Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1942-02-17
Army, Navy
Helm Called
Two-Man Job
Macarthur Should Stay
in Field Post
BY HUGH $. JOHNSON.

w to bring Douglas Mac
Arthur home and put him in
sole command of our whole
armed forces under the Prcsi-
dent.
The trouble with that is that
no man ever walked on two
legs who was big enough for
that job. Our greatest mlsfor-
tune now is that the President
tried il too long.
AS Mr.. Willkie suggests, war
means the nation in arms
every human occupation mobi-
lized for the single purpose Of
victory" That alone in a great
industrial country is task so
huge as 10 be almost beyond
the limits Of human vision. Yet,
it is increasingly the greatest
essential to victory.
A SUPREME military COM
"A mander is dependent upon
it. but il is also a civilian func-
ton and no man is big enough
10 undertake both. II mcsheS
in closely with military opera
tions which have themselves
grown so great that single
commander for army. navy and
air corps operating clear round
the globe cannot undertake IN
diligently 10 direct. them.
Cutting this field down 10 the
military forces alone based on
this continent, but operating
from New Zealand 10 Muir
mansk. you have too much ter
ritory for less than a Superman.
We learned all these lessons
IN 1918. and discarded them in
1889. Yet. il is strange how the
force of circumstances is slowly
taking us straight back 10 the
old model.
ENOR the mobilization Of indus
Il try, we had a war Industries
board, composed Of about an
equal number OF soldiers and
civilian experts Mr. Nelson :
INPB is not quite that yet but
il has moved miles toward II
and is moving closer.
For the fighting forces in the
field, the SO-CaIled zone of
operations. we had one supreme
commander. General Pershlng,
reporting TO the President That
was surely a big enough lob for
ono man 20 tackle, and while u
did not work out 20 perfection
always. there is little TO CrItI-
clze about the general result
That is the kind Of job for a
man like MacArthur-freed from
the aggravating. time-consumlng
Of two other Jobs. equally with
out precedent in size and re-
sponsibility.
IN BETWEEN the great Amcri-
Il can base and arsenal and the
troops on the firing line was the
great service Of supply. COM
manded by General Hartford
II was his task 10 sec that the
vast outpourlng of munitions
from both our home and foreign
factories were moved TO the
fighting front just when and
where PerShing wanted them,
that commercial depOtS were cS-
tablished. railroads built and the
front line never hampcrcd hl
lack Of any Of these necessary
services
That was another load of
PerShinsS back All h. had 10
do was 10 plan and to fight
FINALLY, there was the great
Il assembling ground Of the
armies at home procuring.
training, organizing and trans
porting troops the relation
ships OF the War Industries
Board with the military and
other services and all the
workaday routine and excellent
housekeeping needed 10 create.
10 munition and TO transport
the rapidly forming new divI-
SlonS
This zone Of the interior"
was the job Of Gen. Peyton {.
March He also kept sort of
general eye on all progress.
both here and abroad. and the
work in each OF the other three
zones and kept the President
informed in Succinct reports Of
what was going on everywhere.
That, TO one who has been
through the mill. al least. seems
10 be the ideal organization for
our task ahead. II is not the
lob OF a kibliZer 10 he suggest
ing personnel but We have "A
good start Marshall and Mel
son where they are. Macarthur
for supreme field command and
Somerville for zone Of the
interior. "
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