The Coolidge examiner., 1941-09-26
--
TODAY
ETOMORROW|
Il - /
DON ROBINSON

got an accurate accounting of
what's happening to the guns.
planes, tanks, etc, which are be-
ing built with those billions of
dollars on which we will all be
making installment payments for
the rest of our lives.
Is that equipment getting to
Britain or is lot of it lying on
the bottom of the Atlantic?
If 1t is reaching England all
right, the Atlantic peril NAV not
be as great as we are led to be-
lieve.
On the other hand, if these sup
plies aren't reaching England.
why don't we hear stories about
the sinking of ships carrying the
supplies?
| don't think our government
should release information which
is of value to the enemy, but
| can see no reason why we should
/ not be informed about the things
the enemy knows. Certainly the
/ Germans know whether they have
been sinking ships or whether
they haven't
I've heard plenty of people de-
/ manding that our navy go to war
in order to protect the equipment
we are sending to England, but
! before we go to war for this pur-
pose it is a natural thing for us
to want to know if this equipment
isn't already arriving safely?
SHIPS news
There is another strange angle
about this shipping business and
the attitude of our government to-
ward war.
A good many people feel that.
the administration thinks we
should go to war but is waiting
for public opinion to take the
same view. But if the administra-
ton does want war-and if many
supply ships are being sunk-the
easiest way in the world to kindle
war spirit here would be to re-
lease stories about equipment be-
ing destroyed
The American people have will
| ingly accepted the huge task of
supplying Britain with arms. We
don't want to see these supplies
lost But if, with our naval pa
trolls and England's conveys they
are arriving safely, we're delight
ed to hear it because it appears
to make it less necessary for us
to jump right into a war for which
we are not yet prepared.
Although we are given little in
formation by our own government
on the safe voyages of these sup
ply ships, reports from England
indicate that they are, at present,
getting there all right.
CONFUSION Morale
Unless something is done to
clarity the shipping situation in
the eyes of the public, the confus-
ion about it is apt to be even
more serious blow to national NOR
ale than has been the discussion
of gasoline shortage in the East.
When Mr.. Ickes announced a
couple of months ago that gaso-
line consumption in the East must
be drastically curbed, because of
transportation difficulties, the
people in the East prepared will
| ing to accept rationing or any
other form of curb requested. But
when conflicting statements were
made, saying that the alleged
shortage was pure myth, the pub
lie became confused.
Although we all hope the oil
situation is an isolated case, 1t
would be unfortunate to have it
followed by other serious ex-
amples of disunity and confusion
within the government itself. And
discussion on shipments to Eng
land offers such a possibility un-
less the American people are Civ
| en- a clear and undisputable state
ment of the facts.
SACRIFICES -. willingness
Mr.. Churchill, in a recent report
on the war, asked for greater sac
rifices by the American people.
but he was concerned primarily
with increased production rather
than the problem of safe delivery.
But that problem of greater
! sacrifice" is another one about
which the American people have
become confused.
Oh, yes, there was that drive to
| get our old aluminium pots and
pans. to which we contributed
willingly, there will be those In
creased taxes, which we will pay
without complaint Except for the
part of them which will be used
for what some of us consider un-
necessary government expenses),
there is the defense stamp cam
| paign, to which we have volun-
| tarily already contributed a billion