Evening star., 1939-01-18
-Four Air Bases
To Defend u. ).
Urged by Arnold
Congress Also Hears
Proposal for New
Panama Locks
BACKGROUND

BACKGROUND
-. President Roosevelt asked Con-
qresS last year to start expansion
OF military services and tollolOed
this initial action By calling on
the ne1o Congress last week for a
much greater program OF redrm-
ament. Meanwhile, all other great
nations OF the 1Uorld are engaged
in an arms race as undccldred
1UarS rage on t1Do continents.
BY the Associated Press.
The Army Air Corps chief told
Congress today four new air bases
should be constructed in the next
two years to complete the defenSes
of the continental United States.
Maj. Gen. H. H. Arnold, testify
ing before the House Military Affairs
Committee at the opening OF public
hearings on President Roosevelt S
S552,O00,000 defense program, said
two of the new air bases should be
built in the United States and one
each in Puerto Rico and Alaska.
In addition, he said. the air base
In Hawaii should be expanded.
Meanwhile it was learned that an
other set of locks at the Panama
Canal, virtually providing a new
channel for Americas intercoastal
life line" may be financed by a
bond issue.
Secretary of War Woodring. in
formed persons said, has proposed
such an arrangement. Members of
the House and Senate Military
Committees were reported to have
listened intently to the proposal in
a closed session yesterday.
"Secretary Woodring's idea was
said to be to use about S8,000,000 of
the canals Sl300O,0OO annual re-
ceipts to back a bond issue for the
$200000,000 program
Would Use National Lakes.
A third set of locks would provide
a channel l to miles distant from
the vital waterway which connects
the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. 1t
would make use of natural lakes, as
does the present dual system.
Existence of an auxiliary channel
you'd distribute the risk from a
wartime air bomb attack, Secre-
tary Woodring has argued.
Gen. Arnold said, in his testimony
on the need Of four new air bases,
that with them ''the Air Corps can
carry out its mission in defense of
continental United States"
Emphasizing the Importance of
building up the Nations ability to
manufacture airplanes on a large
scale, Gen. Arnold testified that a
Survey already had been made which
demonstrated that output can be
doubled or quadrupled.
The present normal capacity of
the private aircraft industry, he
said, is about $500 planes a year.
Idle Plants Could Bid.
To increase that, he advocated
new legislation to permit plants now
idle to compete for Government
business. He did not Immediately
explain what legislation he believed
was required.
Among the leading aircraft plants
AioW 1Oic VI Opcl dtlllS dt Sledtly It.
duced capacity, he listed the Con-
solidated Sikorsky Seversky and
Martin concerns.
At the outset, Gen. Arnold stressed
the need for training new personnel
to man and maintain the new
planes. He said that by expansion
of its facilities at San Antonio, Tex,
the Air Corps could double its year.
ly output of $50 pilots, but said the
War Department did not deem that
particular course advisable.
Gen. Arnold, SO, has been chief of
the corps since Maj. Gen. Oscar
Westover was killed in crash last
September. He has indicated re-
Gently that speed as we'll as num-
bers is an objective of the corps,
and he said at Detroit this month
that experts were talking of 500
miles an hour as a practical posi-
bility for planes.
Meanwhile. Senator Reynolds,
Democrat, of North Carolina said
he planned to introduce a bill to