Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1944-08-08
|BEHIND
THE NEWS
BY Paul
MaIlon
WASHINGTON, Aug. s-Ter-


rors OF new weapons OF de-
Strucion conceived in this war
hit the front pages daily.
The robot bomb has now been
doubled in size. Nazi-bred ru-
mors predict one eventually
which will cross the ocean and
descend on New York. The
Sunday supplement dreams of
warfare are supposed to have
come true.
BY these and other new i'm
-pfemeuts, many of which we
ourselves have alertly developed
through necessity. the people
have come TO realize that weap-
ons of the future will spread
greater destruction. Single inn
plements will increasingly kill
more and more thousands Of
persons.
The average run of comment
holds. therefore. that we must
rely heavily on our navy and
our air force in the postwar
period.
We have navy now reputed
at nearly five to one over Brit
ain. and so many ships in the
Pacific IL may prove difficult 10
assign them all an effective war
task. AS one naval authority
has told me;
I'VE have so many ships we
do not know what TO do with
them"
The American air force also
will come out of this war the
greatest in the world. Our
army. they say. never again will
be allowed to deteriorate as II
has in the past.
HNHUS we are preparing III TIC
i future to maintain ourselves
in permanent peace. 1t seems TO
me that. in this instance again,
we are fooling ourselves.
No weapon. no new device or
destruction, ever assured secur-
ity 10 a nation. The French built
a Maginot line, which was I'M
pregnable to them. The ancient
Chinese built the Wall OF China
which to them was the same
thing TO their people.
Are we not today being just
as short sighted in our thinking
on defense and our preparations
for our future security. as were
the French, the ancient Chinese
and. in fact. all defenses OF every
nation in the history OF the
world
What is security, if il is not
walls. navieS. planes, armies?
What can make a people Sc
cure?
Only their own ingenuity. in
my opinion. Only in the mind of
man can he find the stones for
impregnable Notifications. Only
by constant alertness and wise
leadership can he provide for
his safety.
WISDOM, in my opinion,
w is more important thar
navieS, planes and armies, be-
cause what good are these If
they are not put to superior use.
We will have the best defend
ing force. But il will be useless
unless the psychological attitude
of our leaders and our people
changes. There must be a new
doctrine of realism propounded.
II must say:
"You are never secure. There
Is no security in the very nature
Of things. There never has been.
There never will be. That nation
maintains itself longest which is
alert, wise and. therefore, real
istic."
SO also with weapons. There
never was a weapon made IN the
history of the world for which
there was no adequate or supe-
rior answer. These robots might
spread greater destruction than
shells. and they may grow larger
and larger, but an answer Will
be found for them.
The only lesson of science in
this war is that methods OF de-
Struction are rapidly now ampli-
fying their field of operation. Is
the answer not then plain?
Ships. planes and guns we may
need aplenty. Pacts, divisions OF
territory, splitting of Europe
into small. separate parts may
be ifvfSed.- -
But what good are any or all
OF these things if they are not
wisely conceived on basis OF
realism. and constantly, alertly
administered
Politics may be. shrewd and
develop high sounding pallia-
tiveS. WaTriors may devise
greater and greater defenSes
and weapons. But what we need
is wisdom and ceaSeleSS alert
ness--Something for which we
do not seem to be searching
very hard.