Evening star., 1942-01-24

tack is sca n t, -
and yet to know David Lawrence.
that shortly there will be action
which cannot now be revealed is
strain on our military and naval
people that is well-nigh indescrib-
able.
National morale, however, has to
be bolstered and that's why the Of
flee of Facts and Figures has dis
closed some things already. One is
the general route to the Far East
which will be used to carry Americas
reinforcements. Anybody with map
showing distances can easily see how
impractical it is to send long-range
bombers across the Pacific and, of
course, how long and hazardous is
the voyage of ships carrying the
fighter type of airplane used to de-
fend bombers.
But the route which goes by way
of the East Coast to South America
and across to Africa over a short
stretch of ocean to the west coast
of Africa is a feasible course for
long grange bombers. The other day
Pan-American Always group Of
flyers came back by a series of re-
lays from China to New York in a
weeks time travelling at an average
of only 100 miles an hour. Bombers
can get to Burma in much less time.
Some day, when American policy
permits greater concentrations of
strength behind the Chinese. the
route by air to Burma over Africa
and Southern Asia will be much
travelled.
Supplies Move Slowly.
While many war weapons can go
by air, the distance and time neces-
sary for voyages by sea limits Amer
ican action for the moment. The
Japanese have figured this out and
that's why they are trying to spread
out and occupy as many landing
places as possible from which to
operate their fighter and bomber
planes. 1t will be an advantage to
them that it may take several
months of fighting to overcome. but
that In the end it will be overcome
seems to be assured according to the
experts.
Anybody with a knowledge of the
speed of the average cargo ship can
figure out how long it takes to get to
the Netherlands East Indies and
Australia, for instance, from the At
lantic seaboard and around the
southern tip of Africa at Cape of
Good Hope and through the Indian
Ocean. Some estimates range as
high as two months depending on
the speed of the ships.
But once fotilla Of supply ships
arrives after six or eight weeks, then
a steady stream of ships will be
coming in nearly every day and from
that time forward the Japanese will
not have the advantage they possess
today. Unquestionably the whole
mobilization plan of the United
States Army and the war plans Of
the United States Navy went into
action the day after Pearl Harbor.
That's about seven weeks ago. In
another month supplies ought to be
arriving in large quantities.
Convoy Duty Important.
Now, the American Navy canrot
be everywhere at the same time and
there would be no sense in going out
to find the scattered Japanese
fleet in the Pacific, when there is
important convoy duty to be per-
formed in meeting American cargo
ships that come from ports of the
United States. There will be time
enough to go after the Japanese
fleet in a large-scale action when
the job of conveying and aerial
protection is further advanced.
Nobody except high officials can
speak authoritatively about what
happened on the fateful days i'm
mediately following Pearl Harbor,
but the results of those orders will
in due time be reflected in the head
lines telling about the fighting. The
important fact to remember is that
1t takes time to get to the Far East,
time to unload and assemble equip
ment and time to organize fighting
units. The American people must
be patient in the interim. The ad-
vantage Of the surprise tactics Of
the japanese may last three or four
months, but beyond that period 1t
will be steadily diminished.
Several things combine to make
American experts confident. First,
they believe the fighting spirit and
morale Of the American forces is
unsurpassed. Second, Americans are
skillful pilots and masterful handlers
of ships. Above all, they are re-
sourceful in an emergency and there
will be much opportunity for indi-
vidual performance, as has already
been shown in the feats of heroism
officially announced to date.
In brief, the Army is on the move.
The Navy is already in action, and
the bombers and fighter planes are
on their way to destinations and
fighting areas which must for the
moment be a secret.
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