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uniforms, as an additional reminder of the seriousness of this
time. And so I have spent this day, so far, in studying and
writing material to help WARN our people of their peril they seem
not to recognize.
Now we are in the NINTH week of the 16- or 18-week
supreme crisis in which the FATE OF OUR NATION---the fate of YOUR
HOME AND MINE---perhaps the fate of OUR VERY LIVES---is being
determined. I have explained to you how it is a RACE AGAINST TIME!
We are now in the supreme RACE to determine whether the war
production effort and the army-training effort of the United States
can reach sufficient power BEFORE Hitler accomplishes such
objectives as to make that potential and mounting power ineffective
before it can get started. To do this, Hitler would have,
undoubtedly, to take all the Caucasus (which he virtually has taken
already) to go thru Turkey and Palestine and take Suez, driving the
British Navy from the Mediterranean, cutting the life-line of the
British Empire; to drive on to meet the Jap armies in INDIA,
severing that rich country from the British, cutting off all supply
routes to Russia and China; knock out Russia and China; thus, with
vast newly-acquired resources freeing Hitler to turn WEST against
Britain, and Japan to turn EAST against the United States. Our
goal was to attain to all-out invincible power by November first.
In this race United States INDUSTRY plays a major part. If we can
attain to that tremendous power BEFORE Hitler and Japan attain to
their almost fantastic objectives, then Hitler's doom will be
sealed. But if the Axis can crash thru to these objectives I have
outlined BEFORE we have reached power so vast as to take a winning
initiative, then we may as well realize the chances of winning will
be all Hitler's.
And now, almost at the half-way point in this mad race
against time, the hard cold FACTS are that Hitler has continued,
week by week, virtually at the pace necessary for him to accomplish
his objectives by November first. But, on the other hand, the
facts which OUGHT to startle every American out of his complacency
and into GRIM ACTION, are that WE HAVE BEEN SLOWING DOWN in this
race---men in defense industries have been striking because they
could not SMOKE on the job during working hours---labor and
management in some of the major defense industries are reporting
fighting each other instead of co-operating to fight Hitler---and
the truth that should cause our hearts to drop is that defense
production is NOT keeping pace with the President's goal---which
pace MUST BE KEPT IF WE ARE TO WIN THIS RACE AGAINST TIME, AND TO
WIN THIS WAR!
Such a bogging down as is now reported, in the very midst
of this supreme crisis, is SERIOUS INDEED. It is time for AMERICA
TO WAKE UP! Personally, I feel very SOBER, because I KNOW what the
true situation is! And it is anything but encouraging for this
nation. We are not winning this war, we are LOSING IT! Week by
week, every week since Pearl Harbor, we have been losing. America
hasn't yet really BEGUN to fight. America is not yet even READY to
fight, on the scale she must fight to match or defeat a tremendous
war-machine such as Hitler has been building since 1933! But it is
NOT YET TOO LATE, and therein lies our one hope!