Evening star., 1944-02-04
Marshal, King
Ask Full Support
AtDinnerHere
Lond, Patterson
Call for National
Service Law


Both Admiral Land and Under
secretary of War Robert P. Patterson
urged national service legislation, a
recommended by President Roose
welt, as solution to the home-fron
manpower problem.
Calling for "stern resolution" a
home. Gen. Marshall declared:
THE Allied avalanche is at last il
motion and it will gather headwa.
with each succeeding month. Wha
is now required is the ardent supper
of our forces by the people at home
I am not referring merely to the pro
duction of equipment or to the pur.
chase of bonds, but rather to th'
need of a stern resolution on thu
part of the whole people of thu
United States to make every sacriflc,
that will contribute to the victory"
Ship Output Tagging.
Admiral Land disclosed that ship
seriously. Yards turned out only
124 vessels last month. compared
with 208 in December, their output
slipping to the lowest level since
last February.
While admitting that change in
many yards from Liberty to Victory
ship production could be held
responsible for some slump in output
he declared the decline was much
sharper than we had reason to
expect" He blamed rapid turnover
in workers-96 per cent last year
and called for national service
legislation as the answer to the
yards serious manpower problem.
Admiral King, operating head of
the Navy, told the Legion that the
American offensive in the Pacific
was gathering headway toward its
objective-the defeat of Japan y
1t will move even faster, he said
when forces can be shifted from
Europe.
Disclosing he had received
vehement protests" from the public
because flame throwers were used
against the japanese, Gen. Marshall
said that this shows a, lack of
understanding of the meaning of
our dead on the beaches at Tarawa. +"
Our soldiers must be keenly con-
scious that the full strength of the
Nation is behind them," he added
They must not go into battle
puzzled or embittered over disputes
at home which adversely affect the
war effort. Our small sacrifices
should be personal even more than
financial. They should be proof
positive that we never forget for q
moment that the soldier has beer
compelled to leave his family, tc
give up his business and to hazard
his life in our service"
Gen. Marshall, reviewing the wa,
situation globally. said the bulk OF
ground and air forces will be con-
centrated in Europe now where
the great battles which are i'm
pending will decide the course OF
civilization"
japanese Losses Heavy.
Disclosing that more than 1000
American heavy bombers are now
being used against Germany and
occupied Europe, he reported that
"the destruction of German indus
trial cities is proceeding at con-
stantly increasing pace
Between the RAF night bonn
bardment and the American day.
light precision bombing" the gen.
eral said, "the people of Germany
are experiencing the horrors of a
war, for which they are responsible
to a degree never before approxi-
mated in modern times.
Berlin is now a shambles. The
destruction of other smaller targets
will require much less time"
The Japanese, he said, have had
unusually heavy air and ship losses
in the last six months, and in the
Marshalls they have suffered an
expert demonstration of the over
air and sea power which
is rapidly developing in the Pacific
and the perfect teamwork of our
landing parties"
Must Have More Ships.
After revealing the serious lag in
ship production, Admiral Land de-
clared:
I'VE cannot keep pace with the
needs of our armed forces on this
basis.
With more than 2,0O0,00O addi-
tional soldiers scheduled to go over
seas this year and with staggering
quantities of equipment needed to
reinforce our invasion plans, we
must be empowered to guard against
further delays in the realization of
our production schedule.
I'VE won't have enough able. ex-
perienced workers to maintain our
1914 schedules if shipyard workers
continue to leave their jobs at the
present high rate. We will not be
able to get enough new workers in
the right places at the right time if
We have to continue to depend on
voluntary methods.
I'VE owe it to the soldiers. sailors
and merchant seamen who are risk
ing their lives to preserve our de-
mocracy to guarantee that there
will be no unguarded battle sta
tions on the home front. National
service constitutes the most de-
pendable way of giving this as
surance"
Admiral Land said many Ameri-
cans feared a national service act
would mean wholesale transfer of
people from their homes to remote
parts of the country and asserted
that nothing of the sort is likely
to happen
Our Army is about to undertake
its most hazardous mission-the as
sault against Germany. Let us not
hesitate to submit ourselves to the
same procedure our soldiers accepted
without complaint-their country's
simple request that they do their
duty"
Admiral King told the gathering
that the rolling American offensive