Evening Star Newspaper, January 24, 1942, Page 9

The Political Mill Two-Party System Still Active, Recent Republican Successes Prove By GOULD LINCOLN. ‘The Republican victory in the Fifth Connecticut Congressional District last Tuesday is giving the leaders of the Democratic party something to think about. Since 1934 this district has been held by -a Democrat. It is an in- dustrial district, with the impor- tant mantfacturing cities of Wa- terbury and Naugatuck in its con- fines. Standing alone, the vic- tory might be of little interest, a freak of political nature. But it does not stand alone. Two congressional elections have been held to fill vacancies in the House since Pearl Harbor. The Republicans have won in both cases. The first instance was in the 4th district of Colorado—a district that had been held for 34 years by the late Representative Edward T. ‘Taylor, & Democrat. The second was in the 5th Connecticut district. Last April the Repub- licans won in the 42d New York district, a Buffalo district, the district which Senator “Jim"” Mead represented before he was translated to the Upper House, Here, too, the G. O. P. wrested a House seat away from the Demo- erats. ‘With a general congressional election due next November, the political leaders in the Capital are wondering just what these Republican victories in widely scattered parts of the country mean. Washington does not un- derstand. It does not know whether to expect further Re- publican victories in the general elections or not. It sees an agri- cultural, and partly mining dis- trict in Colorado, faithful to the Democrats for many years go Republican, Further, it went Re- publican two days after Japan had made its attack on Pearl Harbor and the day after Presi- dent Roosevelt had asked Con- gress to declare a state of war with the Nipponese government. It sees an industrial district in Connecticut fall by the wayside, too. Battle for Connecticut Seat. Partisan politics have been ad- Journed so far as foreign rela- tions and the prosecution of the war to victory are concerned. 'The Republicans are supporting all the administration efforts along those lines. The Demo- erats are accepting their help gladly. But when it comes to the elections to House and Senate seats, the picture is very dif- ferent. The administration has the reputation of being politically minded. The New Dealers, like their opponents, want to hold office. They are not going to take a Republican victory in the congressional elections kindly. They do not wish to see control of the House pass to the G.O. P., nor do they wish to see the Democratic majority materially cut down. The 5th Connecticut district has for years been a battleground. For the last eight years it has been represented in the House by 8 Democrat. Former Represent- ative J. Joseph Smith, a Demo- crat, recently was appointed a Federal judge, creating a vacancy from that district. The Repub- licans put forward Joseph Talbot, former State treasurer, as their ecandidate, and the Democrats, John Monagan, president of the City Council of Waterbury. When the ballots were counted, it was found that Mr. Talbot had won with a margin of 3615 votes. In 1940 the Democrats elected Judge Smith with a lead of 11,000 votes. The Republicans had 446 per cent of the total vote cast in 19840, and 52 per cent on Tuesday, in a comparatively light vote. This is the best percentage vote the Re- publicans have had in this con- gressional district since the 1928 Republican landslide—and the percentage on Tuesday slmost equaled that in 1928. Both the candidates were Dart- mouth graduates and both high= class men. The Republican, while he supported the war effort 100 per cent, hit hard at the conduct of the war and the national de- fense program by the administra- tion. It is early to say what will be the issues in the congressional campaign next fall. Much will depend on conditions in the coun- try at that time; how the war has affected domestic economy, but more particularly upon the way the war is going. ‘War Spending Will Have Effect. Frankly, the Democratic admin- istration will have the spending of billions of dollars for the war program. Money that will find its way into the pockets of the workers, the farmers and the in- dustrialists. That kind of tfing has its effect on voters. On the other hand, the administration will be taking, in taxes, large sums of money from the people. That, too, has its effect on voters. The conduct of the war looms, however, as the largest point of interest, and as potentially the chief issue of the campaign. The 1l pave 'SOMETHING TO SAY ABOUT TWS ONE ! people are watching that more than any other single thing today. Millions of sons, husbands and brothers of voters are in the Army and the Navy. In addition, the whole people is vitally inter- ested in winning this war. Un- doubtedly a number of victories would have its effect on the elec- tion. Lack of victories, or defeats, likewise would have their effect. The Republicans are just about as amazed over their successes at the polls as are the Democrats. They are not doing much gloat- ing publicly. They are holding their breath and hoping. Even if the tide turns in favor of the G. O. P, it is not certain that some of the Republican in- cumbents will be returned. Many of them had a strong isolationist slant before Pearl Harbor, and this has been resented by many of the voters. Some of them voted against fortifying Guam and other defense measures. It may be that, even if Republicans are elected in their districts, they will be other Republicans—new faces in Congress. Before long two more elections to fill vacancies in the House will be held. They are both in Penn- sylvania, the 33d and the 12th districts. Both have been held by Democrats. It will be interest- ing to see how these contests turn out, and whether the same trend as in other recent special elec- tions is followed. The Democrats elected their candidate in a spe- cial election in the old Connery district, the Massachusetts 7th, not long ago. But the percentage of Democratic votes in that elec- tion was cut. Decidedly, the two-party polit- ical system is still far from dead in this country. THE opinions of the writers on this page are their own, not necessarily The Star’s. Such opinions are presented in The Star’s effort to give all sides of questions of interest to its readers, although such opinions may be contradictory among themselves and directly opposed to The Star’s. Sabu to Visit Capital As ‘Minute Man’ Sabu, the “Elephant Boy,” who is now a “Minute Man” for the United States Treasury Department, under sponsorship of the Defense Savings staff, will be in Washington Mon- | day. The young Indian star and his pygmy elephant will tour the coun- try as guests of the newspaper car- _rier boys to aid them in their cam- paign to sell Defense stamps and ‘bonds. The services of Sabu are donated by Alexander Korda, pro- ducer of Kipling’s “Jungle Book,” starring Sabu. United Artists will furnish Bernie Kamber of the pub- %}:ity department to manage the ur. EDUCATIONAL. \ Accoun Pace Courses: B. C. S. and M. C. S. Degrees. C. P. A. Preparation. Day and Even- /) ing Divisions; Coeducational Send for 35th Year Book BENJAMIN FRANKLIN UNIVERSITY L RE 2262 1100 16th Street, N. W. at The Government andPrivate Industry ‘ Need Stenographers Wood College has intro- duced a special 90 -day course in Gregg Shorthand and Touch Typewriting to meet this demand. I Enroll Now WO0D COLLEGE 710 14th St. N.W. ME. 5051 Col. Naiden of Bolling Field Nominaed for Promotion Col. Earl L. Naiden, Air Corps, | nominated by President Roosevelt to become a temporary brigadier general, is now on duty with the headquarters of the Army Air Forces at Bolling Field. Col. Naiden, who is 47 and a native of Woodward, Towa, was graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1915. He transferred later from the infantry to aviation and, during a part of the World War, was United States aviation representative in Italy. Later he returned to France and took part in the Somme drive, in the St. Mihiel offensive and in the Meuse Argonne. Col. Naiden became assistant chief of staff operations and training officer for the G. H. Q. Air Forces in April, 1930. He is a graduate of the Army Wer" College, the Com- mand and General Staff School, the French Ecole Superieure de Guerre, and is rated as a command pilot and combat observer. ‘Y’ Boys to Bring Guests Motion pictures, gvmnastics and swimming will be features of “guest day” today in the boys’ department of the Central Young Men’s Thris- tian Association at 1732 G street N.W. Each boy member is expected to brin guest. e Mirrot \‘. wister? He was wounded. | THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTO This Changing World - MacArthur's Resistance in i’hilippines Of Immeasurable Value to Allies Officials Find ‘Good News' Hard to Keep " U. S. Sends Supplies As Fast as Possible For Counterattack By DAVID LAWRENCE. Suppression of military informa- tion may be hard on an expectant populace but it is even harder on those who know what America has done since Pearl Harbor's tragedy on December 7 last but cannot 3 tell about it. § To see the headlines from day to day de- scribing offen- 3 sive action by the Japanese while American participation in any counterat- tack is scant, and yet to know David Lawrenee. that shortly there will be action which cannot now be revealed is a strain on our military and naval people that is well-nigh indescrib- able. National morale, however, has to | be bolstered and that's why the Of- fice of Facts and Figures has dis- closed some things already. One is the general route to the Far East which will be used to carry America’s reinforcements. Anybody with a map showing distances can easily see how impractical it is to send long-range bombers across the Pacific and, of course, how long and hazardous is the voyage of ships carrying the fighter type of airplane used to de- fend bombers. But the route which goes by way of the East Coast to South America and across to Africa over a short stretch of ocean to the west coast of Africa is a feasible course for long-range bombers. The other day a Pan-American Airways group of flyers came back by a series of re- lays from China to New York in a week's time traveling at an average of only 100 miles an hour. Bombers can get to Burma in much less time. Some day, when American policy permits greater concentrations of strength behind the Chinese, the route by air to Burma over Africa and Southern Asia will be much | traveled. Supplies Move Slowly. ‘While many war weapons can go by air, the distance and time neces- sary for voyages by sea limits Amer- ican action for the moment. The Japanese have figured this out and | that's why they are trying to spread out and occupy as many landing places as possible from which to operate their fighter and bomber planes. It will be an advantage to them that it may take several months of fighting to overcome, but that in the end it will be overcome seems to be assured according to the experts. Anybody with a knowledge of the speed of the average cargo ship can figure out how long it takes to get to the Netherlands East Indies and Australia, for instance, from the At~ lantic seaboard and around the southern tip of Africa at Cape of Good Hope and through the Indian | Some estimates range as | Ocean. high as two months depending on the speed of the ships. But once a flotilla of supply ships arrives after six or eight weeks, then a steady stream of ships will be| coming in nearly every day and from | that time forward the Japanese will not have the advantage they possess | today. Unquestionably the whole mobilization plan of the United States Army and the war plans of the United States Navy went into action the day after Pearl Harbor. That'’s about seven weeks ago. In another month supplies ought to be arriving in large quantities. Convoy Duty Important. Now, the American Navy canpot | be everywhere at the same time and there would be no sense in going out to find the scattered Japanese fleet in the Pacific, when there is important convoy duty to be per- formed in meeting American cargo ships that come from ports of the | United States. There will be time enough to go after the Japanese fleet in a large-scale action when the job of convoying and aerial protection is further advanced. Nobody except high officials can speak authoritatively about what happened on the fateful days im- mediately following Pearl Harbor, but the results of those orders will in due time be reflected in the head- lines telling about the fighting. The important fact to remember is that it takes time to get to the Far East, time to unload and assemble equip- ment and time to organize fighting units. The American people must be patient in the interim. The ad- vantage of the surprise tactics of the Japanese may last three or four months, but beyond that period it will be steadily diminished. Several things combine to make American experts confident. First, they believe the fighting spirit and morale of the American forces is unsurpassed. Second, Americans are skillful pilots and masterful handlers of ships. Above all, they are re- sourceful in an emergency and there will be much opportunity for indl- vidual performance, as has already been shown in the feats of heroism officially announced to date. In brief, the Army is on the move. The Navy is already in action, and the bombers and fighter planes are on their way to destinations and fighting areas which must for the moment be a secret. (Reproduction Rights Reserved.) To Address O. W. U. Alumni Dr, H. J. Burgstahler, president of Ohio Wesleyan University, will address the Washington alumni of the school at a dinner meeting Monday at 6:30 pm. in Highlands Dining Room, Connecticut avenue and California street N.W. Mrs. Lyle J. Holverstott is chairman of Committee on Arrangements. ~ By CONSTANTINE BROWN. It is extremely fortunate for the United States that the American-Filipino force under Gen. Douglas MacArthur con- tinues to hold out in the Philip- pines, even if its ultimate defeat is virtually certain. This relatively ill-equipped Army, lacking aviation, possess- ing only a small number of tanks, and inferior to the Japs in num- ber, is holding in the Philippines an enemy force estimated at be- tween 175,000 and 225,000 men. With the exception of an oc- casional raid by medium-size American bombers located “some- where not far from Luzon” it has no outside support what- ever. Yet it keeps occupied a Japanese force almost equal to that which has been rolling the British back in Malaya. Had it not been for this un- believably strong resistance of the American-Filipino force the situation in the Far East might have been even blacker than it is. The battle of the South Pa- cific is going in favor of the enemy and the Australians have the worst apprehension about the ‘future of their country. The statements of prominent members of the Canberra government in- dicate that only a token United Nations force has reached the shores of the continent. Until substantial reinforce= ments are available the Austral ian possessions outside the conti= nent are at the mercy of the enemy. Only relatively small forces convoy the Japanese in- vaders to Australian outposts. ‘While the islands which the Nipponese have occupied so far are of no real importance, they present a grave danger to Aus- tralia. If they are now forti- fled and prepared for defense they can be eventually used by the Japs as stepping stones in their plans to invade the conti- nent. If the Japs should establish themselves solidly in New Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago and organize air bases there, the assistance which we intend to send to Australia and which must be kept flowing constantly, will be greatly jeopardized. The Australians have not been niggardly in helping the mother country. Their best-trained men and the bulk of their equipment were sent wherever the British general staff required them. Bince the collapse of the Allied front in Europe after the fall of France, the Australians have been in the foretront of every major campaign undertaken by Great Britain. They have made history in Greece, Crete and Libya. Their government feels now that the time has come when the other members of the British Commonwealth of Na- tions must do the same for the gravely menaced homeland of the Aussies. There is no question that the chief strategists of the present war—President Roosevelt and Strasser’s “Free Germans”’ Let’s Look Them Over, Says Wells . Prime Minister Churchill—are fully aware of the imperative necessity of rushing every con- ceivable support to Australia. But there is a time element which is likely to be of great im- portance. Reinforcements of men and material from the United States and Great Britain have to be sent by sea over a distance of more than 10,000 miles under the threat of attack by Japanese planes and submarines. We have lost Cavite, an important raval base not too far from Australia, and Singapore can no longer be counted as available for United Nations naval forces. Difficult to Send Reinforcements. Hence, the problem of sending large reinforcements to Australia becomes more difficult every day. Our interference with Japanese convoys now being sent to Aus- tralian possessions in the Pacific is of only relative importance, since the navies of the United Nations have a task which re- quires an incomparably larger force than they possess at the moment. 1f we could stop the Japanese from further activity for two or three months the situation would change markedly in our favor. But the Japanese realize that this is a race with time and are sparing no effort, are disregard- ing losses in lives and war ma- terial in order to administer a knockout blow to the Allies in the South Pacific. They know how cumbersome the war machinery of the democ- racies is and how long it takes for wealthy and powerful nations to take war seriously and get operations under way. Tokio knows that by the end of this year our air production will be such that we will be able to cloud the Pacific with planes of all types; but it also knows that at the present time our means are relatively small. Hence, the Japanese general staff, which has been preparing for this war for many years, is attempting to obtain a decision before spring. According to bits of informa- tion which sift through from Tokio, Gen. MacArthur's re- sistance is the only element of surprise for the Japanese. They apparently reckoned that they could reduce that handful of men within a few weeks after the Philippines were invaded. Now, in the face of Gen. MacArthur's resolute defense, they have been compelled to draw on their re- serve forces and move their best troops into Luzon. D. C, SATURDAY, JANUARY 24, 1942. REPORT TO THE NATION + Second Installment of Archibald MacLeish’s Statement On Status of America’s War Effort lll. The Army Since the spring of 1940 the United States Army has under- gone a sixfold expansion in man power and has made remarkable progress toward its thirty-two- fold expansion in munitions. ‘When France fell, the American Regular Army consisted of 230, 000 enlisted men and 13,500 offi- cers. About 225000 National Guard men, partly equipped and trained, were standing by. By the autumn of 1941, the Army of the United States had reached a strength of over a million and a half men—seasoned in the extensive 1941 field exer- cises—equipped for training with modern weapons of warfare despite supplies sent to other nations fighting the aggressors. Troops in tactical units now form 34 divisions—27 infantry, five armored, two cavalry. Within continental United States, the divisions are organized into nine Army corps. These make up four field armies. American troops stand guard at Atlantic defense bases from Iceland to Surinam in Dutch Guiana, in the Pacific from Alaska to the South Pacific area. Army of 3,600,000. On January 15, 1942, the Secre- tary of War announced the largest expansion plan of all— doubling the size of the armored units, adding 32 large motorized triangular divisions of some 15,000 men each, and doubling the combat units of the air force—providing, in all, for an American Army of 3,600,000 men by the end of 1942. To shelter this great new Army and provide air bases and new fortifications, the Army has already completed on schedule 450 construction projects—over 50,000 separate buildings—in 250 areas. Stocks of Army clothing and personal equipment now on hand are sufficlent to maintain the current Army and to permit or- derly replacement. Additional supplies are accumulating to care for new increases in Army strength. The two most important weapons in this war are the plane and the tank. In these weapons we are already on our way to outbuildling the world. We already are producing light and medium tanks in quantities and the first heavy tank was de- livered to the Army the day we declared war on Japan. One Great Advantage. A great part of the billions al- lotted to the Army since the fall of France bas gone into build- ing new tank arsenals, ammuni- tion factories, smokeless powder and aircraft plants to make these weapons and the shells and bombs they will carry. More plants will be built as needed to meet the President’s goal for 1942 and 1943. Modern war calls for tanks with heavy fire power; anti-tank guns for our tank-destroyer out- fits; improved anti-aircraft bat- teries, searchlight and alrcraft detectors; vast quantities of ma- chine guns of heavier calibers. 1t also calls for such weapons as the Garand rifle, which has three times the rate of fire of the Springfield, and the new 155- millimeter gun which, mounted on a 35-mile-an-hour carrier, can place a 95-pound shell on & machine-gun nest 10 miles away. It calls for tens of thousands of fighter and bomber planes—well armored, carrying ever greater fire power, ever heavier bomb loads. ‘We begin our offensive against the Axis with one great advan- tage. The Army has benefited by the reports of hundreds of Army observers on the fields of battle throughout the world. Actual bat- tle tests have been given our new equipment by the fighting men of friendly nations. Despite all handicaps, produc- tion of tanks and combat vericles is more than three times that of a year ago, giving the Army the mobility needed for offensive ac- tion. The rate of tank produc- tion has been pyramiding and, at present, far exceeds estimates of a year ago. The 1942 goal of 45,000 tanks s great enough to equip and maintain with rep'ace- ments more than 60 armored divisions—in action. Production of guns of all types has increased nearly five times, while production of ammuni- tion is nine times that of a year ago. There are ample supplies of rifies, with Garands coming off the production line at better than a thousand a day; both light and heavy guns now have reached volume production. Army warplane production has been stepped up to the pointt where, with Great Britain, we soon will exceed the plane out- put of the Axis countries. More important, we will have the plant capacity to increase our produc- tion to the point where we can seize control of the air in all areas of the world struggle. Superiority of Our Planes. In performance, our Army Air Corps can be credited with spec- tacular progress. We now have four types of combat planes bet- ter than anything yet produced abroad, so far as is known. De- tails on air speeds cannot be given because, with the declara- tion of war, these became mii- tary secrets. Our new achieve- ments in performance were ac- complished not with specially built power units but with en- gines in regular production. This is particularly significant be- cause of the promise of improve- ment through the development of more horsepower in still larger types. American aircraft for some time have been flying in the alti- tude range necessary to modern bombing tactics—that is, 30,000 to 40,000 feet. Credit for this goes to a supercharger developed by American industry. American bomber types now in mass pro- duction are superior to those built anywhere else in the world. Still better models are on the way. ACK IN 1933, soon after Hitler came to power, one of the great leaders of the Nazi party, Otto Strasser, left Germany for Paris where he set about establishing the so-called Black Front to combat Hitler. His work, of course, was known and in 1934 his brother Gregor was killed in the purge. A little less than a year ago, Otto Strasser arrived in Canada where he is now busily organ- izing a “Free German” movement. H. G. Wells, the famous British historian, has been looking into Strasser’s activities and his proposals. Tomorrow in the Editorial Feature Section he will tell you what he has uncovered and what his impressions are. You may hear more of the Strasser movement. It is well to have the background which Mr. Wells will give you. As further interesting material in the section, Marquis W. Childs, writing in connection with the approaching birthday of President Roosevelt, develops the theme that all the world now looks to Mr. Roosevelt as the final great test of the free way of life ap- proaches a climax. Felix Morley will discuss the question of white prestige in the Far East and Constantine Brown will comment on various phases of the war. Tomorrow, January 25, in he Sunday Star Call NAtional 5000 for regular delivery both Sunday and daily The manning of these war- planes has required an immense training program for pilots, bom- bardiers, navigators, gunners, ob- servers and mechanics. In 1940, flying officers were being trained at the rate of 7,000 a year. For 1941, this was raised to 12,000 a year—and this rate was passed in November with the graduation of 1,200 aviation cadets. At present, the air Torces form the second largest branch of the Army. Current plans for 1942 call for the addition of 20,000 aviation cadets per month. By midyear, air force strength will have passed the 750,000 mark, and will be expanding rapidly. Through wide revisions in the requirements, approximately 2,000,000 more men are expected to - become eligible for the air forces. At the beginning of the war in September, 1930, we did not pos- sess & munitions industry of any great significance. We had to build one. Nearly a billion dol- lars' worth of new munitions plants are now in full operation. Several billions’ worth of ad- ditional munitions plants are on their way to completion. Among the 23 new munitions plants al- ready in operation are some of the largest of their kind in the world. The billions already spent in building tank arsenals and pow- der plants, small cities of canton- ments, hospitals and ‘%torage depots will be matched by more billions as our Army grows, Goal Is 7,000,000 Soldiers. In the maneuvers of 1941 and in the battles in the Far East the officers and men of the United States Army have meas- ured up to our traditions of sol- diering. Into the immense frame of our new Army fit the thousands upon thousands of American soldiers who were civilians a short time ago—the Wyoming cowpuncher who is now a pilot in the Air Corps and the Hartford insur- ance salesman who is now & buck private in the infantry; the brakeman on the Northern Pa- cific who used to work out of St. Paul; the student; the school teacher; the clerk; the man who ran a newspaper stand in New Orleans; young men from Maine and California and the Missis- sippi Valley. Yesterday compara- tively few American families were represented in the Army. Tomorrow there will be com- paratively few that are not. More than half the present Army is made up of men chosen through the selective service sys- tem. Up to December 7, 1941, the selective service system had reg- istered 17,672,000 men between the inclusive ages of 21 and 35, and around 925,000 had been in- ducted into the Army. A wave of voluntary enlist- ments was one answer to the wave of Japanese planes over Pearl Harbor. To insure the full- est possible supply without taking essential men from the assembly lines and the forges, from the shipyards and the munitions plants, the Selective Service Act was amended. The amendment expands the age brackets for military service to include 20- year-olds through 44-year-olds. All men from 18 to 64, inclusive, are required to register for all kinds of war work. With the new law, the United States will be able to recruit an Army esti- mated at 7.000.000 men. The Army has come an as- toundingly long way since 18 months ago. Then, as Gen Marshall said, “Each division constituted a force which, when concentrated three or four months later, would permit one regiment to train—if all the other troops of the division stayed in camp and loaned their transportation to that one regi- ment. Future Is the Present. Today the Army 1s encamped all along our seaboard, far in- land, at eur overseas bases, and in the Canal Zone. Our air force can strike from the mainland and from our overseas bases against invaders of our country or South America. Teams of air and mechanized forces have shown in maneuvers that they can work together effectively. Yet, as Secretary Stimson sald just before the Axis struck: “In the light of present world condi- tions the Army which we are now training is far from large. Our total military forces amount only to a slightly larger number of soldiers than were contained in the armies of Belgium and Hol- land at the time when they were overthrown in a few days by the might of Germany. We are try- ing to arm them with weapons of a better quality than those in the hands of any other soldiers in the world, and we are trying to fit them to be not only the equal of any soldiers but to serve as the leaders and teach- ers of the large forces which the future may show it is nec- essary for us to raise.” That future has now become the immediate present. (To be continued.) HE: RELIEVE COLDS