The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1942-06-18
Economic . . 4.
oM9hA9A
National and International Problems
Inseparable from Local Welfare


preparation, audacious action, taking
of every weakness of the
enemy, and the use Of every hand,
brain, material and substitute material
that this energetic and ingenious ma
ton can muster. In a war like this one,
we must assume at every moment, from
start to finish, that its entire outcome
denends upon us. In favorable moments
we must not relax; in diStressful mo-
ments we must pull ourselves together.
fected by our moods
1T is undoubtedly true that many of
us have given way to uniustified Optim-
ism of late. That is only natural. We
eXaggerate United Nations victories and
minimize Axis victories. A high govern
ment official said not long ago that
Judging by the headlines in some news
papers, General MacArthur's forces
must be knocking at the gates of Tokyo.
Even the best of editors succumb to
wishful thinking at times, and their
papers reflect that attitude.
The plain truth is that, unless the
completely unlikely occurs, we have
barely started our war effort The
maps of the world tell the whole sorry
story. Japanese dominance in the
South Pacific is complete. China is In
extreme danger, and Burma has been
lost British Asiatic forces have fought
bravely, but they have constantly been
overwhelmed and forced into retreat
The complete loss of the Philippines
has released crack Jap divisions for
service elsewhere.
In Europe, Hitler is still supreme
The Russians have performed wonders
in holding back the Nazi legions But
the fact remains that much of Rus
sian territory is still in Hitler's hands
and it's Il long way from the fighting
lines to the German border.
There is no cause for pessimiSm in
all this. The Axis was ready for wal
and the United Nations were not, and
serious reverSeS We're inevitable And
at the same time, we must not make
the fatal mistake of thinking that AL
lis going perfectly, and that there is
nothing much to worry about. 1t has
been observed, with great accuracy
that the United Nations won't lose the
war unless they start thinking thai
they can't lose it.
The Burma campaign illustrates oul
difficulties. Lieutenant General Stilwel
land the other commanders planned
brilliantly and their forces fought bril-
liantly. They just didn't have tn,
equipment. General seilwell had this tt
say II claim we got hell of a beat
ling. We got run out of Burma and il
is humiliating as hell The japanese
are not supermen If we go back prop
Ierly proportioned and properly equipped
we can throw them out The invader
in brief, had the material that Il mod
crn war demands. The defenders die
mot
Here at home as the commentators
have been saying, we have got over the
production hump. Within Il few month!
the production of war materials of al
kinds will reach fantastic dimensions
What we still have to do is to win tn,
battle of transportation. The task O
supplying forces which are fighting oI
lbattlelronts in every section of the
world, thousands of miles from tn,
production lines, is staggering. We have
not yet solved the U-boat problem. w,
haven't enough naval craft to keep tn,
conveys going with minimum losses
IThiS is going to take time-;ind it il
fort as well.
In short, we are still fighting delay
ing actions for the most part We ar,
not yet in Il position to start the gigan
ltic counter-oilcnSivc which will recap
ture the many vital positions the Unite'
Nations have lost, and carry the wa
to the home of the enemy. But we ar,
knowing swiftly toward the day whcl
that will be possible, and the long-pul
outlooL grows steadily brighter. In TIN
meantime, il is obviously the part o
wisdom to figure on Il very long, yer,
arduous war. One thing we can't allor,
is ovcrconiidcnce.
X X 4
Time observes That experts are con
WINGED that "thina has been Il grca
military opportunity which the L.
has neglected-an opportunity which i
not grasped may not exist mucl
|longcr.'
thina'S greatest need now is planes
IpilotS, mechanics and gasoline. AM
Chinese airlields provide the perfec
take-otr points for raids on Japa
proper. The great industrial city o
| INagasali, for instance, is only thre
hours by air from Chekiang. FormoS
is closer still. All important mlitar
lobjectives in Japan can be reache
with relative ease
The raid on Japan made by Brig
ladier General Doolittle's squadron
demonstrates that Japan is really WI
lnerable to air attack. He and his 1lier
reported that every target was hit a(
|cordinG To plan, and that Japanese de
. lenses didn't amount to much. The fac
THAT every American plane reached