Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-04-02
Willy British
Lure Italians
Out to Sea
Blast Fleet That Thought
Foe Was Off in Atlantic
BY PAUL MALL0N

w EA'oiii''N ~ Fp
w British laid tricky bait to
draw those trembling Italian
men-of-war away from their
home protection out into the
Ionian Sea to meet their match.
At least they did if you will be-
lieve some exceptionally lofty
speculation here, and L do, con-
sidering the wartime ban which
excludes direct naval informa-
ton.
The story goes that the Brit
ish Mediterranean naval forces
grew tired of waiting for the
Italians and conceived an expan-
sive scheme to make Mussolini
believe their forces had with
drawn.
Faxed. British radio orders
were issued in A code which was
in the hands of the Italians with
drawing the bulk of the British
Mediterranean fleet into the At
lantlc to chase those two Ger
man cruisers which were sup
posed to be raiding shipping.
Daylight movements in the same
direction were attempted, to
strengthen the hoax.
BELIEVING the eat had gone
- the mousey Italians Jared
forth to prey upon the British
line of communications from
Alexandria TO Crete. Their
scouting air force is practically
non-existent. Hence they could
not discover their mistake until
too late to escape.
1t is improbable the Italians
will let gig go out from now
on. even if the British announce
they are Withdrawing their en-
tire Mediterranean fleet.
Important point behind this
crushing of Italian naval morale
r. that IT relieves me British
pressure on US for conveying in
the north Atlantic. The British
should be able 10 withdraw sub
stantial units of their force for
Atlantic service. This most
threatening prospect of our di-
rect involvement in the fighting
should, therefore, be eliminated
for the present
The United States Navy itself
lmeaning FDR) may have had
a hand in furthering this de-
velopment. The navy has
clamped down on all information
about those two announced, and
any subsequent units, sent for
recreational purposes to the
Far Eastern zones formerly pa
trolled by British ships. But
these pursuits were sufficient 10
enable the British to withdraw
all their first-line strength into
the Mediterranean-and now
INTO the Atlantic.
TREASURY has been caught
Il red-handed in the worst
mistake in estimating reve-
nues in the long partisan career
Of figuring.
Perhaps only Congressman
will recall tbut they are now
recalling il with self-satisfying
laughter that the treasury
claimed the milder excess profits
tax law would yield only Sl15,-
100000.
The treasury, of course,
wanted another kind of tax, but
Congress insisted on its own,
preferring TO follow the esti-
mates of its own experts that
the yield would constitute more
than twice treasury estimate.
Now the returns are in.
treasury places excess profits
collections March 1-20 at SS2.-
100000. If corporations paid one
fourth in the first instalment.
as is their custom, the annual
yield would be S320,000.000
nearly thrice the estimate The
treasury therefore was 300 per
cent inaccurate.
Treasury estimates have been
faced before with the suspicion
that their pencils are guided by
the kind of taxes they want TO
levy but not with quite as broad
a smile.
THERE is an amusing story
Il around that Mr.. Roosevelt
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