Evening star., 1940-04-03
Army Funds Cut
$67,357,660 by
House Group
Alaskan Air Bose
And 439 Planes
Deleted From Bill
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
The House Appropriations Com
mlttee. source Of most of this ses-
sions economy moves. recommended
to the House today an Army appro-
priation Of $785, ,999 ,094-a sum $751;.
357 $50 below President Roosevelt's
recommendations.
In addition to that reduction. the
committee also cut S42, ,840, 500 from
the $87,780.500 in contractual au-
thority sought by the War Depart
ment for the fiscal year starting
July /.
THE committee does not believe
that the accompanying measure
may be further appreciably reduced
without doing actual hurt to the
military establishment" the group
told the House.
Elimination of $12.734,O6O for a
proposed cold weather air training
base at Anchorage, Alaska, and of
all but 81 of 1876 new airplanes
sought for so-called rotating re-
serve" accounted for more than
half the cut in budget recommend
ations.
New Weapons Provided.
On the other hand, the Army an
preparation measure as recommend
ed by the committee would provide
SlO3, 10000 for new equipment-de-
scrlbed by Gen. George C. Marshall,
chief OF staff, as the Army's great
objective" This total included s61..
250,000 for critical" needs such as
anti-aircraft artillery, semi-auto-
matte rifles, tanks, anti-tank guns
and artillery; sl2.0OO,0O0 for sea
coast defenses, including fixed and
mobile guns; $18 100000 for augmen-
tatlon and replacement of motor
vehicles for both the Regular Army
and National Guard, S2,26O,OO for
harbor defense boats, Air Corps
crash boats and similar craft used
oy the Army and $9,7OO,OOO for air.
planes for both the Regular Army
and National Guard.
Congress learned the Carving
charges of the expanding Army Air
Corps would total S1,18O,O0O 900 for
the next five years.
Maj. Gen. Henry H. Arnold. chief
OF the Air Corps, gave that esti-
mate to House Military Appropria-
lions Subcommittee during testi.
mony on the War Departments
budget for the year starting July 1.
The record was made public TODAY.
Gen. Marshall told the subcom.
mlttee earlier that any major de.
Velopments in the European War
should be paralleled by added pre-.
cautions in this country"
Marshall Asks Safeguards.
If the situation grows more
desperate" he recommended, I'VE
! should add to the numbers of sea.
soned troops in the Regular Army
and to the strength of the National
Guard. If Europe blazes in the late
spring or summer, we must put our
house in order before the sparks
reach the Western Hemisphere.
Gen. Marshall emphasized, how
ever. that procurement of critical"
| equipment such as ammunition.
semi-automatic rifles, tanks and ar
tilery for force of 1000 900 men
was the Army's great objective"
and should take precedence over
personnel increases
The Army's top-ranking officer
testified that $316,O0O,0OO would be
required for the purpose. OF that
amount. he said, S76OO0,0OO would
be needed to complete the critical"
equipment of the Regular Army and
National Guard at their present
strength. Only $37 900, 900 was asked
at this time.
Gen. Arnold fatty declared the
Army's planes were costing too much
and said the Air Corps recently gave
the National Academy of Sciences
a contract to get the best brains in
the country to go to work on that
one problem of how to get cheaper
airplanes."
Citing one instance where the war
abroad had contributed to higher
(See APPROPRIATIONS, Page A-4)