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Show I NATIONAL I AFFAIRS Reviewed by CARTER FIELD Bombers in Singapore, Manila, hold threat to Japan's vital oil stores . . . Hopkins good choice as head of Office of Emergency Management. (Bell Syndicate WNU Service.) WASHINGTON. It isn't the United Unit-ed States fleet, hovering around Pearl Harbor, that is staying the hands of the Japanese war lords, keeping them from striking at Singapore and seizing the Dutch East Indies while Britain is fighting with her back to the wall. It's bombers. British bombers at Singapore, Singa-pore, yes, but chiefly American bombers, both at Singapore and Manila. It is known that most of the British Brit-ish air strength at Singapore has come from the U. S. A. but, and perhaps per-haps more important, Uncle Sam has been sending heavy bombers to Manila, building up his own air arm in that remote part of the world. But why should that worry Japan, it might be asked. Japan has a strong aviation force, a big navy, . and a magnificent army. So why should Japan worry about American Ameri-can or British bombers? The answer is simple. It is demonstrated dem-onstrated twice a week or more in the aerial war between Britain and Germany. It is a fact beyond doubt that the British air force is not as strong as the German yet the British Brit-ish can and do bomb any particular spot on the occupied coast or in Germany they like. The point is that superiority in the air, even when it is very great, is not enough to prevent bombing, even bombing of particular small targets at particular times. OIL SUPPLY VULNERABLE Which brings us to the real heart of the Japanese fear of exciting Uncle Sam too much in this Far Eastern business. It so happens that Japan is very shy on oil. But she must have oil for her ships, her planes, her tanks, and her supply trains. Japan has plenty of storage oil, plenty for an emergency BUT Japan's secret service knows that the U. S. and British navies know precisely where every gallon of it is stored! It is the considered opinion of military mili-tary experts that the Japanese army and navy would be immobilized within a few days of any hostile move by the demolition of Nippon's entire oil supply. Hopkins Good Choice AsO.E. M. Head There are two sides to this business busi-ness of putting Harry Hopkins in I cnarge or the umce of Emergency Management, Man-agement, one of the most important in war effort. There is such criticism, of course, as has been made on the floor of the house of representatives repre-sentatives by John Taber of New York. Taber thinks the Hookins arjooint- Harry Hopkins ment is the worst thing President Roosevelt has done in the whole national na-tional defense setup. But there is another angle, and one which will appeal tremendously to any of the people who will now work under Hopkins. At least they will know, always, that their chief is just about supreme that nobody is going to get in between their chief and the President. Therefore, if they can satisfy their own chief, they are all right. Everyone who has ever worked in any big organization, whether it be government or a corporation, knows the tremendous value of this, and knows that it makes for good feeling and for efficiency. DISCOURAGES FACTIONALISM The point may well be raised that perhaps, if he blunders enough, he ought to be destroyed. That is the other side of the picture, and it fits with the Taber criticism. But at least it has the virtue of pretty nearly near-ly eliminating the sort of factionalism factional-ism which is so rampant in many government branches and in many corporations, where certain individuals individ-uals inside, hoping to advance their own status by a change, play with certain figures outside their immediate imme-diate group with the hope of ultimately ulti-mately throwing their chief out the window. That sort of thing is rife in government gov-ernment offices. For some reason connected with the frailties of human hu-man nature, being on the government govern-ment payroll seems to breed it. But it is also true in many private enterprises, en-terprises, particularly those not run by a "czar." "Office polities' is just as blighting in private employment employ-ment as in the government. No one has any doubt of the hold Harry Hopkins has on the President. He has taken the place so long occupied occu-pied in FDR's heart by Louis Howe. Actually he is much bi.cger, mentally, men-tally, and in his breadth of vision til an Howe. Also he has more friends, outside the Roosevelt circle. It is questionable whether he has anything like the political shrewd-aess shrewd-aess of his predecessor. |