The Charlotte News

Thursday, March 19, 1942

FOUR EDITORIALS

Site Ed. Note: Of major note on today's front page was the decision of Hitler to recall his fired and resigned generals from the Russian debacle, to plan a new spring offensive. The report indicated that the conference included von Brauschitsch, von Runstedt, and von Bock. Also involved was his more popular field marshal, Erwin Rommel. The inference was drawn, accurately, from the meeting's personnel, that the new offensive lines would be in Russia and in Libya.

The article anent the British threat to shut down the London Daily Mirror for its editorializing against the British Army command to the effect that they were "brass-buttoned boneheads", suggests that boneheads existed not just in the United States. The British obviously had their share in government. The editorializing appears in the spirit of satire to urge change and not the "violent denunciation" described by the unduly sensitive boneheads. We hope that freedom of speech and the press won out, but we are not sure. It was a reminder why America fought a Revolution.

"Shipyard Battle" places the battlefield of the Pacific at the source, the shipyards, those of Japan and the United States. The goal of the Allies was attrition, to keep hitting Japan's navy despite losses of territory. To maintain that territory, the Japanese had to maintain long supply lines from Japan. And the longer the lines became, the more vulnerable their shipping became. The goal on the United States domestic front was to build more and faster ships than either Germany or Japan. The steelworkers on the Liberty ships who would soon begin laying hulls at an unprecedented rate would answer the call and prove the unsung heroes of the war.

Raymond Clapper describes the Spartan amenities available to him on his arrival in Africa--a Simmons Beauty-Rest mattress laid under the stars, outdoor bathtubs--and how the British had for a century been able to tolerate such conditions. With increasing American influence, more modern facilities were coming into existence. It is counter-intuitive to think that the rude and hearty frontiersmen of America were less tolerant two centuries later to the rough and tumble of the savanna than the fastidious Britisher, but there it is. All does not always follow stereotype, especially through time.

Framed Edition
[Return to Links-Page by Subject] [Return to Links-Page by Date] [Return to News<i>--</i>Framed Edition]
Links-Date -- Links-Subj.