inference ferince which will not be at all palatable t to 0 the conservative or the conventional t masters of official intrigue among the united nations according to this report from anti fascist sources the underground in italy is now composed largely of young men burn and educated in fascism who are working entirely from within its framework they are members of the party because BRIEFS B R I 1 E F S by baukhage the U S civil service commission sion Is looking tor for dietitians to fin fill jobs at 1800 a year when soldiers dont write to their girls the girls write to camp hostesses one company la Is hoping to ease the transportation situation by building a passenger bus they have known no other party and no other government through their mature years they are members ol of the armed forces because they are loyal to italy according to lo the report which I 1 mention made by supposedly authentic and authorized representatives senta tives of the anti fascists the underground movement in italy Is powerful and effective it has accomplished a weakening of civilian and military morale publishes a large and efficient anti fascist press has organized political meetings and nd combat groups la in nearly very every I 1 italian town has baa brought about unity for the first time in italian history between the working class and the intellectuals it has caused general inefficiency in the array army caused sabotage in the campaigns of greece albania and libya and effectively sabotaged war industries the members of these groups the young men who grew up under fascism are not revolting to bring about a status quo ante they are revolting against the status quo for definite aims they want vant a new dimo democratic cratic order italian anti fascist demands the members of the italian underground der ground are aie thoroughly determined to overthrow fascism wherever it exists but they demand a concrete complete sincere statement of the program of the anti fascist forces before they will join them since they risk everything in revolt and think they might simply gain new chains for old it if they laced faced a typical political peace they want specifically a statement ol of the peace aims of the united nations they want these aims stated without equivocation or couched in the fine generalities of the atlantic charter and they want to be sure that they have th the guarantee of the united states as the administrator of those terms w with ith freedom to build the kind of an italy they want there is something of a parallel between these italian demands and the revelations or what the conservative serva tive diplomats would ca call 11 the in discretions ol of wendell willkie wilkle when he called for assurances of the non imperialistic designs of the united nations willkie as is his wont used a blunderbuss blunder bus instead of a scalpel to obtain his end but he did clear up the atmosphere on the subject of what russia and china thought about the need of extending the scope of the atlantic charter the r realistic ea listic jan smuts prime minister of south africa echoed this sentiment a few days after Will kies report to the nation others are repeating the demand tor for a full statement of peace alms aims strong brand of democracy another point upon which some of our allies and particularly our potential allies in italy want recognized by us and emphasized Is the belief many times stated but very seldom elaborated namely that we dont expect to go back to things is as they were they expect democracy but they make it ft pla inthey expect it to be economic as well as political and they want a brand that may prove stronger medicine than everyone might care to take the groups in italy like those in other countries have forged their political philosophies in the fire of persecution the revolt against the physical brutalities of totalitarianism is likely to carry them far in the opposite direction they demand an ideal of democracy hard to attain it becomes therefore a vital task of the american statesman in a assuming s the necessary leadership of the united nations as their supreme physical effort approaches to formulate a postwar post war world peace ideal if as seems possible the second front will touch italy home of fascism before it reaches the nazi borders the attitude of italis anti fascists must be clearly understood and taken into account san francisco motorists can now park their cars in a tour four floor underground der ground steel and parking area beneath the park farmers received higher prices in mid september than a month earlier for grains cotton tobacco fruits dairy and poultry products reports the U S bureau of agricultural economics |