THE NOME NUGGET
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MEMBER OF ASSOCIATED PRESS
The
Washington
Merry-Go-Round
By Drew Pearson and
Robert S. Allen
WASHINGTON—The most im
portant question discussed in
side the Administration today is
whether the British can hold out,
and what the United States can
do to bolster English resistance.
It is a question that weighs heav
ily and grimly on the hard-boiled
realists in the Army, Navy and
State Department, and on the
President himself.
For. giving the British al'l the
breaks possible, it seems incred
ible that they can hold out
against poison gas, intensive air
bombardment, and all the other
modern mechanics of war the
Nazis are mobilizing to hurl ag
ainst them.
This pessimistic forecast is tak
en despite the fact that the Brit
ish position has improved mater
ially. The confidential surveys
made by U. S. observers show
that the German preponderance
in the air is now only 11 to 5 in
fighter planes, although it re
mains 12 to 1 in carrying power
in bombers. The British naturally
have concentrated more on fight
er planes in order to ward off
bombers, and until recently have
had fewer bombers to attack Ger
many.
Official reports also show a
great superiority on the part of
British pilots, and dogged, un
daunted courage. Nevertheless,
the comparative air strength is
still overwhelmingly in Hitler’s
favor.
However, it is at sea that the
British have suffered most severe
iy- The censored press cables
have revealed only fragments of
the teriffic punishment taken by
British merchant vessels, and
also by their destroyer convoys.
In fact, the outcome of the Bat
tle of Britain may depend large
ly upon destroyers. For it is this
type of vessel which has been ex
posed to air bombardment and
submarines more than any other
part of the British Navy. In re
cent weeks the toll has been so
heavy that an average of one de
stroyer a day has been either
sunk or damaged. The damaging
of a vessel is just as effective for
the time being as sinking it, be
cause it has to be laid up in
drydock.
How serious have been British
losses is shown by the fact that
its Navy started the war with
183 destroyers and now has few
er than 100. All of which indicat
es the rapid success of the new
Nazi strategy of starving Britain
out.
U. S. DESTROYER STRENGTH
The situation has led to the
question now being gravely dis
cussed in the State, War and
Navy Departments, whether the
United States would be serving
its own best interests by selling
50 to 100 of its World War de
stroyers to Great Britain.
The United States now has
more destroyers than any other
two navies put together—a total
of 238. Of these, 123 were built
during or immediately after the
World War, but have been kept
in excellent condition. Their -en
gines have been packed in grease,
and every two or three years
half of them were placed on sea
duty, while the other half were
laid up. Thus they continue to be
valuable fighting ships today.
Inside the Navy Department,
many of the higher-ups believe it
would be wise policy for the Unit
ed States to let Great Britain
have 50 or 100 of these old de
stroyers. They look at it not from
a sentimental viewpoint, because
the U. S. Navy, if anything, is
anti-British. But from the hard
boiled question of Western Hem
isphere defense, Navy chiefs fig
ugre that our best defense is to
make sure the British do not fall.
U. S. MAGINOT I.INE
For if you study naval strategy
you will see how carefully the
British Navy has picked its bases
and how true was that famous
boast “Britannia Rules the Wav
es." What the British did, years
ago, was to secure all the outlets
into the Atlantic. From Cape
town at the tip end of .Africa to
Gibraltar at the mouth of the
Mediterranean, they can control
the coast of France. Belgium and
Holland, and can dominate the
North Sea and the mouth of the1
Baltic. *
In other words, the British
Isles constitute a sort of marine
Maginot Line and U. S. naval
strategists figure that once that
line is broken it will be impos- j
sible to stop an unfriendly fleet j
from steaming down into the!
waters of South America and the,
Carbibean.
Thus, it would be far easier, |
and cheaper, to bolster the Brit i
ish with some destroyers and
keep the German-Italian navies
bottled up, than face them along
the thousands of miles of unfort
ified South American coast line.
BRITISH WAITED
The situation, in the opinion of
both Army and Navy strategists,
is not dissimilar from the posi
tion of the British in regard to
France. As long as Hitler was
faced with a strong French army
Britain stood in no real danger.
But once the Nazis broke thru
the Maginot Line, there was no
bulwark to stop them from over
running the rest of Europe.
The situation has other pos
sible points of similarity. When
the French were defending the
Maginot Line, the British, wor
ried over home defense kept most
of their airplanes at home. The
French claim that, given more
British air support, they might
have held out.
Likewise one school of Ameri
can strategy believes, as did the
British, that U. S. destroyers
should be kept at home to pro
tect the Western Hemisphere
when Hitler finally breaks thru
the British marine Maginot Line.
But the majority of higher-up
strategists figure that by that
time it will be too late.
Meanwhile, however, there is
no way for the President to
transfer these destroyers, Ctnless
Congress passes an act giving
him that power. And the islation
ists clique in Congress shows no
disposition to permit that — at
least until after a tremendous
fight. And by that time Hitler
may be marching up Piccadilly
and preparing to turn his active
attention to U. S. shores.
MULVIHILL IS APPOINTED
TO COMMAND GUARD
Appointment of William R.
Miiilvihill of Juneau as Adjutant
General in command of the Al
aska National Guard was an
nounced by Gov. Ernest Gruen
ing through Secretary of Alaska
E. L. Bartlett in Juneau.
Mulvihill also will have the
title of U. S. Property and Dis
bursing Officer for the 297th In
fantry, the Alaska National
Guard.
Under Adjutant-General Mulvi
i hilil’s command will be a Head
quarters Detachment, Medical dc
I tachment, three Rifle Companies
1 and a Heavy Weapons Company,
Possibly a National Guard Aii
Squadron will be added later.
Mulvihill, brother of Juneau
fire chief V. W. Mulvihill is Rai
way Express agent there.
I DOUBLE YOUR ENJOYMENT
To The Voters Of
The Second Division
Because of the many beneficial acts, the far-seeing
statesmanship and indominable courage of the
Roosevelt Administration, the Democratic Party of
Alaska reaffirms its faith in popular government and
pledges the Administration its continued and enthus
iastic support.
Firm in the realization that the Democratic Party
is dedicated to the principle of representive self gov
ernment, and that its political creed makes it a true
party of the people, we the undersigned Democratic
candidates for Territorial office, ask your support in
the forthcoming general election September 10th :
DELEGATE TO CONGRESS
ANTHONY J DIMOND
ATTORNEY GENERAL
HENRY RODEN
TERRITORIAL AUDITOR
FRANK A. BOYLE
HIGHWAY ENGINEER
Wm. A. HESSE
TERRITORIAL SENATOR
0. D. COCHRAN
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ELIZABETH M. CROSS
HOWARD LYNG
W. LEONARD SMITH
FRANK H. WHALEY
. -
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