The Ely miner., 1940-04-18
WHAT'S WRONG? DID 1T
REFORE

Thomas for Associated Newspapers
more weight. 1t slants toward the
strategy of "self-defense" which is
something most Americans would
fight for if they thought the need
existed.
1t becomes very necessary then
to study this 'our turn next" busi-
ness. In the first place "our turn
from whom?" The World war and
everything that has happened since
shows that it takes a great superb
ority-maybe as much as to / in
men and materials conclusively to
smash an enemy. Remember that
Germany was never defeated in bat
tle-and neither was Finland.
There was nothing approaching
any such superiority on either side
in this war-neither in being nor in
prospect. There are possibilities of
some astonishing development such
as devastating proof of mass air
power-but those are growing dim
mer every day. Starving or eco
nomic strangulation of Germany may
be possible, but that also seems less
likely as more facts become known.
AS that fades, so also fades the like
ihood of an interior revolution
ousting Hitler.
There, of course, remains also the
possibility of a smash across bor-
der fortifications-a suicidal holo-
caust-but it is clear too that this
would also take an overwhelming
superiority at the point of attack.
incidentally, there is popular
misconception here that such an at
tack would kill more men on the
offensive side than on the defensive.
1t could if the offensive didn't have
the required superiority in men and
metal but not necessarily otherwise.
A study of great Twentieth century
offensives by Major Phillips in the
current Infantry Journal makes this
quite clear.
There is probably no such superb
ority on the western front and,
whether there is or not, any offensive
would kill SO many on both sides
that the toll would shock each fight
ing nation and the world.
Whether this becomes a bloody
war of movement or action or a
white war of nerves and strangu-
lation, neither side has much hope
of coming out of it either with total
victory or with enough strength left
to tackle us in 20 years-especially
not if we arm on the plan we have
adopted.
1t would be lot safer, and cheap
er for us in blood and money, to
count on these things to avoid its
being "our turn next" than to keep
repeating that we are sure it will
be until we sloganeer ourselves into
another terrible trimming and make
it our turn, not only next but now,
by self-hypnosis.
ECONOMIC WARFARE
The argument of Mussolini and
Hitler that they are not safe without
an access to raw materials has
been pooh-poohed by their enemies
abroad and our interventionists.
This column carries no torch for
those gangsters, but that doesn't go
to the point of saying that black is
white.
If this war, and the World war
have proved anything, it was that
the lack of such access at least lays
any nation open to an enemy which
can control such supply.
While there remained any SUBJ
stance of the old doctrine of free
dom of the seas and neutral rights
under international law, this new
development did not have so much
force to dry up the commerce of
the world. Those rights and free
doms are gone with the wind.
The World war demonstrated that
economic war is frequently more
deadly than military war. Cut off
a nations imports and you can
starve her to her knees. 1t was a
great object lesson to all nations.
1t brought the post World war frenzy
for "self-containment."