Evening star., 1942-02-24
The tert of President RooseDelts s
radio address last night tolloUs::

The tert OF President Roosevelt
radio address last night tollotDs::
Washington's birthday is a
most appropriate occasion for us
to talk with each other about
things as they are today and
things as we know they shall be
in the future.
For eight years, Gen. Washing
ton and his Continental Army
were faced continually with for
midable odds and recurring de-
feats. Supplies and equipment
were lacking. In a sense, every
winter was a Valley Forge.
Throughout the 13 States there
existed fifth columnists-selfish
men, jealous men, fearful men,
who proclaimed that Washing
tons cause was hopeless, that he
should ask for a negotiated peace.
Washington's conduct In those
hard time has provided the model
for all Americans ever since-a
model of moral stamina. He
held to his course, as it had been
charted in the Declaration of
Independence. He and the brave
men who served with him knew
that no mans life or fortune was
secure without freedom and free
institutions.
The present great struggle has
taught us increasingly that free
dom of person and security Of
property anywhere in the world
depend upon the security of the
rights and obligations of liberty
and justice everywhere in the
world.
This war is a new kind of war.
It is different from all other wars
of the past, not only in its meth
ods and weapons, but also in its
geography. 1t is warfare in terms
of every continent, every island,
every sea, every airlane in the
world.
That is the reason why have
asked you to take out and spread
before you the map of the whole
earth, and to follow with me the
references which I shall make to
the world-encircling battle lines
of this war. Many questions will,
I fear, remain unanswered, but I
know you will realize 1 cannot
cover everything in any one re-
port to the people.
Job Is Now to Fight
All Around the Globe.
The broad oceans which have
been heralded in the past as our
protection from attack have be-
come endless battlefieldS on
which we are constantly being
challenged by our enemies.
We must all understand and
face the hard fact that our job
now is to fight at distances which
extend all the way round the
globe.
We fight at these vast distances
because that is where our enc
mics are. Until our flow of sup
plies gives us clear superiority we
must keep on striking our enc
mics wherever and whenever We
can meet them, even if, for a
while, we have to yield ground.
Actually we are taking a heavy
toll of the enemy every day that
goes by.
We must fight at these vast
distances to protect our supply
lines and our lines of communi-
cation with our Allies-protect
these lines from the enemies
who are bending every ounce of
their strength, striving against
time, to cut them. The object
of the Nazis and the Japanese is
to separate the United States,
Britain, China and Russia, and to
isolate them one from another, so
that each will be surrounded and
cut off from sources of supplies
and reinforcements. 1t is the old
familiar Axis policy of divide
and conquer"
There are those who still think
in terms Of the days of sailing
ships. They advise us to pull our
warships and our planes and our
merchant ships into our own
home waters and concentrate
solely on last-ditch defense. But
let me illustrate what would hap
pen if we followed such foolish
advice.
Look at your map. Look at the
vast area of China, with its mil
lions of fighting men. Look at
the vast area of Russia, with its
powerful armies and proven mill
tary might. Look at the British
Isles, Australia, New Zealand,
the Dutch Indies, India, the Near
East and the continent of Africa,
with their resources of raw ma
terials and of peoples determined
to resist Axis domination. Look
at North America, Central Amer
lea and South America.
What Would Happen if
Isolation Policy Dere Adopted.
1t is obvious what would hap
pen If all these great reservoirs
of power were cut off from each
other by enemy action or by self
imposed isolation:
l. We could no longer send aid
Of any kind to Climatic the
brave people who, for nearly five
years have withstood Japanese