Evening star., 1940-05-15
wss Fearing Nazi INVASION Complete Mobilization Of 100000

Germany Will Win in
80 Days or It Will Go On ;
Years, With Allies on Top
srecial Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK. May l5.-The out
come Of the first phases Of the bat
tie now gathering across the west
ern front will determine whether
the war ends in 80 days, with VIC
tory for Germany, or goes on for
three years, with triumph for the
allies, Lord Lothian, the British
Ambassador. told the English
Speaking Union here last night.
Il have no doubt that in the end
freedom will prevail" the Ambas-
sador said. THE only question is
the amount Of suffering we bring
upon ourselves before we learn our
lesson.
Despite all the murk and gloom
of the time, am not depressed or
afraid. We live in the greatest era
of history. There stand before us
two naked alternatives. On the one
side, western civilization may, for q
time, take a plunge back into a
darker age than We have ever known
before.
"On the other, we may rise to
levels Of national unselfishness and
vision and dedication which may
give to mankind the greatest new
birth of freedom 1t has ever known.
It is on us that the responsibility
for this fateful decision rests"
Democracies Are Blamed.
The Ambassador considered the
chances of the French and the
British in the light of the recent
course of the war, and he contem-
plated the extent of the blame at
tributable to the democracies for the
present dilemma of Europe. He
found the democracies selfish, lack
ing in vision and guilty of evading
responsibility from 1920 to 1899, he
said, largely responsible for the cur
rent crisis.
I'm the last few weeks" he
granted, "the allies have been going
through a bad time. Some of our
defects in prescience, promptness in
action and preparedness have been
exposed.
Needless to say the great German
propaganda machine has exploited
our failure in Norway to the utmost
and has endeavored to rush some
European non-belligerents into war
on Germany's side on the strength
Of 1t.
Il am the last to want to cover
our weaknesses and defects or not
to admit that we have had a local
failure. Exposure is the first step
toward their remedy"
"Air Not Master of Sea-"
AS for Norway, the Ambassador
revealed his doubt of the military
wisdom of Britain's sending an ex-
peditionary force in an attempt to
relieve that country.
I'VE were able to prove" he said,
that though almost every circum-
stance was adverse, the air was not
master Of the sea. Despite the diff
ficulties, we were able to land troops.
"Hitler's main advantage lin Nor
way) is that he has gained useful
air base against Northern Britain
and that we shall have to expend
more of our energies in organizing
its defense"
The Ambassador turned to the
crisis of the day:
And now the decisive battle has
begun in the west. Whether Hitler
is confident that he can win or
whether he realizes that he must
win this summer or not at all, I can
not pretend to know.
Task Is to Avoid Defeat Now.
Fro mthe start we said that the
war would be three-year war, that
in the first year, because, like all
democracies. we had delayed our
preparations too long, our principal
task was to avoid defeat, so that we
might have time in which to mo-
bilize our immense resources for
the second year and after.
Let me quote you but one in
stance Of the extent Of the prepa-
rations which are being made in the
overseas English-speaking coun-
tries.
"The training scheme for pilots
now being rapidly developed in
Canada seeks to turn out no less
than $4,000 pilots a year, though
many of the student pilots will
come from other parts of the Brit
ish Commonwealth.
Australia is undertaking a SIM
liar training scheme, though not on
so large a scale because it is send
ing many of its pilots to be trained
In Canada.
New Zealand is doing the same,
and South Africa is rapidly building
up formidable aerial force for the
defense of South and Eastern Africa
up to the Suez Canal.
Many of the machines which
these Canadian pilots will use will
come from the great allied program
now being manufactured In the
United States.
Meanwhile, Hitler evidently
means to try and gain a decision
this year, before these new resources
are ready and to induce the other
military relationships to come in
this year also on his side In order
to weigh the balance against us.
"The next 80 days may determine
whether there is to be any effective
barrier left to the domination of all
Europe, Asia and Africa by the
relationships, leaving America iso-
lated and alone to champion a free
way Of life, or whether Hitler's
method of conquest by violence and
fraud receives its first serious check
and mankind, though the struggle
will be far from over, begins to