Evening star., 1942-02-16

They are going to cut bloody swath
before they are stopped, and it's my
guess that we must withstand still
more heavy shocks in the immedi-
ate future.
In short, we are in the midst of a
crisis which calls for all our forti-
tude and determination. It's crisis
we can surmount. however, If we
keep in mind the one all-important
and Interchangeable fact-that the
Allies have the vast resources needed
to win this war.
What we have to do is stand firm
and labor nightly to rush those
resources into action. AS British
Premier Churchill said yesterday,
there's only one thing which can
rob us of victory-a weakening Of
purpose and unity.
Pre-War Bungling.
Then there's this point: We for
get too easily that while the fall of
Singapore is due to short-sighted-
ness and unpreparedness-call it
negligence if you will-still in the
main those sins were committed be-
fore the European war began. The
Allies were not ready when the fully
prepared Hitler struck. Since that
evil day they have been battling for
their lives, and there has been no
real chance as yet to repair the
damage done by pre-war bungling.
The jubilant Japs claim that in
the capture of Singapore they have
the key to India and Australia. Ger
tainly the potentialities must cause
anxiety on the part of the United
Nations. but the men of Nippon will
have to perform still further feats
before they can use that key.
The surrender of Singapore doesn't
mean that the whole Allied defense
In the Orient has collapsed. The
Dutch have prepared Java for
siege and declare their intention of
defending this prize to the last. And
behind Java is Australia, which will
become the Allied base if Java falls.
Two-Directional Threat.
The Japanese now are prepared
to unleash the full fury of their
offensive against both the East
Indies and Burma. Having de-
prived the Allies of one of the
worlds most powerful bases, the
Nipponese are in position to turn its
facilities against the very terri
tories which it was meant to protect.
Already the Japs have created a
serious threat in both directions.
The immediate objective in the
north is to get Rangoon and cut
the Burma road over which China
gets virtually all her supplies from
the outside world
We must expect the big blow at
Java, heart of Indonesia. at any
time now. The Japs are driving
f1ercely at the great sister island Of
Sumatra and have landed both
parachute and sea-borne troops
which have captured the rich oil
center of Palembang on the south
ern coast. The early success of the
Japanese affords small encourage
ment that Sumatra can be held
against them
Critical but Not Hopeless.
With Sumatra in the invaders
hands, the position of Java would
become doubly precarious. Hav-
ing seen the conquest of "impreg-
nable" Singapore it would be
foolhardy to make predictions
about the defense of Java. How
ever, strong forces will oppose
the Japs, and if the Allies can
stand the Mikado's men off until
further aid arrives from America
and Britain, Java may give
good account of herself. Per-
haps we might say that the In
donese situation is critical, but
not hopeless.
While we are watching these
developments we mustn't forget
Gen. Macarthur and his gallant
little band. The indications are
that they are about to be sub
jected to the greatest trial they
have endured. The Japanese are
preparing for an all-out offensive
with fresh forces, and the posi-