The Wilmington morning star., 1944-07-08
Fair ENOUGH

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Editors Note.-The Star and the News accent No
responsibility for the personal views of Mr. P.s,.r
and often disagree with them as much a, manS ~;
his readers His articles the good purpose Of
making people think.
By WESTBROOK PEGLER
NEW YORK.-Careful study of tae Roberts
report on the Pearl Harbor disaster dispels
the impression, left by superficial reading
OF the text that Adm H. E. Kimmel and Mai,
Gen. Walter c Short refused to confer and
cooperate and underestimate the gravity of
orders from Washington in anticipation of war.
The Roberts committee did not even charge
that they refused to neglected to confer or
cooperate. On the contrary, it reports that
they did SO. Moreover on Feb 27 1912 one
month after the report was published, Rear
Adm. William H. Standley, a member of the
committee. was quoted in the San Francisco
Examiner as having said: The impression
has been created that the relations between
Snort and klmmel were so estranged that
they passed to opposite sides of the street to
avoid meeting each other The exact contrary
was the fact. careful reading of the report
Will show that Kimmel and Short conferred
for three hours on Nov. 81, that they conferred
again on Dec. l. and again on the End and
4th. You can make that as strong as you want
to"
l submit this remark knowing that newspa-
per quotations are not testimony. However,
newspaper quotes not inferior to t h e
Roberts report, itself, for his committee had
absolutely no standing as court Moreover,
the report admits that the two commanders
did confer repeatedly and does not charge
incorporation
Then what, precisely was the charge brought
against Kimmel and Short by the committee
of which rea- Adm. Standley was member?
The report said they were derelict in failing
to consult Prospecting the meaning and in
tent of warnings from Washington and the
appropriate measure of defense required by
the immediate imminence of hostilities.'' But
even that is just informal opinion, not a
legal verdict
Immediate imminence" means threaten
ing to occur immediately
Neither commander had received any warn
ing that hostlities were Immediately immi-
nent. On the contrary, up to the moment of
the attack, they had been warned not to take
any measure that would alarm the civilian
population and only to take precautions
against sabotage, espionage, propaganda at
fecting their personnel, and other subversive
activities. Their information and instructions
concerned internal troubles, not attack from
the outside, and Short was specifically ordered
to take no illegal measures" His "protec-
tive measures should be confined to those es-
sential to security so as to avoid unnecessary
publicity and alarm the report said. That
was why his planes were concentrated, not
dispersed. They could be better guarded
against sabotage by fewer men.
Adm KimmePs warnings about the
same. On Nov. q, he was ordered not to
take offensive action until Japan had struck
the first blow
No further message was received by Kim
mel prior to Dec. 7. raising the degree of
alarm already recorded. Messages received
between Nov. 90 and Dec. only told him
that the Japanese were "beleved' to be de-
stroying documents in certain consulates, au-
thorized the destruction of confidential naval
papers and suggested that the Japanese Navy
was bound elsewhere than the Hawailans.
In violation of his orders, Kimnlel had been
dropping ash cans objects suspected OF
being Japanese submarines on Invisible con-
tact for months. In fact the attack by
the Destroyer Ward and naval patrol plane
in which a Japanese midget submarine was
sunk outside Pearl Harbor about an hour be-
fore the aerial bombardment of the naval base
was violation of Kmmels latest orders from
Washington. 1t was an overt act. He should
have let the submarine fire a torpedo at the
Ward, first u
1t is possible that Kimmel and Short were
renliss or derelict and should be dismissed
without honor. But the fact is that up to this
hour they have never been charged o1llcidIy
with the slightest offense and are, legally no
more guilty than any other innocent American
walking the streets with clean reputation.
Meanwhile, however, the Roberts report the
propa ganda of the Roosevelt political admin
istration and the public's inability to discrimi-
nate between iaearsay and rumor and to re-
sst impressions, have convicted these men
without trial The Roberts report fatty says
they were guilty of "derelction in their fail
ure to confer on certain matters although
certainly Justice Owen j. Roberts must know
that this is serious charge which only a
court martial could determine
This committee was appointed by President
Roosevelt 'by executive order" to report the
ga cts and "provide basis for sound decisions
whether any derelictions of duty or errors
of Judgment by Army or Navy commanders
"contributed' to the Japanese success.
But President Roosevelt had been in charge
of still higher affairs, affecting the causes
and probability of war, and the directive
limiting the inquiry to naval and military ac.
lions on the spot, precluded examination OF
his own conduct And the inquiry was SO con.
Quoted that the two officers could not defend
themselves. By result they were found guilty
without trial and the whole story still remains
] to be told.