Newspaper Page Text
Chat Gives Reassurance On Fleet David Lawrence. Picture Differs From View of Churchill By DAVID LAWRENCE. Judging by comments of the man bn the street, President Roosevelt’s optimistic assurances concerning the future and his emphatic repudia tion of the pes limlim that grew up as a result of the attack on Pearl Harbor are ap parently what the American people like to hear. Morale build ing is important but if the tactics of artifl cially created impressions are to be successfully maintained and critics are to be deprived of the basis for many of their comments, It will become necessary for the American Government politely to ask Prime Minister Churchill to refrain from making speeches to the House of Commons discus sing the conditions of the American battle fleet in the Pacific. It will be recalled that when the Prime Minister returned from his American visit of December he spoke of the American battle fleet in the Pacific as “crippled'' tempo rarily. Last week, in explaining the fall of Singapore, he told the British people in a broadcast heard In the United States: “By an act of sudden and violent surprise . . . the shield of sea power which was protecting the fair lands and islands of the Pacific Ocean was for the time being—but only for the time being—dashed to the ground. Into the gap thus opened rushed the invading armies of Japan . . . the overthrow for a while of British and United States sea power was like the breaking of some mighty dam . . Roosevelt's Version. After hearing the above on Feb ruary 15, the American people were Riven in a fireside chat of February 23 this version by President Roose velt: “Of all the combatant ships based Dn Pearl Harbor—battleships, heavy cruisers, light cruisers, destroyers and submarines only three were permanently put out of commission. “Very many of the ships of the Pacific Fleet were not even in Pearl Harbor. Some of those that were, were hit very slightly and others that were damaged have either re joined the fleet by now or are still undergoing repairs. When those re pairs are completed the ships will be more efficient fighting machines than they were before.” This certainly doesn’t sound like a “crippled” fleet or a fleet that has been put out of commission for very long, and it is reassuring news be cause it evidently means the Japa nese have a surprise in store for them in the speed with which our Pacific Fleet is to be restored to the fighting strength it had prior to Pearl Harbor, with exception, of course, of the three ships “perma nently” put out of commission. Withholds Dates. Just how long the damaged ships will be undergoing repairs is impor tant military information and that’s why the President did not disclose any specific dates. But the tenor of his address was to the effect that the damaged ships would soon be back on the fighting line. If they are not, and his prophecy proves wrong, the whole war will by that time have taken a turn in so many other directions that it will only be of academic importance to debate whether the President’s fireside chat of February 23, 1942 was or was not overoptimi.'.tic. The President, ‘ncidentally, did a superb job m .lammering away at Axis nr Uganda and also in point ■ out the importance of big dis tances and shipping to the future trend of this war. His discussion of our naval strategy will, of course, stir up plenty of debate among the naval experts. He gave the impres sion that for 40 years our basic strategy had been not to defend the Philippines and that Japanese en circlement had prevented us recent ly from doing anything different than we have done. Some naval ex perts have insisted that the battle fleet should never have been based at Pearl Harbor, that a scouting fleet should have been maintained in the Far East to protect Hawaii against the very thing that happened, and that the American Government should never have looked passively on the fortification of the Japanese mandated islands or on the deal be tween the Vichy government and Japan whereby Indo-China was oc cupied by the Japanese. Roberts Report Cited. The Roberts report says about our basic naval strategy: “At our hearings reference was made to what has long been a mat ter of common knowledge—that there are, and have been, diverse views of national policy respecting the basing of the entire United States Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor. We feel that the national policy in this matter is one that has been settled by those responsible for such -- __ ALCOHOLISM IS A DISEASE Institutional treatment (er only sev eral days is reauired te eliminate the eravlnr and desire and also to create an aversion to Alcohol In all Its forms. Write or call tor tree booklet. Controlled. Operated and Super vised by Licensed Physicians. Greenhlll Institute S145 16th St. N.W. Phono Day or NUhi—CO. 4754 On the Record Stalin's Order to Red Army Is Intem-eted As a Stern Warning to the Allies Dorothy Thompson. By DOROTHY THOMPSON. Stalin’s order of the day to the Red Army cannot be otherwise interpreted than as a stem warn ing to the Allies. One must con aider the cir c u m s t a n ces under which it was made—in a nation which has conducted the only bril 1 i a n t w a^ against Hitler. No other than Gen. Mac Arthur testifies to this. In a greeting to the Red Army he said: “In all my lifetime I have par ticipated in a number of wars and have witnessed others, as well as studying in great detail the campaigns of outstanding leaders of the past. In none have I observed such effective resistance to the heaviest blows of a hitherto undefeated enemy followed by a smashing counter attack. The scale and grandeur of this effort marks it as the greatest military achievement in all history.” The effort of the Russians has been greater than that of all the other Allies combined. Their sacrifices, in life and property, have no parallel. The manner in which they have mobilized the entire nation for resistance and offensive is unique. And now, what does Stalin say? First of all, he is astonish ingly cool and dry. He expresses confidence that he can liberate the Russian soil. But he does not insist on the necessity to go farther. He dryly expresses the hope and expectation that the Hitler regime will be liquidated as the result of this war. But the only condition of Russian victory is that the Germans should get out of Russia. Agreement Restricted. Stalin does not deny his agree ment not to make a separate peace with Hitler. But he does not promise to continue an offen sive war, beyond the Soviet Union. He sees that Hitler is gathering together a million Hungarian, Rumanian and Bulgarian troops. But the United States has not yet declared war on these coun tries whose armies are fighting our major ally in the field. The isolationist version of wag ing war—not yet abandoned by many people in our own State 1 Department, and not abandoned by Britain—until this latest shakeup in London—creates and justifies an isolationist version ol waging war by Russia. Let us look at this whole busi ness of appeasement, still going on among ourselves—through Mr. McCormick of the Chicago Tri bune, if you want an example. And let us compare it with rela tions with Russia before the war began. Russia had an alliance with France and the Little En tente, and was prepared to fight under it. It was broken by the same Frenchmen who are now trying their fellow-nationals at Riom for losing the war. But the con sequence was not, as they hoped for, the bleeding to death of Ger many and Russia to the advan 1 decisions and that it is not in our ] province * • * to discuss any such topic.” Mr. Roosevelt gives the impression that the basic naval strategy has ; been settled for many years, but in the last nine years that Hitler has been in power there have been many prominent naval men who have tried in vain to get our Gov ernment to revise its strategy. Some day what the Roberts report failed to discuss will be discussed, but this is not the time for such debate, as the important Job is to win the war with the tools available and with the strategists who have command of our destinies. (Reproduction Right! Reierved..) Red Cross Graduates 28 In Nurses' Aide Class | The largest nurses’ aide class in its history—28 volunteer workers— has been graduated by the District | Chapter of the Red Cross and its i members have gone to hospitals and other posts. Among the members of the class who went into Red Cross service this week were Deloise Emmons, daughter of Lt. Gen. Delos C. Em mons, commander of the Hawaii De partment. Others in the chapter's largest class were Ruth Hurley, daughter of the former Secretary of War, and Mrs. Gerald P. Nye, wife of Senator Nye. Due to pressure of war work the traditional "nurse capping” cere mony was not held. ^ w PHiuHam PEN YORK FAST and FREQUENT SERVICE fkiM DUfrid 3300 - - ___-i___ tage of the west. The conse quence was a disastrous defeat for France, while Russia adopted isolationism. If now any one is again going to appease, the Russians are in a better position than we are. First, they have proved to be stronger. Second, their war is the most un popular war with the German people. Third, the Russians understand psychological warfare. Stalin as serts that he is not afraid of the German masses, and does not de sire to destroy Germany as a state or as a people. He there fore brings the greatest menace to Germany, while, at the same time, he offers the greatest hope. And in political warfare, there fore, no less than in military, the Russians alone have conducted a grand strategy, or indeed, they are the only people who have con ducted any strategy at all. British Respond to Reality. Now, Britain is responding to a reality. It is obvious that Sir Stafford Cripps has informed Britain both of the strength and the trends in Russia. Britain draws the consequences and makes a clean sweep of the whole clique who have still had a toehold in the door—from the Archbishop of Canterbury down. Britain has decided to win the war together with Russia. Have we? We are contemplating whether Hamilton Pish can be renominated for Congress. Stalin has very fine ears. He hears what is happening everywhere. This war cannot be won by manipulations and agreements. Agreements hold or do not hold, according to the disposal of the instruments of power. Stalin has no intention of sharing the fate of Spain, which was manipulated into ruin. Stalin's reference to the Rus sian “war of liberation,” as con trasted with “imperialistic wars,” may also be taken either as a backhand thrust or as warning. It is probably both. Our strength in the Far East—and Russia's strength—is not that we are de fending white supremacy in the Orient, but that we are defending China against an aggressor. And we need the help of India. Although the interests of In dia certainly do not lie with Japan, neither—they feel—do they lie with the maintenance of the rule of the West. Russia's doctrine and practice of racial equility and national independ ence Is today a political weapon of immense power. The influence in the whole Orient is divided between the western powers and Russia. If our alliance is a sincere one, we can pool that influence. If we do not, we shall lose it either to Ja pan or Russia. As things are now, it is Russia, and aof We. who is appearing in Asia ,as the prophet and defender of national i liberty. There is another restriction in Stalin’s speech, which is an offer to the West. He is waging a war of national liberation, he says— not a war of social revolution. We are being given a choice—to fight with Russia for her libera tion and for our survival and to mean business. Otherwise Russia will fight for her own liberation, and let us take care of ourselves. (Released by the Bell Syndicate. Inc.) Signs on Buses and Cabs To Warn of Careless Talk Acting at the request of the War Department, the District Public Utilities Commission late yesterday authorized Washington taxicabs, streetcars and buses to carry the following warning signs, beginning tomorrow: "Don’t Kill Americans By Careless Talk! "Never Discuss Military or Naval Information in a Public Vehicle.” Commission Chairman Gregory Hankin explained the agency’s order was not a command that sucjj signs be carried, that the commission was depending on taxi operators to post them as a patriotic duty. He added that officials of the Capital Transit Co. already had agreed to donate the necessary space for the signs on streetcars and buses. Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes. While you’re waiting, why not buy some Defense Bonds? CTHE opinions of the writers on this page are their own, not 1 necessarily The Star’s. Such opinions are presented in The Star’s effort to give all sides of questions of interest to its readers, although such opinions may l)e contradictory among themselves and directly opposed to The Star’s. The Great Game of Politics Mrs. Roosevelt Pictured as Using Age-Old Political Retreat From 0. C. D. Job Frank R. Krnt. By FRANK R. KENT. Mrs. Roosevelt would have been better advised to have omitted the Sunday night radio defense of her recent O. C. D. activities which resulted in her being forced out of a position in that organiza tion into which she had thrust herself and for which she clear ly was unfitted. It seems to show that this lady does not know when to leave well enough alone. She had been permitted without comment to say that she had resigned voluntarily in order that a fine program should not be handicapped by personal attacks upon her, when the program was not fine and when no personal attack had been made. And James Landis had been permitted without comment to say in accepting her resignation that she had done im mensely valuable work, which was not true, and that every farm and home in the country was impressed with her genius and nobility, which was not true either. And the news papers which had been foremost in pointing out the obvious reasons Mrs. Roosevelt should retire bent over backward to praise her warm heart and humanitarian endeavors when she did retice. So far as know'n, not a single unpleasant word came from them—quite the contrary. Took “Political Out.” But Mrs. Roosevelt was not con tent to leave it at that. On Sunday she felt it necessary to occupy tire 10 minutes, for which she is paid $2,000, in name calling and self praise. She berated her critics, re ferred to them as “unenlightened men” whom she pictured as favor ing the “privileged few” and against the downtrodden many, whose champion she asserted her self to be. In brief, she reacted in precisely the way every cornered politician has reacted against criti cism of his acts since politics became a profession. The long accepted political device for such a situation is to abuse the critics, assume an air of injured righteous ness, and make the age-old dema gogic class appeal to the many as ! against the few. Politicians have been doing that for centuries It was never done more according to the rules than on Sunday night. Nothing has better illustrated Mrs. Roosevelt's ability to miss the point, j Whether she misses it because her belief in her own wisdom is so great that she cannot see it, or whether she just closes her mind to the facts, there is no way to know. Some think ! one thing: some the other. The j facts in this case are very simple. Mrs. Roosevelt was not forced out of the O. C. D. by “unenlightened men” instigated by the “privileged few.” That allegation does not real ! ly make sense. She was forced out because revelation of the things and individuals she was sponsoring in the O. C. D. created an extraordi nary wave of public irritation and resentment all over the country. Reaction Felt. Reflection of this feeling in Con gress was such that neither her con tinuance nor that of her dancing and moving picture protege was possible. In consequence of this feeling, sales of Defense bonds fell off sharply, discontent with the Government spread and the O. C. D., which really is an important agency, was in general disrepute. People generally were exasperated by the expenditure of their money at a time like this on what they felt were frills and foolishness. It is too bad that Mrs. Roosevelt so greatly mis conceives her position. It is a pity that she apparently is determined to continue in a defiant way, pro truding herself into controversial issues and taking part in class struggles. Within the last week she has used her column to defend the congres sional self-pensioning bill, concern ing which the public was properly Grosner of 1325 F St. M ■ BBjA pFjj’Ip J^^^B k^H JpJj 9^3 wJm~WES® $2.00 SHIRTS, $1 .49 Reduced to_ A $2.25 SHIRTS, $-| .79 Reduced to-- A $2.50 & $2.65 WHITE & $1 .97 FANCY SHIRTS, Now 1 $2.50 PIGSKIN 95 GLOVES, reduced to_* | $1.50 to $2.50 NECKTIES, reduced to J D C $2.50 Imported NECK- ,g5 WEAR, Reduced to_ A $1.00 & $1.50 NECKTIES reduced to 59c Other Furnishing Iten $2.25 ft $2.50 PAJAMAS, $•$ .89 Reduced to .... 55c MEN’S HOSE, A A S' Reduced to ..- A Aw $1.00 HOSE, Reduced to_ 75c SHORTS, ^Qr* Reduced to_ s Reduced in Proportion Indignant, and to criticize rejection of the $300,000,00® plan of the Fed eral Government to take over from the States the Job of caring for those temporarily unemployed because of the conversion of factories from peace to war basis. In previous columns she had indicated hostility to the Byrd committee’s recom mendation for curtailment of the N. Y. A. pnd the W. P. A. On the air, in print and personally she has done much to encourage labor to strike, as witness her recent picket line performance with her commu nistically inclined young friend, Jo seph Lash; her address to the Brook lyn strikers and her membership in the C. I. O. Newspaper Guild union. Not a Trivial Case. There are, in fact, few public Issues or measures.upon which Mrs. Roosevelt does not undertake to guide, instruct and advise the American people. She covers a wider field than any 0116 else ln the country—and she is very highly paid for it, not because her views are valuable, but because she is the wife of the President of the United States. It is unpleasant to criticize Mrs. Roosevelt, first, be cause she is a lady; second, she is undoubtedly a good woman whose motives are all high; third, because she is the wife of the President, and, finally, because, with the world at war, it may seem trivial to take time and space to discuss what she does and what she says. Actually, of course, it is not trivial at all. Actually, it is a pretty important matter. For Mrs. Roose velt is an influential woman with a large and credulous following. She also has the capacity of irri tating millions of her fellow citizens. It is impossible to deny that her activities in the O. C. D. diminished national unity and created a lot of bad feeling. Her disposition is to blame this on the ‘‘privileged few” and “unenlightened men” who wanted to attack her personality. No one wants to attack her personally. Personally she is an admirable woman, but politically she is anything but helpful to the common cause at this time, though no one can convince her of that. However, if she is going to keep on ! showing her sympathy for strikers, if she is going to snipe at the re trenchment program, and if she is going to continue to stir up class feeling by harping on the “privi i leged few" as against the down trodden many, what she says cannot be ignored because it is distinctly damaging. It is to be regretted that her recent unpleasant experience ! has apparently left her in a trucu 1 lent state of mind. (Copyright, 1942.) This Changing World Nazi Fleet Expected to Launch Campaign To Disrupt Our Supply Lines to Europe By CONSTANTINE BROWN. Concern is being expressed in responsible Washington quarters because maintaining lines of communication between the United States, Britain and Russia is likely to be difficult in the next few weeks. Unless reports from Europe are entirely misleading, the German Navy plans to start spectacular raids very soon in the North and South Atlantic. It is believed that the Geiman high seas fleet will put to sea shortly—probably after the Mediterranean cam paign begins—in order to disrupt supply lines from this country to our associates in Europe The Nazis have kept their naval construction a close secret. Unlike the United States, Ger many never announces new ship launchings and approaches to navy yards are forbidden to every one except those actually at work there. Under the circumstances the best our authorities can do Is guess at the size of Nazi sea forces. On the basis of the improved production capacity of the three most important navy yards in the Reich and those in Danzig, Holland and Prance, it is as sumed that the Nazis now' have some 300 submarines of all types. This means they can operate at least 100 such vessels all the time. Sea Lanes Threatened. The increased activity of U boats off our shores and espe cially along the Atlantic Coast of South America indicates that a large number of ocean-going submarines are already on ac tive service. By adding to this force surface ships—in which category the Germans are known to have at least three battle ships, four cruisers and two plane carriers—the Nazis could seri ously endanger the sea lanes along, which supplies are carried to Britain and Russia. We in the United States of necessity think along lines of long-term policy, for it will take many months before our produc tion is sufficiently speeded up to match the Axis. The Nazis, on the other hand, are thinking in terms of quick and immediate blows and, like the Japanese, are not sparing either men or ma terial to bring about a quick j victory. In many well-informed quar ! ters it is believed the Nazis can throw at least 90 per cent of their naval strength into the Atlantic. The Mediterranean lends itself more to air operations. Further more, the Italian fleet, despite its lack of fighting spirit, will attempt to take .care of British naval forces between Gibraltar and Suez. Tie Italian fleet will be rejuvenated, it is believed, by the addition of a number of sur face and undersea vessels of the French fleet. Daily reports from France and adjacent countries seem to indi cate thal the French have defi nitely made up their minds to throw in their lot with the Nazis. Some French naval officers who could not be completely relied on have been retired. The re maining officers, according to careful surveys made by our own people in France, are fully de voted to Admiral Darlan, either for personal or ideological rea sons. U. S. Forces Inadequate. Britain has added a number of battleships to her squadrons, but they do not compensate for the losses suffered in heavy ships or for those under repair. The battleships and heavy cruisers being repaired either in this country or in England will be ready for action in a few months but, it Is feared, not by ITlWiTtC ; the time the Nazis start their major drive in the Atlantic. Our naval forces in the At lantic are excellent but insuffi cient to meet the threat from such vessels as the Tirpitz and her sister ships. Furthermore, it is not likely that the Nazis will attempt to give battle in tra ditional fashion but will employ their warships as raiders to blast our smaller vessels sent on con voy duty. In all probability they will travel in packs in order to avoid such encounters as that in which the powerful pocket bat tleship Graf Spee was lost in the South Atlantic and will at tempt to steer clear of such ships as our new North Carolina and Washington. Washington hopes the British will be able to spare some of their heavy ships from Mediter ranean duty to augment existing American-British naval forces in the Atlantic and to cope with the menace of a Nazi naval cam paign which might interfere ^nost seriously with assistance to Brit ain and Russia. An Added Feature ’ in the Grosner Half- Yearly Sale Kuppenheimer and Grosner TOPCOATS (iVeights for Year 'Round IVear) & O’COATS were $42.50 arid $45.00 INCLUDING: Regular *42.50 Kuppenheimer Tweeds and Fleeces...*45 Grosner Fleeces * ■ — and *4 5 Kuppenheimer Suris Here’s the wav reductions go: Group One— The $29.75 suits are now $24.75. Group T w o — T h e $37.75 and $44.7 5 suits are $31.75. Group Three—$44.7 5 and $50 Kup penheimer suits are $39.75. Group Four— $50 and $65 Kuppenheimer suits, $44.7 5. • Use Our Convenient Vi and 3 CHARGEPLAN Pay Vi... March 15th Pay Vt ... A pril 15th Pay Vi . . . May 15th Grosner of 1325 F St. McLemore— Navy to Make Pilots Tough Gents' Henry McLemore. By HENRY McLEMORE. ATHENS, Ga—In their recent announcement of a program where by they will train 30,000 pilots each year, the Navy Department’s Bureau of Aeronautics pulled no punches in its plan to "meet the Axis mean ness.” According to the plan, and I first heard of It here in the land of sorghum and Sinkwich, the Navy will select four universities throughout the country where it will send its neophyte pilots for an indoctrination course. These universities will be known as recep tion centers, and the University of Georgia here and the University of Iowa have already been chosen. To these universities will go young men, hand-picked physical speci mens, to the number of 625 a month. And what they will get there is the story. At these schools, which will turn over many of the buildings and in structors, the fledgling aviation pilots will get the customary courses in mathematics, navigation, radio and all the others necessary to taking a fighting ship out to sea and bring ing it home again. But the part of the program that appeals to me was pointed out by Lt. Ted Mann, the former publicist for Duke University’s football en deavors and now public relations officer at the Atlanta naval air base. * * * * The young eagles are going to get a course in physical training that will make them the toughest gents ever to sit at the controls of a ship. Not only the physical edu cation stuff that calls for wand drills, swinging here and there on horizontal bars, breathing deep, and 1 standing up and squatting down after the manner of children playing squat tag. The young pilots will be put to such tasks as marching 40 miles a day. digging ditches, felling | trees and clearing away forests. And that's not all, either. Under ‘ the so-called "toughening process" will come other training such as instruction in jujitsu (spelling not guaranteed!, wrestling, boxing and plain, old-fashioned pier 1. barroom, I street comer rough-and-tumble fighting. It is this course in rough-and tumble, every - man - for - himself fighting that does my heart good. I have maintained for a good while now that the day of chivalry and the Alphonse and Gaston st'^ff was gone from war. And that to meet the Axis brigands on an ea.ual foot ing our soldiers must be taught to get in there and swing from the floor. And may the toughest gent win. w * w w One of the parts of the new naval training will be the art of "liquidating" an opponent by physi cal means. Just what the Navy means by that word, liquidate, I wouldn’t know, but I do know that liquidate is a powerful word. The statement by Lt. Tom Ham ilton. who will head the physical training side of the new’ program, is very enlightening. Lt. Hamilton, a two-fisted fellow who used to coach the Army football team, said, in effect: "We know the Axis powers train their men to fight by any method, fair or foul, particularly the latter. While the Navy would much prefer to follow the principles of sports manship in warfare, we are going to train our pilots to fight by any means, whatever they may be. It would be unfair to our men not to have them ready, able and will ing to fight back in exactly the way the fight is carried to them.’’ * * * * As we got it, the youngsters for this new’ program, all of whom will be especially selected for the Job, will start moving to the four uni | versities within the next few’ weeks. Prominent figures in the sports world already have been called to handle the training of them. Following their indoctrination, these physically perfect and “tough ened" youngsters will be moved to flight elimination bases, one of which is in inland Atlanta, to start their actual flying. And then, if successful at these, will move on to advanced bases to get the final training preparatory to moving against the Japs, the Germans and the Italians, if there are any of Musso’s boys still fighting. The civilian population of this country could well take a tip from the Navy’s new “hardening proc ess.” It is high time all of us started conditioning ourselves for the tough and mean days that ars ahead. (Distributed by McNauaht Syndicate, Inc.) Mayflower Descendants Plan Party Tomorrow The Society of Mayflower De scendants In the District will hold a card party at the D. A. R. Chapter House, 1732 Massachusetts avenue N.W., tomorrow evening to raise money for the purchaase of historic Winslow House in Plymouth, Mass. The local society is now seeking to raise the quota assigned it for the cause, which is known as the Wins low House fund. Card games will follow a brief meeting of the society scheduled for 8 p.m. Frank B. Steele, Fund Com mittee chairman, and Meredith B, Colket, jr., entertainment chairman, are in charge of the affair, assisted by Maurice H. Thatcher, governor of the society, and other officials. Mrs. Wales C. Brewster, assistant secretary of the society, is in charge of tickets. Her address is 3015 North Second street, Arlington, Va. The General Society of Mayflower Descendants already has made a contract of purchase for the Wins low House. The structure will be preserved as a Plymouth landmark and as a rendezvous for the various branches of the organization.