570 State Papers and Addresses

their official representatives in Washington were gravely discussing peace with
America. The defense of Wake-Island has aroused the most intense patriotic
pride. And to General Douglas MacArthur and his brave forces in the Philip-
pines, go the heartfelt wishes and prayers of every loyal Marylander.

Detached as we seem to be, however, from this threat of war thousands
of miles away, don't let us forget, even for a moment, that time and space have
no particular application in these days of 500-mile-an-hour planes. Tomorrow
the scene of action may well shift to our own East Coast, or to any of the out-
posts now garrisoned by American military or naval forces to block enemy
attack from the Eastern Seaboard. The Biblical quotation, "We know not the
day nor the hour, " applies most definitely to the situation in which the people
of Maryland now find themselves. As we wake in the dead of night to hear the
drone of planes overhead, it is impossible to escape the momentary thought,
"Could this possibly be the attack we've been awaiting?"

Whether attack conies to Maryland today or tomorrow, or later, the in-
escapable fact stares us in the face that America is imperiled today as never
before in* its history. We must fight unflinchingly and work unfalteringly,
without limit, without question, if we are to preserve unsullied the institutions
that have made free America the land of liberty, of opportunity, of free enjoy-
ment of the best things in life.

Merely to glance quickly at the international picture today reveals the
dangerous situation which confronts us throughout the world. Mistakenly,
we've held Japan in contempt and have felt that, when their militarists became
too annoying, our Navy would sail out and wipe the Japanese Navy from the
seven seas. Today we know differently. By their sudden dastardly attack upon
Hawaii and our other Island possessions, the Mikado's forces have reduced the
fighting strength of our Navy appreciably, they have lessened the effectiveness
of our air arm in the Pacific, and they have tied up our Philippine fighting
forces in a struggle, the outcome of which no one can foresee. With the losses
we've suffered in ships combined with the sinking of the Prince of Wales and
the Repulse, prides of the British-American balance of power in the Far East,
upon which we counted so completely, is in jeopardy, at least temporarily.

Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaya, are only names to many millions of Ameri-
cans. If Singapore falls to the Japanese, however, Japan will have assured
the oil and raw materials necessary for years of warfare. If Hong Kong is
captured, our essential raw materials, principally rubber and tin, may be cut off
completely, a blow to our military production the repercussions of which can
be guessed at now.

Coming back to the more immediate threat to the Eastern Coast, Germany
-and Italy, there is no telling what strategy they may undertake next, to com-
pensate as far as possible for the terrific reverses they have suffered and are
suffering in Russia.

Make no mistake about it, however. They must, and will, gamble every-
thing in an effort to nullify America's efforts or at least to stop the effective
material aid being given to England.

Whether that supreme effort against America will take the form of fleets of