Evening star., 1939-10-02
Quiet Preparedness


Quiet Preparedness
A curtain Of secrecy has been
lowered on Americas preparedness
program-and with good reason. In
the first place, this Government in
herently is non militaristic. It has
no desire to stir up war hysteria by
Haunting before the people of this
country and the world the military
and naval expansion activities
deemed advisable in the face OF
gathering storm clouds abroad. The
United States is looking to it's arms,
ammunition and implements of war
not because it is itching to get into
the terrible conflict across the At
lantic, but because it is grimly de-
termined to resist the spread of Eu-
ropes wars to this continent. And in
the second place, it is not good policy
to reveal all the details of our ma
tional defense plans to world SEEM
ingly interlaced with espionage sys-
TENS.
President Roosevelt, more with the
first consideration in mind than the
second, has decided to disband the
War Resources Board when it's report
on industrial mobilization has been
completed. He indicated that the
report would not be made public at
this time. He pointed out that plans
for marshaling industry in the event
of war have been in course of prepa-
ration and revision for some years.
That these plans are being brought
up to date should not frighten any
one, he said. He might we'll have
added that, instead, the tension of
the public should be considerably re-
lieved by the knowledge that proper
precautions are being taken in peace
time to forestall dangerous confusion
and delay in swinging into action in
time of great emergency. Under the
industrial mobilization program the
Nations manufacturing machinery
will be ready to turn quickly from
peacetime production to fabrication
of multifariouS war materials, from
munitions to uniforms. AS the Presi-
dent told reporters at his press con-
ference the other day, there is
nothing alarming in such wise, care
fully conceived precautionary meas
ures.
Nor is there anything dreadful
about the wise and reasonable in
creases and improvements now being
made along the national defense
front. The expansion of the air
forces, the modernization of the
Army and Navy and their equipment,
the strengthening of our outer line
of defenses in both oceans, in the
Caribbean area and at the Panama
Canal are vital to the country'S Sc
curity. We, as a loving peo-
pie, naturally regret that conditions
in a war-ravaged world make such
safeguards necessary. We do not
care to brag about our preparations
but we are perfectly willing that
aggreSsor nations should know in
general way that we are capable of
defending ourselves. The less they
learn of the technical details, of
course, the more effective our de-
fense will be- That some of these
disturbers of the peace are quite in
quisitive about our plans is evil
denced by the fact that they have
sent secret agents here to learn all
that they can about our military
and naval establishments. The closing
of our military bases, navy yards and
other strategic places to intruders
with prying eyes, and the launching
by the Federal Bureau of Investiga-
ton and the Army and Navy intel
ligence services of a strict counter
espionage surveillance are sensible
protective expedients. All of these
moves by the Government are in
accord with a policy of prudent pre-
paredness designed not to encourage
the war spirit here, but to discourage
it in the minds of any schemers
against the peace Of the Western
Hemisphere.