The Miami Herald from Miami, Florida • 48

THE HERALD MIAMI FLORIDA SUNDAY JULY 21 1940 MIAMI Most Strategic Defense Outpost Finger-Tip Location On Map Of United States Charges 'This City With Western Hemisphere's Biggest Job To Guarantee A Way Of Living Key To Safety Is Bases Here PAGE Americans Eye The Caribbean The sentiment of American voters with regard to the European-owned territories near the Panama Canal is shown in the following review of recent Gallup polls: PREVIOUSLY REPORTED If the Allies need more money for running the war would you be in favor of the United States and other American republics buying the British French and Dutch possessions in the area of the Panama Canal? yes 81 NO 19 If Germany defeats the Allies should the United States fight if necessary to keep Germany out of the British French and Dutch possessions located in the area of the Panama Canal? YES 84 NO 16 REPORTED NOW If Germany defeats England should the United States take immediate possession of the English French and Dutch territories in the area of the Panama Canal? YES 87 NO 13 BERMUDA EiS By I PEXXEKAMP Mnttar EdUer Tb Herald MAKE a FIST of your right hand and extend the index finger You have formed with your hand what is roughly the outline of the map of the United States Now center your attention on the nail of that index finger That is Miami and its environs That location on the map this today is the most strategic military position in the United States Miami because of its location well may become the savior of the United States and thereby of theWYestern Hemisphere of the democratic free form of government which we enjoy and which we would make available to our children Not so long ago you were that in the event of war the United States would not attempt to defend Florida the state was not defend-able strategically worthless That was before Hitler loosed a new kind of war upon the In the light of developments that statement has become the most damaging and dangerous Fifth Column heresy to be given credence In this Country In recent times Defense of the United States In modern warfare requires as a first consideration the establishment here of the greatest concentration of present day military might that it is possible to assemble It doesn't mean fortifications in the accepted sense of masonry turrets and hideous landscape obstructions It means air fields a bigger and deeper harbor more and wider heavy duty and high speed roads It means the establishment of training schools to teach all of the related subjects that attend air efficiency armament harbor operations transportation and assurance of supplies It means the end of civic bickering and the end of hopeful but apologetic approaches It means the acceptance of true objective and purposeful patriotism based on a sound premise as distinguished from lip service finger pointing flag waving Nearest Mainland Point To Canal LOOK AGAIN at your closed fist The nail of your finger is the nearest point on the mainland of the United States to the Panama Canal That life-line of our commerce (and in time for war means of mobility for our fleet) must be protected from Miami by airplanes supported by warships and even airplane carriers The canal is approxi- mately 1200 miles due south of Miami a long way too long a way flying distances under war con- ditjpns go but still hundreds of miles nearer any other point on the mainland of the United States not on the Florida peninsula war has served to em Canada before entering the United States Again the supply line requirements which lie would have to set up and maintain would be monumental If from the southwest his approach would be by way of Mexico Mountain passes in the north of that country are easily defended and the mountains themselves offer ideal positions for anti-aircraft activities If the pass and anti-aircraft defenses fail there remains the resistance of the cross country march to halt or repel the invader who again is confronted with the task of establishing and sustaining his supply lines Remember that all the time and In each instance his air operations will be restricted by the need for bringing up the equipment taking or establishing bases making available the manpower to hold such bases and to operate them and that his range of operation will be limited by that three-to-one ratio previously pointed out If the sometimes discussed northeastern route of approach were used the invader would be slowed down by the need for operating in sections from one distantly placed stepping stone to another as he progresses westward conditions that argue against the assembling of formidable armament at any given point without too much delay flight distances that are greater than effective operations permit and movement over Inhospitable land both from the standpoint of terrain and population Supply Lines Continuing Problem ALSO lest we forget here again the invader would be confronted with that destroyer of the morale of fighting men inability to bring up foodstuffs clothing weapon replacements supplies This situation also serves to emphasize the difference in warfare before Hitler and by blitzkrieg Hitler could blitzkrieg every time he have to cross water His planes could go out at moderate distances and spread terror but they had to be supported Immediately if he hoped to hold the objective by troops mechanized units and supplies moving over land Thus when he had to cross water as in the case of Norway he had to move as near as possible to his objective and establish a "bridging to bring up the mechanized supports before he was ready to blitzkrieg Fifth column assistance a naval defense that bogged down in Indecision and paralyzing surprise and troop resistance that was nullified by lack of organization contributed to the success of his bridging process This process was completed he established a foothold in Norway Blitzkrieg must have a foothold on land before it can proceed in all its might Canals rivers and other streams offer only temporary obstructions but wider bodies of water such as the English Channel or the Caribbean sea or the Florida Straits guarded are something else again England has profited by the mistake at Norway This Is dem- mainland -a to their German held' mainland base Which means that England remains in control of the island a damaged Island to be sure but still island The destruction might be so great that England to avert privation and suffering by its millions would capitulate and extend the invitation to "come but the victory under those circumstances still would show the failure of heavy mechanization to overcome the obstacle of guarded water transportation Therein probably lies the answer to the frequently heard questions: Why Great Britain open a great aerial offensive against Germany? Why has Germany so long delayed its threatened mass attack on England? Except at the sacrifice of numerous planes lost because they would be unable to return to their base distance makes the air attacks im finger-tip Importance as the strategic location from which the United States must ke defended this map Blitzkrieg in all its might must move over land Adequately defended Miami is the one city successfully prevent blitzkrieg from getting krieg attack the United States heretofore considered in this discussion lean in the direction of' w-arfare as it was known before the coming of Hitler and his blitzkrieg The United States has conducted warfare under such conditions before and presumably is prepared to or can be prepared to do so again What Is said of the possibility of an attack on the west coast is true also of an attack on the east coast The Atlantic and its transportation problem presents to the invader an obstacle that is too great to overcome before he can place upon our shores the men mechanical equipment armament and planes the mechanized army that makes up the blitzkrief and establishes the supply lines to maintain it as it proceeds on Its errand of destruction Which brings us to the southeast to Florida to the tip of our index finger which a few months ago was not worth defending not strategically useful To the south and east are the islands of the Bahamas and of the West Indies close at hand easy stepping stones to the United States by way of southern tip A waterhaul over a difficult to defend or undefendable area of the Atlantic can bring all of the resources of blitzkrieg to the easternmost of these stepping stones They possess all the elements of access for blitzkrieg operations that were absent from the other approaches If taken or otherwise made available to the invader they not only help to establish that supply line which was the distress of the aggressor in each other instance but they may become a potent part of that supply line may supply much of the material which it needs Approaching from this angle blitzkrieg affords a serious hazard to continental United States if Miami is neglected as a strategic defender blitzkrieg becomes impotent if Miami is ready for its part You no longer can give the invader Florida and prepare to resist him further north Once he gets his blitzkrieg organization set up in Florida "further has to resist the full might And conversely Miami is in every way the ideal strategic and only base from which the organization of his blitzkrieg can intelligently be prevented Miami Prevents Bridging Process IT HAS been shown how relation to the Panama canal makes it imperative that its strategic location be acknowledged Because it is where it is this city now also becomes the first outpost of blitzkrieg resistance Arm this necessarv to kpep Germany out of the British French and Dutch possessions located in the area of the Panama Eightv-four per cent answered 16 per cent said AS with other questions of American foreign policy survey reveals a striking degree of unanimity in both major parties and in all sectionsof the United States Politics the survey indicates once more still stop at water's edge" The vote of Democrats and Republicans is as follows' Favoring Opposing Occnpa- Occnpa' tion tion Democrats 89 11 Republicans 86 14 Sectionally the greatest support for a policy of occupation-if-neces-sary comes from the Southern states nearest in point of geography to the Caribbean Even in the Middle however the vote averages more than 4 to 1 Favoring Opposing Occnpa- Occupa tion tion a with sufficient planes a warships to repel the potential vader or to keep him perpetually disturbed In his approach operations and you have made hs blitzkrieg ambitions Impractical He cannot set up his after making his stepping stone approach He must be kept from the nearby-islands and prevented from extending supply lines within close proximity to the mainland of the United States Miami Is the one city on the mainland prepared by location to prevent that Until he establishes a foothold he cannot bring to play the mechanics of blitzkrieg Airplanes alone blitzkrieg and a proper air arm of defense here that division of blitzkrieg can be resisted The limitations of airplane operations being what they are (remember that three-to-one ratio and the need for immediate mechanized support) south Florida must be protected from use as the final and the foothold It is impossible to make the needed defense from a distance as $ar removed as the mainland north of the peninsula and each mile that the defenders are moved north of Miami increases the hazards of successful resistance By a happy chance location unites climate to emphasize strategic value There is no need to fear fog seasons or any other climatic periods which might serve to conceal the operations as he moves upon the United States Day after day every dav of the year he is forced to reveal his activities under clear skies andB nearly unlimited visibility Changed World Speeds Progress MIAMI because of Its climate Its beauty its appeal and its values long ago became a city In that sense in which we regarded our scheme of living when Democracy seemed eternal and peace assured i Miamians accepted their assignment by developing those things that helped to make for the joy and comfort of successful living here for themselves and for the rest of the wrorld which came here to participate in what had Miami becomes the national city in the sense that its strategic position makes it the first and last outpost of defense the guarantor of the future security of a nation a plan of living probably of a hemisphere The martial Intelligence of this country is of the importance which has centered itself upon Miami as a military base They know of the air and sea advantages of this area of the flexibility of our harbor of the military advantages of our terrain of our supply line transportation insurance This same Intelligence is being freed from the fetters which bound it by a new kind of objective and -purposeful patriotism the shield of which is public agreement on the need of adequate defense In the past these fetters approved and financed defense schemes which had their source not In a clearly defined logical studied and comprehensive plan but in the applfr cation of practical politics to make-A shift compromise plans that skirt-7-' ed the edge of the country's real military needs and hang the expense To get best appropriation military strategy had to give to Individual prestige influence and importance to selfishness and implied voting strength and election needs at the cost of an expensive inefficiency contribution to the attainment of the new objective calls for nothing that will injure this area It calls for a fullsome wholehearted dedication to speeding up those needs and requirements which would be this eventual normal destiny speeded up because a changed world had catapulted progress many jears ahead of its established schedule A one-purpose Miami charged this biggest job should see our citizens united in the direction of technical training expansion bigger air fields extensive harbor developments a magnified highway system and a relentless push in the direction of practical development Now! INDIES nd Miami is at the United practical Germany took the Low Countries Belgium and northern France for various economic and military reasons but you may be sure that the most important reason was to get closer to England to reduce this distance Even after Hitler took Norway he found that he too far away for efficient aerial operations and that the water transportation problem made a blitzkrieg against England impractical He now must establish adequate bases supplied and manned along the captured Low Country Belgian and French coasts before he can undertake extensive operations against England In the meantime Germany had given her first chance of aerial retaliation England now is concentrating upon harassing the efforts of Germany to establish these coastal bases The reduction in distance has operated in favor pf both sides motivates American public opinion with regard to the Caribbean Here are the most frequent comments in the order of mention by the voters: 1 If England Is defeated the territories should be occupied In The People Speak! since the presidential election of Immediate Possession By Either By Purchase Or Seizure of Foreign Territory Near Canal Favored In Poll As Needed Protective Measure Against Any Menace their to the Western Hemisphere would be considered dangerous to American peace and safety Today more than a century later an analysis of comments shows that the same idea GALLUP POLL against blitzkrieg is shown In in the United States that can most vulnerable point for blitz- Complete Defense Plan Important TN a non-expert discussion of the situations such as this it is freely conceded that a resourceful and formidable enemy could and might overcome the previously outlined impediments to his United States ambitions if he approached from any direction other than Miami but not without many serious setbacks and delays all of which run effectively In the of his eventual fail ure By the same reasoning the military means for bringing about that failure must be provided in any complete program of national defense and nothing here written is to be construed as opposition to the establishment of such defenses in all of the meaning of that word However all of the attacks upon national self-defense they would provide harbors and bases for the defense of the United States and the rest of the continent 2 They should be occupied to prevent a German or Italian foothold in the New World 3 They should be occupied to screen the Panama Canal from European attack A SMALL section of the public representing 4 per cent of those interviewed in the Institute survey attached qualifications to their replies The principal qualifications were that (1) the plan should not involve war on the part of the United States (2) the plan should be agreeable to the people of the territories themselves and (3) the plan should have the support of the other nations of the Western Hemisphere Despite the occasional reservation that want to go to war over the previous Institute surveys have shown that this area is definitely one for which the majority of the people of the United States would be willing to fight Last month the Institute asked: Germany defeats the Allies should the United States fight if 1936 Institute surveys together with the results of the 1938 Leh-man-Dewev gubernatorial race help to chart the political trend in the state: Favoring Democrat 1936 presidential election 60 1938 gubernatorial election 51 Institute survey March 63 Institute si today 49 phasize what military men already knew that the area of effective operations for flying machines is at best one-third or less of the cruising range of those machines since they must do three things that exhaust their usefulness: They must fly to their objective conduct their operations and return to their base Every mile added to the necessary flight of a warring plane reduces its chance for safely accomplishing its mission by just' three times the ratio of that mile to its mechanical ability Strategically a mainland base is vital to Panama Canal defense Islands do Sustaining the supply lines becomes too difficult frequently impossible Key West for instance could be cut off and starved out by a bomb dropped anywhere on the Overseas Highway Thus Miami becomes the nearest and only feasible mainland defender of the Panama Canal Air land and water routes carry supplies here The volume of this commerce is limited only by the available transportation facilities Substantial facilities are at hand and the possibility and necessity expanding these unlimited Suppose that the United States became the objective of an invader from either the east or the west What conditions become apparent? If from the west the aggressor would have to take a substantial section of our west coast Having done so he would have to land men arms and materials for his continued march eastward He would have to be sure before proceeding that his supply lines had been set up and could be maintained in uninterrupted operation to keep his men fed and clothed his arms in operation and replaced when necessary and his materials at hand for replenishing the requirements of his mobile mechanized units As he progresses the importance of these supply lines grows their capacity must be expanded their security moi closely guarded And before he is readv to fight for that original needed foothold on the coast he has to arrange for extraordinary transfer over a big part of the Pacific and continue that transfer of men machines materials and supplies Cross Country March Remains HAVING accomplished all this he must cross the continental United States before he can capture the might and power and resources of the industrial east or the capitol of the United States Until this is accomplished he has not subdued the United States Air operations would be nearly useless to him until he had established continental bases a long involved probably impossible task when you consider that he would have to transport his planes and their attendants to each successive base as it is established He would encounter throughout his march across the mainland the negligible (but bv comparison with Miami mighty) defenses already established If the attacker came from the northwest he would have to take Alaska and then subdue onstrated as Hitler prepares to at tack England It Is Important to remember the Norway debacle the English channel preparations and the eternal need for a foothold In considering Miami's location as the most important strategical defense base in the United States Hitler can bomb England from now until doomsday but until he bridges the English channel so that he can transport' unlimited numbers of men machines guns and supplies onto the tight little Island he cannot take it except by what would essentially amount to an invitation to "come England Retains Island Control HIS bombing planes might spread destruction over England day after day but their operations completed they would have to return evidence that the people of the United States are determined not to see former British French and Dutch possessions fall to Germany and Italy Behind this impressive majority sentiment the comments show Is a sharp awareness of the whole problem of defending the United States and the rest of the hemisphere The survey found no Indications whatsoever of sentiment "If necessary the United States should take the Initiative because the only nation in this hemisphere with a fleet strong enough to defend the a typical Eastern voter commented Voters in every state In the Union were asked: "If Germany defeats England should the United States take immediate possession of the English French and Dutch territories in the area of the Panama Their replies were: Should take possession if necessary 87 Should not take possession 13 About one voter in eight (13) said he was undecided or without an opinion on the question THE average American might have a difficult time explaining just what the Monroe Doctrine is but the Interesting fact is that majority sentiment in Institute survey underlines once more the essential principle expounded by President James Monroe 117 years ago Monroe told the European statesmen of his day that "an attempt to extend By DR GEORGE GABIXP Director American Institute Public Opinion pRIXCETOX July If the Havana Conference of the 21 American republics adjourns next week without reaching a decision on the fate of the European-owned territories in the Western Hemisphere there is likely to be Etrong sentiment in this country for United States defense of the territories alone if necessary That fact is revealed today in a nation-wide survey conducted by the American Institute of Public Opinion From the standpoint of the United States much will doubtless depend on the success of England in standing off the German blitzkrieg But the Institute survey shows that an overwhelming majority of more than 6 to 1 (87 per cent) say the United States should take immediate possession of the Eritish French and Dutch territories near the Panama canal if necessary in the event of a British defeat Plans for dealing with the problem of the European-owned territories are many Cuba will present to the Havana Conference a plan for joint Pan-American control of them under a mandate system Variations of this proposal may be introduced A previous Institute survey reported June 14 found 81 percent approving a plan for joint Pan-American purchase of the territories Should one of these joint-protectorate proposals not be adopted by the 21 republics however the present survey gives striking Willkie Leads Roosevelt In Neiv York State Survey By DR GEORGE GAIXXT Director American Institute of Public Opinion pRIXCETOX JJuly 20 Wendell Willkie the Republican nominee has a slight lead over President Roosevelt in the returns from a new survey of New York state home of both candidates which has just been completed by the American Institute of Public Opinion While it is still too early to determine the outcome in New York next November the first measurement of sentiment since Mr nomination but prior to the Democratic nomination at Chicago shows Willkie has gotten off to a head-start in the state Voters throughout the state were asked: President Roosevelt runs for a third term on the Democratic ticket against Wendell Willkie on the Republican ticket how would you The answers of those reached In a carefully selected cross-section of New York voters are: Willkie 51 Roosevelt 49 Approximately one voter in seven (14) said he was undecided how he would cast his vote in such New York political leanings will be important throughout the coming campaign not only because New York is the home-state of both Mr Willkie and President Roosevelt but also because the state accounts for 47 electoral votes making it the largest political prize in the country IT IS important to remember that the present survey of New York voters was conducted before the Democratic convention reached its decision this week tests of Democratic-Republican strength are now under way in each of the 48 states and will be reported shortly in The Miami Herald At the present time however there can be no question but that the Republican party has gained substantially in New York state Taxibikes WARSAW July 20 Call a taxi in Warsaw and up may come not a taxi as Americans know them a chair on wheels pushed by a bicycle Shortage of gasoline and automobiles since her defeat in the war has compelled Poland to use manpower to propel many of her ve- hides Bicycle taxis have tajfnd meters and head but not7 much speed Fortunately most of Poland is flat so hills present no problems for man-motors As the Pan-American conference meets in Havana this week German diplomacy is reported to have warned Latin American nations to have nothing to do with proposals of the United States for inter-American solidarity in military and economic spheres But the Institute survey gives more than a hint that the people of the United States are prepared to stand alone if necessary to defend their Interests in the crucial Caribbean.