Evening star., 1941-07-03
'Scorched Earth WaI
AGAINST Germans Is
Ordered by Stain
Dictator Calls for Policy
Of Universal Guerrilla
Fight for Defense
Ry the Associated Press.

MOSCOW, July 3.-Premier Jo-
seph Stain called on the Russian
people today to meet the advancing
German armies with vast
"scorched earth" policy and uni
versal guerrilla warfare.
He warned his people they were
menaced by "a grave danger and
acknowledged that already Adolf
Hitler's legions have captured Lithu-
ania, most of Latvia, Western White
Russia and part of the Western Uk-
raine.
But, he cried, it was recognized at
home and abroad that ours is a just
cause, that the enemy will be de-
feated. that We are bound to win"
Stain, making one of his rare
speeches attributed Nazi successes
thus far "to the fact that the war
of Fascist Germany on the U. S.
S. r. began under conditions favor
able for German forces and un-
favorable for Soviet forces"
Orders Systematic Sabotage.
Speaking in his role as chairman
of the new Defense Committee. a
post he only recently assumed. Stain
laid down these rules for fighting:
an case of a forced retreat Of
Red Army units. all rolling stock
must be evacuated. the enemy must
not be left a single engine. single
railway car, not single pound OF
grain or gallon of fuel.
collective farmers must drive off
all their cattle and turn over their
grain to the safe-keeping of state
authorities for transportation to the
rear. All valuable property. includ-
ing non-ferrous metals, grain and
fuel, which cannot be withdrawn
must without fail be destroyed.
"In areas occupied by the enemy,
guerrilla units. mounted and afoot
must be formed, diversionist groups
must be organized to combat enemy
troops. to foment guerralla warfare
everywhere. to blow up bridges,
roads. damage telephone and tele-
graph lines and to set fire to forests,
stores and transports.
I'm occupied regions conditions
must be made unbearable for the
enemy and all his accomplices.
They must be bounded and ami
hilated at every step and all their
measures frustrated
First Speech Since 1885.
The speech, broadcast at 6 am
90 pm. Wednesday, E. S. t. and
repeated at intervals during the day
on public loudspeaker systems and
on house radios, marked the first
time the Russian people had heard
Stains voice since 1896 when he
announced the constitution.
Pravda, Izvestia and other morn
ing newspapers devoted their entire
front pages to the text of the half
hour speech together with portraits
of Stain.
Asserting that millions of the
masses of our people will rise, y
Stain, speaking in measured tones,
announced that workers IN Lenin-
grad and Moscow already had
started the organization Of thou
sands into peoples armies 20 sup
port the Red Army and urged SINH
lar action in every city under
threat of invasion"
The Moscow radio announced
mass meetings of workers were be-
ine held in factories and plants tc
take action on Stains appeal
Copies of the text of the Premier
speech were pasted on walls
throughout the capital by youths in
uniforms of the state labor reserve
corps.
Grateful to Britain, U. s.
Stain expressed gratitude to Brit
ain and to the United States and
referred to the people of Europe
and America as loyal allies
Our war for the freedom of oul
country" he said. will merge with
the struggle of the peoples of Eu-