The Waterbury Democrat., 1944-08-15

 and Congress to bring back soldiers, sailors and Marines immediately the war ends. This demand will spring from the strongest emotions-emo- tions which are impatient to facts. Yet there are some ice-cold facts that stand like icebergs in the path of homeward- -bound transports.
 First, from 300.000 to 500.000 men will have to remain to share with British, Russians and others in gar- risoning Germany and other coun- tries. Many thousands will have to be sent to the Pacific to help clean up Japan. These will include Navy. Air Forces and Army personnel whose experience is especially valu- able.
 LACK SHIPS TO BRING
 THEM BACK SOON
 Second. we have not now the ships to return in a few months troops it took some three years to dispatch. Our transports are largely pre-war passenger ships of which some have been lost. Instead Of building more. We have built merchant ships and tankers. about 36.oOo.0 900 deadweight tons. Some of these actually ferried troops from Britain to Normandy but they cannot ferry them to Bos- ton, New York or Norfolk until they are altered for ocean transport work. They must have far greater faeil- ities than they now possess for sleeping. cooking. etc. The Joint Chiefs of Staff have ordered more built and the War Shipping Admin istration is producing them, but the greater our victories in the Pacific. the greater the need for supply ships to press them home. Also tankers to meet the Air Forces constantly in- creasing demands for high octane gasoline
 Third. demands on tonnage are in- creasing: and for more reasons than one. The l50.O00 French people of section of rich Normandy will need this month 100 tons of British and American food which must be ship ped This is the tniest beginning. All France may need 100000 tons besides fodder for cattle and many other supplies to help rebuild. And that is only France. The other deva- stated countries will need to be fed. so will Germany's women and chtl- dren. for humanitarian reasons.
 Yet what will American mothers say if their sons are held abroad so that German babies can get milk? For no one has yet devised a means of making a ship a cargo vessel zoe ing oyer and a transport coming back.
 JUST HOPE FOR 4 MIRACLE
 Maybe someone will. The problem Is now being studied. and may be solyed-perhaps by taking over the Merchant Marine Of the Axis from stem to stern. Then the G. I.'s may come home from EuriDe in German ships or Italian or even Japanese. But on the present showing, most of the boys will get home very soon after war ends in Europe only by some hitherto upreyealed trick of ] Yankee ingenuity. Even were sufil- cient transports ready, jt takes time to reverse a system Of camps. rail- roads and ports in Europe that have been built up to push troops and sup- plies in one direction so that 1t will push them in the other in anything like the desired volume.
 There is one encouraging aspect. After the 1918 armistice We were at first appalled, by the appeals from soldiers and families to "Get the boys home and the practical dilIl- culties of doing 1t. But by typical American methods, ingenious and strenuous, We had most Of our men back in eight months, There were fewer men then than there are now, and surprisingly more transport shipping. Ye we have proved ouT- selves in this war better miracle workers than in the last ID our Op- iimistic American way We can hope for more miracles-bilt We had bets ter not count on them.