The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1944-07-07

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Johnson must save 1t anC
use 1t as a base; Japan must pre-
vent that, and use it herself, else
she loses the mainland war as al
ready she has lost the island war.
Japan's navy is overmatched three
to one, one-third her vital merchant
feet Is gone, her air force has been
whitfield to the worlds sixth and
faces the worlds first. Against her
our NAVAL air" alone brings so car
riers, IS In one operation, backed
by so many supply and repair ships
that they are floating base
They give Our air-sea power a
"reach" so unprecedented that
Japan now fears bombers from our
carriers as much as from our island
airstrips. And Japan's industries are
mostly near the sea, easily reached.
Her strategy now is to be cautious,
and prepare wall against the evil,
inevitable day when her back will
be pressed against it.
So Japan Is repeatedly moving
some Of her production to parts OF
China sufficiently inland to be safe
from carrier-based planes and to
keep longer-ranged land-based
planes at least at arms length. To
make this move safe she Is using
some of her best troops for renewed
blows at China.
They have lately started a drive
for the north-south Peiping Han
kow railway, which can be rebuilt
into valuable support of Japan's
Chinese Wall" Also there Is al
ways threat to Chungking, which
might force major Chinese forces to
battle before they can be properly
aided by American equipment and
air power.
The Chinese forces are not an
army, properly speaking, but groups
cooperating somltimes only loose
ly, armed only lightly. Their short
ages are blamed by many Chinese
upon our failure to deliver goods
President Roosevelt promised
Chang Kai-Sllek at Cairo. Before
that, a high Chinese delegate at
Washington threatened that unless
they got more than the trickle OF
supplies flown over the Himalaya
hump I'VE capitulatel" Chiang's in
dignation Is said to be a main cause
for Vice President Wallace's trip to
Chungking.
The republic" is becoming in
creasingly dictatorial and totalitar-
ian. Although imitation and near
famine go hand in hand, some off,
cialS are corrupt and make
squeeze. it is reported, even from
what supplies we are already send
ing them. Craftsmanship is needed.
For though all this be true. though
China needs us. we need China If
we are to beat Japan. The Jap drive
threatens us all. for the more of
China Japan holds the more space
she has to build up in China
an industry and a rail sys-
TEN that may add up to formid-
able base of operations that would
be sort of second Japan"
Thence she could supply and sup
port her armies even though her
home islands were bombed or even
invaded. Thither she may even with
draw her main defense, hoping to
fight on, however hopelessly. Those
islands we have taken are mere out
posts to Japan and to China; to us
they are mere steppingstones to the
one real jumping-of place to Japan
China.
China is our best base whence to
destroy Japans power not only be-
cause OF geography. which has
placed 1t next Japan, but because
OF naanpower. There alone can we
find millions of Allies ready to
march with US against an enemy
whom they have shown they can
defeat, given proper weapons.
The Chinese will need other help
-Anzac, British, Dutch, American
more than once was supposed But
they will repay that help with their
lives to save those of our people,
So Japan's moves really represent
an effort to tighten her grip on
what remains OF China before we
can get more than a toerhold, In
the long view that Is fundamentally
more important, though less en-.
thlsing, than moves In the Pacific
or on the Burma border,