Evening star., 1942-09-27
Long War No Longer
Helpful to Allies
By OUen L. Scott.

for the United States and Great Britain.
1t will be phase in which heavy fight
ing by forces of these two nations alone
will bring results,
Until now the idea had prevailed that
long slow war would be to the advan-
tage Of our side. Blockade at long range
was supposed gradually to strangle both
Germany and Japan, Now the idea is
dawning that, if given time, the enemy
nations have access to raw materials and
to manpoWer that will make them self
sufficient and even unbeatable.
The definite war turn has come with
Hitlers conquest of Russia's richest areas
and with the stand OF Hitlers soldiers
on the Volga River, which seals that
conquest Earlier, Japan had conquered
an empire Of immense riches and she
now is striving to build defensive bull
warks that will protect her in exploiting
these conquests.
The result is that today neither Ger
many nor Japan is have not" nation.
Each holds access to an empire of the
greatest riches in raw materials, capable
of making the German and japanese ma
tions f-suff1cient. At the same time,
these enemy nations largely have neu-
tralized the power of Russia and meas
urably have weakened the material as
well as the strategic power of Great
Britain and the United States. The task
ahead, therefore, becomes one OF action
to prevent either Germany or Japan from
developing the resources to which they
have access. Only aggressive warfare, not
attempted longrange blockade, can
achieve the desired result.
That is the background against which
present American and British war plans
are being made. 1t is background of
somewhat startling facts and figures
that reveal the extent to which a turn
about in potential world power has oc-
CURED in the war to date.
In terms of food, which was decisive
in the First World War, Japan now is
abundantly self sufficient and Germany
has access to areas that can make her
self-suf11cient if given time and the op-
portunity to exploit her position Hitler
now controls an area that produced 80
per cent OF the worlds supply OF wheat
before the war. Previously his wheat
area produced only per cent of the pre-
war world supply. He controls an area
that formerly produced two thirds of the
worlds rye and nearly four fifths OF its
potatoes. The Germans and japanese
now control the source of about 40 per
cent of the worlds sugar and two-thirds
of its flax
In terms Of metals the situation is
even more striking. Before this war
Germany and Japan had control over
less than. one-tenth of the worlds iron
ore. Today they control nearly two
thirds of that ore land These two ma
tions, but largely Germany, now control
areas that produced 81 per cent of the
world pig iron output before the war
and they control areas that produced
one-haf of the steel Russia alone has
lost steel-producing area that turned
out as much steel as Britain produces.
Conquests by these enemy nations put
them in control of areas that before the
war provided nearly 60 per cent of the
worlds aluminium, half of its zinc, half
of its manganese. third of its lead, most
of its tin, almost all of its rubber and
about one-ffth of its copper
In oil, Japan now is abundantly self
sufficient and Germany is within striking
distance of the oil that can make her
sufficient if given time to develop
that oil.
OF course, mere possession of basic
n1e nf ho of
those resources. Japan lacks the ma
chine-making and steel producing in
dustries that would enable her to exploit
her new riches in hurry. She also has
problems of transport that are serious.
Germany lacks the man power, and she
lacks the transport that would enable
her to cash in quickly on her loot The
steel and oil industries of Russia which
she has conquered probably are destroyed
beyond early repair.
The point that Is guiding policy
makers here and in Britain however, is
that with time both of these nations can
make use of their conquests. AS
matter OF fact, it is expected that Ger
many will be able to get rather large
returns out of Russian agriculture in
l943, provided she can find a nTeans of
transporting the food that probably will
be produced in the conquered area.
Russia herself, as factor in the war;
now is badly crippled. She has lost an
area that, on the basis of pre-war
figures, contained one third of her popu-
lation, more than half Of her iron ore,
two-thirds of her coal, nearly one-haf
of her aluminium, two-thirds of her pig
iron and nearly as much Of her steel
capacity. In fact, about 40 per cent
of her entire industrial strength was
concentrated in the area that Germany
now controls. If Hitler gets Russian
oil in the Baku fields he will be in
position, if he wants, to 60 on the de-
fensive in the east and to turn westward
again.
All of this means that there no longer
is anything to be gained by Britain
and the United States in long drawn
out war of attrition. In a war of that
kind our side might find that it is grow
ing weaker, relatively, rather than grow
ing stronger
Out of that situation grows the obvious
decision to get set for large-scale ofIen-
sive operations in 1943
Both Germany and Japan have weak
transport systems. The Japanese are
vulnerable to submarine and air attack
that would interfere with sea shipping
and thereby prevent transport to Japan
of the riches of conquered areas. In