The Waterbury Democrat., 1941-08-23

\ Edg0N before, the ans- wer may be that the country was already a darn
 sight colser to war than a good many people realized. "No closer" in
 that respect, can also mean that we are mo farther away" from war.
 Shortly after that it was officially announced that already many ship loads have left our shores, and more will leave in the immediate future" It is in that last phrase.
 and more will leave in the imme- diate future," that all the danger Of a back-door entrance into the shooting match really lies. Mention of specific ship move ments is of course drowned upon by naval censorship From past an- nouncements, however, it is defin- itely known that U. s. ships nave been carrying supplies to Iceland around Africa and up through the Red Sea to supply the British Near East command, and most recently across the Pacific to Vladivostok to supply Soviet Russia. From those known ship movements, it can be seen that U. s. vessels are actually sailing the seven seas. Danger can come from any direction, and it isn't telling too much to say that prep arations have been made for danger to come from any direction.
 For a hypothetical case to show how the United States might easily become involved through the move ment of these supply ships, take the most recent sailings to Vladivostok. Any way you chart a course to that Siberian port, you would cross Japanese waters. If those waters are nos an active naval combat zone they are what Japanese choose to call neutrality zone, and they are just about as vague and legalistic in this as the United States gov- ernment is in defining its neutrality zone.
 THREE COURSES
 FOR NIPPON
 These first shiploads of supplies fc,' the Soviet may be crossing Jap anese waters any day now. If the Japanese choose to consider those shipments a violation of their sacred neutrality, there are three things they can do-seize the ship ments, sink them, or conveniently look the other way.
 If the last mentioned policy is followed, nothing happens. It is the opinion of a good many Washing ton gold braiders that Japan will let the ships go through to avoid an incident. Just the same, it can bel stated definitely that 8 course of action has been planned to meet the situation if the Japanese should either sink or seize an American ship an route to Vladivostok
 It is recalled in Washington that at a press conference this summer, the President took considerable pains to give the correSponden a carefully prepared review history lesson on how the infant U. s. Navy drove Algerian pirates from the sea. That declaration was not just &C., cidental. It was definite statement of present day policy.
 Applying that to Paffaire Vladi- vostok, it would follow that if Japan sinks or seizes any U. s. ships en route to Siberia, they would be branded as pirates and the United States Navy would be ordered to go blow them right out of the seas.
 When and ii, ever that happens, the United States would be in war right through the back alley, without any formal declaration of war, without any delay, without any asking for congressional sanction, without, at first, even an expedi- tionary force. It would be merely a naval action to clean out pirates.
 Shipments to VladivostolS provide the perfect test case. The vessels carrying the supplies will be un- armed. Tn that respect, they will be merchantment going about their business of international trade. That the tankers will be carrying oil or aviation gas for the military air. craft of the red army is incidental. Up to the time of the embargoes, tankers carried oil for the planes of Japan and only the Chinese object ed.
 CONvOYs NOT
 AN ISSUE
 Whether the ships follow their course singly or steam along to- gether is immaterial Even if they don't go it alone, they will not be travelling in convoy in the sense that convoy always is accom- panied by armed escort vessels. But if the ships are stopped, singly or in fleet formation, here will be case of something short of conveys meaning shooting and something short of shooting meaning war.
 There is perhaps one other possi- bility. German commerce raiders have operated in the Pacific and Indian oceans. One of them might take pop at U. s. ship supplying the British. It can be assumed that if this happened the anti-piracy policy would be followed just the same.