Show G E N E R AL HUGH S V JOHNSON wash washington ington D 0 LE LEASE ASE LEND QUESTIONS tho the good old industrial rulo rule governing action should be applied to aid to britain short of war as proposed in tho the lease lend bill that rule Is to test every proposed now new action by asking three questions in the order named 1 why do it at all 2 why do it now 3 why do it this way it if it gets by question no 1 with a abood good answer it must reply to no 2 otherwise it stops there only if no 2 Is satisfactory does it proceed it if this happens its acceptance rejection or amendment will depend on the answer to question no 3 there are a few earnest honest hones t courageous and sincere trien men like colonel Lind lendbergh borgh who answer question no I 1 why do it at all thus there Is no good reason but the answer of a largo large majority of sloganeer cd public opinion and also of informed authorities Is because such aid to britain as will help to stop a threat of unfriendly european action westward Is enlightened self interest it seems a sufficient answer so we go on to no 2 why do it now there Is less certainty about that based largely on the objection that it will interfere with our own terribly laggard and locking lacking defensive preparation but let us assume that by wise administration a proper balance can be struck while no important aid can be effective this year without stripping our own defense and while wo we may face an entirely different situation next year yet time saved now will iiii be time saved in 1942 so let us say to the proposal at tho the barrier of question no 2 pass friend and alls well 11 that brings us to question no 3 why do it alil this way the particular way proposed by the lease lend bill the bill authorizes the president in his own unlimited discretion to lease lend or give away tiny any part of all the billions of dollars of property the government owns to any nation he elects and every dol dollars I 1 ars worth of stuff for which congress has a appropriated or may hereafter appropriate further billions that includes a great treasure in gold silver copper petroleum cotton corn wheat and vast equity and lien interests in much of the entire pool of prosperity in america it includes all of our military and naval airplanes warships tanks guns and ammunition there Is overwhelming further objection jec tion the chief of military naval and financial supply of a warring nation Is as much responsible for its victory or defeat as its commander command er ln in chalef ho undertakes control of its strategy so far as logistics are concerned and that Is exactly as tar far as armies and navies are concerned we are not yet in this war and we dont want to see our president responsible for its conduct the answer to question three why do it this way Is DONT 0 0 0 BAYONET TACTICS As more reports from the albanian banian battle come through it is S more apparent that the skirted greek equivalents of the world war kilted gilted scotch damen von hoadle ladles ladies from hell have added a new postscript to this war or rather a very old one they have proved once more the effectiveness of cold steel breast to breast even in modern mechanized war the suggestion comes to me mb from roy tinney a newspaper colleague but an ex bayonet instructor of the late world unpleasantness interpreting current reports he says of these greek bayone they duck dive bombers detour around tanks and ignore machine guns until they are in thrusting distance of leglers Peg lers bump then they proceed to fight as their forefathers fought tho the Ev zones ancient method of fighting so offended invincible legions they simply had to leave the field no conclusion about this wat war can be made too much simplified but on the other hand nothing should be unduly complicated old military principles never adjourn sine die the urge of troops tor for physical contact is the most effective psychology that can I 1 cultivated the Ger Gerr ruana itans in 1918 feared the bayonets and ear slitting knives of the senegalese above all weapons As rome shortened her swords she broadened her borders it is still doubtful whether you can destroy good troops with artillery fire or bombing the only certain way remains the shock of physical contact that mean that you can ignore machine guns but it does mean that war Is still a fight it if soldiers become convinced of their invincibility at close range I 1 their guiding thought Is to get at the enemy and that is the only way battles are wort won this mean to depreciate all the power and necessity of modern motorized mechanized armament tills this column advocated it all out long before even our general staff appreciated what the germans were doing but at the some same time there is such a thing as killing the offensive spirit by too much armor too many blAg Inot lines |