Milford chronicle., 1942-01-16
CCRIB BL EC
~ By ROBT. H. YERKES ~

mas Deen IN the main original. Tnls
week, however. we are going to usl
verbatim an editorial which appear
ed in the Tuesday, January 13, is
sue of the Philadelphia Record. w,
use this editorial because it ex
plains the reason why the Axis
especially Japan, with it's deiici
encies in raw materials, ETC., al
compared with the Allies, is still
able to take the initiative. The edi,
toria1 is correctly entitled "Tht
Bottleneck of Victory" 1t follows;
When we compare the manpowel
and resources of the United Ma
tions with manpower and resources
Of the Axis we say to ourselves:
They can't do that to us.
Yet they are doing it to us-in the
Philippines, in the Dutch East In
dies, in Malaga.
On paper, there should be NJ
question of who should win al
overwhelming victory.
Manpower? We outnumber thl
Axis countries five to one-1, JOG,
$4,000 population in the AllieC
countries against 263, ,245,724 in th'
Axis countries.
Steel? The Allied countries pro
duce 100000 tons of steel a veal
against 60,600,000 tons for Axis anC
Axis-dominated countries.
Oil? We have Sc per cent of the
worlds petroleum, unless we count
the amount the Japs can wrest
from blasted wells in the Dutch
East Indies they have captured.
Yet
Everywhere in the Far East the
story is the same.
In Malaga, the British are out
numbered four and five to one. They
are overwhelmed trying to stem
the rush of 12-ton tanks with a few
anti-tank guns. Kuala Lumpur,
crude rubber capital of the world
falls and the Japs sweep on to-
ward Singapore.
In the Philippines, General Mac
Arthur faces overwhelming odds in
numbers and equipment.
In the Dutch East indies, the AL
lies again face superior numbers
and equipment.
And everywhere in the Far East
the Japs have superiority in the
air. .
The answer is partly in the fact
that Japan, like Germany, has been
preparing for the war for years;
Japan for at least IL years, Ger
many for at least six.
But that answer doesn't explain
why we still haven't got started.
The fault in this country doesn't
lie with the people. They are ready
to make any sacrifice.
1t lies to a great extent in the
failure of OPM-the failure to gear
our great productive power to the
needs of the war emergency.
The nation doesn't care whether
the manufacturers make big profits
or not We can tax excessive profits
away. But we must have planes
and guns and tanks.
The nation doesn't care how
much representation labor has on
committees. But we must have pro-
duction. .po4oni.
We have the men. We have the
resources. We have the manufac-
turing ability.
We must put them to work, fast
to win this war.
If OPM can't do that job, the
President must turn is over to men
who cam
Since this editorial was written
Donald M. Nelson, according to an
Associated Press dispatch from
Washington, has been named as a
sort of Generalissimo of supply. We
hope the bottleneck will soon be
eliminated and men willing to make
the supreme sacrifice for their
country will be handed tools of war
far superior in quantity to any
thing the Axis can muster. We did
not mention quality for we know
after MacArthur's heroic defense of
Luzon, that American artillery, ETC.,
is definitely superior" to that of
the Japanese.
/s%/
All war news is not bad news
so say Mr.. and Mrs. Elmer Greenly
of Lincoln, who this week received
a letter from their son, Sgt. Orlan-
do Greenly, who is stationed at
Oahu, Hawaii. The letter, mailed
December 10, carries a message of
faith and confidence not only to
Orlando's parents, who have very
kindly consented to it's reproduc-
tion in my column, but to every
red-blooded American the country
over. The letter follows;
Oahu, T. II.
10 Dec. 1941
Dear Dad, Mother and
All the Family:
/ can just write a few lines to
tell you that I'm o. K. and really
mean that. Nothing has happened
to me and if l can keep my wits
about me and draw a fine sight,
nothing is. l guess you have heard
and read in the papers what has
happened. l won't attempt to ex-
plain further. Just one thing more
about the military situation-have
in this United States
Army and Navy. / don't want you
to worry about me. consider it
an honor to try to carry on our
heritage. AS you know free men
the world over are fighting for
democracy and for what it stands.
1t is a privilege and honor to stand
and fight with them. There are
many things I'd like to say but
will wait until my next letter. I
can't say when I'll write again. If
you write direct it to my same ad-
dress.
Give my love and best wishes to
Paris and Mildred, Mitchell, Nor
man and to you both, my dear Dad
and Mother; and to all the rest of
the family. Les and Mary-every-
hodv TIL write soon again. Once