Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1942-11-19
Action, Not Words

George E. Sokolsky, writing in
the st. Louis Daily Globe-Demo-
crat, hits the nail on the head
when he suggests that the war
cannot be conducted from the
speakers platform and that what
is required is action. Mr.. Sokol-
sky's article follows:
The test of the effectiveness of
an army is the accomplishment of its
detectives. The armed forces of the
United States seized bridgeheads on
tn North and West African coasts,
an operation entailing months of
planning, of weighing alternatives
and of preparation for occupation.
This task could not have been ar
ranged and done overnight. There
fore, those who have been shouting
for a second front, who have been
instructing Mr.. Hull on our rela-
tions with Vichy and who have been
operating a war from the roStrum
had better take a back seat about the
military phases of this war. The
army has attained military objective
rapidly and apparently with little loss
of life.
1t is not always necessary for the
layman to have an opinion on every
subject. For instance, 1 am quite
sure that have no right, by knowl-
edge or experience, to express an
opinion on the Einstein theory. Mr..
Einstein may be 100 per cent right
or wrong, but nothing that l have
ever learned, witnessed, experienced
or done would help me to reach a
conclusion in the matter. Therefore,
/ shut up about it and take my
chances that those who do know
won't fool me. If they do fool me
and 1 find out about it, then it's
politics.
Must Trust Army.
1t is just about that way with an
army. It has to be trusted. AS long
as it accomplishes its detectives there
is nothing to do but to applaud. When
it falls asleep at the switch, when it
lacks alertneSs as obviously it did
at Pearl Harbor and as the navy
did in August in the SolomonS, then
we should heave to and raise polit-
ical row.
But it just makes no sense telling
the army what to do in advance. /
would be willing to gamble on it that
there are not dozen civilians in the
country who could have aided the
army in formulating a decision on
how or where to do the job that has
just been done in Africa. used to
read all the great military experts.
Then clipped their stuff and read
all of it about month later. Now
read only one military expert in a
daily newspaper; that is, Hanson
Baldwin, in the New York Times.
The others just did not seem to
stand up on the test.
It's the same with politicians.
When they strut around telling the
armed forces what to do they usually
sound silly if you read them a month
or two later. 1t was just strutting
but makes no sense. Take these boys
who were yelling, Second 'FRONT.'"
all the time and trying to make poll
tics out of it. AS write this piece,
it is obvious that they were just a lot
of ignorant boobs, because all the
time that they were shooting off
their mouths, American direct parti-
cipation in the European phase of the
war was being organized and made
ready. They knew as little about it
as you or I. About two months ago,
I heard that there were discussions
between our army and the British
for the seizure of Casablanca but that
was all. Apparently some of these
second front prodders had not even
been told about that. It is smart
army that does not leak-and ours
apparently is vacuum-packed.
Right to Criticise.
OF course, every citizen has an in
alienable right to criticise- particu-
larly if the move is fumbled. And
every citizen should demand that the
whole truth be told him about in
competence and inefficiency and he
must be sure that dodos are punished
severely for their errors in judgment
and action. think that it is abso-
lutely wrong to save anyone's face
about anything.
But it makes no sense to kick up
a political row in advance of a mill
tary campaign, particularly as it is
impossible for layman to know
anything about the campaign in adj
vance-and even if he were told, to
understand exactly how it can be
done.
Soldering is a technical business
these days and most curbstone opin-