Show Behind the he War News Major a or Eliot Says The pressure of bad news is bringing forth the usual outbursts outbursts outbursts out out- bursts of loose talk from our public men Ill considered or informed ill-informed expressions of opinion opinion opinion ion by those who possess to any degree the public ear or the public confidence are regrettable in time of peace in time of war they are positively dangerous especially when they take the form of urging a specific military military military mili mili- tary operation or specific disposition disposition disposition dis dis- dis- dis position of our armed forces One senator for example wants to send an expedition to I rescue MacArthur So do we all Nothing would be likely to tomake tomake tomake make a greater popular appeal and many citizens are likely to think that a senator who urges such a step must know what he heis heis heis is talking about and that the government is deliberately leaving leaving leaving leav leav- ing MacArthur to perish when he might be saved It may be worth while to point out therefore that a direct and immediate movement of troops to the Philippines is hardly pos pos- sible It is estimated that the Japanese have men in Luzon For us to send half that number there with all the heavy equipment and supplies of a modern army would require tons of merchant shipping shipping shipping ship ship- ping which means about ordinary ordinary ordinary or or- size merchant ships From Pearl Harbor to Manila is miles or about hours steaming stealing ing at the speed that such sucha a convoy could be expected to make For approximately three- three fourths of this this' time the convoy would be within the radius of action of enemy aircraft stationed stationed stationed sta sta- in their scattered island bases during the whole of its passage it would be subject to attack by enemy surface vessels vessels vessels ves ves- sels and submarines It would require the whole of the United States Pacific fleet to escort it and even then its safety could not be assured from attacks by day and night desperately driven en eri home with no thought but to get bomb or torpedo hits on the troop ships There would be no means of giving the convoy air protection except by the use of carrier- carrier borne aircraft and considering the enormous area of sea which such a convoy would cover it would be absolutely im impossible for the 24 squadrons which form the total of our carrier- carrier borne strength to give continuous continuous continuous contin contin- protection to such a vast assemblage of ships day and night for over two weeks even if those squadrons were all fight fight- ers And if they were all fighters fight fight- ers our carriers would have no bombers with which to strike back at the Japanese ships or island bases We need hardly proceed further further further fur fur- ther with this examination since the convoy would hardly get any further It would represent represent represent rep rep- resent simply a holocaust of the the flower of American youth to say nothing of throwing away tons of shipping at a moment moment moment mo mo- ment when every ton of such shipping is almost worth its weight in gold We have had to learn the hardway hardway hard hardway way that no movement of ships or troops on the surface of the earth whether by land or sea can hope to succeed unless it can be given adequate air support Air support means not only planes but bases whether bases whether land bases or floating bases Until we are ready with the air element element element ele ele- ele- ele ment to support any surface en enterprise enterprise enterprise en- en we had better not undertake undertake undertake un un- un- un the surface enterprise The loss of the Prince of Wales and Repulse should be a sufficient sufficient sufficient reminder on this point we need not throw throwaway away American troops to have It further further further fur fur- ther demonstrated to us But now another senator Is taking still a different point of ot view He is talking about the I possible need of bringing back our fleet to defend our shores from attack so far the only attack attack attack at at- tack with which we have been even menaced is a possible stray shell from the small caliber gun of an enemy submarine There is nothing of course to prevent the enemy from sending an aircraft aircraft aircraft air air- craft carrier to make a sneak raid on one of our coastal cit cities cites s. s This would probably result in inthe inthe inthe the loss of the carrier but it would also probably result in some damage and loss of life at atthe atthe atthe the point attacked The enemy has refrained from doing this so far presumably because his very intelligent psychologists psychologists psychologists have advised him that nothing would be more likely to wipe out the last traces of ot complacency and lethargy and rouse the American people to a pitch of fighting fury which would be immensely beneficial to the quality of the American war effort However if the enemy should come to believe on an authority no less eminent than that of the chairman of the naval affairs committee of the senate that such a move might result in the American fleets fleet's being called home for coast defense then the short-range short military advantages advantages advantages of a series of run hit-and-run attacks on our coasts might seem more attractive than the range long-range psychological vantages In other words if the senator really wishes to keep Boston or Philadelphia or Los Angeles from being bombed he would do dowell dowell dowell well not to suggest to the enemy i that this would result in a dislocation dislocation dislocation dis dis- dis- dis location of our whole grand i strategy and the abandonment J of operations of great magnitude 1 about which our enemies are doing doing doing do do- 1 ing a great deal of worrying at this present moment J Copyright 1942 N. N Y Tribune Inc |