Evening star., 1942-02-19
The Problem of Aid

US tOOtSu VI SNi0
Lieutenant Governor General HUI
bertus van Nook of the Netherlands
Indies made q telling argument yes
terday which is theoretically sound
but difficult in practice. Speaking on
his arrival at Sydney, Australia, on
his way home from a recent trip to
America, he appealed to the United
Nations to start a big offensive
against the Axis, instead Of continu-
ally giving ground to an extent
which, he warned, ultimately might
lose the war.
DR.. van Nook obviously had the
Far Eastern situation particularly in
mind, though he expressed fear
that current Japanese advances
might soon lead to q vast Axis pin
GERS drive which would meet in the
Middle East, presumably in India.
That such a disaster Is possible, few
informed persons will deny. and un-
questionably the best way to stop the
Axis would be to start a large-scale
counterattack. Yet to do this sue
cessfully would require either a ma
jor concentration of men and ma
terial on one objective or general
expenditure Of effort which the
United Nations do not seem able at
present to afford.
America is being insistently bonn
barded by appeals for aid and more
aid from every one of our Allies. On
all sides arises the "cry from Mace
donia" immortalized in Scripture:
Come over and help us!" Britain,
which once confidently asserted
"Give us the tools and well finish
the job," now admits that enormous
assistance in man power as we'll as
equipment is needed from America If
a European offensive is to become
possible. American tanks and planes
did much to make Britain's recent
North African offensive possible, yet
they were not enough. American
aid Is needed on a vast scale to in
sure Britain's hold on the Middle
East and keep open that supply route
to Russia. The Soviet Union banks
on us to help stall Hitler's threat
ened spring drive, and we earmark
another billion dollars for that pur-
pose. China's needs are acute, and
to cover them we are likewise open
ing wide our purse strings.
Now all those undeniably pressing
responsibilities were ours before the
recent eruption of japanese ag-
gression which has added another
problem of agonizing urgency. Ade-
quately to satisfy all those demands
from our present production and
military preparedness seems, at
present, impossible. The hard fact
is that America is faced with the
dilemma of apportioning limited
supplies in the way best calculated to
stave of disaster on any Of the ma
jor battlefronts. Just how this
should be done is for grand strategy
to decide. Certainly. no layman un-
acquainted with the inner facts is
competent to Judge. But, at a mo-
ment when the Axis still seems to
retain the initiative everywhere ex-
cept on the Russian front, advice to
launch one or more counteroffen-
sives on the scale indicated by DR..
van Nook would seem a counsel Of
perfection rather than an immediate
feasibility.
Nothing is more difficult than a
Fabian policy" of giving ground
and waiting until the right moment
to strike arrives. The hard fact Is
that the Axis powers were better
prepared for this war and are using
their advantage to the limit. Yet
the resources and man power of the
United Nations are so inherently su-
perior that, with their full and
speedy mobilization, the initiative is
bound to pass to their side. Prema-
ture efforts not warranted by ade-
quate preparation might lead to de-
feats which would postpone rather
than hasten the decisive turning
point. In these nerve-racking days,
unshakable patience coupled with
ceaseless energy and iron determi-
nation seems to be the wisest combi-