The Wilmington morning star., 1940-05-17
10000 WARPLANES

BECAUSE the brutal force OF modern onen,
- sive war has been loosed IN all - n"-
President ROOSEVELT set the american az
force objective at 10000 planes IN Ills ne@eoe0
Yesterday calling for additional defense appro'
nriat;ons of 81. 1872, 900, 900. These are omlnous
d.vs bo said. "davs whose swift and shocking
aoro1onron+s force every neutral nation to
look to it's defenses in the llgnt Oh ne" ia''
tors"
"our objective is still peace" he added peace
At home and abroad" But we must not 1all'
oven with that ideal in mind, to do our part
for our own security and the survival OF our
orderly civilization, to stem the tide OF anarch-
ism set loose by the mailman OF Berlin Inese
were not the Presidents words, put no one
can read his stirring address and fall TO I'M
dors+and that if at least is the burden Of his
message.
Mr.. ROOSEVELT went further in emphasizing
the importance of a strong air force as a bull
wark in our national defense, when he declar-
ed that we should not only set our goal at So
900 warplanes, but be prepared to turn out
sc, 1000 of them every year. Nor was his pro
gram restricted to air d~efenses, but included
source to meet any crisis that might overtake
us.
He proposed four steps which he considers
essential. First, he said, we should procure es-
sential equipment of all kinds for a larger and
thoroughly roundabout army. Secondly, we
.L.-JJ ~, .oI>.-:-- ~ ~ $500. --l
navy equipment with the latest type Of equip
ment. His third item called for increased pro-
duction facilities for everything needed by
the army and navy for national defense, and,
fourth, speed up to a 24-hour basis all existing
and navy contracts and all new contracts
to be awarded.
This, of course, means that munitions, guns,
battle craft, and every requirement for sue
cessful war, including the air force he placed
at such a high figure, should have not only the
g%o-ahead signal at the plant but the approval
OF congress and the moral backing of the PEG.
pie for whose safety it is needed.
This newspaper has steadily supported the
view that national security must be assured
oNA0 w So0I' IL uoS dohCu Uuly tudl
the defense program be drawn on sufficiently
broad lines to the guarantee national safety,
1t therefore finds in Mr.. RoosEvELT's appeal
an occasion to reassert it's firm belief that in
granting the money asked, or ten times it's to-
tai if necessary, congress will be but doing it's
duty in the greatest emergency that has ever
confronted the United States.
This is no time for counting pennies. If it
required every cent the people of the country
possess, the private fortunes and earnings of
every citizen, to prevent the United States
sharing the fate of Norway, of Poland, of Hol.
land, and assure perpetuation of our independ.
ent national existence, the price still would be
cheap.
There may be items in Mr.. RoosEvE1T's sum-
nation which will not meet the approval of
many in the nation. There can be no quarrel
with the broad aspects of his appeal on the
part of any individual who reads the terrible
history of contemporary Europe, and realizes
that the same story might be written in our
own blood on our own shores, if we failed to
make necessary provision to prevent it.