Evening star., 1942-01-25
kio Is Not in Ruins in Retaliation for Pearl Horbor

VHy IOkIO |
Clare Boothe, ,oell-knopn au-
thor and playwright, recently in
terpietDed Gen. Douglas MacAr-
thur in Manila. She tods in Bel
GUM ,Dhen the Germans inpaded
that country in Nay, 1910.
Henry j. Reilly, brigGdier gen.
eral in the Officers Reserpe
Corps, serped In the Philippines
seDeral years and later in the
World War, ,ohen he received the
D. S. M. He is q former editor
OF the Army and Many Journal.
BY CLARE BOOTHE and
BRIG. GEN. HENRY ]. REILLY.
Last May 6 Senator Claude Pepper
of Florida made, on the floor OF
Congress, fierce and fiery speech
against the Japanese. Demanding
that I'VE turn a searching inquiry
to this bandit of the East
lurking behind the door to stick a
stiletto IN our backs" he suggested
as one easy solution of the problem,
sending Chang Kai-shek some gal
liant American boys at the controls
Of some first-class bombing planes
''' in my opinion" he said, $50 of
them can make a shambles of
Tokio!"
And 10000, 900 Americans not only
applauded the incendiary Floridians S
personal opinion in their hearts, but
also believed 1t was a fine picture Of
the just fate that awaited "the ban
dts of the East" If they should
choose-as the popular phrase was
to commit national hara-kari" by
warning on the United States of
America.
Today 100000 Americans are
asking in bewilderment and rage.
where are the avenging flames from
the funeral pyre of Toxic? Why
hasn't the Japanese fleet been sunk
within couple of weeks" as many
q tablecloth admiral-and a couple
OF bona flde ones, too-so often pre-
d1cted 1t would be? Why is it, on
the contrary, roaming at will in the
Japanese and China Seas? Where
Is the distant blockade" based in
Hawaii and Singapore which was so
soon to bring Japan to her economic
knees? Where are "Japan's feet of
clay" about which a whole book was
written? (Can it be that our heads.
not her feet, were made of clay?)
Why has the Japanese Army,
which Everybody" knew was bled
white and thin by four years of the
China incident" still got enough
military "oomph" to attack not only
United States possessions in the
Far East, but also the colonial Jewels
Of the Dutch and British Empires?
Why did imp egnable" Hong Kong
fall In two weeks? And why, oh
why, II it is still true that Japan
is committing hari-kari, is she do
ing so in such messy fashion on
soil under our flag, instead of being
forced to expire on her own door
step, or before the bloodstained
altars of her own pagan gods?
The bitter answers to these bitter
questions lie largely in an under
standing of the military situation
implicit in the disaster which has
overtaken American arms in the
Philippines. Had sufficient planes,
troops, warships been available TO
Gen. Macarthur in the early weeks
OF December, we could have stopped
the japanese invasion and then
sent help to Singapore. So long as
America held the Philippines, it held
a fine land, air and naval base out
OF which to operate on the flank of
all Japanese movements on the
China coast, the Malay Peninsula
and the Netherlands East Indies
Conversely, the loss of the Philip
pines means that the japanese con-
troll all the islands off the coast of
Asia, from Paramashuto south of
Kamchatka to the NJ E. l., and that
bases of their attacks on the Dutch
possessions can be moved from For
mosa and the Pescadores to Min
danao and the Sula Archipelago
thousand miles closer to the N. E. I.
It means that unless the N. E. I.
can be held, Americas only remain
ing bases in the South Pacific for
an attack on Japan become Aus
tralia and New Zealand, 5000 miles
from Toxic.
But are the Philippines really
lost?
With the exceptions of 20 miles
Of the Batan Peninsula on the
Island of Luzon, portion of Min
danao and the three small fortified
islands - Corregidor Fort Mills,
Caballo Fort Hughes, Ell Fraile
Fort Drum, at the mouth of
Manila Bay-all-important Of these
7083 islands of the Philippines Ia
combined area only a little smaller
than the British Isles have fallen
into japanese hands or under Jap
anese control. And they are in con-
troll of all the air over them, and
the seas around them. In spite OF
the incredibly gallant-and useful
delaying action Macarthur and his
men are fighting, when such am
munition, armament and food as
they have in larder or locker run
out, surrender must ring down the
first act Of the drama in the Philip
pines.
Hopeless Military Assignment.
I,ie he