Evening star., 1941-01-19
BY MAJ. GEORGE FIELDING
ETVOT

ELIOT.
For sheer blind refusal to look
facts in the face, it would be diff
fiCult to surpaSs the suggestions now
being put forward that the Presi-
dents lease-lend bill should be
amended so as to prohibit the use
of American naval vessels for convoy
duties in the North Atlantic or other
zones of belligerent activity.
The President has stated, the bill
sets forth, and the American people
in vast majority filmly believe that
the support of Great Britain is an
essential and vitally important ma
tional policy, adopted in the inter-
eSts of the security of this republic.
1t is proposed to give such support
by supplying Great Britain with the
materials of war which she requires
| in order to resist German attack.
That attack at the moment is TAX
ing the form of attempts to inter-
rupt the exterior communications
of Great Britain by the use of sub
marines, aircraft and surface raid
erS.
1t is the military consensus in this
country and in Britain that this
form of attack will be greatly in
tensified in the near future, as a pre-
liminary to whatever other means
Germany may later see fit to en-
ploy. In defeating these German
efforts, our material aid is an eS-
Sential factor, as the Prime Minister
has Just re-emphasized in his Glas-
gov speech, and as the plain and
clear facts of the situation amply
assert for themselves.
It would hardly seem necessary to
point out to a reasonably intelll-
gent child of 10 that American war
materials which safely arrive in
Britain are what the execution OF
this policy demands; that such ma
terials retained in the United States
may, at all events. be of use for our
own defense; but that such ma
terials at the bottom of the Atlantic
Ocean are a net loss to both coun-
tries. Consequently and however
little we may like the prospect, we
must realistically face this ques-
ton:
Two Courses Are Open.
What do we propose to do if the
Germans, with the coming OF better
weather and the employment OF in
creased numbers of airplanes and
submarines, succeed in stepping up
the weekly rate of sinkings to the
point where our shipments to Brit
ain are not getting through in Suf-
ficient volume to achieve our pur-
pose in sending them? incidentally,
if such a point is reached, Brltalns
own industrial output will be sut-
fering from lack of raw materials,
and Brltains population from lack
of foodstuffs. What are we going
to do then?
There are two things We can do
to relieve such situation, or per-
haps prevent its arising. We can
use our very great influence to con-
vince the Irish government and
people that America S vital interests
are involved in this struggle. and
so gain the use of the Irish bases
for combating the German menace
to Britain's sea communications
but in order to do this, We may have
to show that We. too, are willing to
take the risks which we ask Irish
men to take and are willing to aid
Irishmen in meeting those risks.
In other words. We may be asked
whether We are willing to help de-
fend Ireland. and whether We are
willing to help convoy the ma
terials We are trying to get through
to Britain These two latter points
are tied up together since in order
to convoy through the danger zone
We would have to have destroyers,
patrol vessels and aircraft based on
the far side of the Atlantic, and
these bases could hardly be else
where than in Ireland, geography
beng immutable in its realities and
not subject to change as a result of
Wishful thinking.
A somewhat less promising alter
nate-or perhaps. addition-to this
policy might be the arrangement of
a convoy route by way of Iceland,
reaching Britain from the north:
but the additional mileage by this
route would demand an increase
of tonnage at a time when every
ton of cargo space is becoming in
creasingly valuable. In any case, it