Evening star., 1940-03-10

Describing the necessity of ruthless
and stringent blockade. he wrote:
I'm these days of wars between ma
tions in arms it is not possible for any
OF them, even one with the most varied
and abundant resources, to store up in
peace the supplies necessary for an
enormous and continued demand in war
There is always something that must
be obtained abroad. And the withdrawal
Of men from productive labor makes it
more and more difficult for a nation to
utilize its own resources. Science may do
much to provide substitutes for lacking
material, but in war there are time
limits even If not other, to the opera
tions of science.
And the character of this latest and,
probably, of future wars justifies the ex-
treme blockade. 1t will make, and it is
to be hoped that it will make, future
wars more difficult in their inception be-
| cause, unless the whole world accepts
this new rule, it will require nation or
an alliance strong enough to defy the
rest of the world, in order to block all
avenues of commercial access to the
nation with which it is at war. But it
will do it if it can
Horrible as we may think it, all these
have been treated in this war as soldiers
and with little distinction and it is to
be feared that it will be as bad or worse
in the next one, unless the good God
gives us sense to at least try some plan
by which another such war may be made
impossible.
The prizefghter must not hit below
the belt. the soldier must not use noxious
gas But suppose the prizefighter, after
and there is no escape, discovers that it
is no longer fight for purse and half
the gate money but fight for life.
From that moment neither contest
ant will regard the rules but will do
whatever he finds necessary to save his
life and destroy his adversary
U. S. Learned Advantage.
Gen. Bliss points out that in the first
World War this country showed irrita-
ton with the breaking of long-estab-
hshed rules to enforce a stringent block
ade only until the United States learned
that ruthless blockade was to her own
interest as we'll as to that of the Euro
pean allies"
Extension of the blockade might we'll
be the means of bringing Russia into
the present war actively on the side of
Germany.
Gen. Bliss report points out that in
the last war the allies suffered reverse
after reverse until they sacrificed their
jealousies and separate national aims to
create an effective unified command, the
earlier lack of which he blamed for the
collapse of Russia, then being such an
advantage to Germany.
His reasoning would indicate that
Britain and France, having profited by
their bitter experience of quarter CEN
tury ago and achieved unity in the
prosecution of this war from the begin
ming, might apply the lessons learned to
crush Germany and Russia together
more easily than they could Germany
alone.
SdPlSdALcu OH RuSSid SOIdpSc.
In the first World War, Gen. Bliss
pointed out Germany gained enormous
advantage through the collapse of Rus
sia as one of the allies and through
crushing Serbia and Rumania and "un-
locking the door to the east" for access
to abundant stores of grain, cotton, meat
and other vital supplies.
During all this time he added in
words that might well apply to the pres
ent situation, "the allies were butting
against an impregnable wall in the west
-impregnable so long as the civil popula-
tions behind it were fed and clothed and
warmed.
Germany, trusting in this wall, had
withdrawn the forces which she had used
to crush the powers on her east and
south. The allies could have relied for a
time on similar wall and have trans
ferred forces that might have kept their
weaker associates in safety and have
made the blockade real and effective. All
of this might have been done had there
been in the earlier days a supreme coun-
Gil the object Of which was to sink ma
tional differences and aims and bring
about international unity"