The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1940-07-11
GEN ERAL
HUGH s.
JOIN SON
Jd4c,'
Washington, d. C.
DEFENSE DANGERS


true that the grossest neglect of
defense in our history and the most
reckless impairment of our credit
and industrial efficiency have left
us in a most defenseless posture.
Although very weak, due to these
deficiencies, we have roved the
world like lamb rampant Shaping
down the ears of every ferocious ami
NAL in the menagerie-ions and IL
gers as well as jackals-until we
| haven't a friend on earth.
Perhaps the most cock-eyed i'm
pertinence on record is that the au-
thors of all this incompetence and
danger insist that they must be per-
petuated in a third term for Mr..
Roosevelt.
I am accused of constant scold-
ing. / don't want to be a scold. I
examine myself about that Gin the
night session" can't think that my
kind of preachment is wrong in this
crisis. If can't think it is wrong
I ought not to stop it-scold or no
scold.
Last Mobilization.
| Why do I feel so confident? Well,
I sat at the center of both industrial
and manpower mobilization in the
| first World war. It is strange re-
suit but the fact is that, although
Scharnhorst and Stein invented the
German idea of the nation in
arms" to overthrow Napoleon and
change the face of war, and, al
though the Kaiser's was almost as
complete a dictatorship as Hitler's,
it was not German autocracy but
American democracy that taught the
world the terrible modern lesson Of
total war.
This is no time for perfumed nice
ties. The cold fact is that without
the full naval, military and eco
noric strength of this country, mo-
bilized and organized for war the
| first time in the modern sense, the
Germans had total victory In the
bag in early 1918. Then something
happened. The M. P.'s didn't win
that war. American resources and
organization - both economic and
military-did it.
But they were masterfuIly organ
lied and used by efficient and expe-
rienced men who believed, almost
as religion, in both our economic
and political system. This admins
tration is allergic to both that kind
Of man and belief. Hopkins, Per-
kins, Wallace, Morgenthau-I hate
to scold them-but do have to rep
resent that such incompetents are
fit to manage this great country
against an enemy who has shown
himself so fendishly clever in ap-
plying the very lesson that compe-
tent Americans taught him and Ger
many in 1918?
Concentration Camps?
The President recently suggested
that it would be good thing for
members of his press conference to
60 to CCC camp. Are they 60
ing to be concentration camps? For
Mark Sullivan, be is reported to
have told other newshawks that he
had pardon written out In blank"
Mark is frequently critical but al
ways gentle, I wonder about my
pardon In blank" If, as and when
it can be done, l shall be boiled In
oil.
So should shut up? If I do,
shall write myself down as gutless
as kippered herring and as simple
as snipe. There has been no move
of this administration that to me
seemed right that have not rushed
out to defend until my fan mail
groaned with accusations of being
water-carrier on two shoulders.
Just now / think many of the d.
rections In which we are going are
wrong and dangerous. / would like
to forget to say so and to break the
too strident pace of this column by
writing a piece about the ''bees and
the rabbits and their sweet engag-
ing habits" but solar systems and
universes are being too rapidly re-
oriented. If not doing so is 'scold-
ing" intend to apologize-and do
it some more
oAZG OE JOn
It is natural for military thinking
to channel itself into grooves set
by precedents and examples. Sol
diers don't fight all the time. In
periods of peace, industrial progress
and invention 60 on but military
science comes to a full stop.
The results of any test of it in
war are so deadly that soldiers. in
peace, try to keep up with their
profession" and, in times like these.
almost frantically. No two wars are
ever quite alike. We learned some
things In late 1918 that should help
us now, particularly in industrial
mobilization. But we also learned
some things it would behoove us
now to forget, particularly that our
principal problem is raising men
whose equipment we can somehow
pick out of the air.
The war In Europe has been be-
tween densely populated nations
within few hours flying distance
of each other, and only a few more
hours for motorized blitzkrieg ma
chimes. Industrial and railroad CEN
tiers in each small country practi-
cally are the vital organs controlling
the whole of it and paralyzing the
punches In any such solar-pIexes
nearly told the end of the story.
Neither condition prevails here.
Without nearby naval air bases. no
enemy on either coast is going to
threaten US or even this hemisphere.
Last, but by no means least, our
problem is industrial production.
There has been lot of parade
about starting 1t. We haven't even
her1In to start We ha,ran,4