Evening star., 1941-05-20
Senator Hatch Calls
For Intense Defense
Drive in Industry
Radio Forum Speaker
Sees Possible Need to
Curb Civilian Supplies

Curb Civilian Supplies
Senator Hatch, Democrat, of
New Mexico discussed this Govern
ment's effort to achieve supremacy
in war material production in an
address last night in the National
Radio Forum, arranged by The
Star.
The speech was broadcast over a
national hookup OF the National
Broadcasting Co. and was heard
locally over Station WMAL.
The text of the talk follows:
Before speaking on the subject
which I have chosen for this eve
ming, I first want to thank The
Evening Star for the opportunity to
appear on this program.
l address you tonight with no
thought of promoting the aims or
| purposes of any group or faction,
| organization or party. Fortunately,
we are not now concerned with any
question of partisan politics. Even
the much-too- -often-used terms in
IciNcIlIlOlllSI dllu lSOld tlOlllSl
have no meaning in connection with
the things I have in mind. In fact,
l wish those terms had never be-
come part of our vocabulary. The
words ''interventionist' and "iso-
lationist," as they have been used in
recent months, carry the implica-
ton to the country, and to the world
for that matter, that America is di-
vided on vital issues of policy and
even of defense. That I deplore.
I do have a purpoSe-there is one
thing do want to promote. That
one thing should be paramount in
the minds of every American. 1t
involves only one course of action.
1t is a course of action upon which
we can all agree. without any differ
ence and without reservation of any
kind. plead tonight only for those
things which will insure and guar
antee the welfare and the safety of
the people of the United States of
America and her form of govern
ment. In this spirit and from this
standpoint alone, I speak tonight.
SpufTcu Uy dte OF france.
1t was not until just about one
year ago that we in America became
conscious of the absolute necessitv
to arm and prepare ourselves, as we
had never dreamed would be neces-
sary in our day and generation. I
do not mean by this that we had
been altogether asleep I, myself
have always advocated a strong pre-
paredness program, and since have
been in the Senate I have voted for
and supported every bill which has
in any way tended to strengthen de-
lenses of this country. I am frank
to confess that until the downfall of
France last year I did not believe
1t would be necessary for us to take
the extreme measures which we are
compelled to adopt today. I believed
that We could maintain a more-or-
less neutral position and that we
could avoid becoming involved in
the war abroad.
Certainly, no man dislikes more
than I do the appalling waste which
even preparedness for war involves.
War itself is something have hated
with all the intensity of my soul.
But of war and our becoming in
volved therein, l shall not speak to-
night. Let us hope that that bitter
cup will pass us by.
1 am glad that I can say that this
urgent need for defensive rearma-
ment and the awful threat of war
which hangs over every nation of
the world today, is not of our
making. Not one single bit of it
can be charged to America, her
people or her leaders-for that, I
am thankful.
Notwithstanding our complete lack
of responsibility for the condition
which confronts the world, we must
nevertheless face that condition AS
1t is. The safety of 13O.O00,OOO peo-
pie; the preservation of free govern
ment for free men, are obligations
and responsibilities which we cannot
shirk. We have no choice; the
choice has already been made for us
by those powers and nations who
know no law except the law of brute
force. Our safety lies only in our
strength-our full strength must yet
be developed.
Modes of Warfare Changed.
With these general thoughts in
mind, I want to discuss with you
tonight some of the conditions with
which we are actually confronted.
1 think we all realize that war as
waged in the last great war is not
the kind of war that is happening
today. During the long years of
that war. the armies of the great
powers faced each other on the
battlefieldS, with practically un-
broken fronts. Machinegun nests,
artillery fire, barbed wire entangle-
ments, deep trenches, and all those
things held the respective armies
in check. When attempts to break
through those lines were made, the
loss of life was so terrible the at
tempts often failed. Relying upon
the experiences of that war, all
the nations of the world, practically,
save one, prepared their defenses
along these lines. France, at great
cost, built the Maginot Line. Other
countries relied upon their more-or-
less stationary and natural forti-
fications. They believed themselves
to be secure against attack from
without.
Under Chancellor Hitler, the Ger
man nation pursued a different
course. With his ascent to power,
they rearmed their people for war