LONG ROAD

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23810, 11 November 1940, Page 7

LONG ROAD

PATH TO VICTORY CHURCHILL SPEAKS AID FROM AMERICA SEA POWER VITAL By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright (Received November 10, 7.40 p.m.) British Wireless LONDON', Nov. 9 "We shall never cease to strike at the aggressor with ever-increasing strength from this time forth," said Mr. Churchill in a speech at the Guildhall to-day at the assumption of office of the new Lord Mayor of London, Sir George Wilkinson. "It is six months since the King and Parliament confided to the . Cabinet very grave and heavy tasks," said Mr. Churchill. "It is lucky we did not make extravagant and optimistic promises, because a succession of melancholy disasters and terrible assaults and perils has befallen us. We have surmounted these perils so far, but the fact remains that all we have got to show at present is survival and increasing strength. There is a long road to tread between survival and victorj-." Obligations Reaffirmed Mr. Churchill emphasised that in spite of the calamities and perils which had marked the past six months, Britain had not abandoned one jot of her obligations undertaken to the captive countries of Europe. On the contrary, since the defection of France, "we have reaffirmed and defined more precisely all the causes of all the countries with whom or for whom we drew the sword —Austria, Czecho-Slovakia, Poland, Norway, Holland, Belgium, and greatest of all, France, and last of all, Greece. "For all these," declared the Prime Minister, "we will fight and strive, and our victory will spell the liberation of them all." Their thoughts, he said, went out in sympathy with them all. Their thoughts went out in sympathy and admiration for the valiant Greek people whose armies were now defending their native soil from the latest Italian outrage. Promise to Greece "To them," Mr. Churchill went on, "we send from the heart of old London a faithful promise that amid all our worries and anxietj- we will do our best to aid them in their struggle, and we will never cease to strike at the foul aggressor in ever-increasing strength from this time forth, until the crimes and treacheries which hang around the neck of Mussolini and disgrace the Italian name have been brought to a condition of exemplary justice." Referring to the American presidential election, Mr. Churchill congratulated Mr. Roosevelt in the name of the British Government on receiving an unprecedented mark of American confidence in being chosen "in this supreme crisis, and because of it, to lead for a third time 'his mighty people forward on their path. American Arms "The help we have been promised by the United States," he continued, "takes the form of a most abundant share in the fruits of the gigantic munitions production which is now being set on foot throughout its immense workshops, furnaces and foundries. This, no doubt, is being done primarily because our stubborn and unwearying resistance here will alone give the time needed by the United States to convert its industries to a war basis and build up the immense naval, military and air forces which they are creating for their own purposes and protection. Reason for Waiting "People sometimes wonder why we are not able to take the offensive against the enemy and have always to wait for some new blow which he may strike against us. The reason is that our production of munitions is now only in the early part of its second year, and the enormous factories planned and laid down shortly before the war are only now beginning to come into production. "The Germans, on the other hand, have long passed the culminating point of munitions production, which is reached usually about the fourth year. Growing War' Industries "We have therefore a long and arduous path to travel, in which our war industries must grow up to full stature; in which our Navy must receive the reinforcements of hundreds of vessels begun before the outbreak of the war and now coming continually into service; in which our Army must be equipped, trained and perfected into a strong offensive weapon; and in which, above all, our Air Force must add superiority of numbers to that superiority of quality which, in machines and still more in manhood, they have so signally displayed. "This vast and elaborate process has been conducted at the present time in this island under severe conditions, of the blows of air attack and the disturbance of work which sometimes results from alerts and alarms. Help from Dominions "We are straining every nerve, to accelerate production with the ardent resolve of British labour, guided bj' science and improving organisation. That is where help from across the ocean is especially valuable, because in the United States, as in our great Dominions and in India, all production of materials and training of pilots can proceed without any distraction or impediment. "Therefore, I welcome cordially the aid which has been promised us from the United States, and the important contribution- which we have already been receiving. Enemy Action at Sea "But," Mr. Churchill pointed out, "There is one point which should be borne in mind. The enemy is naturally doing his utmost to cut us off from these vital supplies, and thero the maintenance of our sea power and of our ocean routes is absolutely necessary to our victory, and is of importance to all who need or desire our victory." The purposes of that victory, Mr. Churchill stated, were obvious to all. "We are striving to the utmost of our strength for the freedom of nations against aggression," he said. "We are striving for the progress of peoples through the process of self-government, and for the creation of that wider brotherhood among men which will alone bring them.back prosperity,"