Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-01-06
IF BRITAIN wins the war, we

are told that the resulting
peace viii be SO ducky that no.
body will need battleships any
more. They would be worth
nothing either way. 1t would
be better to lend the money, bet
ter and much simpler, and even
more realistic just to give il.
Why do we do all this Juggling
with words? Who are we try
ing to fool? England, That's
Silly. She understands the truth
oil The last paragraph.
she doesn I care so long as she
gets the battleships. Is 1t DOS
Slbie that we are trying to fool
our own people, who have been
taught to be chary about lending
money 10 people who don't re-
pay? They are the only ones
there are 10 be fooled. It's so
unnecessary. II they have made
up their minds TO get into this
war IN this way, which is doubt
iul, they don't care about that
and II is an insult 10 their intel
lgence to try to fool them into
buying such thinly gilded brick.
5 THIS is being written. the
a information is that the au-
lhorty 10 lease or lend" is
hkely finally TO include not
merely shlpS-warships and mer-
chantmen-and guns and planes
to be built. but also those al
ready built. Let's understand
ms clearly also. 1t means that
one man Nhe PreSidenD alone
and without consulting ANYBODY.
can strip our own scanty defense
OF Just as many warShips. war
planes and guns as he thinks
best TO win the battle Of Britain.
lie could give away the navy i,
he so decided.
This is called lending our
hose TO a neighbor whose house
Is on fire. Call it that. But the
argument for doing it is that our
own house is on fire also. or
about 10 be--not only on our
front door on the Atlantic. bur
also thousands of miles away in
the Pacific, that we do not
have hose enough and what we
have Is out of date and untrust-
worthy How many neighbors
lend or give away their hose
IN a case like that?
HERES another thing. The
II assurance is repeated that
we shall never send troops. Yet
Mr.. Churchill says this war must
20 on until the present German
system of government (Nazism)
IS destroyed in Europe. He said
it long before Mr.. Hitler said il
must so on until the present
British system of government
democracy is destroyed.
Now each man has said il OF
the other. Neither can do what
he threatens without war on
land. This Boosting of a COM
plete knockout is and always has
been the invariable, and prob
ably necessary. boast of great
war leaders and should be an
praised accordingly. Yet, if we
must consider it seriously, it is
simply not among the reason
able probabilities that Britain
alone, only partially armed.
could completely knock out Ger
many on land. Germany with all
the modern armament accumu-
lated in all Europe in years and
trained soldiers in a four or five
to one superiority.
England may and probably
will win. but she couldn't ut
terly outstrip Germany withou z
help. We are the only respec-I
table help available on land. II
there is to be knockout. we'll
have to get in there and punch.
Let's go into this var if we
must. but let's not 90 into II
fooled by any of the three cur
rent ahsurditieS discussed in this
column. absurditieS which are
being insisted upon with increas-
inc viger by those who wish to
pull us into il and seem TO think
il cant be done without this too
transparent camouflage.
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