Evening star., 1945-12-07
Pearl Hurbor Lesson T
Seen on Anniversur


Seen on Anniversary
Congress Must Accept Blame fr
Neglect, Writer Contends
By David Laurence
-Four years have passed since the JAP
anese attacked Pearl Harbor and Ut
there Is no unanimity Of opinion ard
no conclusive evidence as to how t
happened and what preceded the tra-
edy.
During the war 1t was . part Of tn
official propaganda to declare n1erei
that 1t was a sneak attack" The Amer
lean people were taught to believe tha
the entire responsibility for the traged
was on the Japanese militarists AM
on couple of our own officers in tn
Army and Navy who failed to mobili3
our forces in time
Today the story Is being pieced to.
gether by congressional committee. /
reveals that the responsibility cannot b
imposed on two individuals but upon tn
War and Navy Departments as well =
the State Department. 1t reveals thx
the negotiations with Japan appeared
to be futile before they began and ye
the armed forces of the United State.
were unprepared for the attack
As a matter of fact every surpris
attack Is sneak attack" and, from
purely military standpoint, surprise IL
an important element. Hence the Jap.
anese are credited in the testimony O,
our own ofncers with having achieved
. -co-ordinated and well-executec
maneuver with their carrier aircraft.
Politics and Attitudes.
japanese sea power demolished our
fleet at Pearl Harbor and then went its
triumphant way down to the Neither
lands East Indies. As Admiral Halsey
10 picturesquely testified this week in
opposing the proposed administrative
merger OF the armed services, japanese
sea power was what set us back for
several months until American sea
power could be built up.
But why didn't the United States
the wealthiest nation on earth-have
adequate protection by carriers and
land-based planes? Why, as Gen Mar
shall testified, did the United States
have SO few land-based bombers avail
able2 This Is part Of the story which
goes deep into American politics and
American attitudes toward foreign
countries and toward preparedness.
When President Truman said the
American people were responsible for
what happened at Pearl Harbor as much
as were our military forces, he was
presumably not trying to shield any
individual or offer an alibi, though this
is how it was widely interpreted. Many
persons with political axes to grind had
been trying to accuse the late President
Roosevelt Of provoking the Japanese so
we could be drawn into the war. This
was q baseless accusation and nothing
has been adduced to support it.
The State Department, however had
kept its negotiations secret. 1t did not
tell the American people about them. A
fear Of being alarmist evidently pre-
vailed and yet suppression OF the true
facts did help to catch America on
/ guard.
In Congress whenever warnings
against Japanese were made before
lS4l, there was = tendency to soft-pedal
testimony from Army and Navy officers.
Their recommendations for more de-
tense weapons were often disregarded.
While, on the other hand, the Budget
Bureau slashed the requests Of the
Army and Navy for funds, Congress
often restored them, but rarely ever
beyond what the Army and Navy asked
for.
Big Unanswered Question.
The big unanswered question never.
theless is why the Army and Navy be-
tween 1880 and 1s41 didn't insist on
larger appropriations as against Japa-
nese plans. The customary answer
heard-as it was about fortifying Guam
is that there was no use proposing
to Congress any such appropriations
because they wouldn't be approved.
But why couldn't Congress vote the
funds to build land-based airplanes
and carriers and q modern feet big
enough to prevent what happened 1T
Pearl Harbor and in the Far East,
where Gen. MacArthurs forces were
caught by surprise, too. and couldn't
defend themselves effectively?
| 1t was because the American peopls
were not prepared for eventualities in
the Pacific. Members of CONGRESS
thought they, by their attitudes and
votes, reflected public sentiment. In
deed, just q few weeks before Pearl
Harbor the House of Representatives,
recording huge Republican vote, near
ly killed selective service legislation. It
was retained by the margin of one
vote even though the whole world was
af1ame with war and the threats to
us were on the horizon.
The American people trust their Gov.
eminent departments and their chiefs
OF armed forces to prepare for war.
They cannot handle these matters ex.
cept by delegating authority to their
elected agents. The Congress in power
not only in l94l but in the years pre.
ceding must accept its responsibility
Tor neglecting the chief task allocated
to them by their constituents-thed de-
tense of the United States. That's the
principal lesson learned after four years
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From the London News of the World
It is clear from, +he 6r,,r>. ...,.