Imperial Valley press., 1940-08-09
DEFENSE
AT A SNAIL'S PACE
(SUnfu Monica Outlook J

The other day Secretary Morgenthau
gave out one of his typically optimistic
statements, this time about the great
expansion of our aircraft industry. He
said the day was mot far distant" when
this industry would attain to a produc-
tion capacity of 5000 planes per month.
Great Britain, he intimated, need not
worry about getting plenty of American
planes.
This statement was SO misleading
that the sanguine secretary had to eX-
plain later what he meant: That the
American aircraft industry would be
able to produce 5000 planes per month
by 1912
At about the same time, other state
ments appeared in the press to the ef
feet that the present total output of the
American aircraft industry is rapidly
approaching 1000 planes per month.
Can ANYONE in Washington state how
many planes are going to be delivered
next month to our army, how many to
our navy, and how many to Great Bri-
tain?
If the answers to these questions are
known to the administration, they are
not being told to the American people.
Yet nearly three months have passed
since President Roosevelt called for an
American air force of $4,000 planes and
pledged the entire resources of the ma
ton to great program of national de
fense Vast sums of money have been
appropriate, including $4,000, 100000 for
aircraft alone.
The truth is that to date most of our
aircraft expansion is still in the plan
ming stage, production has been increased
very little, the number of planes sent
to England remains pitifully small, and
our own army and navy will not begin
to receive many new aircraft before
1941.
1t is generally understood that no
industry can be expanded overnight to
meet such enormous demands as are now
laid upon the American aircraft indus
try, which offers peculiar difficulties to
mass production. Much time must nee
essarily elapse before this industry, with
all the splendid technical ability, resour-
ceVulness, and patriotism which it has
always displayed, can enlarge its capa-
city to the level desired. Yet today two
facts are apparent which the American
people should know and which an aroused
public opinion should correct.
One is that the chief present obstacle
to rapid expansion of the aircraft in
dustry is uncertainty as to whether the
government will allow manufacturers
profit. The profit allowed them at pre-
sent under New Deal restrictions reduces
almost to zero by the time cost of new
equipment and research is figured. Prob
ably in the end the business-haters in
the administration will have to concede
that aircraft manufacturers deserve to
live, but meanwhile aircraft expansion
and our entire defense program are be-
ing held up.
The second fact is that the Amer-
can people are being deceived as the
people of France were deceived. Told
that billions have been appropriated for
defense, they are being led to believe
that they will shortly have the greatest
air force and navy in the world and that
in the meanwhile England will be saved
by clouds of American planes.
Sources close to the aircraft industry
estimate that to date only about 1000
American combat planes have been de
livered to England, and it will be two
years or longer before either the navy
or the airplane program can reach the
stage where it will provide adequate de-
Tense.