Evening star., 1941-04-28
Victory Lies in the West

VI IICdllo, IllC lllOSl
cant aspect of Prime Minister Win
ston Churchill's fortnight report to
thu courageous people of Britain was
his bluntly stated conviction that
the last battle of this war will be
fought and won in the West.
A defeat of serious proportions in
the Balkans was cknoWledged-ac-
knowledged and then written off as
the price an honorable nation had
to pay as the alternative to default
ing on its pledge to aid the Greeks.
A 'veXatioUs and damaging" defeat
in Libya, attributable in part to an
error of judgment, likewise was
frankly conceded. In similar vein,
the Prime Minister dealt with the
whole of the Mediterranean picture,
making no effort to miSlead his peo-
pie by CLOSING over the dark spots.
The threat to Egypt and the danger
that the war may spread westward
to Spain and Morocco, eastward to
Turkey and Russia, with the Ger
mans possibly fighting their way to
the grain fields Of the Ukraine and
the oil wells of the Caucasus, were
recognized and laid before the
BritonS.
BY no means did Mr.. Churchill
concede that these disasters would
come to pass. But, he said, even if
the worst happens in the. Mediter-
ranean, there is one thing certain:
Hitler cannot find safety from
avenging justice in the East, in the
Middle East or in the Far East. In
order to win this war he must either
conquer this island by invasion or
he must cut the ocean lifeline which
joins US to the United States"
OF the two, at the moment at least,
it is of immediate Importance to
maintain the ocean lifeline If it is
cut, the British Isles, in the end,
must fall, but so long as the vital
supplies can be kept flowing into the
British home ports all of the avail
able evidence indicates that Hitler
will not risk an invasion attempt,
and that if the attempt should be
made it would fail.
This, then. is the explanation of
Mr.. Churchilrs assertion that it was
with undesirable relief" that he
learned of President Roosevelt's in
tention to expand the scope of the
naval patrol which we have been
maintaining in the Atlantic Ocean.
But 1t remains to be seen whether
the enlarged naval patrol, of itself
will suffice to insure safe delivery of
American-made war supplies. If it
serves this purpose, well and good;
if not, further decisions will have to
be taken.
That Mr.. Churchill, in this connec-
ton, was looking into the future
while talking in terms of the present
was indicated by his explanation of
a comment he made in an earlier
address. Ten weeks ago he said:
Give US the tools and we will finish
the job" BY that, he said yesterday
he meant: Give them to us; put
them within our reach. And that is
what it now seems the Americans are
going to do"
In that conclusion, the Prime Min
lister may be correct, but it should
be noted that the American people
have not yet made their final decision
on the question of literally placing
the tools of war within the reach of
the British. The broadened patrol
is an expedient which we hope will
accomplish that purpose. But if it
fails, and we should face the fact
that it may fail the people of this
country then will have to decide
whether they are going to move for
ward or retreat. That decision is
still in the making.