The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1941-09-11
Economic i. i.
eM@hA&h
National and International Problems
Inseparable from Local Welfare

VII oCptclIucT 1, VIC wal SilICiC GU
its third year. In the two years that
have passed since Hitler sent his
legions into Poland, long list of ma
tions have been subjected to the ruth
less Nazi rule. One of the citadels of
democracy, France, has suffered igno-
minious military defeat, and has be-
come total state patterned on Hit
ler's Reich. Some 100000 soldiers
have been killed, wounded or i'm
prisoned, and an unknown total of
civilians have died in the rubble of
falling buildings, and before the firing
squads of the Gestapo and the S. S.
troops. One of the Nazi military
songs contains this line: "Today we
rule Europe the world is
ours" The first part of that has
come true with a venegance-but the
second has not.
1t is difficult, the war still being in
an indecisive phase, to accurately
sum up what has taken place during
this astonishing conAict-a conflict
which may well, as Hitler has said,
decide the history of the world for
the next thousand years. But one
thing seems undeniably true, and
that is that the forces which oppose
Hitler have become tremendously
stronger in the last year. After the
evacuation of Dunkirk, it took an al
most miraculous degree of optimism
to give England a chance for victory.
The best that most authorities hoped
for was negotiated peace, which
would let some semblance of par
liamentary government continue to
live in parts Of the Old World. To-
day Britain has at least an even
chance of full and conclusive victory
and some experts think that her
chance is better than that.
The United States is playing a
great part in this. We are slowly be-
coming, in the Presidents phrase,
"the arsenal of democracy" The pos
sibility Of our actually going to war
in Europe seems to lessen, rather than
grow greater. AS yet, at least, Brit
ain and her allies have no need for
additional manpower. What they need
is munitions, and more munitions
aircraft and still more aircraft. To-
day Britain is carrying the war to
the Continent-and she is carrying it
there partly with American bombers
which can fly at 10000 feet, above
the range of anti-aircraft fire, and
above the efficient fighting level for
pursuit planes.
British spokesmen have been say
ling lately, however, that we are not
doing enough. American help, they
Iobserve, is as yet only stream-not
a surging river. And there can be
no question but what the arms pro-
gram has been held back by unneces-
sary delay, indecision, red tape, buck
passing. The lack of a single eXecu-
tive head for the multitudinous over
tapping defense boards and commits
sions has been an extremely serious
deficiency. Even so, production is
coming up, especially in the aircraft
field.
Some believe that the coming year
will decide tnis war. Hitler is not only
! fighting war on two fronts-some-
thing he always said he would avoid
at all costs-hc must face third
front, too. The third front is the
growing underground anti-Nazi move
ment in the occupied countries. Re
ports filter out from Europe Of sabo-
tage, the assassination Of Nazi troops
and police, the showdown of work in
factories in occupied lands which
have been forced to produce for Ger
many. Lately, the German authorities
in the occupied areas have put into
effect extremely stringent new rules
designed to prevent anti-German ac.
tivity of all kinds. But the under
ground movement continues anC
grows. 1t is said to be especially eff
fective in France. Frenchmen whc
have escaped from Europe almost
unanimously report that the over.
lwhelming majority Of French people
pray for Allied victory-and wait il
grim silence for the day when they
may be able to settle their long ac-
count with what they regard as the
traitors at Nichy.
On the Russian front, Hitler has
been forced into precisely the kind OF
Campaign he Swore to avoid-a long
campaign which must go through 3
Russian winter. The victories he has
gained against the Soviet are rela
lively slight-there is little question
but what he expected total victory ii
matter Of few weeks, when he
began. The russians, soldiers anC
civilians alike, are fighting with thai
dogged fanatjcism which has always
been the mark Of the Slav. And thi
German soldiers are dying like flies
on Russian soil.
So, there is reason for hope as tn,
third year Of war begins. The Allie!
may not yet have the strength of th'
Nazis-but Allied power grows, ant
many are certain that German power
for all the areas it has consuered, al
the resources it has gained, j!
dwlndling. This may be the decisive
winter in which one of the grea
|pages of world history is written.
| X X X
| The action Of tho Sepato in lo>ror