Mr Curtin Speaks To Americans

Press, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23588, 16 March 1942, Page 4

Mr Curtin Speaks To Americans

Mr Curtin's broadcast to the American people and his Government’s decision to send Dr. Evatt, Australia’s Minister for External Affairs, on a special mission to Washington are presumably the outcome of the recent conference on defence between representatives of the Australian and New Zealand Governments. Mr Curtin has been more outspoken than is usual in an address by the head of one State to the people of another and has possibly offended against the conventions of diplomacy; but what he said was reasonable, and the American people will understand that time is desperately short. It is plain that since the fall of Singapore events have moved so rapidly that Allied strategy and organisation agreed upon in the first few weeks of the jvar in the Pacific have become irrelevant, with a consequent danger of the front against Japan disintegrating into isolated centres of resistance. Moreover, as Dr. Evatt showed conclusively in a statement printed in “ The Press ” a few days ago, the machinery set up to formulate and carry out Allied strategy in the Pacific is hopelessly complicated and establishes centres of control which are far too remote from the actual conflict. Everything that has happened in the war against Japan has shown the soundness of the objections raised by the Australian and New Zealand Governments to the establishment of a Pacific War Council in London. Britain’s capacity to participate directly in any great force in the Pacific war ended with the fall of Singapore. The vital decisions on Pacific strategy are being taken in "Washington, and it is in Washington that the Pacific War Council should be located. Mr Curtin and Dr. Evatt are justified also in claiming that an inter-Allied organisation for directing the war in the Pacific which makes no provision for direct contact between representatives of the United States and Australian Governments is unfair to Australia and out of touch with reality. .