ALLIES GROW IN STRENGTH

Southland Times, Issue 24874, 14 October 1942, Page 5

ALLIES GROW IN STRENGTH

U.S. PRODUCTION EXPANDS (Rec. 10.35 p.m.) WASHINGTON, October 12. “The American people are united as never before in their determination to do the job and do it well. The whole nation is becoming one great fighting force. Some are soldiers, some are sailors and some are civilians. Some are fighting five miles up in aeroplanes and some are fighting in mines deep down in the earth. “Few of us are decorated for heroic achievement, but all can have the deep, permanent inner satisfaction that comes from doing their best. We know how each is playing an honourable part in the great struggle to save democratic civilization. Whatever our circumstances and opportunities we are all in it. Our spirit is good and we Americans and our Allies are going to win. Don’t let anyone tell-you anything different.” These, said President Roosevelt in a world-wide broadcast, were the main things he had observed in his recent tour of, inspection. With every passing week the war increased in scope and intensity, he said. The strength of the United Nations was on the up-grade. The Axis leaders, on the contrary, knew they had already reached ■ their full strength. Their steadily-mounting losses in men and material could not be fully replaced. Germany and Japan were already realizing what the inevitable results would be when the total strength of the United Nations hits them at additional places. “The war of nerves is now becoming a boomerang,” said the President. “The Axis leaders have begun to apologize to their own people for the repulse of their vast forces at Stalingrad and the enormous casualties. They have been compelled to beg their over-worked people to rally their weakened production. They are proclaiming that a second front is impossible and at the same time they are desperately rushing troops in all directions and are stringing barbed’wire all the way from the coast of Finland to the islands of the Eastern Mediterranean. GERMAN ATROCITIES “Meanwhile, they have been driven to increase the fury of their atrocities. We have made it clear that the United Nations do not seek reprisals against the populations of Germany, Italy and Japan, but the ring-leaders and their brutal henchmen must be named, apprehended and tried in accordance with the judicial processes of criminal law.” “The United States has been at war for only 10 months and has been engaged in the enormous task of multiplying the armed forces many times.” said the President. “We are by no means at full production level yet, but I could not help asking myself on my trip where we would be today if we had not begun to build many factories for this huge increase more than two years ago, more than a year before war was forced upon us at Pearl Harbour. We also have to face the problem of shipping. Ships in every part of the world continue to be sunk by enemy action, but the total tonnage of shipping coming from American, Canadian and British shipyards daily has increased so fast that we are getting ahead of our enemies in the. bitter battle of transportation. We have had to enlist many thousands of men for the Mercantile Marine. They are serving magnificently and are risking their lives every hour, so that guns, tanks, planes, ammunition and food may be carried to the heroic defenders of Stalingrad and all the United Nations forces throughout the world.” EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN The President said he had been impressed on his tour by the number of women employed on skilled manual work. Within a year there would probably be as many women as men working in war production plants. “Having seen the quality of the work and the workers on the production lines and coupling these observations with reports of the performance of our weapons on the fighting fronts I can say we are getting ahead of our enemies in the battle of production,” he said. “In order to keep stepping up our production we have added. millions of workers to the nation’s total labour force. Additional millions must be found as new factories come into operation. We must learn to ration man-power and must use older men, more women and even grown boys and girls to replace men of military age and fitness. We must cease the wastage of labour in all non-essential activities.”

Discussing the training of the fighting forces, Mr Roosevelt said a division of an average age of 23 or 24 years was a better fighting unit than one of an average of 33 or 34. “The more of such troops we have in the field the sooner the war will be won and the smaller will be the casualties,” he said. “Therefore, we believe it will be necessary to lower the present minimum age for service from 20 to 18 years. The men in the Army, Navy and Marines are receiving the best possible training, equipment and medical care. Good training will save many lives in battle. The effectiveness of our combat units will depend on the quality of their leadership and the wisdom of the strategic plans.” RELIEF FOR RUSSIA The President added that the plans would not be decided by those who expounded their views in the Press. They would be left to the military leaders of the United Nations, who were in substantial agreement on the plans. Many major decisions in strategy had been made. One on which all agreed related to the necessity of diverting the enemy forces from Russia and China to other theatres of war by new offensives against Germany and Japan. “We are mindful of the countless millions of people whose future liberty and whose very lives depend upon permanent victory for the United Nations,” he said. “Our objective today is clear and realistic. It is to destroy completely the military power of Germany, Italy and Japan to such good purpose that their threat against us and all the other United Nations cannot be revived a generation hence. We are united in seeking the kind of victory that will guarantee that our grandchildren can grow and under God live their lives free from the constant threat of invasion, destruction, slavery and violent death.”

father, Mr Alan S. Fraser, Lower Hutt. Temporary Acting Sub-Lieutenant (A) E. A. Pratt, injured in aircraft accident; father, Colonel Frank Pratt, Christchurch. Temporary Sub-Lieutenant A. F. O’Connor, previously reported missing, now presumed dead; mother, Mrs H. A. O’Connor, Auckland.