Evening star., 1942-02-24
Continued From Page A-12)

served the enemy propagandists
by spreading the incredible story
that shiploads of bodies of our
honored American dead were
about to arrive in New York
Harbor to be put in a common
grave.
Almost every Axis broadcast
directly quotes Americans who,
by speech or in the press, make
damnable misstatements such as
these.
The American people realize
that In many cases details of
military operations cannot be
disclosed until we are absolutely
certain that the announcement
will not give to the enemy mill g.
tary information which he does
not already possess.
Your Government has unmis-
taxable confidence in your abil-
ity to hear the worst. without
flinching or losing heart. You
must, In turn, have complete
confidence that your Government
is keeping nothing from you ex-
cept information that will help
the enemy In his attempt to
destroy us. In a democracy
there Is always a solemn pact of
truth between Government and
the people, but there must also
always be a full use of discre-
tion-and that word discretion"
applies to the critics Of Govern :
ment as well.
This is war. The American
people want to know, and will be
told, the general trend Of how
the war Is going. But they do
not wish to help the enemy any
more than our fighting forces do,
and they will pay little atten-
ton to the rumor-mongers and
poison peddlers in our midst.
Only Three Combatant Ships
Permanently Out of Commission.
To pass from the realm OF
rumor and poisonu to the field of
facts: The number of our officers
and men killed in the attack on
Pearl Harbor on December Z was
2,340, and the number wounded
was 946. OF all the combatant
ships based on Pearl Harbor-
battleships, heavy cruisers. light
cruisers, aircraft carriers, de-
stroyers and submarines-only
three were permanently put out
Of commission.
Very many Of the ships of the
Pacific Fleet were not even in
Pearl Harbor. Some of those
that were there were hit very
slightly, and others that were
damaged have either rejoined the
feet by now or are still under
going repairs. When those re-
pairs are completed the ships
will be more efficient fighting
machines than they were before.
The report that We lost more
than a thousand airplanes at
Pearl Harbor Is as baseless as
the other weird rumors. The
Japanese do not know Just how
many planes they destroyed that
day and I am not going to tell
them. But I can say that to
date-and including Pearl Har-
bor-we have destroyed consid-
erably more japanese planes
than they have destroyed of ours.
We have most certainly suf-
fered losses-from Hitler's u
boats in the Atlantic as well as
from the Japanese in the Pacific
and we shall suffer more of
them before the turn of the tide.
But, speaking for the United
States Of America, let me say
once and for all to the people
of the world: We Americans
have been compelled to yield
ground. but we will regain it.
We and the other United Nations
are committed to the destruction
of the militarism of Japan and
Germany. We are daily increas-
ing our strength. Soon, we and
not our enemies, will have the
offensive; we, not they, will win
the final battles; and we, not
they, will make the final peace.
Conquered nations in Europe
know what the yoke of the Nazis
IS like. And the people of Korea
and of Manchuria know in their
flesh the harsh despotism of
Japan. All of the people of Asia
know that if there is to be an
honorable and decent future for
any of them or for us, that future
depends on victory by the United
Nations over the forces of Axis
enslavement.
If a just and durable peace is
to be attained, or even if all of
us are merely to save our own
skins, there is one thought for
us here at home to keep upper