The Waterbury Democrat., 1941-01-23


 several fold since then"
 DO you think" asked Rer John Kee, D. W. Va, "that thi
 country should have the facilities t.
 produce as many planes as an,
 other country?"
 ''No, sir" said Lindbergh. Not un less we plan to invade them" Is He added that German plane
 are not being built now for an "at'
 tempted invasion" of the westerr hemisphere.
 E He advocated air bases as fal
 South as the Amazon Valley.
 South America offers problem 'eof defense" he said, "but I don believe the situation is a serious
 danger"
 Lindbergh said he did not thinl
 Great Britain could invade the con -ainent and win the war" A German internal collapse would have to pre-
 cede the invasion, he said.
 A Spokesman for No Group
 Y Kee cited magazine article b!
 Dorothy Thompson asserting tha
 "Col. Lindbergh is the spokesman
 flor group" which believes British ,collapSe imminent and that we mus cooperate with the new European iOrder. He asked Lindbergh if i lMere true.
 z "No sir," said Lindbergh. I'm no
 R spokesman for any group. I be- .;heve we must cooperate with Europe
 regardless who is dominant there. <, "If Hitler wins, we will have tt
 come to some agreement with him?' 2 "In somewhat the same sense sthat we have with Russia"
 < The audience laughed.
 An air invasion across the ocean is, I believe, absolutely impossible at .this time or in any practicable fu- fture," he told the House Foreign |Affairs Committee at hearing on President Roosevelt's arms lending ebill. .. He advocated that the United
 States construct as rapidly as pos aSible 8 total air force of about 10,- 1000 thoroughly modern fighting planes plus reserves" Such a num- Der. he said, would be adequate to .ansure American security regardless eof the outcome of the present Eu- sropean war"
 q He strongly discounted the pos sSibility of air invasion by way of Eeither Alaska or Greenland, but pro-
 poSed that we wage war with all of sOur resources if an invasion of st5Alaska or any other portion of s,America were attempted.
 !. Appearing as an opposition wit mess to the lend-leaSe bill, Lind
 bergh said:
 ks No Invasion Danger E T do not believe there is any dan kger Gf an invasion of this continent, setither by sea or by air, as long as rwe maintain an army, navy and air kforce of reasonable size and in Smodern condition, and provided we festablish the bases essential for de- Efenss." E Hiy views were the opposite Of tthoss expressed by cabinet members ywho testified last week that they s.fearod an attempt to invade this Ahemisphere if Germany is victor |ious over Great Britain. Secretary rof War Henry L. Stimson said Sthere was ''very great danger of an %dnvasion by air" if Britain fell un- ~1ess we were prepared to do what wthe British are doing now. . Lindbergh made a distinction be- Ntween air invasion and transoceanic ~bombing.
 !. "It is, of course, perfectly possible today, to build bombing planes that 1could cross the ocean, drop several etons of bombs, and return to their EEtarting point he said. = Trans oceanic bombing raids 1could do considerable damage or ~peacetime standards, but they woulc ahave very little effectiveness on wal s'time standards. The cost of trans Soceanic bombing would be extremely Thigh, enemy losses would be large Rand the effect on our military po- ~~Sition negligible.
 = Such bombing could not begin tc @prepare the way for an invasion 0. ~this continent. If England is able te klive at all with bases of the German
 lair force less than an hours fligh'
 away, the United States is not 1T ~great danger across the Atlantic socean.
 e No Squadron Exists
 Not only is such bombing inef' Elective theoretically, but from { fpractical standpoint it is interesting Ito note that not a single squadron kof trans-oceanic bombing planes ex. Fists anywhere in the world today" z Aviation, Lindbergh said, strength ~ens the defensive position of tht sUnited States for three reasons: @ 1. Because 1t is impossible for ar Eenemy to invade the continent by
 means of aircraft alone. ~ 2. Because trans-oceanic bomb. Ting is indecisive.
 = 3. Because our own air force ,4anakes 1t more difficult than ever be- sfore an enemy to approach oul wShores.
 ~ The situation reverses itself wher
 the United States contemplates Msending its military forces abroad hLindbergh added.
 ' The flier said an industry capable
 of building and maintaining a 10.- %D00-plane air force would have ade. squate 1lexibility to meet any emer. xgency which might confront the 3hemisphere. .. .....
 He thought the expansion of the Nair force to that figure should be
 Accompanied by the construction oi zaviation bases in Newfoundland
 Canada, the West Indies, parts oi NSouth and Central America, the
 Galapagos Islands, the Hawaiian Is.
 Hands and Alaska. Secondary bases
 might be established in parts oi NGreenland, he said.
 Y Personally, do not believe it ii Epossible for either America or Flu
 rope to invade the other success &fully by air, or even by a combina
 ton of air, land, and sea, unless al @internal collapse preceded the inva Nsion,' Lindbergh said. Tn thi
 sense, aviation has added to Amer
 1ca,s security against Europe, ant %<n ElIroDe's security against Amer