Evening star., 1940-12-19
Churchill Text
Continued From Page BID

cults of production but they are
certainly on very great and SUBJ
stantial scale. We must never be
content, we must continue to strive
to place in the hands of our men
weapons worthy of the task they
are to perform and of their sacri-
fees.
This applies with equal force to
food production.
When I spoke the other day of
the years 1943 and 1914 l did not
mean I believed that the war would
60 on until then, but in agriculture
and ship building you have got to
look ahead. Anything that can be
done to increase the volume of our
food production will be the wisest
insurance, assuming the war should
be prolonged for such period,
which is by no means impossible.
We are separating for short
recess, and will go with some sense
of composure and even satisfaction
at the progress made. But it would
be disaster if any one supposed
that the danger, that the supreme
danger-the mortal dangers-are
passed. They are not. There are
the dangers of prolonged deadlock,
but there may be also more imme-
diate dangers.
The winter season offers some ad-
vantages to an invader to counter
balance those of the summer sea-
son. 1t would be a very great lack
of prudence-a lack of prudence
amounting to crime-if vigilance
were relaxed in our armies at home.
Careful preparations must con-
tinue. Although it has been posi-
BILE to give proportion of leave to
troops, that should not in any way
be taken as the slightest justifica-
ton for supposing that we need not
watch from hour to hour the danger
and the menace which still exists
in full force so short a distance
away.
Defense of Britain's Beaches
Is Reported Complete.
Our defense of the beaches is
complete. From the north of Scot
land around the island enormous
masses of guns, machine guns, forti-
fed posts and every device of de-
tense have been erected and are
guarded by large numbers of we'll
trained men.
But we are not making the mis-
take which was made by the French
general staff, when they thought
that the holding of the Maginot
Line was all that was necessary.
I remember going over to Paris at
that dark moment and asking what
they were going to do with their
general reserve. With the greatest
sorrow, I learned that the general
reserve did not exist. 1t had to be
drawn from the different parts of
the line.
We have now got a very large
army here capable of moving to any
place with great rapidity and going
into action in the strongest counter
offensive, and, therefore, one may
have good confidence in our power
to beat our enemy, even if he set
&oOp Al diS OIL CliSVi VII tliCSC SIiOl Co.
Nevertheless the watchword must
be unceasing vigilance. Hitler-I
should certainly deprecate any COM
parison between Hitler and Napo-
leon, I do not want to insult the
dead-wields gigantic power and is
capable OF welding 1t in a ruthless
manner.
He has great need of doing some
thing now, or at any rate IN the
next two months.
When war began he had his plans
ready for Poland and doubted
whether Britain and France would
come. They came in, and when he
had beaten Poland he found him.
self faced with Britain and France.
He waited a long time, in COM
plete quiescence, it seemed, and then