| Show Full Text ext of cad President Rc Roosevelt's s Report to the Nation on Progress a of the War Wor WASHINGTON Feb eb 24 UP UPI UPI- The text lext of Pre President Roosevelt's Roosevelt's Roose Roose- velt's address Monday night follows follows follows fol fol- lows Washington's birthday is a most appropriate occasion for fors forus forus us s to talk with each other about things as they are today and things as we know they shall be in the future For eight years General Washington and his Continental army were faced faced continually with formidable odds and re recurring recurring re- re defeats Supplies and equipment were lacking In a sense every win winter er was a Valley Forge Throughout the 13 states there existed 50 columnists selfish men Jealous men fearful fearful fearful fear fear- ful men who proclaimed that Washington's cause was hopeless hopeless hopeless hope hope- less that he should ask for a negotiated peace Model of Con Courage rape Washington's conduct In those hard times has pI Vid d the model for all Americans ever since a since a model of moral stam stain ina He held to hrs hrs' rs as asit S Sit it had been charted in the Declaration Declaration Dec Dec- n of Independence He and the brave men Who served with him knew that no mans man's life or fortune was secure without without without with with- out freedom and free The present gre great t struggle has taught us Increasingly that freedom of pers person n and security se of property anywhere In the world depend upon the security of the rights and obligations of liberty and justice everywhere in the world This war war is a new kind of war It is different from all other wars of the past not only in its methods and weapons but also in its geography It Is warfare warfare warfare war war- fare in terms of every continent continent continent conti conti- nent every island every sea every airlane In the world World Wide War Var Front That is the reason why I 1 Have ave asked you to take out and spread before you the map of the whole earth and to follow with ith me methe methe methe the references which I shall make to the world world encircling encircling battle lines of this war Many questions will I fear remain unanswered but I know you will realize I cannot cover everything everything every every- thing in any anyone one report to the people The broad oc oceans ans which have been heralded in the past as our protection from attack have become become become be be- come endless battlefields on which we are constantly being challenged by our enemies We must all understand and face the hard nard tact fact that our job now is to fight at distances which extend all the way around the globe We fight at these vast distances distances distances dis dis- dis- dis because that is Is' Is here where our enemies are Until our flow of supplies gives es us clear lear superiority superiority su su- we e must keep on strikIng striking striking ing our enemies wherever where and whenever er we earl can can meet mec them their en e if for a while we have ha to yield ground Actually we are taking a heavy toll of the enemy enemy enemy en en- emy every ery day that goes by We must fight at these vast distances to protect our supply lines Iines and our lines of communication cation with our allies protect allies protect these lines from the enemies who arc are bending every ounce of their strength striving against time to cut them The TJi object ct of the nazis and the Japanese is to separate the United States States- Britain China and Russia and to isolate them one from another another another an an- other so that each will be bestir sur surrounded rounded and cut off from sources of supplies and reinforcements It is the old familiar axis polI polIcy policy policy pol pol- icy of divide and conquer r I Points Out Fallacy There are those who still sUll think in n terms of the days of sailing ships They advise us to pull our warships and our planes and our merchant ships to our own home waters and concentrate solely on last ditch de defense ense But let nic ne illustrate what would happen if we followed such foolish advice advice advice ad ad- vice Look at your map Look at atthe atthe atthe the vast area of China with its millions of fighting men Look at the vast area of Russia with its powerful armies and proven military might Look at the British British British Brit Brit- ish Isles Australia New Zealand Zealand Zealand Zea Zea- land the Dutch Indies India the near east and the continent of Africa with their resources of raw materials and of peoples determined to resist axis domi domi- nation Look at North America Central America and S Sou South o u t h America It is obvious what would happen happen happen hap hap- pen if all these great reservoirs of power were cut off from each other ollier either by enemy action action action ac ac- ac- ac tion or by self self imposed imposed Isolation isolation isolation Isola isola- tion 1 We could no longer send aid of any kind to China China to to the brave people who for nearly five years have withstood Japanese Japanese Japanese Japa Japa- nese assault destroyed hundreds of thousands thousands' of Japanese soldiers soldiers sol sol- diers and v vas va's vast as t quantities of Japanese war munitions It is essential that we help China in her magnificent defense and in her Inevitable counteroffensive for for that is one important element element element ele ele- ele- ele ment in the ultimate defeat of Japan Pacific Area Vital 2 2 If we lost communication with the southwest Pacific all of that area including Australia Australia Austra Austra- lia and NeW Zealand would fall und under r Japanese domination Japan Japan Japan Ja Ja- Ja- Ja pan could then release great numbers of ships and men to launch attacks on a large scale against the coasts of the western western western west west- ern hemisphere in including luding Alas Alas- ka At the same time she could immediately extend her conquests conquests conquests con con- quests to India and through the Indian ocean to Africa and the near east 3 If we were to stop sending munitions to the British and the Russians in the Mediterranean and Persian gulf areas we would help the nazis to overrun Turkey Syria Iraq Persia Egypt and nd the Suez canal the whole C coast o 0 a s t of north Africa and the whole coast of west Africa putting Africa putting Germany within with with- in e easy a s y striking distance of South America 4 4 If by such a fatuous policy pol pol- policy policy icy we ceased to protect the north Atlantic supply line to Britain and to Russia we would help to cripple the the splendid counteroffensive f by R Russia u s s i a against the nazis and we would help to deprive Britain of essential essential essential essen essen- food supplies and munitions Those Americans who believed that we could liv live under the illusion illusion illusion sion of isolationism wanted the American eagle to imitate the tactics of the ostrich Now many of those s same sam a m e people afraid that we may be sticking our necks out want our national bird to be turned into a turtle But we prefer to retain the eagle cagle as it is flying Is-flying flying high and striking hard Illusion of Isolationism I know that t I speak for the mass of the American people when I say that we reject the tt turtle tle policy and will continue increasingly the policy of carrying carrying carrying carry carry- ing the war to the enemy in distant distant distant dis dis- dis- dis tant lands and distant waters as as far as possible from our Q home grounds There are four main lines of communication now being traveled traveled traveled trav trav- by our ships The north Atlantic the south Atlantic the Indian ocean and the south Pa Pa- These routes are not one one- way streets streets for for the ships which carry our troops and munitions outbound bring back essential raw materials which we we require for our own use The maintenance of these vital Ital lines line is a aery very ery tough job It Isa is isa isa a job which requires tremendous daring tremendous resourcefulness resourceful resourceful- ness and above all tremendous production of planes and tanks and guns and of the ships to to carry them And I speak aga again n for lor the American people when I say that we can and will do that job The defense of the world wide lines of communication demands relatively safe use by us of the sea and of the air along the various routes and this in turn depends upon control by the united nations of the strategic bases along those routes Control of the air involves the simultaneous use of two types of planes planes first first the range long-range heavy bomber and second light bombers dive bombers torpedo planes and short-range short pursuit planes which are essential to the protection of the bases and of the bombers themselves Long PerlI Perilous us Route Heavy bombers can fly under their own O power from here to the southwest Pacific but the smaller planes cannot Therefore Therefore There There- fore thes these lighter planes have to be packed in crates crate's and sent on board cargo ships Look Loot at your map again and you will see that the route is long long and and at many places perilous perilous either either across across ss the south Atlantic around south Africa or from California Califor Califor- nia to the East Indies direct A vessel can make malte a round trip by either cither route in about four months or o 0 only n 1 y three round trips in a whole year In spite of tiro tit the length and difficulties dif dl- of this this' transportation I can tell you rou that we already have ha a large number of bombers and pursuit planes manned by American pilots which are arc now In dally daily contact with nith the enemy in the southwest Pacific And thousands of American troops are today in that area engaged in operations not only in the air but on the ground as well In this battle area Japan has had an obvious initial advantage For she could fly even her short- short range planes to the points of attack attack attack at at- tack by using many stepping steppingstones steppingstones steppingstones stones open to her her bases bases in a multitude of Pacific islands and also bases on the China IndoChina IndoChina Indo- Indo China Thailand and Malay coasts Japanese troop transports transports transports trans trans- ports could go south from Irom Japan and China through the narrow China sea which can be protected protected protected pro pro- by Jap Japanese n se planes throughout its whole length Japanese Position n Strong I ask you to look at your maps again particularly at that portion portion portion por por- tion of the Pacific ocean lying west of Hawaii Before this war var even started the Philippine islands were already surrounded on three sides by Japanese power On the west the Japanese Japanese Japanese Jap Jap- anese anese were in possession of the coast of China and the coast of Indo-China Indo which had been yielded to them by the Vichy French On the north are are the islands of Japan themselves reaching down almost to northern northern north north- em ern n Luzon On the east are the mandated is islands which islands which Japan had occupied exclusively ly and had fortified in absolute lut violation of her written word These islands hundreds of them appear only as small dots dotson on most maps But they cover a large strategic area Guam lies in the middle of them them them-a a alone lone outpost which we never fortified Cites 1921 Agreement Under the Washington treaty of 1921 we had solemnly agreed not to add to the fort fortification of the Philippine islands We had no safe naval base there so we could not use the islands for extensive naval operations Immediately after this war started the Japanese forces moved down do on either side of the Philippines to numerous points south of them thereby them thereby completely encircling the islands from north so south t east and west It Is that complete encirclement encirclement encirclement encircle encircle- ment with control of the air by Japanese land-based land aircraft which has prevented pre us from sending substantial reinforcements reinforcements reinforcements reinforce reinforce- ments of men and material to the gallant defenders of the Philippines nes For 40 years it has always been our strategy a a strategy born of necessity that necessity that in the event ent of a scale full-scale at attack attack attack at- at tack on the islands by Japan we should 11 fight ht a delaying action action action ac ac- ac- ac tion attempting to retire slowly into Bataan peninsula and Cor- Cor regidor We knew that the war as a whole would have to be fought and won by a process of attrition attrition attrition tion against Japan itself We knew all along that with our greater resources we could out out- build Japan and ultimately overwhelm overwhelm overwhelm over over- whelm her on sea on land and in inthe inthe inthe the air We knew that to obtain our objective many varieties varieties varieties vari vari- of operations would be necessary necessary necessary essary in areas other than the Philippines Strategy Not Nt Revised ne Nothing that has occurred In Inthe Inthe Inthe the past two months has caused us to revise this basic strategy except that the defense put up by Gen General r l' l MacArthur has magnificently exceeded the previous previous previous pre pre- estimates t s' s and arid he and his men are gaining eternal glory MacArthurs MacArthur's army of Filipinos and Americans and the to forces of the united nations in China in Burma and the Netherlands East Indies are all together fulfilling the same essential task They are making Japan pay an in increasingly increasingly increasingly in- in terrible price for her ambitious attempts to s seize ize control control control con con- of the whole Asiatic world Every Japanese transport sunk off Java Is one less transport that they can use to carry reinforcements reinforcements reinforcements rein rein- to their army opposing opposing opposing ing General MacArthur in Luzon Refers to Pearl Harbor It has been said that Japanese Japanese Japanese Jap Jap- anese gains in the Philippines were made possible only by the success of their surprise attack on Pearl Harbor I tell you that this is not so Even if the attack had not been made your map will show that it would have been a hopeless hopeless hopeless hope hope- less operation for us to send the fleet to the Philippines through thousands of f miles of ocean while all those island bases were under the sole control of the Japanese The consequences of the attack attack at at- at tack tacit on Pearl serious harbor-serious Harbor serious as they were were have have been wildly exaggerated exaggerated ex ex- agger ted In other ways The These e exaggerations come originally from axis propagandists but they have been repeated I re regret regret regret re- re gret to say by Americans Inand in inand inand and out of public life You arid and d I Have live lh the ut utmost 10 i contempt for Americans who since Pearl H Harbor have whispered whispered whispered whis whis- or announced off the record record record rec rec- ord that there was no longer any Pacific fleet that fleet that the fleet was all sunk or destroyed on December 7 that 7 that more than 1000 of our planes were destroyed destroyed de de- on nn the ground They have suggested slyly that the government has withheld the truth about casualties that casualties that 11 or 12 thousand men were killed at J Pearl earl Harbor instead of the figures as officially announced They have even served the enemy propagandists by spreading spreading spreading spread spread- ing the incredible story that shiploads of bodies of our honored honored honored hon hon- ored American dead were about to arrive in New York harbor to tobe tobe tobe be put in a common grave Almost every axis broadcast directly quotes Americans who by speech or in thE |
