Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-01-13
II Billion Budget
Blow 10 Hitler S
World Prestige
By KARL H. Won wIEGAND


BY KARL III. Won WIEGAND
tchIef Foreign Corresrcndeni for the
Hearst sunday Newspapers and for -
Years OutstAndlaE American Political
Observer In Europe and the FAR East.p
TOXIC, Jan. 13.-The real d.
recting and inspiring center OF
England's conflict with Germany
and Italy is shifting more and
more from London TO Washington.
while the war conductors baton
passes from Prime Minister
Churchill 10 President Roosevelt.
That is the view held not only
among japanese and foreign dip
lonats in Toxic and Shanghai,
but among the Chinese leaders at
ChungkinG as well.
Roosevelt, il is the impression.
is moving up from the role of
full backStop for England to
center rush.
WAR BUDGET BIG BLOW
In his proclaimed crusade by
democracy against the dictators
for the recovery of liberty, others
see him as Franklin the Lion
Hearted" Like Richard Occur
de Lion. knIghtly leader OF the
CrusadeS against Islam in the
Middle Ages for the recovery of
Jerusalem from the infidelS.
The Presidents seventeen and
a half billion dollar budget is the
hardest blow against Hitler and
Mussolini since the beginning of
the war.
The importance of the blow Is
not IFS effect on the war machine
but its influence on the more Sensi-
tive morale of the two countries,
since il is unmistakable herald
of a long conflict, with America
heading apparently into both
Europe and the Pacific.
II has severely shaken the So
called Won Ribbentrop circle and
the Nazi firebrands who would not
heed the warnings of what they
would be up against, and who per-
suaded Hitler-which wasn't diff
cult-that America would be a
negligible factor.
CIANO FORGOTTEN
Just as Field Marshal Won Hin
denberg declared to me at his
eastern headquarters on Dec. ).
1916:
sEven II America enters, the
war will be over before you can
effectively help the Allies"
So the Nazis in Berlin are an
nouncing that England will be
hammered to her knees before
Americas production of material
aid reaches a gigantic output and
can be transported TO enable the
British TO hold out.
Roosevelt's energetic attitude
and determination is said to have
weakened German Foreign Minis
ter Won Ribbentrop's position. AT
the same time, much comment has
been caused by Count Ciano's
name not being mentioned in dis
patches for some time.
GENEhALS SlLEN0ED
The German general staff. held
rigidly to their military functions
by Hitler, not permitting the gen.
erals an expression of views on
the political or diplomatic situa-
ton, have been very unhappy over
some of the advice Won Ribbentrop
has given Hitler.
1t is no secret that against opti-
mistic utterances in Nazi circles
that the war would be over
quickly, the general staff has held
the view from the beginning the
conflict would be long. particularly
if America aided England materi-
ally or actively.
Germans arriving in the Far
East who have recently been in
Paris, Boulogne, Calais and other
coastal points. tell that German
officers at those places asserted
the plan TO invade England was
"just a gigantic hoax"
INVASION a HOAX
Arrivals with whom l talked
said they themselves had no knowl-
edge of whether that were true
or whether the officers assertions
were a hoax" They professed to
be puzzled that no attempt was
made TO conceal or in any way
camoufiage the concentrations of
barges and small vessels il is