Wairarapa Times-Age THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1941. A HEAVY BLOW.

Wairarapa Times-Age, 11 December 1941, Page 4

Wairarapa Times-Age THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1941. A HEAVY BLOW.

TT is sad and terrible news for all the countries of the Empire and its Allies that two British capital ships the new battleship Prince of Wales and the battle-cruiser Repulse—have been sunk in operations against the Japanese off the coast of Malaya, it is feared with heavy loss of life. As Mr Duff Cooper has said, worse than the loss of the ships is the loss of tie hiany brave officers and men who have died fighting for t ien conn i j.

What effect the loss of these great ships is to have on the course of the war in the Pacific remains to be seen. Following as it does on the treacherous but resolute Japanese attack on the American base in Hawaii, it may be felt that in this admittedly heavy blow and its results there is evidence that Ihe striking power of the enemy has been rated unduly low. lhe essential effect in any case will be to rouse all that is best in our own nation and in those with whom we are allied to quickened and still more resolute efforts for victory.

There is no question of any other attitude than one .of inflexible determination to overthrow the forces of evil to nc ' l the free nations stand opposed. The loss of the Prince of Wales and the Repulse will be felt bitterly throughout the Empire, but the effect of every such loss must be to spur the nation to new and ever more effective exertion. In Australia the Fedeial Prime Minister, Mr Curtin, has said that there can no longer be any question of business as usual and has called, upon the people of the Commonwealth for an intensified war effort. For New Zealand, too, the tragic news of the loss of the two great fighting ships carries its very definite warning and demand.

AMERICA’S AWAKENING.

A GOOD many people no doubt expected that President Roosevelt, in the speech reported today, would give an authoritative account of the Japanese attack on the United States naval and air bases in Hawaii. In fact he declared himself unable to do that until he had received fuller and more exact information than was then in his possession. Admitting a severe setback at Hawaii, he invited his countrymen to reject fantastic rumours originated by the enemy in the hope of sowing fear and confusion and of goading the American Government into disclosing valuable information.

All that can be done meantime is to await a determination of the facts, and of the striking power of the American naval, air and other forces. The most disquieting feature of the attack ' on Hawaii is in the extent to which the American forces appear to have been taken by surprise. Whatever shortcomings or failures may have been involved no doubt will be dealt with in an appropriate way. Meantime it seems highly probable that the more ambitious claims made by the Japanese, and echoed and elaborated by their Axis partners, are in the same category as German and Italian claims which would mean, if placed end to end, that the whole British Navy, for example, had been destroyed several times over.

President Roosevelt’s speech had commanding interest and importance in its definition of the part the United States has now undertaken in the war and in world affairs. While he accused Japan of having set a climax to ten years of international immorality, and laid due emphasis upon the demonstration now afforded that the ocean-girt Western Hemisphere is not immune from attack, Mr Roosevelt made it clear also that the task facing the United States is that of helping to rid the world of the total menace of gangster aggression. The American people, he said, were determined to win final and complete victory over Japan, but it would serve them ill if they accomplished that and then find the world dominated by Hitler and Mussolini.

Mr Roosevelt spoke as the leader of a nation awakenec| to the knowledge that it can never again hope to enjoy security in isolation from the rest of the world —a nation determined to throw the whole of its mighty resources into the task — however long and hard that task may be —of winning the war and winning the peace. As the President said, there may be dark days ahead, but with the United States making active and common cause with Britain and her Allies, the doom of international gangsterdom is written.