The Southland Times TUESDAY, AUGUST 11, 1942. Americans Hear the Truth

Southland Times, Issue 24819, 11 August 1942, Page 4

The Southland Times TUESDAY, AUGUST 11, 1942. Americans Hear the Truth

TWO months ago President Roosevelt summoned Elmer Davis to the White House and told him that he was to be head of the Office of War Information. This important job has its nearest British equivalent in the Minister of Information; but there are some differences which should weigh noticeably in favour of American propaganda. The new head of the 0.W.1. is responsible only to the President. He must de T pend, of course, on Army and Navy co-operation; but his powers are wide, and there will be no interference from a host of miscellaneous authorities. Mr Davis is well known in the United States as a journalist, writer and broadcaster. His outstanding qualities are clear -headeaness and mental balance. It is doubtful if a better man. could have been chosen to tell the American people, as quickly as possible, what they are entitled to know about the course of the war. An example of the work that is being done under his direction was printed yesterday in a cable message from Washington. It was a review of America’s first eight months of the war, and it made no concessions to optimism and wishful thinking. Some of the facts mentioned in the review can be given an obvious application to questions of strategy which show signs of becoming controversial. For instance, the problem of the second front moves into perspective when it is stated that “even if ship-building continues rising and sinkings decrease, it will be late in 1943 before we again have as much merchant shipping as we had on December 7, 1941.” This need not mean that there can be no offensive in Europe until the shipping position shows a rapid improvement. The United Nations may yet be forced to use their present resources instead of waiting until they have reserves in tonnage from which the inevitably . heavy losses can be replaced. But it gives emphasis to the hint that a larger war effort in the field must be based on a larger effort at home. Similarly, the strain upon available resources compels the Allied leaders to select their objectives. “When we cannot be strong and hit hard everywhere we must hit hard where it counts, even at the price of leaving other areas inactive?’ This comment could have been aimed at those who are arguing that insufficient forces and materials are going to Australia. And it has now been supported by the swift blow at Japanese bases in the Solomons. The general tone of the review is cautious and realistic. After eight months of war the United States is just moving towards the offensive. There can be no sudden and spec-, tacular changes. “It is certain that we are not going to win without heavy losses of men.” American production is “amazing” compared with pre-war standards, but it is “not enough to win the war.’’ British people, who have been in the struggle for nearly three years, may have been excused for hoping that America’s entry would be followed by a rapid easing pf their own burdens. Much has already been done: the victories of Midway Island and the Coral Sea, for instance, lifted a menacing shadow from the coasts of Australia and New Zealand. But the Axis gains are considerable. German and Japanese resources have been fed with the spoils of conquest. Armies have over-run territories from which they must be driven out. Great forces are available, or will soon b 4 available, for this tremendous undertaking. But the battles must be won at home, in every country which sends troops and airmen across the seas. The 0.W.1. review is proof that the magnitude of the task is fully appreciated in Washington. It is also a guarantee that the people will be given facts which can be made the foundation of a realistic opinion. British people should draw encouragement from the knowledge that their American allies are settling down to work and fight with open eyes. There will be no coloured spectacles at the 0.W.1. And for men who know where they are going the road may prove shorter than they dared to hope.