Washington and the nation

...And, frankly, I would settle for less . . . and be satisfied...

...Therefore, it was alleged...

...The story relates that Dr...

...The opinion is probably well founded that that it exactly what the Italian people want...

...The question of America's attitude towards Italy in its present unhappy plight and ia the immediate future has been beclouded with all kinds of doubts and conflicting reports...

...Sterling says he bsi never seen the President professionally...

...We have restored, repaired, and rebuilt essential public utilities—such as waterworks, electrical systems, gasworks and sewers—to the extent necessary for military usage and for essential civilian economy in many cities, including Rome, Naples, and the devastated areas of Sicily...

...The stale inent to the Mazzini Society, coming as it does from official »ourccn, sets most of that nonsense at rest...

...No major strikes have occurred and work stoppages were prevented without the use of compulsion...

...1 The United States has made available to the Italian Government the dollar proceeds of the pay of V. S. troops in Italy as well as the dollar proceeds of remittances from and through the United States, and •f Italian exports to the United States in order to permit Italy to procure iuch supplies as the U. S. and British Armiea are not bringing in as part of their Program of military operations...

...3, The United Nation* Belief and Rehabilitation Administration is upplementjng our direct efforts in *• relief and rehabilitation of Italy...

...An effort has been made to present the natural consequences of war and of a major military campaign which has ravaged practically all of Italy as being in some unfathomable way a New Deal plot againat the Italian people...

...We have assisted and reorganized the administrative machinery of the nation and its provinces so as* to facilitate the country's rehabilitation...

...We have assisted labor, after the abolition of Fascist syndicates, to set up its own organizations, and mediated and advised in settling all disputes...

...It is interesting to see that the United States does not intend to treat Italy as beggar nation, but intends to help Italy to help itself...

...7 We have repaired and reconstructed shattered vital lines of transport, including highways, bridges, railways, and the docks and facilitiesnf many ports...

...L|Jrt>y, the gent with the refined sense of ethics, waved the question away w'th the reply: "We've got to use any and all means to beat Boose* velt...

...Our prime contribution, therefore, was military...

...Furthermore,' Italy is the first European,country to be liberated by the Allies...

...We have rehabilitated key industries, wrecked by bombing and German demolition, in order to process foodstuffs, manufacture textile, mine essential minerals and li process them, both for military and essential civilian use, thus providing jobs as well...

...The story got very specific and it's not hard to see how uncritical minds might believe it, for it relates how Dr...

...We supported banks after the crisis of liberation and permitted their rapid reopening on a sound basis, as indicated by the fact that deposits have increased...

...Libby whether he didn't think it sort of dirty fighting the President with that type of rumor...

...Such was the chaotic and critical situation whic>' faced us and our Allies in Italy and which had to be met despite the fact that we were carrying on active warfare against the enemy in the Mediterranean, in Northwest Europe and in the Far "East and these military efforts were straining our resources severely infc shipping, port facilities, critical supplies and manpower...

...J "14...

...Bombing and other military operations to drive the Germans out caused further devastation and deterioration of Italy's economic, agricultural, and industrial system...

...And a. friend of mine asked Mr...

...Sterling and gave him a rather thorough going-over about the rumor...

...and he hasn't any idea how the blamed story got started...

...Planning for the rehabilittation of the following industries is well under way: soap, paper, textiles, tobacco and matches (important for government revenue as a monopoly) and fertilizers...

...and I always thought pacifists were such nice people...

...Nasi oppression and plundering made the nil -aation worse...

...But for once I thought I would track down one of these rumors just to see what I'd get...

...In order to insure the equitable distribution of these supplies and to make their use more effective, we have helped the Italians iron out teh inequalities and render more efficient their rationing system and assisted them in every way possible in the collection and distribution of domestic supplies, particularly the food crops of tHe current year...

...The heritage of Western and Christian civiliza tion, which has played such a fundamental role in the life of this country, is based largely on the contributions made by Greece and Italy...

...This has been especially successful where in has been possible to increase rations...

...Sterling refused to operate, and the President thereafter made arrangements to have the operation performed by a Brooklyn surgeon after November 7. Since it was rather handy, I tracked down Dr...

...UNRRA plans, as P»rt of this expenditure, to deliver 15,000 tons of extra foods monthly, to care for approximately 1,700,000 children and expectant or nursing mothers...

...We have restored postal services with the rest of the world for most parts of liberated Italy, arranged for the shipment of supplies by private relief organizations and for parcel post gift packages, and have lifted the ban on commercial communications with Italy at a time when a major military campaign is still being waged on Italian soil...

...it is no secret, of course, that overtime work has been put in to woe the Italian vote in this country away from the Administration on the baaii of horror stories supposedly emanating from reliable tourcet concerning the sufferings of the Italian people...

...Under Fascist control a large part of Italian resources and productive capacity had been devoted to preparing for and engaging in war rather than producing to meet the needs of the people of Italy...

...As the Allies moved in, they found a country whose economy had progressively deteriorated under Fascist mismanagement, Nazi oppression, and as a result of military operations to drive the Nazis from Italy...

...13...

...I didn't intend originally to waste any space on it, but I ran into a surprise at the end Unit, I think you ought to know about...

...The Government of the United States foresees that with the termination of military operations arid with . the reduction in the cells being made on our resources and facilities foi the conduct of the war, the Italian Government and people will be afforded even greater opportunities to rehabilitate their basic national economy aind to take their rightful place in the world's economy...

...Our accomplishments to date in remedying the conditions inherited from nearly a quarter of a century of Fascist misrule, Nazi oppression and the devastation •f war-have" been substantial...

...We have supplied 1,107,000 tons of basic foodstuffs to the Italian civilian population and provided another 1,193,000 tons of other civilian supplies making an aggregate material contribution to Italy's economic wellbeing of 2,300,000 tons...

...UNRRA has undertaken to make an allocation of 150,000,000 for •upplemental relief within Italy...

...And my friend tells me that Mr...

...And somebody reiterated the point of the rumor which was that a vote for Roosevelt simply meant a vote for Truman for president, and who the heck wants Truman for President Among the guests at the party in Arlington was Frederick J. Libby, the professional pacifist whose re-fined sense of ethics as regards human conduct is just naturally shocked by such uncouth things as war-even when it is against such uncouth things as Hitler and fascism...

...he had heard about the rumor before I talked to him about it and doesn't like the idea of his name being brought into a thing like that...

...This is over and above the aid being given by UNRRA to United Nations nationals who are refugees in Italy...

...The facts and figures relating to the accomplishments speak for themselves...

...In addition to our prime aim in ridding most of Italy of Fatcit and German oppression we and our Allies have accomplished the following: "I...

...To start at the beginning, a rumor that started mushrooming out of Washington and spread across the country within the past two weeks waj to the effect that the President has a serious ailment that I do not think it would be nice to describe right here aqd that he needs an operation...

...It'll save space if I boil the answers down...

...s But...

...It sums up this way: Dr...

...10...

...12...

...We have encouraged the export of Italian products to this country and Great Britain, both in the hope of aiding the Allied efforts and of restoring Italy's place in international commerce...

...A country which has always been economically insufficient and dependent on large imports from abroad had thereby been put in a deplorable State...

...In additional, professional personnel would assist Italian health authorities and UNRRA would supply about 18,000,000 worth of supplemental medical supplies over a period of a year...

...Anyway, that's the reason I generally pay no attention to the constant bumper crop of rumors that seem always to be current about how the President is about to die of this, that or the other imaginary ailment...

...Italy thus presented a challenge to the United Nations and called for auch interest owing to the fact that economic conditions in the liberated parts of Italy were critical...

...We have made a complete study of agriculture, forestry and fishing with a view to determining precisely the supplies and finances needed for their restoration...

...Sterling gave it as his opinion that an operation was an immediate necessity, but that the President could not possibly survive it...

...If anything, it appears clear that the present Administration of this nation—even in tpe midst of a great war and great burdens—has a heart...

...W. Calhoun Sterling of this city, who is one of the most noted surgeons in the nation, was called in on the case...

...Tracking Down the Rumors on FDR's Health — And a Surprise Finish The President is so obviously a hale and hearty guy that I occasionally suggest to Le Bon Dieu that I would like, when I get to be the President's age, to be in approximately the same physical shape...

...No small part of the population of the United States is of Italian origin, making American interest in conditions in Itsly even more direct and real...

...We set up price controls for 21 major necessities, and we are curbing black market operations...

...Reply Reviews Year's Work in Italy WASHINGTON, D. C—Keporta from Italy have given rise to much confusion and concern among friends of Italian democracy...

...We initiated a quick and eomplete census of the people and of industry in order to obtain a clear picture of the country's needs and potentallties for rehabilitation and helped the Italian Government to set up appropriate machinery for reestablishing thetr industrial and transportation economy...

...he has no more idea than the man in the moon about the President's physical condition...

...So far as he knows, th^-e is not a single word of truth in it from start to finish...

...It must be remembered that we went into Italy to defeat the enemy and to liberate that country from the control of the Fascists and the Germans...

...I just figure politics is a pastime which sort of naturally takes to dirt and it's silly to expect it at this late date to develop a sanitary code...

...11...

...In an official statement which was disclosed today, addressed to Umberto Gualtieri, national secretary of the Mazzini Society, the State Department said: "The Government of the United States has been and continues to be very much interested in the plight of the Italian people, particularly in their economic well-being...

...the other night there was a little gathering in a house over in Arlington and the rumor about the President facing an almost certainly fatal operation came up...

...Clarification of a great deal of haze was revealed .today in an exchange of correspondence between the Secretary of State and the Mazzini Society which tells in compact summary form for the first time a number of things this country is doing to ameliorate the slight of the Italian people of which friends of Italian democracy have not been fully aware...