BITTER IRONY

New Zealand Herald, Volume 82, Issue 25177, 14 April 1945, Page 7

BITTER IRONY

VEl!¥ HOUR OF VIOTORIY HARD AND STUNNING BLOW (Reed. 10.45-p.m.) NEW YORK. April 13 "A great and gallant wartime leader died almost in the very hour of victory, to which he led the way," says the New York Times. "It is a cruel and bitter irony that Mr Roosevelt should not have lived to see the Allies march into Berlin. "It is a hard and stunning blow to lose the genius and inspiration of his leadership in the war's decisive moment. The people of the United States, comrades in the Allied Nations and the cause of democracy throughout the whole free world have suffered a heartbreaking loss." JAPANESE COMMENT "SYMBOL OF IMPERIALISM" THE THREE-POWER PROBLEM (Reed. 11.45 p.m.) NEW YORK, April 13 The Tokio radio said: "President Roosevelt was the symbol of American imperialism. Let us not question here it' what Mr Roosevelt stood lor and worked for has been for good or evil. There at least is no question that he was a man of a type of which world history has not seen many. "America's grief will be shared by Mr Churchill arid his British public. The shock also must be great for Marshal Stalin. The loss to America is severing one leg of a three-legged table supported by the personalities of Mr Roosevelt, Mr Churchill and Marshal Stalin. It is not likely that the table can lie steadied by whoever fits into Mr Roosevelt's shoes. The three-Power relationship will stay a problem." GERMAN REACTION NO CONCLUSIONS DRAWN (Reed. 6.30 p.m.) LONDON, April 13 All German radios interrupted transmission to announce President Roosevelt's death. The German news agency said: "Mr Roosevelt's death has created a deep impression in Berlin, but German political circles refrain from drawing anv conclusion on the possible effects on the United States home and foreign policy." CHIANG SHOCKED (Reed. 10.16 p.m.) WASHINGTON, April 13 Madame Chian Kai-shek, in a message to Mrs Roosevelt, said: "Measured by any and every standard of greatness in all* parts of the world, President Roosevelt stands supreme." A Chungking message says that an aide-de-camp, reported that Marshal Chiang Kai-shek was visibly stunned when informed of the news at breakfasti He left his food untasted and relapsed into sorrowful meditation.