Evening star., 1940-10-17
Text of Louis Johnson's Reply to Lindbergh
S. Can Do in Two Years What Germany Did in Seven,
Former Assistant Secretary Of War Says

SSSIStuIy VI WI SuyS
lean soil, with the destruction and
misery that entails, whenever they
could avoid it. So, when French
revolutionary government, which
aimed then to dominate the world,
undertook to attack the United
States, President Adams brought
the American Navy into being and
fought a two-year war-chiefy in
overseas waters. In 1872, so far as
possible, the war was kept on the
other side of the Atlantic. The
battles on American soil happened
only when our outpost naval lines
failed Then, now, and at any time,
adequate defense of the United
States means keeping war as far
away as possible from the borders
of this country. Waiting until the
enemy can get into and devastate
our territory is not sane policy.
Col. Lindbergh appears to believe
that through all this we were not
| prepared for national defense, and
were taking no measures to that end.
He is mistaken. Here l know where
| of I speak, because during the period
/ he discusses. I was Assistant Sec
retary or Acting Secretary of War,
and in direct charge. I have given
! my life to the work of American
| preparedness.
/ Adequate naval forces in the
/ hands Of the United States makes
it now impossible for an enemy to
/ approach American shores. But
/ naval power may not be enough if
| air weapons develop in size and
/ power, or if defeated Britain turns
| her fleet over to an enemy. If our
/ first line of defense is our Navy, our
second line is certainly in the air.
Here we differ from European ma
tions engaged in land warfare,
where land and air defense comes
first. With us, the Navy comes first,
the air force next, the land Army
third. 1t was in that order that we
undertook the recreation of Ameri-
can defense.
The defense of America is tech
nical problem. Our first line of de-
| fenSe is naval. Armies cannot cross
| oceans in face Of superior naval
power, and as yet warplanes cannot
cross the broad seas in force.
Now Have the Most Powerful
Naval Force in the World.
Knowing this, our first preoccupa-
ton was on the sea. From 1888 to
now We increased the men employed
in navy yards ship building from
5000 to 10000. We increased Navy
personnel from 10000 to 10000 We
increased our naval planes from
1000 to more than 2,000-the num-
Der is increasing daily. In the past
seven years We have commissioned
eight times as many combatant ships
as in the seven years preceding 1888.
We have located and are construct
ing naval bases, including air bases,
in both oceans, thereby vastly in
creasing the effectiveness of everg
ship in our fleets. In 1888 We were
weaker even than Japan. We have
now the most powerful Navy in the
world
But even the most powerful navy
in the world cannot necessarily beat
a combination of all other existing
navies. 1t so happens that the ma
ton which has the other great
navy, namely, Great Britain. is one
with which We have lived at peace
for l30 years, from which we have
nothing to fear, and which, working
with us, can keep air and land forces
beyond striking distance OF Ameri-
can coasts. If, and only if, Britain
and her navy fall into hostile hands,
would we face dangerous situation.
We did not, until recently, under
take the rapid expansion in our air
force, which is now going forward
We were wise in not doing so. We
had seen France build UP the
strongest air fleet in Europe. We saw
her enemy, a short time later, build
new feet so superior to the French
models that they were useless. Had
we built an air feet in 1884 we
should have wasted our time and
our money, and have been lured
into false sense of security. We
should have had much the same
work to do that we have now. Even
the Germans are rebuilding their
present feet because the newer
British models Outright them
The steps We have actually taken,
so far as they can be properly re-
vealed, are these:
We have constructed a fleet of
first-line fighting planes and have
trained a corresponding corps of
pilots; We have kept abreast OF
developments in aviation. In 1894,
the President called together a
group of civilian and military air
experts, headed by the late Newton
D. Baker. The Baker Board rec
commended a program of 1920 planes
by June, 1910. When the Munich
crisis underlined the importance of
aviation, We jumped that program
to one for $500 planes. Today we
have made provision for 1900 Our
planes are the worlds best. We are
producing $50 fully equipped mill
tary planes per month now, we ex-
pect to be producing 1850 such
planes per month in January, 1941,
and that figure will grow in succeed
ing months. All of these planes are
available for American defense
should we need them. If in practice
it contributes more to our national
security to sell some to Great Brit
ain, we are quite justified in doing
that. Obviously, the only threat
to the United States at the moment
comes from the axis powers They
are most likely to get into striking
distance in the Atlantic. Common
sense in our own interests suggests