SCIENCE AND WAR

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 20877, 1 September 1942, Page 4

SCIENCE AND WAR

A VITAL PART ROOSEVELTS REVIEW ANSWER TO JAPANESE (Bv Telegraph—Press Assn. —Copyright.) (1.30 p.m. NEW YORK. Aug. 31. Speaking at the dedication of a naval medical centre on the observance of the centenary of the Naval Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, at Bethesda, Maryland. President Roosevelt said: "In this hospital our navy battles against disease, disability, and death. Those who fight this vital battle are the anonymous heroes of this .war. Surgeons, nurses, scientists, and technicians are part of a world-wide service carrying' on an unending fight to keep as many men at as many guns for as many days as possible.” After a reference to the infamous attack on Pearl Harbour—"the darkest hour in .the navy's history, when ships were put out of commission and 3000 men lulled or wounded”—)., went on to say: "In the months that followed, months without victories our enemies taunted its with the question, ‘Where is the United' States navy?’ To-day our enemies know tiic beginning on the answer to that question. They have learned in the Atlantic, in the Coral Sea, and at Midway. They are learning now in their attempts to recapture the Solomons. Where is the United States navy? It is where it always has been —carrying out the command to hit the enemy and hit him again wherever and whenever we find him.” Co-ordinated Warfare

Pointing out , that battles cannot be fought and won without cost, both in ships and men. President Roosevelt said: “To-day, in distant places, wc are fighting the battles the like of which have never before been known. In the south-west Pacific ships and planes of the fleet and long-range .bombers of the army are striking at The enemy from widely-separated bases and striking together. “:=such co-ordinated warfare requires men of extraordinary physical alertness and exceptional bearing. A split second in timing by ope individual may cost innumerable lives. “In addition to working out new methods of healing and cure, doctors must discover new methods of preparing men for unprecedented combat conditions in submarines, planes and tanks. Men must be as perfectly attuned in their bodies as thpy arc perfectly prepared in minds and hearts for the fierce test of battle. The extent of the remarkable progress achieved in this science can be attested by the enemies who have faced our men in battle.” ' Pointing out that the progress of prevention and cure must not be limited to the armed forces, because the whole copulation was involved in winning this' total war, President Roosevelt said there were 40,000 fatalities from automobile accidents last year and almost 1,500,000 persons injured. There were 19,200 fatal accidents in industry in addition to 3,000',000 injured', including 100,000 ,receiving permanent' disabilities, resulting in the loss of the almost inor.edibie total of 42,000,000 man-days. “Thy it' is hot only our enemies who kill valuable Americans,” he said. “Long 1 and Tough War”

Speajcing at Cleveland, Ohio, Admiral E. J. King told the Chamber of Commerce that the vyar would be long aqd tough and would bring maqy heartaches and disappointments, “but. the United Natjons- will win. We have insufficient killing tools yet to make our real strength felt. A two.ocean navy is hot yet'' a, reality. We still lack smaller warships. The navy expects more than 1,500,000 men to be in service next year. Enlistments will -be kept on a voluntary basis;” “It is not going too, far to say tfiat any civilians who, through reckless driving or failure to take proper safety measures in industrial plants, kill or maim fellow citizens, are doing injpry tq out sons and brothers who are fighting thjs war in uniform. Similar injury to the armed forces is done by pedestrians or workers who, through thoughtlessness and carelessness, put themselves in harm’s wav. Not all can participate in direct action against our enemies, but all can participate in saving our man-power. President Roosevelt concluded with a reference to the third anniversary of Herr Hitler’s blitzkrieg against. Poland. “Men have djed and nations have been tortured arid enslaved to satisfy the brutal lust for power of a few inhuman tyrants Germans, Italians, and Japanese,” he said. “To defeat such tyrants, to the removal from this earth of injustices and inequalities which create such tyrants and' breed new wars, this nation is wholly dedicated,”