Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-11-17
Indy Called
'Wronges+'
Man Of All
His Dope on Russia
Was Biggest Error
BY wEsTBROOK PEGLER

w " S5S5OS' 49, ~
BY wESTBROOK PEGLER
MY nomination for the title OF
Ava the wnongest man of our
time is Charles A. Lindbergh,
who founded his reputation as q
politico-military pundit on his
expert opinion that the Russian
flying establishment was simply
awful and presumed to warn the
British. in effect, that the Ger
mans would tear them to tattefs
in no time and three-fifths.
There are many wrong-Johns
punched up in a passel some
distance back, and it looks like
photo-finish for place and
show. But l am playing a hunch
that Adolph Hitler will run Sec
ond by a forelock, with some of
our own high staff officers in
Washington breathing down his
neck.
And / hope my friend and
colleague in the cosmic column
trade. Gen. Hugh Johnson, won't
be too sensitive TO reminder
that he brashly declared that
the Soviet army was "mush" in
a piece which he ripped of
shortly after Hitler threw his
sneak punch at the faceless peo-
pie of the Soviet and, for the
moment. seemed to be most in
need of reliable brakes, lest he
outrun his groceries and his
supplies of hardware and fire.
crackers.
But the rest OF them based
their opinions on the confusing
ineptitudes of the Russians
in their gymnasium workout
against the Firms, a perform
ance which has been explained
only by guess and surmise to
date.
THOSE Russians seem TO be
J. nuts by all the standards
that we know and the kind OF
people who would 60 into a hos
tile, court and proclaim their
guilt of capital crimes and
practically demand the death
penalty might have been goofy
enough to waste few divisions
of men and some military junk
Just TO make themselves lock
bad and lure an overconfident
sucker into a reckless swing.
But Lindbergh knew IL all
before anything happened. II
didn't take Finland TO demon
strate to him that the Russians
were the Fred Fulton OF the
| military world.
Our Charles the great had
visited their flying fields and
airplane plants and talked with
their aviation experts and APP
parently they showed him some
crankwinders and woodburners
and let him interview some OF
their crazy wingwalkers and
sent him on his way with just
the impression they wanted him
10 impart TO his friends in
London.
Or skip all this supposition
and this speculation as 10 their
reasons for showing the sights TO
the man who was. and you still
come down hard on the fact
that he simply didn't know
what ne was talking about and
couldn't have been wronger II
he tried.
When Hitler finally did let fly
at Stain. Russia was the only
nation which could even venture
a counter-punch and now. after
a campaign which has been go
ing on since June. and which
some of our best minds expected
to wind up with another COM
plete conquest within six or
eight weeks. Germany is still
fully engaged and the Russian
war surely must have chewed up
some enormous portion Of Hit
ler's army and his equipment.
LIVERY one has marveled at
IL Hitler's own secrecy and the
stupendous size and power OF
his army in all departments but,
although it was published ~
years ago that the Russians had
100000 soldiers of various
qualities. nobody in this country.
including Lindbergh and our own
generals. nor anybody in Ger
many, could have known what
fighting power was concealed in
Russia.
II was commonly understood
that the Russians didn't know
enough about machinery to
grease a wheelbarrow and every
one must remember stories TO
the effect that the dumb, igno-
rant Russians just ran their
vehicles until the bearings
burned out and then abandoned
them where they died.
Yet, today. we in the United
States Of America MIGHT faaI