The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1942-09-17
Economic
eMShA7hA
National and International Problems
Inseparable from Local Welfare

On the first day of September, the
greatest war the world has ever known
entered its fourth year. Those three
most uninterrupted triumphs for Hitler
land his satellites The timetable of
conquest makes almost incredible read
ing Poland fell in % days, Denmark
in one day, Norway in two months,
Belgium in IS days France in 43 days.
Russia alone remains. 1t is very likely
|Of all the nations Hitler has invaded,
THAT historians of the future will write
that Russia was the savior of the free
world. Whatever happens, the magni-
ficent resistance of the Red Army will
mark one of the brightest and bravest
pages in the long and sanguinary his
ltOry of combat.
On December Z, 1941, Japan joined
hands with he Axis. And the Jap
timetable of conquest is comparable to
THAT of Hitler. Guam was taken in five
days. Wake Island was conquered in
IA days, after superb defense by Il
handful of United States Marines.
Malaga, with is supposedly impreg-
nable naval base at Singapore, fell in
"a short day. The Philippines were
forced to surrender in a little less than
five months. In short the war so far
has consisted largely of a series of dis
la series of great victories for the die
Itators. That is simply a matter of rec
lord, and it does no service to the
democratic cause to attempt to hide
the truth.
BasicaIly, the cause of all this is
lsimply explained: The enemy was
READY for war, and we and our Allies
We're not. The enemy understood pre-
Icisely what total war means-and we
Ibid not In Germany and Japan there
are no strikes. There is no shily-
|shallying on the part of the officials of
the government There is Il grim and
efficiency. The Axis
means to destroy MS utterly, and every
resource at its command is devoted
completely to that end.
SO much for the debit side On the
credit side there is also a great deal
to say at the end of three years of
war. The quality of the United Ma
|tions fighting men is first class. Only
la little of the long and bloody story is
now knOWn-but that little is magni-
ticent. The RAF after Dunkirk, the
| II hn t,l,
|airmen and sailors in the East Indies,
the L. S. Army in Bataan, the Marines
lin the SolOmOns--in those campaigns
free men wrote with their blood a glOr-
iouS saga of courage and achievement
lThe Germans and the Japs have paid Il
tremendous price for their victories.
There is much to be said also for
American war production. The burden
|of supplying the troops of all the
United Nations falls Squarely on us
No other nation has even Il 1.-THE of
our potential productive capacity. And
lit can be said to the everlasting credit
Iof American industry that the change
lover from production for peace to pro-
'duction for war, was generally made
Iswifty and effectively. But there are
many bad spots still. We have not vet
Iachieved. in many vital lines. the essen
Itial production goals which have been
laid down. There has been mismanage
Iment in labor, in government, and in
industry itself. These bad spots must
be erased before we can carry the war
fully to the enemy. No American should
feel optimistic today. He should feel
instead, that Infinitely more must be
done before victory can be assured. He
|muSt not forget that this war can be
lost if we fail to coordinate our efforts
1t is Il favolie saying i'm Washing
ton that the American people don't
yet realize the gravity of the situa-
Ition.' But, as many columniSts have
been pointing out, Washington official
dom has created confusion and indeci-
sion in the minds of the people. The
conflicting official reports" that still
scep out of Washington concerning
such basic issues as rubber, fuel, gaSo-
line, the draft, etc, have attained the
lStature of national scandal. Only
lately, through Elmer Davis Office of
War information has Il start been
made toward Clarifying official policy
Every poll indicates that the American
people are willing, ready and even
eager to max" any necessary sacrifice
if only their leaders will tell them
simply and clearly what sacrifices are
needed.
We are Just beginning to feel the
economic effects of war Non-eSSential
businesses are closing fast. Whole
|occupationS-SUrh as that of the sales
|man-are virtually wiped out. AS store
inventories run down, it will be i'm
possible To buy such oneS-plentiful
commodities rs radios, stoves, water
heaters, and any number of other con-
|venicnceS. TaNrS will be even heavier
lneNl year than they are now, and ii
seems inevitable that sales tax and
|Some form of enforced savings will
soon be adopted. In many fields, the
labor shortage is acute. These are but
Y A.