The Wrangell sentinel., 1942-04-03
India Arsenal Must Be Kept To Defeat Axis
CBy Associated Press)

CBy Associated Press)
 India is the country that can take on an order for enough bullet stopping sandbags to girdle the globe more than l9 times. India is the country that produces metals. rawstuffs and humans 10 spare. h. dia is an arsenal that the Axis wants and the Allies must keep.
 But there is a BUT. both in re- sources and manpower.
 Although the country has eXper- fenced wars from the first days, its people in the main are agricultural and not aggressive. Out of it's pop ulation, nearly three times that of the United States, only 50O,00O to not more than 1,250,O0O are under arms. And India is not yet self-suf- tieient in production of machine tools and industrial steel, chemicals and lubricants.
 The majority of the army still is in training, few are fully equipped and there are insufficient officers The famous fighting Sikhs of the north are numerically few The en- tire community, including women and children, totals not more than 3,0O0,0O0.
 However, the fighting men India has are well rated, and they have, in the words of L. S. Amery. Bri- tish secretary of state for India shown remarkable aptitude for modern mechanical warfare
 They have served in the Middle East and Malaga; in the occupation of Iran, the improvement of Iran highways and the Trans-Iranian railroad leading to Russia, and in garrison service in Iraq, Eritrea, Abyssinia, Somaliland and else where.
 Navy Expanding
 The Royal Indian Navy at the wars outbreak consisted of five small escort vessels and miscella- neous other craft, most of it based at Bombay. Now shfpyards are turn ing out mine sweepers and sub chasers, the number of ratings has been doubled and a training school for boys has been opened at Karachi. Most of the navy is serving in the Red Sea.
 An important British naval and air base is located at Trincomalee, Ceylon, which has a good harbor, at least two drydocks, and some fuel ing and repair facilities.
 The three leading cities are Cal cutta, 1,486,000; Bombay, 1,161,- 900, and Madras, 674,000, all pre- sumably reinforced since the wars outbreak. Elsewhere there are de- lenses of the type formerly domin- ant, but of the type now called static, notably at Khyber Pass in the northwest.
 India got late start in indus try, as witness the climb of steel production from 113,000 tons in 1920 to 2,OOO,0OO for the present. The largest iron and steel works in the British Empire is located at Jamshedpur.
 Home manufactured tanks, air craft and armor plate supply Indian troops. Ordnance factories are gov ernment operated for the most. At Bangalore in southern India the modern Hindustan aircraft factory is turning out training planes and Curtis Hawk fighters, but the mo- tors have to be imported.
 Munitions Exports
 Exports of munitions above home needs have been 60O,00O shells and 150,000,O00 rounds of small arms ammunition. An estimated 125, 1000 pairs of army boots are shipped monthly to United Kingdom ports,
 India is among the world leaders in production of high grade iron ore, manganese and mica; ranks second to the United States in cot ton, has an international monopoly in jute, and is a leading producer of oil, tobacco, spices, tea, wheat, rice, sugar and vegetable oils.
 Also a great producer of wool, third of the worlds cattle, plus meat and hides, it has roughly a 26,O00,0OO goats, 222,0OO,O00 sheep and 14,OO0,0OO horses.
 Yet much of India's produce is in raw form, and must be shipped out for processing. Once isolated India's value to the Allies would drop sharply. That is why India g defenses are at the Suez Canal and in Burma. The Khyber Pass is dated