Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1941-01-16
INTERNATIONAL
NEWS REVIEW
CONTINUED from Page ~
italian access to the SueZ canal.

lt3llau dCCcSS W Vic OuCA S"AAoA.
But the significant fact is that
whenever the men of Hellas-in this
war-make a move, it goes ahead.
They have never' yet retreated. The
Italians have made retreat a habit,
and that may be the reason for the
sudden retirement of General Ubaldu
Soddu from the post of commander
of the Italian armies in Albania.
Around Tobruk.
The British war against the Italians
in Libya follows parallel line-that
is, the fascist legions prove their ex-
pert ability in fleeing. They have
had to abandon town after town, and
Just now one of the most important
of them all along the African coast
of the Mediterranean, Tobruk, is seri-
ously menaced by British guns, tanks,
warships and bombers. The town is
said to be entirely surrounded, and
its garrison is supposed to have been
cut off from all communication with
Rome.
Predictions made by the high
command of a belligerent power
are always to be taken with
grain of salt, but certain circum-
stances do seem to bear out the
British claim that Tobruk's fall
is merely a matter of few days.
The reported fact that the Eth
opians are beginning to rise up in
arms against the Italian rule does
not strengthen Mussolini's position in
Africa, and may hasten the destruc-
ton of the German-Italian alliance.
Bombs.
In the meantime, the war of bombs
goes on. It still seems to have no
deciding effect on the general course
of the war, and even the hoped-for
mutual weakening of resistance seems
to be pretty far off.
The British have been quite es-
pecially active with their bombing
operations, seeking out German OBJ
jectives on the occupied coasts of
France, Holland, Belgium and Nor
way; they claim to have inflicted
very serious damage on arsenals, air
ports and naval bases-all in an eff
fort to stave off the still threatened
German invasion of England.
On the other hand, the Germans
have not been idle, for their filters
have -again-London and
of other English cities, and
bombed them horribly.
But the point is that as long as
the German British war is con-
fined to b0mbardments; as long
as Germany and England are able
to replace what has been de-
strOyed; as long as armieS-mil-
lions of men-on both sides of the
Channel remain idle and passive,
the war makes no actual progress
toward a conclusion.
Even the morale of the British and
the German peoples seems to be,
unaffected by the air war.
U. S. and War.
Aside from the Greek successes in
Albania and the British victories in
Libya, the war has become a stale
mate affair. And just now at the tip
of every tongue is the question: Will
the attitude of the United States
change it?
This country is still, officially but
theoretically, neutral nation; its
chief executive has proclaimed his
belief in the doctrine that a neutral
country may aid belligerents without
violating its own rules of neutrality
that is, that it may 60 to war with
out actually going to war. That was
the burden of the Presidents mes
sage to Congress, his budget mes
sage, and his proposal to center in
his hands a good deal of added au-
thority.
The press Of the "axis c0un-
tries" maintains that the United
States government already, in eff
feet, is in the war; democratic
nations hope that it will be, al
though it need not be in a mill
tary way.
So, this week the American people
S confronted with the puzzling prob
EN-: How can we take part in war
without taking part in it?
And that, most certainly, is poser.