The Wilmington morning star., 1945-09-07


ers His articles serve the good purpose
of making people think.)
BY WESTBROOK PEGLER
Copyright, 1945, BY King Features Syndicate)
NEW YORK,-The guilt in the Pearl Har-
Dor disaster has not been placed yet, but the
documents released last week, 100000 word
comparable to cross-talk and static on the
radio, definitely prove that a brazen attempt
was made to disgrace forever, and without
trial two innocent service commanders Gen
eral Short and Admiral Kimmel. This was
done by the so-called Roberts Commission in
its hurried report, released Jan. Is, 1912, fol-
ling superficial unjudiclal and unfair in
curry held in Honolulu.
This commission found that Short and
Kimmel were guilty of 'derelicton of duty
in spite of the fact that it held no trial. had
no authority to conduct trial, had refused
Short and Kimmel an opportunity to introduce
favorable witnesses or osS-exarnine unfavor-
able witnesses and had accepted its assign
ment from Franklin D. Roosevelt under
strictions which forbade inquiry into his own
responsibility.
The inquiry was made under an executive
order from Mr. Roosevelt which said the puff
pose was to provide basis for sound con-
clusions whether derelictions of duty or error
of judgment on the part of Army or Navy per-
sonnet contributed to the tragedy and who
were responsible.
Roosevelt, Secretary of State Hull, Secre-
tary of War Stimson and Secretary of the
Navy Frank Knox, were civilians and no
Army or Navy personnel The commission
was not asked to provide basis for sound
conclusions whether direlctions or errors on
their part were responsible.
The chairman Justice Roberts, was a civil
ian who stepped down momentarily from the
Supreme Court to accept this assignment. The
other members We're two generals and two ad-
mirals, all beholden to Mr.. Roosevelt as their
Commander In-C Chief and to the secretaries of
their respective services.
Their report was long and ambiguous and
sailed with suggestions of failure in Washing
ton But the only persons whom it directly
accused and thus condemned to humiliation
and active persecution for more than three
years and might have condemned to historic
disgrace, were Short and Kimmel. OF them
it said it was "a dereliction of duty on the
part of each not to consult respecting this
meaning and intent of the warnings and ap-
propriate measures required by the inami-
nence of hostilities.''
It was not stated that they failed altogether
to confer. 1t was freely admitted that they did
confer frequently regarding joint Army-Navy
plans and procedures but failed to confer
specifically about the meaning of messages
attack. The meaning of those messages was
that Japanese attack might come momen-
tarily but that they were forbidden to take
any measures which would alarm the civil
iians, disclose their intent or cause publicity.
Moreover, Kimmel had received a mislead
ing report indicating that the Japanese would
not attack Hawaii and the Roberts Commits
sion said the messages served only to en-
phasize in their minds the danger from sabo-
nm attack These
meanings remain the same today, as cited
in the report, which admits that the final warn
ing Of an almost immediate break In relations
with Japan was not received until the attack
was done.
Among the causes Of the disaster, the re-
port mentions the japanese disregard of in
ternational law in striking without declara-
ton of war. This was the traditional Japanese
method, to be sure, but less than two weeks
before, Senator Claude Pepper, of Florida a
confidant Of President Roosevelt had been
quoted in dispatch from Boston as having
said that this time the American nation would
strike with declaration. Bearing further on
this point Oswald Garrison Willard prepared
an indictment recalling that in April, 1941, the
advance guard Of $4,000 American soldiers
landed in Greenland to relieve British troops
at war with Germany and that, in September,
1s41, the American Coast Guard cutter, North
weather station in Greenland. We. were not
then at war with Germany.
Thus, the Japanese might have felt that
their own informal methods had been adopted
by the United States in spite of which posi-
bility the Roberts report tells us that Short
and Kimmel were conjured to confine them
selves to legal steps and take no action until
Japan had committed an overt act.
Thus there runs through the confused record
a definite thread of fact that the two COM
manders were hampered in their actions and
subject to terrible penalties for exceeding their
restrained instructions and finally were lett to
confer and guess at meanings" which were
not there.
President Truman, n a press conference
vindicated his late chief and blamed the
American people for their Indifference, which
is another story and hardly triable case
He admits that he himself had been ILL
informed as recently year ago when he
fell into the error of reiterating that Short
and Kimmel failed to discuss their problems
and responsibilities. Kimmel challenged
him for falsehood in that and only the other
day he confessed that he had been mistaken.
He was not only mistaken but ruthless toward
helpless men for sordid political motive.
The new President is man OF tenacious
loyalty. He was so loyal to Tom Pendergast,
the Kansas City corruptioneer who sent him to
the Senate, that he fought doggedly in the
Senate to prevent the confirmation of the
United States District Attorney, Maurice Mil
H.. , h.++,r MON than he who was wreck