ITALIANS IN U.S.

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 20916, 16 October 1942, Page 5

ITALIANS IN U.S.

CLASSED AS FRIENDS BENEFIT TO AMERICA MORAL EFFECT ON ITALY (By Telegraph—Press Assn. —Copyright.) (1.30 p.m.) NEW YORK, Oct. 14. Six hundred thousand Italians living in the United States and 6,000,000 Americans of Italian parentage found in the speech of the Attorney-General, Mr. Francis Biddle, the biggest story of years, says the -New York Times, commenting on the Federal Attorney-General’s announcement that from October 19 Italian aliens would no longer be classed as enemy aliens. The newspaper says that the Government’s decision was made on statistical and not sentimental grounds as 98.8 per cent of Italian immigrants are behind our war effort. “Mr. Biddle’s action is not merely justice; it is grand strategy _ that is worth quite a number of divisions of troops, cruisers and plane carriers,” says the New York Times. “It tells the people of Italy over the heads of their Government that we don’t -consider them our enemies. The news will not be broadcast in Italy, but it will reach Italy and the acceptance of 600.000 legal enemies as friends and fellow workers is a deed calculated to weaken the Italian people's will to fight.”