GROWING NAVY

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21548, 30 October 1944, Page 4

GROWING NAVY

AMERICAN POWER JAPS’ PROBABLE AIMS COMPROMISE PEACE NEW YORK, Oct. 27. The' United States Navy has over 1135 combat ships, including 23 battleships. 14' Essex class carriers, nine Independent class carriers, and Cr. escort carriers of smaller tonnage, alsis over' twice as many destroyers, destroyer escorts, and submarines, .v it, had i)1 1940. These figures are given by the Under-Secretary of ll,)e Navy, Mr. Bard, in a speech at the Navy Day dinner in Los Angeles. He said the Navy also has 45,207 landing craft, 5000 smaller vessels, and 34,071 aircraft. „ , He added: “The Japanese are fighting for a stalemate strategy to make the cost of the American victories the highest possible. At the same time Japan hopes to convince the United Stales that a compromise peace is not only possible but desirable. Japan s only hope is to prolong the Hostilities as long as possible in the belief that a gi'eat wave of war weariness will sweep over the United Slates after Germany’s defeat.” . The former Ambassador to Toluo, Mr J T. Grew, addressing the Navy Day dinner in Washington, appealed to intelligent Japanese to read the writing of inevitable defeat on the wall aftd avoid useless sacrifice and wholesale devastation by submitting now to unconditional surrender. A the same time Mr. Grew warned Americans to be on guard against the premature enticing of a compromise .peace offer from Japan’s industrialists, who Will attempt to save something from the wreckage. “If we allow ourselves to relax our presen' determination to render the Japanese impotent, our descendants would again face a threat to world peace, he added;