The Wrangell sentinel., 1940-09-13
THE REPUBLICAN, VIEW
 By Robert A. Taft
US. Senator from Ohio

i President Roosevelt is appealing
 for a third term, in violation of the
 principles of the American republic, l largely on the ground that he has been the only true exponent of pre- l paredness and is the only man com i petent to carry on a preparedness program. While substantial progress l has been made in the last few months, the history of the last seven l years shows that no one could pos sibly have been more incompetent inI preparedness for defense than theI New Deal administration
 In accordance with the platform of 1882, President Roosevelt reduced the expenditure for the army and navy during his first year. Adolf. Hitler came into power in Germany in January, 1883, and the seven years of the present administration saw the rise of the German army from 1000 to 100000 men, with the most modern mechanical equip ment. If we walked up suddenly to find ourselves unprepared to meet a possible attack by Germany it could only have been the fault of the pre-, sent administration.
 The causes of unpreparedness were inherent in the New Deal
 When the first emergency blank check for $3,300,000.000 was voted by Congress in 1883, it was pro- posed that $2,000,000,O00 be spent for meehanization of the army. The President rejected the proposal, and turned it over to P.W.A. for all kinds of public works.
 Untold billions have been spent, but for purposes having a much closer relation to making votes than to making ships New Deal types of spending have been the first love- of the administration, but ocmpar- atiyely little has gone for defense. because the voting public were not interested at that time
 There was not even plan for pre- paredness. The possibility of German victory has always existed and should at least have been provided for On May 16, 1940, the Presi- dent requested a billion dollars toI put us in good defense condition Two weeks later he asked for an-I other billion. Now he is demanding another bill for five billion dollars more. Even on May 31, when the Germans had broken through in Bel gium, he was satisfied with an ai-I my of 280,00O. Now he wants 1,-I 200, ,000. Certainly the first program and the second program must have been hastily thrown together, with out thinking anything through. Ev-I en today we don't know just how much territory we are going to de-I fend.
 Of course money is essential for an adequate defense plan. The pub lie debt is already fifty billion dol-l lars. When we began the World War it was. less than a billion. The excess profits tax will raise less than two hundred million, and the deficit is going to be six billion. In the absence of an adequate tax plan, we face bankruptcy and in-I flation. Not a cent is being saved on domestic expenses. The New Deal has shown its complete incompe- tence and lack of interest in any sound fiscal program essential toI defense.
 The New Deal is still inspired byI | hostility to industry, and an un-l willingness to abate any single fea- ture of excessive government regul-I ation. These regulations have slow ed the construction of our navy and hampered all industrial mobilization.
 The President is unwilling to cre- ate War Resources Administration and give it's head full discretion to develop and carry out an industrial mobilization program. While MT. Knudsen is doing an excellent job, his position is purely advisory, and the moment a New Deal influence affects the President, MT. Knudsen's plans may be upset overnight Thus was the first Stettinius- commission abolished after the first two monthsI of the present war in Europe. If the country wants a carefully
 thought out program of national de- fense, soundly and adequately finan- ced, decisively administered, it can
 not hope to get it from the present administration.