Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1941-05-28
Of Roosevelt Speech Reamng Strong Stand Against Ax

heavily armed raid1ng cruiser
or hit-and-run battleship; third
the bombing airplane, which Is
capable of destroying merchant
ships seven or eight hundred
miles from its nearest base; and
fourth-the destruction Of mer-
chant ships in those ports of the
world which are accessible to
bombing attack.
The battle of the Atlantic now
extends from the icy waters OF
the North Pole to the frozen
continent OF the Antarctic.
Throughout this huge area, there
have been sinkings of mer-
chant ships in alarming and
increasing numbers by Nazi
raiders or submarines. There
have been sinkings even Of ships
carrying neutral flags. There
have been sinkings in the South
Atlantic. of West Africa and the
Cape Verde Islands; between the
Azores and the islands off the
American coast; and between
Greenland and Iceland. Great
numbers of these sinkings have
been actually within the waters
of the Western Hemisphere.
Ship Sinkings Greatly Exceed
Capacity to Replace Them.
The blunt truth is this-and
I reveal this with the full knowl-
edge of the British government:
The present rate of Nazi sink
ings of merchant ships is more
than three times as high as the
capacity of British shipyards to
replace them; it is more than
twice the combined British and
American output of merchant
ships today.
We can answer this peril
by two simultaneous measures:
First. by speeding up and in
creasing our great shipbuilding
program; and second, by helping
to cut down the losses on the
high seas.
Attacks on shipping OF the
very shores Of land which we are
determined to protect, present
an actual military danger to
The Americas. And that danger
has recently been heavily under
lined by the presence in Western
Hemisphere waters of Nazi
battleships of great striking
power
Most of the supplies for Brit
ain 90 by northerly route.
which comes close to Greenland
and the nearby island of Ice
land. Germany's heaviest attack
is on that route. Nazi occupa-
ton of Iceland or bases in
Greenland would bring the war
close to our continental shores;
because they are stepping stones
to Labrador, Newfoundland,
Nova Scotia and the Northern
United States. including the
great industrial centers of the
North. East and the Middle West.
Equally. the Azores and the
Cape Verde Islands, If occupied
or controlled by Germany. would
directly endanger the freedom
Of the Atlantic and our own
physical safety. Under German
domination they would become
bases for submarines. warships
and airplanes raiding the waters
which lie Immediately of our
own coasts and attacking the
shipping in the South Atlantic.
They would provide a spring
board for actual attack against
the integrity and independence
OF Brazil and her neighboring
republics.
have said on many occasions
that the United States is muster
ing its men and its resources
only for purposes of defense
only to repel attack 1 repeat
that statement now. But we
must be realistic when we use
the word attack; we have to
relate it to the lightning speed
of modern warfare.
Some people seem to think
that we are not attacked until
bombs actually drop on New
York or San Francisco or New
Orleans or Chicago. But they
are simply shutting their eyes
to the lesson we must learn from
the fate of every nation that
the Nazis have conquered.
Suicide to Wait Until
War Is in Our Front Yard.
The attack on Czecho- Slovakia
began with the conquest of
Austria. The attack on Norway
began with the occupation of
Denmark. The attack on Greece
began with occupation of AL
bania and Bulgaria The at
tack on the Suez Canal began
with the invasion of the Balkans
and North Africa. The attack
on the United States can begin
with the domination of any base
which menaces our security
north or south.
Nobody can foretell tonight
just when the acts of the dicta-
tors will ripen into attack on
this hemisphere and us. But we
know enough by now to realize
that it would be suicide to wait
until they are in our front yard.
When your enemy comes at
you In a tank or q bombing
plane, if you hold your fire
until you see the whites of his
eyes, you will never know what
hit you. Our Bunker Hill OF
tomorrow may be several thou
sand miles from Boston.
Any one with an atlas and a
reasonable knowledge of the
sudden striking force of modern
war knows that it is stupid to
wait until a probable enemy has
gained a foOtho1d from which