Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1942-12-29

are no details as
to what mate David Lawrence.
rails were obtained, it is known, of
course, that Japan is a well-knit
industrial unit and that she has con-
centrated on warmaking for several
years. The acquisition of rubber,
iron ore, chrome and chemical prod
ucts, as we'll as the all-important
lubricating oil, aviation gasoline and
fuel oils for heNNavy, means that in
many things for which Japan hith-
erto depended on foreign countries,
she is now sufficient.
The Netherlands East Indies and
the Philippines are rich in minerals.
Manchukuo has valuable mineral
deposits needed in munitions max
ing. Japan has population of more
than 100000 persons in Japan
and Manchukuo and can depend on
some workers among the natives of
the conquered areas, so her labor
problem Is not as acute as it would
have been had she been confined
to her own original boundaries.
Steel Output Gauged.
The vital weapons of modern war
are airplanes and surface ships.
Japan has plenty of lumber prod
ucts now, and she has substantial
machine tool industry. Her steel
making capacity is believed to be
up to about 100000 tons a year
now and, while Americans frequent
ly point to the fact that the United
States has steel ingot capacity of
more than 100000 tons. it is not
known what percentage of this has
been allocated to production for our
Pacific war.
If only 10 per cent, for example,
of our steelmaking is going to the
Pacific, then actually Japan has
more steel for ships in the Pacific
than has America. The figures as
to what ships now being built in
the United States are being allocated
to the Pacific are not revealed.
America is supplying lea.se-lend
requirements all over the globe, and
that is one reason why Japan has
such a big head start on America
and bids fair to entrench herself so
strongly that it may take many
years to dislodge her.
In the matter of shipping, for
instance, Japan long has been self
sufficient. Her exports have greatly
exceeded her imports. In Septem-
Der, 1889, the japanese government
announced that the number of ships
of more than 100 tons was 4084, with
an aggregate tonnage of 5,728,779.
Announcement was made at that
time of a four-year plan whereby,
by the end of the fiscal year 1912
43 mperchant marine of 100000
tons would be built
Assuming that America now is
building 100000 tons a year and
that the Pacific war is being given
one tenth of our shipping, it would
mean that the United States is allo-
eating 100000 tons for our sec
ondary" war in the Pacific while
Japan is using 100 per cent of her
$4,000 tonnage against America.
Quicker Cargo Turnover.
The Japanese, moreover, have
ehorter distances to go, so they can
get bigger tonnage result in terms
of turnover of cargo than we can.
Under the circumstances, the United
States is apparently not only per-
uniting Japan to build up her ship
ping. but is diverting very little. rel
atively speakin. of our own produc-
ton to the Pacific, while these same
Japanese ships are carrying the
iron ore, tin, rubber and other prod
ucts needed to build up the Japa-
nese arsenal for long war.
Japan has many shortages of crit
ical materials, but she Is so well or
ganized from an industrial stand
point-she uses small plants as we'll
IA large ones in a well-integrated
scheme-that 1t may be taken for
granted the main elements of her
industrial program will be attained.
This Is all the more plausible be-
cause the United States evidently
Is allowing only small proportion
Of our output to 60 to the Pacific
for the use of our Army and Navy
q proportion believed to be far short
OF what the Japanese industrial en-
pire Is turning out with a longer
work ween than ours.
Japan has the chemicals to make
explosives and is. on the whole, able
to match the present American ef-
fort 50 we'll that the Japanese STRAIT
egy calls for a constant battling of
American naval forces on the theory
that 1t Is the United States which
Is the victim OF attrition rather than
the Japanese.
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