Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1941-03-13

the corps total enlisted strength to
5O,566.
Guard Requirements Rejected.
A Navy Department proposal to
replace Marines on guard duty at
various naval establishments with a
civilian police force was rejected by
the committee. The new force of
5000 men would have cost S5,410,83O
for a full year, but the committee
asserted such force patiently would
not be adequate to replace the $500
Marines now doing the work-"a
magnificent job"
Disclosing it had made an ex-
haustive inquiry into the status OF
the Nays materiel programs in an
effort to determine the causes for
delays, if any, the committee re-
ported:
"A fair summary would be that
the major problemS-and there were
many-either have been or are in
course of solution. However, insult
ficient machine tools and tool-mak-
ing personnel and other skilled help
may continue to bar maximum ef-
fort for some time to come"
Speed Is Urged.
In its warning that the interna-
tlonal situation may continue to
grow worse for some time to come, F."
the Navy high command urged that
completion of the tWo-ocean Navy
be rushed because of the potential
superior strength of the combined
axis fleets.
Secretary Knox told the Appro-
prlationS Committee during testi-
mony on the supply bill made public
today that the German, italian and
japanese fleets combined 1885 900
tons on January l, compared with
this country's 1250,000 tons. Ac-
QUESTION of the French fleet would
swell the axis strength further.
Asserting that major units of the
two-ocean feet now under conStruc-
ton would not be completed until
1851, Mr.. Knox said that in the
meantime the United States was
confronted with these two possible
developments:
Il. The defeat of Great Britain in
the near future, leaving us to face
the united strength of the axis pow
ers on two-ocean front"
2, -" The possibility of Japan
becoming an active participant as
belligerent in the Far East on the
side of the axis.
Policy Called Major Step.
1T is obviously to our interest to
prevent either of these possibilities
from becoming realities as it is prob
able they would result in the United
States becoming involved in a war"
The policy of aiding Britain, he
added, was major step toward
meeting the problem.
Admiral Harold R. Stark, chief of
naval operations, reminded the COM
mittee that while no one can pre-
dict with accuracy the turn of
events, requests undoubtedly will
arise in excess of the more than
three billion sought to carry on the
huge naval expansion program dur
ing the year starting July l.
Both Secretary Knox and Admiral
Stark told the committee, however,
that no further expansion of the
fleet beyond that already under con-
tract was contemplated at this time.
The two appeared before the COM
mittee February g. Their testimony,
opi that of Ofloarc I'm AVA,
to Congress today with the commit
tees report on the bill.
The committee heard testimony
that the Navy has developed equip
ment which detects the approach of
enemy surface ships or aircraft lin
time to use the information tacti-
caly," and which will cost about
$50,000,000 for the existing fleet.
The committee heard from Rear
Admiral John H Towers, chief of
naval aeronautics, that experiments
with different colors designed to
make submarines invisible, presum-
ably to prevent them being spotted
from the air while submerged, are
being conducted by the Navy.
Discussing plans for storage of
spare engines and other parts for
the Nays projected 10000 planes
at Norfolk, Va, and Oakland, Calf,
Admiral Towers testified he did not
believe there was any real danger"
of such storehouses being bombed.
He discounted the likelihood of enc
mics being able to reach the United
States by boats, and added:
They cannot fly from overseas
and drop any appreciate weight of
bombs and be able to fly back, and
they won't be able to for q long
time to come"
The committee learned that the
so average destroyers turned over to
Britain in exchange for Atlantic
base sites were valued by the Navy
at s92.141 ,507 plus s2O.478, AS which
was spent to recommiSsion them at
the beginning of the present emer-
gency. The overall figure included
SIS, 637 ,543 as the original fixed cost
of the craft, sl4,100,000 for their
equipage, an estimated $2,223,o14 for
ammunition, S60,877 for provisions
aboard them, $4,000 for other sup
plies and s75,072 for fuel oil.
In that connection, Admiral Stark
testified the destroyers were worth
more than when originally built be-
cause you could not begin to repro
duce them or comparable ships for
that price"
Discussing the effect of labor
stoppages on the defense program.