CALL TO AMERICA

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 86, Issue 63, 16 March 1942, Page 5

CALL TO AMERICA

■ CURTIN’S STIRRING MESSAGE “AUSTRALIANS ARE FIGHTING MAD” (£y Telecraph—Presß Aaeoeiatlon—Copyright.) (Recd. 6.30 p.m.) Canberra, March 15. A warning to America that Australia was the last democratic bastion protecting the west, coast nf the United States, was given by the Prime Minister, Mr. J. Curtin, in a short-wave broadcast to the United States on Saturday. “If Australia goes the Americas are wide open, he declared. Mr. Curtin addressed the Americans as “comrades in this war. ’ ’ He paid a tribute to the part Britain was playing, which was coupled with her obligation to help Russia, and said he recognised that the Mother Country found it impossible to go all out in the Pacific. The result was that the responsibility fell on Aus tralia and New Zealand. xMr. Curtin appealed to America to be Kuslralia’s leader, anc pledged to pull every ounce of her weight. Australians, he said, were “fighting niad” and the whole nr.'iion was stripped for war.

“Our minds are set on a’tack rather | than defence,” said Mr. Curtin. "W. . belk v e at lack is the b( st leience in | the pacific. I speak from a united ! people to a united people, to you 1 who are or will be lighting, to you ' who' are sweating in factories or workshops. I look to you to turn out vital munitions of war and provid-' the enormous resources required iur our great task. I speak to you at a tim - when the loss of Java and th n splendid resistance of th' 1 gallan; Dutch give i» a feeling both of sadness and of pride." Mr. Curtin added: “It was our wish that the Pacific War Council should be located at. Washington, and it is a matter of some regret, a.ter the 95 days of Japan’s staggering advance south, we have not obtained lirsthand contact with America. Therefore we propose sending you our Minister of External Affairs, Dr. Evatt, as the representative of a people determined to hold and hit back at the enemy as courageously as those from whom wo soring. Ho will tell you we are lighting mad and ready for anything, that we are committed to total warfare. “I give you the pledge of my country that there will always be an Australian Government and an Australian people. Ihe justice of our cause is too strong to be overcome.” Mr. Curtin gave a brief history of Australia's war effort and the theatres in which her soldiers had alreadv fought. He said: “Our fighting forces are born atta< k< rs. W< shall hit the enemy whenever and as often as we can. The extent of our resistance will be measured only by the weapons placed in our hands." Mr. Curt in’s broadcast is k< pl secret until the hour of delivery in order to prevent its being jammed b\ Japanese. OFFENSIVE THRUST BY U.S. I MAY BE AGAINST JAPAN'S | SUPPLY LINES (Rec. 7.5 p.m.) Washington. March 13. American naval experts believe that when the United Nations take ihe offensive the main thrust will probably be westward by wa> of Japanesemandated islands and across Japan . ' supply lines rather than northward.. They base the view on a statement by I Admiral Hart, pointing out. that a ■ flank attack is usually easier than a ■ frontal attack. | ' “BEST LAUGH OF YEAR” i FOREIGN PROPAGANDA (Rec. 10.10 p.m. Melbourne. March 15. 1 The Army Minister, commentin;; on the foreign' prtmmmntla possibility of peace negotiations between .Japan and Australia, said that, “Besides providing the best laugh oi the year, it was obviously designed lo divide the British people and Ihe democracies. All I need say is that Australia is an indissoluble part of the British Empire."

AMERICAN REACTION CLARION CALL WELCOMED PRACTICAL RESPONSE WILL BE FORTHCOMING (Reed. 6 p.m.) New York. March 14. Mr. Curtin's sterling radio speech from Canberra came in with forceful clarity despite Ihe seasonal static, which indeed seemed but. to give electrical emphasis to his declaration that “Australians are lighting mad.” As Mr. R. G. Casey said to-nighl. Mr. Curtin's inspiring message to the American people completely answered the vicious and absurd rumours carried by Vichy and Ankara radios that Japan and Australia will arrange a separate peace or armistice. There could be no misunderstanding where Australia stands after hearing the Prime Ministers assurance that Australia is stripped for the light, and many Americans have alreadv echoed Mr. Curtin's declaration "There'll always be an Australian people," the justice of whose cause throbs 100 deeply in their being for their high purpose to be overcome. It is already evident to the vast majority of American people who realise Australia’s importance to America that Mr. Curtin's line affirmation on behalf of the Australian people must, he met with the most effective practical response from the lighting forces of the United States. IMMINENT OFFENSIVE HINTS AT WASHINGTON Rec. 7.5 p.m. Washington, March 13. The Washington correspondent of ihe Christian Science Monitor says there is a significant indication that | an important strategical decision has been made bv the United States with everything being prepared lo smash ihe Japanese invasion of Australia by an imminent offensive against weak-ly-held Japanese outposts. “It can now be stated authoritatively," says the correspondent, “that the 1 flow of reinforcements to the south- | west Pacific exceeds anything* the 1 average layman imagines, and is going well beyond whai even the niost optimistic officials thought possible.’ Mr Casey said he was concernec “with a matter of very considerable importance.” Mr. Casey, at Mr. R.oosevelt’s rooupst, later' conferred with United Stales Army and Navy chiefs. WIDE PUBLICITY REACTION IN NEW YORK (Roc. 7.30 p.m.) New York. March 14. Ail newspapers and press services as well as the radio arc giving wide publicity to Mr. Curtin’s speech, emphasising his warning: “II Australia falls ihe west coast of the United States will be the next invasion target of the Japanese” The Times, for example, prints the entire text of the speech. Although Mr. Curtin spoke too late for editorial comment by the morning newspapers, a strong reaction can be expected in the afternoon editions.