Evening star., 1941-05-12

is not the question now. The ques-
ton is what to do from here on.
Our every sympathy, our interest
is to assist the heroic defense oi
England We have pledged our.
selves to give Britain the aid o1
our factories and our farms.
Her most critical period is right
now 1t is during the next months
What is the urgent need of England
as expressed by her leaders time
and again? Plainly she need,
bomber planes to guard her sea
lanes. She needs bomber planes
and fighter planes to offset the
attacks upon her cities and hel
harbors. She needs tanks, munitions
and food. She needs merchant
ships to replace her losses She
needs minor naval warships to guard
her sea lanes.
We are today giving her only a
part of the scant production of our
industries and retaining the other
part for our own preparedness.
If we join this war we must join
in earnest. We shall lose 1t any
other way. II we join we must at
once increase our Army to 5000, 900
or 100000 men, We would have
to use larger part Of our imme-
diate manufactures to supply our
own Army. We would have to use
a larger part of our air production
to defend our own coast cities. We
would have at once to increase our
projections for the Pacific Coast and
our island possessions. We have to
use larger part Of our production
of fighter and bomber planes for
them. We would have to hold mer-
chant ships in reserve to carry
troops to protect them. We are not
building enough merchant ships now
to meet British needs. We would
have to use our light naval craft
to convoy and protect our own sea
lanes, especially in the Pacific.
In net, if we join this war we
must use a larger portion of our
present scant production for our
own equipment and defense. We
would have to do this at once. And
that means If we join in this war
we must give British less tools of
war during her most critical period.
Can Take More Risks
In Giving British Aid.
II we stay out of this war we
can take more risks in parting with
our tools Of war.
Our every sympathy, our interest
The British have said time and
time again that if we give them
the tools they have the man power
to repel invasion. they have the men
to man the warships. the merchant
ships and the airplanes.
Today we are confronted with
not one problem, but many. What
Is the constructive American course
amaid these problems? Is it not
clear that we will give less tools to
Britain If we join in the war? The
solution is not for us to 60 to war,
but to give her every tool that will
really aid her, regardless of our own
preparedness. There are risks in
this course, but it is the least peril
Gus road we can now take. This
solution will not please extremists
on either side. Common sense and
stark truth rarely do. And I am
convinced that here lies the road
to national unity that is so essential
to America at this time.
We must also think other things
through. And there are some other
very disagreeable questions that
must be answered before we take
the plunge to war. We cannot re-
fuse to face the facts of the situa-
ton when the fate of the Nation Is
at stake.
We wish to aid Britain, but we
must face the fact that If she can
not maintain the independence of
the British Isles with the tools and
policies I have mentioned, it cannot
be maintained by our joining in the
war. II We are in the war and
should Britain fail, we would be left
to carry the war alone. And that
war against NaZi-controlled Europe
will have to be fought at a distance
of 5000 miles and for years and
years.
In that event are we going to