The Waterbury Democrat., 1940-01-13

Navy - realizing he was r
 However, the report which he made to the few high officials with whom he talked was one of the most important so far to reach the President.
 What Riverdale reported was that the French and British now have patched up their argument over strategy, and the British have accepted the French thesis that in the last analysis this war must be fought out in the air.
 This was what was behind Prime Minister Chamberlain's prediction that the belligercnt countries were In for grimmer time; also his prediction that the Anglo French tie would be ex- tended.
 BRITISH FLEET FAILURE
 The French, according to Lord Riverdale's confidential report, have been trying to persuade the British for sometime that they could whip Hitler until the Allies had an air force superior to his. The British have hung back, con- tent to rely on the Empires tra- ditional supremacy at sea and the old strategy of starving out Ger many.
 The factor which finally rec versed this policy was the now recognized failure of the British blockade. More and more Ger many merchant ships have been slipping through. Chief reason for this has been the destruction of British fishing boats around the North Sea and the Scandinavian coast, which hitherto have been the eyes of the fleet.
 Equipped with radio, these small boats have fished close to German waters and have been able to in- form British warship lurking far ther at sea of the movements Of German vessels. But the Germans have waged such merciless aerial warfare on these trawlers that they no longer function.
 TEN THOUSAND U. s. PLANES
 As a result of all this, Lord Riv- erdale flew to Canada and the United States to arrange for the largest airplane manufacturing campaign in the history of the world. In the United States alone, Britain will buy 10000 combat planes.
 Simultaneously the British are stepping up their own airplane production, now 1000 month, so that by March or April they will be turning out 2,000 planes monthly.
 The British have been buying American machine tools almost hand over fist. When the war first broke, they bounced upon every available order in the United States and even took some machine tools off ships on the high seas. Their airplane production Is now a modern miracle.
 But even this, Lord Riverdale
 reported, will not be enough to
 equal German production with
 out the purchase of the 10000
 above mentioned planes in the
 United States (Germany now
 has 0,200 combat planes plus
 about 5000 older planes In re-
 Serve).
 one reason the British are par ticularly banking upon the Amer ican planes is because of their ef- feet upon German psychology so far the German people have discounted any air offensive from the Allies. However, British gov- ernment leaders believe that not even the most efficient Nazi cen- sors can keep from the German people the impact of what the pur- chase of 10000 American planes will mean.
 That was why Lord Riverdale's report and Chamberlain's warning of griinmer warfare are not con- sidered inconsistent with President Roosevelt's prediction that there may be peace talks by spring. Riv- erdale emphasized the hope that Britain's heavy airplane produc. ton and purchases would have such repercusslons as to bring Germany into peace conversations following which there would be q new united war front against Rus. gia.
 THUS CHAMBERLAIN, WHILE WELDING THE BIG STICK, IS HOLDING 4 HIDDEN OLIVE branch behind him.
 DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION
 The Democratic National Com. SnfkkeA i,neata 0fl NlAhruarv s. which