The Skyland post. [volume] (West Jefferson, N.C.) 193?-1988, 1940-06-20
H.
(By Staff Writer)

States is going ahead to help the
Allies against Germany "by
every means short of war;" In
dead earnest. Whether Hitler, il
Germany wins the war against
England and France, will con-
slider that our efforts have been
"short of war" is a question
which is giving official Washing
ton little concern. If Germany
wins, we'll eventually have to
fight the Nazis anyway, is the
feeling here.
Authority was found in an old
law, for the Government to
trade in" military airplanes to
the makers, against contracts for
new and more up-to-date planes.
So somewhere around 300 of our
best fighting planes, the kind
that France and England need
most, have been flown to the
Curtiss- Wright plant at Buffalo,
taken over by the manufacturers,
overhauled and made ready to
ship by the quickest possible
means to the other side.
These are being sold to the AL
lied governments not by our
Government but by the plane
manufacturers, for cash, so the
transaction does not violate the
neutrality law.
American manufacturers have
been working for some time on
an order from the Swedish
government for 200 fighting
planes. The Allied purchasing
agency expects to arrange with
Sweden to take those off that ma
tons hands.
A Thousand Planes a Day
The War Department has taken
seriously Henry Ford's proposal
to build a thousand planes a day,
and has sent one of the newest
model pursuit planes to Dearborn
so that the Ford engineers can
figure out how they can do the
trick.
William Knudsen, head Of the
Advisory Commission in charge
of manufacturing military sup
plies has set Army and Navy
men to work, along with expert
construction engineers, to try to
reduce the number of types of
planes required, from fourteen to
a very much smaller number, to
simplify and speed up construc-
ton.
The new planes which the
Government will get in exchange
for the ones traded in at Buffalo
will have armored protection for
the pilot, and leak-proof gasoline
tanks, two Improvements that
both the Army and Navy have
been asking for. The ones turn
ed in are "surplus" only because
such large number CT Army and
Navy pilots have been taken off
active service to become instruc-
tors at the greatly enlarged fly
ing school at Pensacola.
Next to planes, the Allied
forces need small-caliber field
artillery. The French have made
unexpectedly good use Of their
famous "75's" against German
tanks, according to reports reach
ing here. The United States Army
has on hand several thousands OF
those effective cannons, made
during the World War from
French specifications, which we
never got across the ocean. The
term ''75" signifies the diameter
of the bore, IS millimeters, or
substantially three inches.
Ammunition Plentiful
Our army also has cry large
supply of shells and ammunition
for these field guns. The proposal
to turn all these in to the max
ers, the Bethlehem Steel Compa-
ny, as credit against future
purchases of new and larger
guns, has been submitted by the
President to Congress. 1t would
be a profitable deal, as the stock
of 75's on hand cost only about
$2OOO,0O0,OOO an6a the credit tc
the Government would be $780,
100000. But the Bethlehem Steel
Company could sell them tc
France for whatever they could
get.
The Advisory Commission sys'
tenn is working out better thar
most observers expected it would
so far. The assurance given by
the President to it's members Of
a free hand in their respective
fields have been taken so serious
ly that Mr.. Stettinius, in charge
of assembling raw materials, has
resigned his $4,000 a year jok
as Chairman of the U. S. Stee
Corporation to give his whole
A: II 4bo po+ioy,,e Iofop CT