The Wilmington morning star., 1940-06-06
WASHINGTON
DAYBOOK
BY JACK STINNETT

WASHINGTON, June S - Capitol ba rber
shop:
Barber: Good afternoon, Senator. Hear VOL
gentlemen may be around all summer,
senator: Poppycock. Cut it short. l may be
wearing a helmet before I get time for an
other haircut.
representative from adjoining chair): Hello
Senator. Sounds like you don't think much OF
our preparedness program. Or do you?
Sen.: Humph. You know what I thing Of it
young man. I'm the original one.man arma.
menus bloc. II congress had listened to Bernard
Baruch for the last two years-or to me. for
tnat matter-we wouldn't be in this mess.
Rep: But things will be all right now. Witt
an air force Of $4,000 planes, a full peacetime
army, and reserves of men and munitions, we
won't have anything to worry about, will We;
Sen.: Hah! Maybe yes, and maybe no Ru,
1lrst let me ask you something, Mr., Represen-
tatlve. Aren't you on that House COMMITTEES
that Topped millions off the military appropria.
tons bill last January? Aren't you one of those
who told the army they could have onlv 81
new planes in 1941 and that 81 of those would
nave to be strictly training planes? And after
that didn't I see you applauding wildly the
other DAY when the President called for that
5O.O0O-plane airforce?
vi NWCdhlyys buL COQQltiOnS change. Sen9.
tor.
Barber: When I was in the -,
een.: OF course, if any one could have fore.
seen a lew years ago that that beer.hall cor.
poraL, and his stomach.empty nation were goine
TO ohtzkrieg half Of Europe, We would have
oeeh ready to say enough's enough. But we
olont see that. We just saw the good old
Allies standing there in the way and said, Oh
"en' II worst comes to worst. We'll tell old Eng
land and France we like them BEST and thai
will fix everything.
Hep.: But Senator q.
Sen.: But nothing. Worst has come to worst
And so we say, Nov, We'll arm. Now, we'll put
three billion dollars into our war machine. Now
everybody's happy again.
Rep: Well, you'll admit it's a stem.
Sen.: Its a step, young man, out there's q
lot OF spade work to be done. I just don't want
any OF my constituents sitting back and saying:
It's all right now. We're going to have a great
army, a great air force, &, great navy" Maybe
we are, but l was in the senate in 1917.
and any enemy of ours today is going to have
to be awful patient, if he wants to catch us
prepared.
Hep.: What do you mean?
Sen. (snorting disgustedly): Do YOU think
industry Is better prepared today to take up
the burden OF vast ornament than it was %
years ago? I was there, I know. The first uues.
ton is. what are re preparing for? War? All
right. Do you know that nine months after
we had gone into the World War, with an in.
dustry already keyed to Allied orders, we had
produced only 100000 rifles; $500 automatic
pistols and were capable of turning out only
100000 rounds Of small ammunition a month
when we needed 10 times that many?
Rep: Well I guess
Sen.: Do you know it was 10 months after
we entered the war that we got our first fully
equipped division in the field? That out of 10
factories producing cannons, there were three
at the end of the war that didn't even have
their machine-tool equipment? Do you know
that army ordnance has a war time catalogue
of 10, 900 items?
Rep. (paying check hurriedly): So long,
Senator, I've got to- get back on the job.