Evening star., 1939-01-22

alarmiSts envision the German Navy
overwhelming the British Navy, to which
it is now far more inferior than it was
in 1918, when the British took it captive
to Scapa Flow. But let us consider
that Germany and Italy join in an at
tack on us,
Then the Rome-Berlin axis, between
two continental fires, essays breaking
through to face the crossfire of the Brit
ish and French Navies and our own naval
fire in front.
The British and French Navies are
to l against the German and Italian.
Have our own and the British Navies
become effete? Is the French Navy ut
terly negligible?
Americas Long Distance Navy.
The German and Italian Navies are
built for the defense of home waters.
Our Navy superior to the combined
German and Italian forces, has long
steaming radius. Only miracle OF
could bring the two up to parity with
our own in five years.
Until bombing planes can go more
than 800 miles with full bomb load, an
air raid across $500 miles of sea is out
of the question. But what if they come
on aircraft carriers? Italy has no air
craft carriers, Germany two building
An aircraft carrier without fleet protec-
ton is an eggshell to our destroyers and
cruisers.
I have even heard an alaruist pro-
pose that Britain might form an ap-
peasement alliance with Germany and
allow her to establish an air base in
Britain's pulling up her shirt and hand
ing dagger to potential enemy. And
what would Canada say to the sugges-
ton?
The alarmist has another card up his
sleeve; a new long range German sub
marine, which would lombard our coast
with the small guns she could carry
Our planes and depth charges, if not
gunflre, would soon get her.
Could Scuttle Merchant Marine.
If Germany and Italy could attack us
by air or submarine or seek to establish
an air base in South America, that would
mean they were at war with us. Our
Navy would sweep their merchant ship
ping off the seas and close the markets
to their trade.
This We could do even if the British
and French Navies could not hold
the Rome-Berlin axis navies fast in the
Mediterranean and North Sea- Even
granting that the British and French
empires should collapse like houses of
cards at the first armed thrust, why,
then, We should have some time to hasten
further preparations before the victors
had mopped up all resistance and occu-
pied the vast areas which they had won.
But wouldn't the British and French
fight to the death for their own self
preservation as they did at Jutland, on
the Marne, at Tyres and Verdun?
Our population exceeds that of Ger
many and Italy combined. We have
our superior natural resources, our enor-
nous industrial power against theirs We
can build ships and planes faster than
they can to meet any threat of force
backing the threat of words
All American Soil Safe.
All the soil under the American flag
! and that of our neighbors is safe from
attack by any power or combination of
powers within sight today. In business
like realism, let us see why this is so.
Since We are between two great oceans,
with two coasts to defend, we should
| consider the threat of the rising power
OF Japan just as matter-of-fa -factly as any
threat from the Atlantic side Should
we fortify Guam, our Navy has an out
post 1000 miles from San Francisco, and
any worry about what Japan can do to
us, IN case OF war, is further diminished
while Japan begins to wonder what we
may do to her
Until the Munich agreement and re-
ported Nazi and Fascist activities In
Central and South America the poten-
| tial enemy we had in mind was Japan.
| Our Battle Fleet, our first line of de-
fense, had long been concentrated on
! the Pacific side.
Built and building, the strength of our
Navy is about 3 to 2 against Japan
That is, so far as we positively know.
No European power has ever been able
to conceal the laying down of a major
ship from rival intelligence services. But
no observer, not born with slant eyes,
can get within 10 miles of Sasebo, ia
pans great naval base on her land
locked inland sea.
Distance Would Weaken Japan.
We employ no spies. But other ma
tions are still uncertain whether Japan
is actually building two 4OOOO-ton or
45,000-ton battleships, larger than any
we are building. Be the report true or a
bluff, we would avoid any risk by keep
ing pace.
If the need should come-and for that
we build-our fleet will not meet the
Japanese in battle off the Pacific Coast.
Our line of naval defense is drawn far
out at sea, from Samoa to the Aleutian
Islands, which extend from the main
land of Alaska toward Siberia. Midway
is our key Gibraltar outpost of Hawaii,
with its heavily fortified Army, Navy
and plane bases.
The 3-to-2 ratio is not to be con-
sidered on the fiat basis of three dollars
to two, three tons Of steel to two or three
men of equal skill to two. AS well might
we consider that, of two prizefghters of
about equal power one who had fought
five hard rounds and was winded should
be pitted against the other, who was
| freSh