Evening star., 1942-10-20

for the way news David Lawrence.
has to be handled from the Pacific
area.
Thus a criticism made on Capitol
Hill, to the effect that the Army
forces in Australia under Gen. Mac
Arthur were not being utilized to
help the Marines, is misunder-
standing of the nature of the opera
tions.
The high command in America to-
day consists of Gen: Marshall, Ad-
miral King and Admiral Leahy, who
comprise what is known as the
United States Chiefs of Staff. Ali
three men have voice in the deci-
sions and in the making of strategy.
To assume that the Army forces in
Australia or anywhere else have not
been permitted to do something they
ought to do is to say that Gen.
Marshall does not have an oppor-
tunity to express himself or to infu-
ence the strategy that is finally
adopted. This, of course, is un-
founded, because it is we'll known
that there has been substantial
agreement right along between the
members Of the high command.
The President, of course, as Com
mander in Chief, makes the broad
policy, but the tactics and detailed
operations are left to the United
States Chiefs Of Staff and it is a safe
assumption that if the Army should
have participated any sooner than
1t has in the Solomon Islands opera
tionse this would have been done.
Transportation Big Problem.
What is not generally realized is
that every gallon of octane gas for
the airplanes and every barrel of
fuel for the surface ships has to be
transported across 1000 miles OF
more of distance and that there is
only limited amount of tonnage
available for the job of fueling the
feet and transporting troops. 1t
may be more important that the
seas be first dominated by air and
surface fighting ships than that
troops be transported from distant
bases. The United States Chiefs
of Staff know how to put first things
first.
Then there is the problem of news
announcements. Criticism has come
from some sections of the press,
especially because the news about
the three heavy cruisers lost at
Tulagi in August was not given out
until a date more than two months
later. 1t is argued that the enemy
must have known about these losses.
The important thing to be borne
in mind is that naval warfare,
especially over the broad expanse
of oceans, is based to large extent
on deception. The game of fooling
the enemy may mean safety to
tens of thousands of our sailors and
1t may mean the difference between
victory and defeat in the shaping
of tactics to meet the enemy at
particular moment.
To reveal the reasons why a par
ticular piece of news is withheld
Is to tell the enemy just what phase
of the art of deception was involved
In a particular instance. No gen.
eral rule can be drawn, because no
two cases are alike. In one opera
ton, it may be deemed desirable to
withhold the news until replace
ments are already in the same area
and it may take a long time to get
them there from other areas. In
another instance, we may have
already replaced in secret certain
type of vessel, and it may be de-
sired to let the enemy believe that
no replacement could possibly have
arrived within a certain interval.
Deception on Losses.
Deception as to losses is prac-
ticed by all the navies of the world
as an integral part Of strategy, and
policies differ with the situations
that arise. In one instance, it may
be revealed that deception caused
the Japanese completely to under
estimate our strength in the Battle
of Midway. When the story of the
Solomon Islands operations is dis
closed some day to the students of
naval history, it will be discovered
that the reasons. good or bad, which
caused withholding of the news
about the three cruisers were di-
rectly related to naval strategy.
One thing can be stated positive
". The high command of the Army
and Navy is not holding back news
because of any relationship to the
problem of morale on the home
front. The reasons are strategic,
and the American people must
trust the high command. 1t is a
military and naval group which
knows what 1t is doing. 1t is in
terested only in victory-and not
in politics or morale problems away
from the fighting fronts. There is
unity of command and purpose to-
day in the United States Chiefs of
STAFF.
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