Evening star., 1939-06-12
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
The House Appropriations Com
mittee today asked Congress to add
1922 695,547 to next years S5O8,7o9,-
824 War Department appropriation
bill to build more Army planes, eX-
pand the Panama Canal garrison
and provide educational orders Tor
purchase of war materials.
1t acted after a subcommittee
heard from Maj. Gen. Henry H
Arnold. chief of the Army Corps
that his corps current expansion
would provide adequate aerial de-
fense for the United States, despite
superiority of some German war
planes.
All this country need do, Gen.
Arnold testified, is to build pursuit
ships which can fly faster than any
foreign bombers. And that is being
done. he added
The committee sent to the House
for consideration. probably next
week, measure approprlatlng s14,-
25o,OOO for the educational, or
sample. orders; s27.o00,OO0 for
Panama and S25l ,445 SAT for 2.290
new planes and new housing facil-
tiles.
1.007 Needed Now.
Although it recommended appro-
priation of sl2o,0000O0 for the new
aircraft, the committee suggested
that only 1907 were actually needed
Immediately.
while the committee is proposing
to underwrite the budget estimate
(of $4,000 000) for the procurement
of planes" the report said, 1T has
joined to the appropriation a pro-
vision making the procurement Of
1888 planes subject to the Presi-
dents determination of their imme-
diate need in the interest of national
defense"
President Roosevelt twice has rec
commended the full program and
there appeared little doubt that he
would authorize use of the entire
fund.
The bill calls for 2.290 Regular
Army planes and 1T for the Ma
tional Guard. These, plus serviceable
planes on hand or on order and
plus 784 planes the regular War De-
partment appropriation cill provided
for, would provide total of $500
planes by July, l941.
The S25l .445 SAT total for air corps
expansion includes a SCI 100000 ap-
preparation for housing and air corps
technical construction at new bases
and depots, as we'll as improvement
OF existing stations.
1t is not intended now to build
any permanent barracks, the COM
mittee said. except in Hawaii, the
Canal Zone, Alaska and Ogden
Utah, and in Southeastern United
States.
War Department officials told the
committee the Panama Canal ap-
preparation would be used to in
crease the size of the garrisons from
3.516 enlisted men to 9,916 at a cost
of about s3,6oO,0O0 and to construct
housing facilities, storehouses and
ln6 ike at COSl Oh Zo,4UU,UUU.
Would Familiarize Building.
The committee said the educa-
tional orders would familiarize pri-
vate manufacturers with production
of munitions of war of special or
technical design, non-commercial
in character"
Although acknowledging that
some foreign countries had better
small planes on hand or being de-
veloped, Gen. Arnold told the COM
mittee that the United States four
motored flying fortresses' were un-
surpassed in the world.
To overcome the deficiency in pur-
suit planes and. keep ahead or
abreast of other powers in military
aviation, Gen. Arnold said the Gov
ernment should spend at least $20,-
100000 annually over the next five
years for fundamental and applied
aeronautical research. He pointed
out that Germany has five huge re-
search plants while this country
has only one