OCR Text |
Show i Allies Ponder Possibilities Of Russ-Nazi Peace Treaty Soviet Offensive May Mean Sudden End of War With Germany; Stalin Holds High Cards in Diplomatic Game. By BAUKIIAGE News Analyst and Commentator. f I really the thing which can win the peace, as It has made the winning of the war possible, whatever credit may justly go to others who have battled our common enemy. Visitors to U. S. The war has brought a great many Englishmen to the United States who otherwise might never have known any more of America than they learned from the movies. Many are highly trained specialists, others are broadly educated, like those in newspaper news-paper and radio work. " I have met a number, especially of the latter group. And I am struck by one thing which they comment upon the widespread education in America. Amer-ica. That is one thing which will make up one of England's No. 1 postwar reforms a real public school system. sys-tem. We, in America, underestimate our own schools on the one hand and overestimate our literacy on the other. At first, the army demanded that a man be able to read and write or he was deferred. This lost nearly a million men to the armed forces-four forces-four states have 36 per cent or more adult illiteracy. According to latest information, 85,000 illiterates have already been reclaimed for army service which means that they have been taught to read and write and do simple arithmetic. It is said that there are facilities for giving the same basic instruction to 750,000 more. But that is by no means the extent of army education. A statement from the Office of War Information the other day said, speaking of the serviceman: "Unless he comes from a well-to-do family, his educational education-al opportunities are in fact rather better in than out of the services." That is probably something that few parents thought of when they waved good-by at the station. They did not realize that the army and navy are operating the largest adult school in the world. One out of every ev-ery ten adults in the country, 11 out of every 14 able-bodied men between 18 and 38 will probably be students in that school system by the end of this year. A million boys will be in the preinduction courses, the system's sys-tem's prep schools. Nine out of ten of these men will receive advanced training as specialists. The Future Much of the education received will be carried over as useful in civilian life, for one out of three of every army and navy job is identical with a civilian job and over two-thirds two-thirds of the men in the service develop de-velop skills that can be used in civilian civil-ian jobs. These figures alone, I believe, show that when "D Day" comes, the millions discharged will not be a careless, riotous lot, good for nothing noth-ing but to fight. As a matter of fact, the vast majority will have, if they have anything like the feeling I and most of my comrades in the last war had, an overweening desire to settle down to a job and the building build-ing of a home, "no more to roam." Some, of course, who had the itching foot will have developed chronic cases, but it is doubtful if those rolling roll-ing stones would have gathered much moss anyhow. WNU Service, Union Trust Building, Washington, D. C. Washington watches the swift march of events across the Russian plains. The renewed offensive, more than half a month before even the Russian people dreamed it was possible, pos-sible, has quickened all nerves. For the Russians, it means the possibility pos-sibility of a sudden peace. And while Moscow dreams of the end of the war just around the first anow-covered mound on the battlefield, battle-field, the Allies are considering the possibility of what it means to them. For there is always that haunting memory of a remark of Stalin's in the back of their minds the remark that the destruction of the Relchs-wehr Relchs-wehr was not a condition of German lurrender as far as the Kremlin is concerned. In addition there is the realization of the presence of those German divisions still intact beyond the Alps, not to mention the others still nearer. Not (we are assured) that Stalin will make a separate peace with Germany but if a peace treaty is written on the stalwart backs of a victorious Russian army, what terms can the Allies insist upon that Stalin need feel called upon to approve ap-prove unless his own many possible desiderata are agreed to by Britain and the United States'? It does not make the task any easier for the gentlemen in London and Washington now carefully selecting se-lecting what the well-dressed diplomat diplo-mat should wear in Moscow. One thing Is very certain, no old fash-1 fash-1 ioned regalia will be in style. There will be no opportunity for the polite game where one can risk a little bluff with fair assurance of drawing a wild Joker to four of a kind or color if Russia holds all the cards. What Russia Wants The optimists say that Russia wants nothing that an, honest world cannot afford to offer, and is willing to give in return all that an honest world need ask for. The pessimists say that even if Britain and America can be converted to full faith in such an attitude and intent on Russia's part, how are you going to convert communist Russia to an equal faith in the attitude and intentions of the capitalistic nations? Unfortunately, Britain and the United States have a somewhat painful pain-ful diplomatic record in dealing with Germany when Adolf Hitler held his aces the strongest air force in the world and a sizable army. We all bowed down at Munich and, indeed, (though it has been forgotten) there was some rivalry for the credit in achieving a peace in our time that was no peace. However, with the help of Russia, the Allies were able to take Hitler's aces in the end. And so in certain discreet circles It has been suggested that the Allied weakness in the diplomatic field as far as things to trade with Russia are concerned, might .become a strength if the Allied joint general staff became the negotiators. These gentlemen might be able to offer what Russia wants most (which is what we all want) security. And these gentlemen might likewise make demands which Russia would desire to consider, namely, co-operation with compromise, refusal of which could lead to nothing better than what Hitler got in the end. And Hitler's own words, spoken when he addressed a meeting of his party chiefs and generals recently, are worthy of note. The fuehrer suggested for Germany what Britain and the United States might well contribute to negotiations with Russia Rus-sia in addition to their diplomats and their armies and navies. The Fuehrer Says "The (Nazi) party's struggle for power," said Hitler, "set an example for today's struggle of destiny of the German people . . . arms alone mean nothing if not backed by the will of men." The Germans made a fatal mistake mis-take twice in one generation. They failed to count on the will of the American people. If that will is made clear today, if America's intention in-tention is written clearly that all may see, the intention which we profess pro-fess a decent peace, justice and security se-curity for all and if that will and intent is backed by the force we have, nothing can resist it. That is For the majority of the men who make up our armed forces who want and expect to fill civilian jobs, the careful classification of skills which is a vital part of the army and navy system is going to work in reverse in getting them jobs afterward. In preparation for this, experts are already al-ready assembling accurate descriptions descrip-tions of jobs which men learn to do in the service, keeping a cumulative record of the work they do, preparing prepar-ing additional tests which will give a clear picture of their achievements achieve-ments and talents to the prospective employer. They are also preparing to tell the serviceman what job he Is best fitted for and offering help which will better prepare him for it. I doubt if ever before in history the military has taken on such a responsibility for fitting the boy back into his natural groove when the fighting is over. This is a total war, everybody is in it, and those who have been forced to take over the abnormal duties of fighting are not going to be set adrift |