Show liberal ground swell sweeping over europe underground Coale coalesces democratic Democrat io groups in fight for popular government look to big three by BAUKHAGE news analyst and commentator WV service union trust building washington D C As the new year approaches washington is preparing to experience the results ot of two titanic struggles which will chart the course followed by this nation and the world in the decades ahead one contest will be witnessed on th the e floors of 0 congress the other in 60 gome me unnamed spot where re president roosevelt prime minister churchill marshal stalin and perhaps general de will sit down and try to agree on details of 0 the framework of an international organization for or the maintenance of peace th the e election was supposed to have settled the old issue of isolationism v versus internationalism but those terms were far too indefinite to do delimit limit any lasting decisions and since november our allies have been strewing land mines of doubt along the way causing many cases of interventionist noninterventionist non jitters in congress there will be debate in the senate savored flavored with remarks the tenor 0 of f those thoa which criticized the british cours e in greece As to the battle behind closed doors y you 0 u c can an I 1 imagine m a gine that the american viewpoint will need all the support the president can rally behind it to overcome the tendency of churchill stalin and de to fall all into all the old bad habits of their happy power politics days in order to understand the differences which have already arisen between tw een those who support british britis h armed intervention in greece and those who support the state departments action in protesting against it it is necessary to take a look behind the scenes and see what these forces are which are bound to shape the new governments of europe as they are reborn re born after the period of democratic h hibernation during nazi fascist occupation or control U S favors self rule in the first place there is a powerful liberal oriented ground swell in be discerned everywhere if we look for ili it Is the belief that eventually this force will dominate which has prompted the american hands off policy uncle sam merely says bays let the people of the various countries choose the form of government they want those who want democracy enough will get it if there is no outside interference that Is one thing to bear in mind another Is that this ground swell as I 1 call it Is the result of many different factors not merely hunger anal discontent or faith and enlightenment lighten ment not only inspiration or desperation but aspiration as well aspiration toward the natural historical and evolutionary goals of progress which are a part of mans struggle for liberty the reaction against nazi tyranny and the successful resistance to german control in the form of the underground generated certain forces toward freedom and independence pen dence the underground made its own laws gave opportunity for the coalescence and strengthening of all democratic movements it was natural when the he germans were driven out that these forces refused to bow to representatives ot of any regime no maetter how beneficent it it had about it even the slightest odor of sanctified feudalism it Is necessary to get this premise firmly fixed in our minds or else fall into the error of writing off every revolutionary movement as communist including some certainly no whit less virtuous than our own in 1776 it is well to study the france of today in this connection and interesting to note the comment which appeared pared ap in the french press at the time of the first revolts in belgium and later in greece where allied support was given the government in power tha th franc whose name indicates the underground flavor of its opinion explains why so far france has had no such internal trouble it has been our great good fortune it says to have a man to protect our honor and prepare the liberation who had such character and personality that he Is universally accepted acclaimed and followed by the entire nation as our leading member of the resistance the last seven words are the important ones as our leading member of the resistance in other words de was able to lead his fellow countrymen into liberation without chaos because he had the approval of the most active and most militantly democratic elements of the underground N new e w spirit in greece premier of greece during the revolt with all his virtues was no de to in that respect I 1 was reliably informed that had expressed firm anti monarchic sentiments that he is as he says a democrat and a socialist that he had a clean record through the occupation but and what a but there is judged by such standards as I 1 imagine franc fran c would hold up was selected by the king with british consent the motives back of his election may have been honest enough and prec practical enough from the standpoint of the old order here was a man with a good record who it would seem could reconcile the royalists and the leftists but that formula itself violates the very principles of the new order and when the ae left ft wing ers began to feel that the c cabinet a binet was monarchist and british made they withdrew and their followers refused to give up their weapons all armed armed groups in greece not a absorbed officially by the army were ordered to turn in their arms the police of 0 course did not turn in their arms and they were the game ame police who had helped the prewar metaxas dictatorship and later the germans keep order the sacred battalion a group composed chiefly of former greek officers who fought bravely beside the allies all through the african campaign and were charged with containing a strong monarchist element was not disbanded but became a part of the army translate the above into terms ot of the french attitude and see how impossible acceptance of a greek government such as that could be to groups thinking as the french resistance groups think there is every reason to believe that the leftist movement in greece and elsewhere in europe evev even where the majority of their leaders may be led by communists as was not the case in greece is actually at heart a drive against tyranny and toward democracy here again it might be wise to examine some of the opinion expressed by frenchmen now backing the de pr provisional ovis lonal government which Is a product of the forces similar to those operating in other liberated countries the leading editorial in the december issue of free france that attractive and informative magazine published in new york by the french provisional government gives the reasons for or the change of attitude toward the french communists as follows 1 the french communist party joined the resistance movement and later gave its aUe glance to de gaelles Ga ulles national committee 2 the comin tem was dissolved 3 the communists rendered ini valuable aid to the resistance movement 4 the striking collaboration of all french patriots in the underground struggle removed many prejudices including the suspicion of communists sans patrie a political group with loyalty to no fatherland the editors of free france cautiously state that it is too early to answer the important question have the french communists accepted democracy BS as it is understood by the western democracies nevertheless they note tor for the rec ord that so tar far the communists helped to draw up the national hesi resistance si council program of march 1044 tacitly accepting the democrat lc ic principle and the abolition of private property Is not listed among the immediate demands of the communist party |