Evening star., 1941-10-12

of two-ocean Navy. OF this emergency
fleet not one combat vessel has been
launched, though keels have been laid
for several cruisers and destroyers. Ex-
cluding ships built under programs
dating back to 1888 and earlier, total new
accessions to the two-ocean feet, already
in service, consist of l8 gate vessels, to
guard openings in harbor nets and "a
considerable number" of mine sweepers,
net tenders and minor craft converted
to naval use. Previous appropriations
have enabled American sea-power since
the emergency began, to commission two
35,000-ton battleships one aircraft car
rier, II submarines and 30 destroyers.
Army Strength to Be Frozen.
Despite an announced goal of 1,800,-
900, want of equipment and facilities is
likely to freeze the United States Army
for some time near its present strength
of 36 divisions and 1888 500 officers and
men-as compared to 800 divisions and
100000 under arms in Germany. The
Nations total land troops currently equal
the Nazi Luftwaffe alone. On the scale
of fighting along the Russian front, they
could be wiped out in two months. 1t
is for the time being an army without re-
serves. The first unit of such replace
ments will be 100000 selected men re-
leased from service at Christmas.
Rising above whisper in Washington
Just now is a question whether one of
the defense programs major blunderS
was not the transfer of procurement of
eral Loan Administrator Jesse H. Jones.
There are at present acute shortages of
aluminium. magnesium, copper and zinc,
and only four months supply of rubber
and tin. for lack of which it has been
declared that the United States may yet
have TO fight Japan.
In June OF last year, under congress
sional authority, subsidiaries were set up
in the Reconstruction Finance Corp. with
responsibility for acquiring and storing
reserves OF rubber, metals and other
essential supplies. Recently Mr. Jones
submitted a report to Congress. 1t was
shown that in Is months of operations
the r. F. C. agencies had acquired no
actual deliveries of aluminium or mag
nesium, Pip tons of zinc ore, 269,246
tons OF copper, 53,237 tons of tin and
1403i8 tons of rubber The goal in rub
Der is a stockpile Of 430O tons by June
30, 1912. This is about half of civilian
consumption during the first six months
OF l94l
Confusion in Washington.
1t is calculated by some of the coun-
try's highest authorities that log jams
of administration in Washington have
cost the defense program six months OF
urgent time and 5000 900 900 in money.
Except for these obstacles, the allegation
is, production would already be in food
On MAY %, 1910. President Roosevelt set
up the National Defense Advisory Com
mission. Seven months were needed to
convince him that it was powerless and
incompetent. On January 7, l941, he
created the Office of Production Man
agement. Another eight months passed
of confusion, embodiment, delay and
public protest. On August %, the Presi-
dent established the Supply Priorities
and ALLEGATIONS Board, which may prove
permanent solution or merely a third
makeshift.
Subject always to the Presidents final
decision, S. P. A. B. is the first overall
policy making body of the defense effort
Its seven-man membership represents
the combat services civilian interests
and all phases, domestic and interna-
tional, of the program. It's chairman,
Vice President Wallace, is not terrified
of the President and may be counted on
to tell him the truth instead of what
he is thought to wish to hear The
executive director, Donald NJ Nelson,
promptly showed his mettle by cracking
down on a demand by the testiest of
cabinet officers, Secretary of the Interior
Ickes, for steel with which to build oil
pipe lines.
A possible liability is seen in the fact
that S. P. A. B. repeats the Presidents
favorite pattern of two-headed leader
ship-that is. businessman or indus
trialist to do the work and New Dealer
to police him. Other instances are those
of Hopkins and Stettinius, Hillman and
knudsen. White House champions de-
clare Mr.. Roosevelt resents any Sug-
gestion that he name a commander in
chief of industrial defense as equivalent
to demand that he abdicate, though
President Wilson by no means found it
so, and that the New Deal chieftain is
averse to placing so much power in the
hands of an executive who might be
hostile to his social reforms.
White House a Bottleneck?
Widespread suspicion that the White
House desk remains the principal bar
rier Of defense may be founded on an
impression that the President desires
to have his cake and eat it too-in other
words, to preserve his domestic reforms
while trying to defeat an all-out revolu-
ton like Hitlerism. Not the operation
of supply and demand, according to the
Brookings Institution, but Government
policies have forced up wages and farm
prices, and thereby set coiling the high
cost-of- Living spiral which has been
deadly to so many peoples. Without
Hitler's raising a finger. or recruiting
one spy and saboteur, such economists
hold, the American defense ship may
yet wreck itself by driving headlong on
the reef of imitation.
Censorship has recently grown far
more drastic, with some exceptions, sta
tistics of production are completely ta-