Evening star., 1941-02-23
A New Alliance
Faces Ageressors
By. OUen L. Scott.

| kOnOye COnDllldIlOH udu StbCled uoNAl
| to conquer and to divide at least three
| continents. 1t all looked so simple after
France fell Here was an apparently
| unbeatable combination of land, sea and
air power.
Suddenly, something is happening.
| Just when the dreams Of conquest
seemed to be coming true, a Roosevelt
| Churchill combination is rising to shat
| ter those dreams. The growing co-opera-
| ton between these two democratic
| leaders, until now, had been overlooked
| and its significance underestimate. Now
! it is becoming clear that the democracles
| have team that is more than match
| for the leaders of the oppoSition-lf
| given time
Churchill, without Roosevelt, called
| the plays that knocked Mussolini to all
! intentS and purposes out OF the Hitler
| Mussolini- -Konoye combination. Musso-
hni's navy is crippled, his air force
grounded and his armies battered.
Roosevelt. without Churchill, called the
| plavS that has Konoye Checkmated. One
! false move and KOnOye will find his
! supply lines severed. his navy confronted
with superior forces and his army facing
| new trouble.
That leaves Hitler to be dealt with,
and the problem of dealing with him IS
| to test all of the ingenuity and strength
| of the Roosevelt Churchill combination.
| Here Americas lend-leaSe plan enters
most Importantly. That plan, if it is in
time, will enable Mr.. Roosevelt to bring
nf
the United States. These resources
added to the British resources are vastly
greater than those possessed by Hitler
MuSsolini-KonOye combination. They
can insure defeat for those conquering
| nations if only they can be modified
and translated into warshipS, warplanes
and munitions before the present super
'iority of Hitler's air force can be brought
to bear.
There is something strange and prob
ably prophetic about the fact that at
this juncture in history the team of
Roosevelt and Churchill should be in
command for Britain and for the United
States.
Both men are naval strategists Of the
highest understanding and ability. Both
by training and by instinct are aware
of the role of sea power in war. For
both. it is almost second nature to I'M
derStand the moves that are needed to
bottle up the Hitler Mussolini- -Konoye
combination, if it is not too late to per-
form that task. Neither Of them has
the slightest fear of the modern Caesars
and Napoleons. Both are men of mag
ination and daring. who Go not back
away from a fight Both are convinced
this war is being fought not to determine
who shall fix the overall rules for Eu-
rope Asia and Africa alone, but for the
whole world
The closest understanding probably eX-
lists between Mr.. Churchill and Nj.
Roosevelt over the moves to be made and
the roles to be played by each in every
contingency.
Mr.. Churchins job is to stand of Hit
ler and to knock out Mussolini. The
second half of that Job is fairly we'll
along, but the first half still is to be
faced. Mr. Rooscvelts job is to stand
of Konoye and 10 sec that the British
are supplied in their coming battle with
/ Hitler The first half of his job is fairly
we'll along, but the second half remains
to be carried out. The problem ahead
admittedly is very difficult.
Yet the greatest confidence is dis
played by both Nj. Churchill and Mr.
Roosevelt. The reason probably is that
both regard the coming struggle around
and over Britain as lust one more battle
in the present war. If that battle should,
temporarily be lost the war would not
be lost so long as the British and Ameri-
cans controlled the seas. The process
of stran9ling the aggressOr nations,
through denial to them of access to the
food. minerals and fbers they require
would go on.
What Hitler did not realize is that the
United States and Britain not only are
the dominant sea powers of the world,
but are on the road to becoming the
greatest air powers in the world, as we'll.
A combination of sea and air power
in dealing with Japan and Italy and
Germany-is more formidable than the
/ combination of land and air power that
| Hitler can muster, This is due to the
! fact that both Germany and Japan must
| have access to the seas to obtain the raw
materials upon which to supply their
army and air force and workers.
These are the factors that enter into
! the Roosevelt Churchill calculations. In
order that the leader of this Nation can
understand exactly what the leader of
! the British Empire is thinking and
| planning, Harry L. Hopkins went to
| London and almost lived with Mr..
| Churchill for several weeks Further, it
| is reported. President Roosevelt and the
| Prime Minister of Britain talk rather
! frequently over the transatlantic tele-
| phone. American Army and Navy Off
| GERS of high rank are working in the
closest association with the British in
| order to be acquainted at first hand with
| every development in the war.
| Actually in the making is what
| amounts to an alliance of the British
! and American Empires. This is not an
| alliance of treaties and formal agree
ments, but one of mutual understanding
and mutual interest that does not re-
| quire the formality of alliances between
| other nations. 1t is doubtful whether
| there is scrap of paper that refers in
| the remotest way to the line of action
| the United States would follow if Aus
| tralia were threatened, for instance. Yet
there is a community of interest that