The Hardin tribune-herald. [volume] (Hardin, Mont.) 1925-1973, 1941-07-03
AID:
To Reds2

To Reds?
AS Nazi Germany and Red Russia
hurled their armies into the most
far-f1ung battle-line of all human his
tory, the question of just what aid
would be sent to the Soviet forces
was a moot point on both sides of
the Atlantic.
The governments Of both Britain
and the United States declared
themselves on successive days as
having solved the question as to the
aid principle by boiling it down to a
very simple equation
Anybody that is fighting Nazis
is on our side in this fight"
Britain announced it would send
economic and military aid" and
the United States said the same, but
it was not Immediately clear just
how much Of the latter there would
be.
England's first move was to in
crease the effectiveness Of her
bombing raids on occupied France
and German cities, raiding both by
day and by night, and repeatedly
downing many Nazi airplanes.
In fact, the Raj reported the
dropping Of as many bombs by
weight in two weeks Of the Russian
warfare as they had in a whole
month previously.
Heavy American bombers were
constantly arriving on the Gene in
England, and these, presumably,
permitted the British to regard
planes as slightly more "expenda-
BILE" than they had viewed them pre-
viously.
There did not to be any
question of '~ferrying'' airplanes to
Russia. Rather, the only serious
question of a changed policy on the
part of England was the suggestion
in some quarters that it might be a
good thing for Britain to cross the
channel with soldiers and tanks now
that Hitler's back was turned
That Britain was watching the
Russo-German war with her fingers
crossed was evident in the military
answer to this suggestion. The first
objection was that the channel ports
had been so blasted that they would
not be suitable for landings of large
numbers Of troops, and that, if the
Germans should win a sudden and
swift victory owe the Russians, then
limited forces of British or the con-
tinent might find themselves in a
very precarious positions.
Therefore the question Of British
aid to Russia seemed to be largely
one of sending an advisory military
mission, which was done at once,
and the extension Of more liberal
trading credits.
In the United States, aside from
the fact that the question Of any aid
at all became a matter Of vitriolic
debate, the actual aid to the Reds
boiled itself down to the same thing.
President Roosevelt said:
Even If Russia we're to send us a
list Of her needs, it is not possible to
fill the order as one would 60 to a
store. Our munitions factories, in
Guiding the airplane plants. are
completely busy filing our WI
needs and those Of Britain"
The question Of time was impor-
tant, for the United States did not
want to send planes and other equip
ment to Vladivostok, thence to start
the long trek across Siberia, and
then to arrive just in time to fall
into Nazi hands.
Yet this government did unfreeze
Russian credits in this country.
undoing an action it had taken just
10 days before. Messages Of SYM
pathy and encouragement were sent
by Sumner Welles, although he plain
~ stipulated, as Churchill had. that
American aims and ideals were ut
terly foreign to those Of Stain.
Anthony Eden was the official
spokesman for Britain and his words
had the same portent.
And so history in the gross was
being written, with an estimated
1000, 900 men in action on two sides
Of q 2,000-mile battleline.