Show ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS r t national and International Problems lems leyns inseparable from local wel fare According to most commentators commentator s Sis iE is the he lof the President that tha t this country can take many manYa a bells belli belligerent be be- becoming becoming becoming gerent Brent step without formally coming a participant in in the War Warl Judging l by b recent German state statements ments that belief seems to be well vel 1 I de- de denounce grounded Hitler's spokesmen Jounce flounce the United States and its it ts S foreign policy but they still titI say that Germany German will not be forced force d into i to declaring war on us by overt over overacts t acts acts In short Hitler's legions lac fere are e busy enough now without taking g on a new foe If Hitler had wished he could obviously obvious Y have construed c l the U U. S S. S military occupation of Iceland a aan as asan asan s an act of war var Iceland is less lessi than that thata thana miles from Germany a a. thousand and d could be developed into a a ma ma- mai maor i 1 for or r air base for use against Reich Whether or not Iceland is actual actually t a- a apart part of the Western I Hemisphere is Js a highly debatable question Th The e little isal island lies across the meridian which is generally consid Fred rd the the line line of the the two tw Hemispheres I Two thirds or of the iu country is east of that line However How How- However ever the third one-third which is west of the line includes Reykjavik the large Icelandic city and port The reasons for occupying Ice Ice- Iceland Iceland land 1 nd are clear enough First the American occupation has released numbers of Empire troops for ser ser- service rice vice elsewhere the elsewhere the bulk of them will hill probably be sent to Africa where Britain has just won a de- de eive victory victor over France and where there are humors of German action a tion to pull Vichy's well burnt burnt chestnuts pot t of the fire Second the American occupation of Iceland makes it possible for us to tsi patrol and dominate the greater part of the Atlantic ocean Thus British war men need only to protect the convoys conos from Iceland t to En lish ports which involves a distance of about miles Third the America of I eland dand has made it clear to the rif that th as as the President Pr said s ld we peg ill recognize no ito fixed boundaries bound ries in carrying jolt out our policy of of- prote protecting ting this nemis- nemis hem s- s where from i a res ors I It IS is the governments government's position n the that that that- th t the air air- air air- airplane plane has made de all previous previous ideas idea of hemispheric defense more tp chore re pr fir less I s and the airplane las made all previous ideas of helis- helis defense more or less obsolete fete lete and that our military outposts must be flung far indeed Fourth the American occupation of Iceland may have been designed as rs a move to pa pave pae e the he way for future fu future fu- fu ture occupation of other foreign possessions in our part of the world orld notably Dakar in French Africa and the th strategic Cape Verde Islands Theoretically our Navy is not convoying British shipping It is simply the Atlantic In actually many authorities believe there is little difference between a convoy and a patrol It has been announced that an American de de- dropped depth charges over a German submarine ne A And nd American Ame ican fighting ships arc are at at sea now warning the British whenever they the come on a N Nazi zi raider The American navy in other words is pretty much in the th war Furthermore American aid that it is is though many many- man still feel not great enough is becoming a areal areal areal real factor in iii 11 the Some of the great bombers which have been blasting at occupied German-occupied areas on the Continent arc of American make British dreams of air air equality equal equal- ity and eventual air f superiority have not yet been realized but they are coming closer to actuality And at this time with a large part of the German G strength mobilized in the Eastern front British power relatively speaking is undoubtedly greater by far than in an the Past The recent statement by a British general to the effect that American manpower will be eventually ev necessary necess necessary essary ess y to lick Hitler caused much speculation in this country The British position as stated by Mr Churchill has had ha always been that the Empire needed only materials of war not men Whether that position position tion will be changed remains to be seen Right now there would be small chance cI of Congress authorizing authorizing authorize ing A. A E. E E F. F In U U. S. S military circles it is felt that the Russians proved tougher 1 than the Germans expected In I n these same circles it is also felt fel nt t that Germany German will probably defeat defea t Russia's European armies in the thelong th e long run though at a fearful cos cosin cost costin costin in Nazi troops Troops and material However European Europe n Russia is only one part of that vast country Asiatic Russia also has great ar ar- armies armies ar- ar armies mies and important industrial cen cen- The authorities are convinced that Hitler cannot stop until he li lihas e has destroyed Russian RusS Russian mili mil military military tary power in toto and caused an overthrow of the Communist re- re re re- gime Rime Not until that is done can Hitler feel that he is safe from attack from the East That explains s' s the belief in in some quarters Hitler may come to disaster disaster Russia R The size of Rus Rus- Russia Russia Russia sia alone presents the invader ith with I tremendously difficult problems and Russian Rus ian soldiers have always been defensive sive fighters Stalin's scorched earth Dearth policy is said to be producing results |