Evening star., 1942-03-20
Lord HuIifux ExpIoins

Lord Holifux Exploins
In broadcast full of specific facts
and figures, Lord Halifax, the British
Ambassador, has gone on the air to
give the American public a detailed
survey of what Britain has been
doing in two and half years of wal" "
This full and frank review was de-
signed to answer charges made by
Axis propagandists that Britain is
concentrating unduly on it's own local
defense, making sure of its own i'm
mediate safety to the detriment Of
other war theaters
The high point in Lord Halifax's
rebuttal of those charges is the dis
closure, mot before made public,
that for months past no less than
30 per cent of our total military pro-
duction and every soldier for whom
shipping space was available have
been sent overseas" Despite the
serious handicap of German air raids
over the British Isles during much
Of the past two years, production has
increased by leaps and bounds. One
indication of how "the British really
are a people stripped for action" is
the startling fact that one-fifth of
the entire British people have been
shifted from their home communi-
ties to places where they are more
urgently needed for war production
purposes. This mass shift of 100000
persons, plus further shifts Of chill
dren and others removed from
bombed cities to the countryside, are
striking indications Of a Britain
geared to total war;" devoting go
per cent Of its national income to
war purposes, and taxing itself al
most to the conf1scation point.
Lord Halifax explained the reason
why these prodigious efforts were
not more obvious as due to the fact
that Britain's overseas shipments Of
men and materials had to be dis
persed over such vast areas and
transported over long and time-con-
suming lines of communication.
Merchant shipping was the stubborn
bottleneck by which those efforts
were limited. And shipping was like
wise the key to those 3O0O0,0OO to
100000 tons of foodstuffs and raw
materials which must be imported
into Britain each year if its people
are to be fed and its industrial me-
chaniSm is to be supplied.
The Ambassador reminded his lis
tenerS that Britain'S overseas efforts
are conditioned by one basic require
ment, "the safety Of the British Isles,
the only base in Western Europe for
the future operations against Hitler"
He stated that there were 3,500,000
armed troops in Britain, but pointed
out that, of these, 100000 are Home
Guards, "part-time soldiers, whose
fullstime work Is for the most part
in war industries" And he implied
IlldO Cllc 1,oOO,UOU IcS
were not too many, since they were
the main defense of some 5000 miles
of coasts and 10000 square miles in
side them" against the constant
threat of a German invasion for
which Hitler could concentrate troops
much more quickly than we could
bring them back from overseas"
Those were the high lights of a
survey which took in many phases,
including air and sea warfare, details
Of production, and possible trends for
the coming months which lie ahead.
BY and large, it was an able exposi-
tion of Britain's position and pros
poets that should answer much ad-
verse criticism and correct current
misconception as to Britains con-
tribution to the common cause.