Few Details But High Praise

Japan's survival in the Pacific depends on her merchant fleet, which must bring back Jap loot from Asia and the East Indies, transport Jap supplies to extended island bases. In one of his most optimistic moods, ebullient Navy Secretary Frank Knox last week told the U.S. public that one-third of Japan's precious cargo shipping had been sunk.

Mr. Knox's estimates: when the war began, Japan had 6,368,891 tons of merchantmen. Since then she has added approximately a million tons of ships seized, ships salvaged and ships new-built (mostly wooden ones).* Of that total tonnage of about 7,500,000, the Allies have sunk 2,500,000 tons.

Although Allied air attacks against Jap shipping have been mentioned almost daily in communiques, most of the sinkings were by submarines, said the Secretary.

"It's the kind of thing that we can't talk about very much and about which we can give very few details. But what [the submarines] have been doing has been a perfectly splendid job, to which too high praise can't be given."

*This figure probably did not include sampans and many another odd craft which the Japs, who waste little, have frequently put to good use.

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