1942 January 24"Pratt" [Henry Pratt Smith?] to Booth Tarkington, thanks him for his letter, appreciates that the coast is well protected and thinks that hunting for subs with depth bombs would be a more interesting and exciting sport than hunting whales; he also gives his assessment of the state of the war, expecting Hitler to revamp and dash off to Africa through Spain and Portugal, and through Turkey to the Dardanelles to grab the Mediterranean; discusses the debate about whether it will be more effective to tackle the Pacific or Europe first; worries if the Axis powers are able to take control of the Philippines, Singapore and the Dutch East Indies, since that could prolong the war by at least five years, concluding: "All that we can do is to hope, keep our chins up and trust that a reorganization of those in charge of our production in Washington will bring about a situation where maximum results may be obtained. I consider it quite an accomplishment for Mr. Big [F.D. Roosevelt?] to do as he should have done a year or a year and a half ago, appoint one competent individual at the head of our defense program, which I think is the most encouraging step that has been taken, but whether or not he will keep hands off is still somewhat problematical, and if we could get Mrs. Big to retire gracefully from her continuous and irritating activities, we would be still better off."