Evening star., 1939-09-25
Armed Forces Held Too Weak
To Guarantee u. S. Defense
World Crisis Finds American Army Far
Below Peace Strength Pershinq Urged

naval experts, whose business it is
to be pessimistic, can visualize sit
uations where we would be in real
danger at our maximum strength
and acute peril in our present peurile
position.
If Hitler wins the. current war
would he not be likely to demand as
a price of peace the British navy?
Is 1t beyond the realm of possibility
that Germany. Russia and Japan
might not then, in 10 years or five
or two, join in a Fascist move for
control of the wealthy Western
Hemisphere. particularly If the
Americas are weak?
Look at Map.
Take a look at your map. Note
the long west coast line of Mexico,
without a naval base of ours be-
tween San Diego and Panama. More
carefully, note the islands that skirt
the eastern side of the Caribbean
Sea, the countries of South Ameri-
cas- north shore-and the distance
Of the nearest spot on that CONT
nent. in Brazil. to the Cape Verde
Islands. of the coast of Africa,
owned by Portugal-1200 miles.
1t is through that area that an
attack is likely to come against us
if one is ever made from Europe.
1t Is that area that chiefly concerns
the attention Of our defense-plan-
ners, and which is the reason why.
at the urgent recommendation II
both Army and Navy, Mr.. Roose-
velt has proclaimed firmly and re.
peatedly a policy of hemisphere
defense" and standing on the Nor
roe Doctrine.
For II we are ever attacked, un-
less the enemy completely controls
the seas. that attack must be based
close enough to this country to
send bombing planes and follow
them with a horde of troops.
That means bases in Brazil or
Mexico: in Venezuela, Puerto Rico or
Bermuda. It means, as our military
strategists see it, that If a Fascist
power should foment South Amer;-
can revolution to set up friendly
regime, and then fly a thousand
planes from the Verdes to Natal ard
start building hangers and OIL anks
end barracks, the issue would not
be Shall we pull Brazil's chestnuts
out of the flre?"-but shall We pull
our own out, before it's too lot,'
Must Have Equipment and Men.
But to kick Europeans or Orlentals
out Of South America or the West
Indies or MeAico-to stop them from
moving up from the south in sue
cesSive Steps-we must have guns
and trained men.
If we ever must take on Fascist
Communist bloc We might need a
two-ocean Navy. which there is abb
solutely no sign of our getting. We
have now just four mobile infantry
divisions, incomplete and none ready
to take the field, against 160 for Ger
many, 140 for France, 20 for Eng
land. And there are 200 German
reserve officers plotting German
owned airplanes in South America
now!
Our Army is far below the mini
mum peace strength of 100000 set
up in the famous Pershing report,
which was promptly disregarded. We
have an air corps, plane for plane
and man for man the best in the
world-but only a third as many
planes as Germany.
This series of articles will build
on that background, the background
against which the trained and nom
partisan military and naval experts
are calculating-the actual defense
picture in the Army, the Navy, the
air force, and in industrial and ma
terial preparedness.
Congress earlier this year voted
the largest preparedness appropria-
tions We have ever had in peace
time. This money will do a good
deal toward filling In the chinks.
But according to our military ex-
perts that will be just the begin
ming If We are to build a prepared
ness reasonably safe.
If fight ever comes we must win
1t If we expect to retain our hber-
ties. If we are to win it we must
be prepared-strong. And If we are
strong there is much less chance
that we'll have to fight. A bully
never picks on big fellow!
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