SECURITY AT SEA

Wairarapa Times-Age, 20 January 1941, Page 2

SECURITY AT SEA

i.Continued from page

“The United States has been success-i ful in maintaining the Monroe Doc-I trine, till the United Slates has progressed from weakness to strength, and ' the other nations in this hemisphere have been enabled to develop their' own civilisations free from the fear of i sudden foreign conquest, only because ■ of the support of Britain, whose fleet ] could prevent overseas aggression from 1 Europe. I JAPANESE AGGRESSION. “Only during the past 50 years has ; it become necessary for us to develop! a strong navy." Colonel Kr.ox con-j tinned. “The circumstances that rendered a strong navy essential to our] safety were the construction of the German navy to back aggression to-' ward distant lands, and Japan’s ex-, pansion into peaceful lands beyond her I borders. “Ail will doubtless remember that j the/Great War gave Japan her chance ; for expansion throughout the islands: of the Pacific, and will remember that I this was the occasion of her 'Twenty- i One Demands on China. We were; able to check Japan's further aggressions by moving our entire licet to the Pacific when the conclusion of the war; eliminated the German licet in the At- 1 lantic. Since then we maintained our one-ocean navy in the Pacific, and this! proved adequate in both directions! only because the existence and deploy- ’ ment of the British Navy gave us secu- . rity in the Atlantic.

"In effect, we and the British Com-! monwealth actually had a two-ocean : navy, operated for a single, peaceful ; purpose. We still have a one-ocean > navy. We are building a two-ocean ■ navy, but it will not be completed s within six years. We need the com- j plete structure as fast as we can, be- ] cause the other part of our present: two-ocean navy is in grave danger. "The British Navy can survive only if the British Isles survive. Should the; British Isles fall we can only believe j that the British Navy, which never • runs from danger, will fall at the same; ] time. I think we can safely assume ■ ! that the British Navy will share the • I fate of the courageous nation that sup-; | ports it." COMPARISON OF FLEETS. i . I Colonel Knox quoted Navy Depart-! | ment estimates of the combined naval j I strength of the Axis as 585.000 tons in ; I excess of that of the United States.] ! The Axis at present had 658 warships; i and the United States 312. By Janui ary, 1942, the Axis would have 803' | warships compared with 324 of the i ! United States, and by January. 19-13.1 I it would have 962. compared with 422 ■American warships. "We need to build ships, trainj I crews, build bases, drill armies and, I accumulate war stores," Colonel Knox! i said. "Only Britain and her fleet can i I give us that time, ami they need our! help to survive. If we fully organise; iour metal and material resources we; I can give Britain that help and simul-; i taneously we can build a strong mili-; i tar.v defence. 'Die cost will be great.; ' but it will be far greater should we I I now stand by and lot Britain full. "With our unstinted help. I firmly! believe. Britain cannot be defeated.! i We will act in our own best national: I interests, therefore, if while incrcas-; ! ing our naval power as fast as we can I we provide the British Commonwealth j ‘with means to bring her through this, I iragic crisis." I j Questioned by Mr Hamilton Fish.; j whether the United States possessed i i the world’s greatest navy. Colonel; • Knox said that the navy was unques- • ■ tionably now the strongest in thei I world. He said he did not fear im- i .mediate attack, “but I know that .f Britain is defeated we will be at-1 • lacked." > i He said he would oppose any j ■ amendment preventing the use of .Amo-j ! rica.n si’,ip- to escort convoys became, j he did not believe in tying the United I I States’ hands in any way. However. he said, lie did not favour sending’ ; American convoys escorted by Ameri-i | can warships into the war zones. • 1 do not think wr can do anything: morale of the Brin.-b. ( .o<.ple thru : ,.a<s i this Bill." he added. | POSSIBILITY OF CRISIS. Questioned as to the possibility <•' .-. ! , crisi:; in GO to 90 days. Colonel Km x i intensified combined submarine and The Blit:.-!’, were ::n!,m i with tightIlmught tin Hr.’.. h Fie. ■..-... Li !•'. io the last “I in. >w \ Churchill. .md I can't imagim.- any 1 lie said. said. ■ ■ ti. ■ (' '. m K r ■ /:.