-AMERICA AWAKENS

Evening Post, Volume CXXX, Issue 6, 6 July 1940, Page 13

-AMERICA AWAKENS

THREAT FROM NAZIS

DEFENCES INSUFFICIENT

END OF ISOLATION

' In the United States the possibility ©f the Germans attempting to outflank .the Maginot Line by violating Holland and Belgium had been frequently discussed, but, despite the familiarity of the idea, the shock of the invasion of those two countries was as. great to American feeling as if it had never been anticipated, telegraphed Denys Smith from Washington to the London "Daily Telegraph" on May 31.

It was* not only the fact of the invasion; it was the force and ruthlessness, with which it was carried out .which impressed American opinion. For the first time since the war started $he*'danger., that America itself might be invaded had to be considered. The use of the aeroplane, the fifth column, the parachutist, all brought the threat of war nearer. The unwelcome thought 4 had to be accepted that the Atlantic 6cean was no longer a protective barrier; all that lay between the United States and a threat of invasion was the French army and the British Fleet ■ There are many Congressmen who still cherish a somewhat medieval notion of what defence of the United "States entails. Congressman Louis Ludlow, for example, has been carrying .but a campaign for the past five years 'id. make certain that the United States ".will never engage in war unless its soil is actually invaded. NO MILITARY SUPPORT. ''This policy of sitting and waiting for "the/attack to come at whatever spot -the enemy might choose is one to ;whieh. American defence experts, con- ' traxy to the views of some of their xrrench and British colleagues, have 'never subscribed. They still hold fast rlo T the old adage, "attack ,is the best ' clgfence," .. . ■ ■■'"~As~ the President said in his recent defence message: "A defence which allows an enemy to consolidate his ap--Wpaph- without hindrance will lose. "A'defence which makes no effective to destroy the lines of supplies communications of the enemy will ■ . . ""tn" addition to the defence of the continental United States, the President has reminded Congress that the ":SSipi. defence of the Western Hemisphere must also be considered. The ;gfiginal purpose of President Monroe, "pf-T keeping hostile forces out of the Western Hemisphere where they the security of the United plates itself, had become more neces*'sary than ever. l^lfWsome of the outer bases of the j^jesfern Hemisphere were captured, '.*t£e--United States would be within ..easy bombing distance. ~i-, a £r.Dm Alaska, with its white population,, of only 30,000 people, bombing j p|anes could reach Seattle, Tacoma, *.gn& Portland within four or five hours. Greenland planes could reach the New England coast in six. hours. rTJtie r most'easterly points, of Brazil t-could be reached in seven hours from Verde Islands, off the coast of Africa, and, once an enemy force was established there, Cuba and the Canal Zone were within easy striking ■ ; ; '^y CANNOT DEFLECT BOMBS. V:".Ciiba, moreover, was but two and hours from Tampico (Mexico),, .arid Tampico the same number Jqf .hours from the heart of the Middle ''ffijisb. The isolationists of St. Louis, Kansas City, and Omaha might be as • determined as they pleased never to igo to war, but even they could not deSect- a high-explosive bomb with a resolution. ,n-r Thus the growth of air power has ■.-made it essential for the United States,, a whether it wishes or not, to see that no hostile force gains a foothold on - the -American continent. The Latin "•American countries are thinly populated, and many of them are not more capable of protecting themselves than -Denmark", or Norway, or the Baltic -States. - Said President Roosevelt: "More "than ever this protection calls for 'fe"ady-at-hand weapons capable of great mobility because of the potential speed of modern attack." President Boosevelt, in other words, was warning the country that they must have at 'hand an army capable of detailing an fbrce at a moment's fn.otice should there be a threat to the "independence of any Western Hemi- "_ sphere State. / , r: With, each new leaf which Hitler "has pulled from the European artichoke "fe-wer-Congressmen have risen to declaim, "We must curb our emotions, ...otherwise we run into danger of "involvement." They still talk of "keepour feet on the ground" and "not ..sticking our necks out," but at the .same time they denounce Hitler in the terms they can find. -/ ' ' tmjSABLE RESOURCES. ' ... The enemy whom the Allies are r.jdghting is the enemy of the United r States. The cause for which the Al*.lies are fighting is that of the United .States. The men who guide America's V'jleStiny know well that if the Allies .are defeated the United. States alone 'would stand facing the hostility of the great dictator Powers whom she has not hesitated to denounce in the most violent terms when the danger that they could ever break through the barriers and reach the - United States seemed remote. -—True the United States is a country ""fif unlimited resources, but those re- ' might just as well not be there s!if they cannot be used. The new speed in modern warfare means that a e^country is only as strong as its actual --"artned forces. The lightning-like tac-'-""•tfies of mechanised warfare leave no Ififrie for potential strength to be de--•"'Veloped. <'>;-. r -jf France and England were to "go down in defeat America's strength does **ot lie in her mineral resources, in "3ier r electric power, in her industrial It lies only in the 75,000 "■men- of the regular army now on -"American soil, with their equipment <=sadly inadequate; it lies in a battle '•fleet which must watch vital sources of supply far away in the Pacifiic; it lies in an aircraft industry capable of producing a bare 500 planes a month; ■■i it-lies in a collection, of anti-aircraft • ; -guns capable only of defending one city about the size of ~-try.---r.'.^l-- THE COMING ELECTION. -'"--At the very moment when clear--sightedness and honest thought are '.'"rhbst "essential the country moves toa general election. In the heat ""of political controversy there is always ■'■■& danger of issues being distorted and misrepresented. At a time : when national unity is more essential than. it has ever been since the days -of the Founding Fathers the country " may find itself divided by fractious -'■'controversy. '■■■• There are many who, in the light of ■>' -this background, wish that all parties -could be united in some-national-iwo-,