Evening star., 1938-12-12

Senator Walsh Urges
Caution in Spending
For Armaments
Opposes Plan Designed
To Help Solve Job
Problem
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press. "a
NEW YORK, Dec. 12.-Speaking
as chairman of the powerful Senate
Naval Affairs Committee, Senator
David I. Walsh, Democrat, of Mas
sachusetts said today he would op-
pose any armament building pro-
gram based upon revival of arms
industries or "as a means of solving
the unemployment problem"
Declaring he "sensed" a growing
movement in the country to use the
national defense program as a
means of launching a spending
campaign, the white haired veteran
New Englander and former Massa-
chusetts Governor contended that
non-political expert military opin-
ion should guide the building pro-
gram.
Senator Walsh was the fourth in
f1uential member of the Senate in
recent days to express in interviews
the need of caution in national de-
fense spending. Chairman Carter
Glass, Democrat, of Virginia, of the
Appropriations Committee, while ad-
vocating Navy strong enough to
repel invasion, said he would fight
for reduced appropriations" in gen.
eral. James F.. Byrnes, Democrat,
of South Carolina, head of the
Naval Appropriations Subcommittee,
felt the Navy already was making
good progress" and favored Army
alrforce building William E. Borah,
Republican, of Idaho, held that bat
tleships were 'for offense, not de-
Tense" and urged building planes.
Senator Walsh, before returning
to Boston after a weekend visit
here, wrote a statement of his views
because he considered the question
OF armament spending so impor-
tant."
Il do not favor an extreme policy
of national defense he said.
Neither do I believe that large
scale construction of armaments
should be based upon revival of the
munitions, ship-building or other
industries principally engaged in
manufacturing materials and sup
plies used in time of war. Nor do
favor the Inauguration of armament
building as means of solving the
current unemployment problem.
I'VE should and must authorize
a national defense program on land,
sea and especially in the air which
will provide adequate defense
against any and all possible invasion,
having in mind the unsettled and
portentious conditions in other parts
of the world.
But he held that popular will
was against wild ill-considered ex-
travagant appropriations with con-
sequent excessive tax burdens"
Favors Careful Planning.
Senator Walsh asserted "the
country is asking for a l-devised,
carefully planned, practically co-or-
dinated program that will be ade-
quate for our needs-not superfu-
Gus or exaggerated in scope, or cost,
not complicated by any possible
effect 1t may have on current relief
questions, but plainly and simply
sufficient to protect our shores and
homes against the danger of foreign
invasion"
He said he anticipated the War
and Navy Departments would devise
and present carefully planned pro-
gram"
Questions arising from any pos
sible need for naval cooperation
with Latin American countries, Sen
ator Walsh said, were problems for
the President and the American
delegation to the American
Conference at Lima to formulate. ;"
He pointed out that there has been
discussion of Strengthening Panama
Canal defense and military bases in
that region and that it is now an
accepted policy to loan American
naval instructors to South Amer
lcan countries. But he said a plan
to loan American destroyers to
these nations had been pigeon
holed.