The midland journal., 1941-08-29
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Washington, d. C.
TANK BUILDING PROGRAM

Lord Beaverbrook, dynamic min
lister of supply, listed tanks as the
No. / objective of his visit to the
u. S.. He few over largely to try
to persuade our army chiefs to lend
lease him the major share of our
growing output.
There is sharp division in the
army over this. Armored unit COM
manders have been champing at
the bit for the tanks now beginning
to roll off assembly lines. They
need the equipment not only to train
their men and officers but to keep
up morale-which says when mod
ern war machines are missing or
simulated.
Buck privates to generals have
griped over being forced to 'play at
soldering" This was one of the
main causes for the strong senti-
ment among citizen soldiers against
extension of their years service.
They could raise no enthusiasm for
continuing to train without equip
ment.
On the other hand, the general
staff believes that it is far more VII
tai to the immediate security of the
U. S. to let our tanks and other
armament help hold off the Nazis
5000 miles from our shores.
The strategists contend that a
U. S. tank is performing infinitely
more valuable service knocking out
Nazis on the torrid deserts of North
Africa, or the bloody steppes of Rus
sia, than using up oil in a training
camp in Texas. They favor send
ing most of our new tanks to Britain
for the present, and Beaverbrook's
mission is to clinch that argument.
British Need.
The British need for tanks, par
ticularly for the latest type, 32-ton
medium tanks, is extremely urgent.
It was lack of these that caused
the rout in Greece and prevents the
British from taking the offensive in
Libya and on the continent. Also,
without medium tanks the British
would be in desperate straits should
Hitler make his feared overland
move into Spain and Portugal,
across the Strait Of Gibraltar and
down the Atlantic coast of French
West Africa to Dakar.
Thanks to the U. S., the British
are well supplied with light 12-ton
tanks. So far they have received
about 500, together with spare parts.
These light tanks have given a
! good account of themselves. They
are superior to similar German and
Italian types. But mounting only
50-caliber guns and lightly armored,
they are no match, as Greece and
Libya have proved, for medium Axis
| tanks.
STEEL SHOWDOWN
The OPM and the steel industry
finally have taken drastic steps to
regulate supplies and increase ca
pacity, but it took all kinds Of nag
| ging by the government to get them
to do it.
One Of the most spectacular Of
these nagging sessions took place in
the OPM board room recently and
was attended by Eugene Grace Of
Bethlehem Steel; Tom Girdler Of
Republic; Ernest Weir Of Weir
ton; Irving Olds, new head Of U. s.
Steel, together with Ed Stettinius,
the old head; Leon Henderson;
Knudsen; and representatives from
the army, navy and maritime COM
mission.
The steel manufacturers immedi-
ately put the government represent
atives on the defensive with the ques-
ton: well, what do you want us
to do? Cut off all steel to the con-
sumer?"
Price Administrator Henderson re-
piled that such a curtailment would
be disastrous, that steel to the con-
sumner could not be cut of right
away. Other government represent
atives hemmed and hawed. So did
the ship-builders. The meeting got
nowhere.
Finally Admiral Emory Land, rel
ative Of ex-Colonel Lindbergh, but
no believer in his views, got up.
Land, chairman Of the maritime
commission, is a close friend Of
Bethlehem's Eugene Grace. But
looking at Grace and the other steel
manufacturers, the admiral gave
them dressing down he might have
given to his own sailors.
'I've been listening to you for
two hours" he said, "and I'm fed
up with it. ] don't know what the
fault is, or whose fault it is. But
do know that the shipyards are four
to six weeks behind because they
haven't got steel. And ] also know
that if you fellows want to, you can
correct that shortage.
s'You've been talking about ex-
'panding your plants. Now If you
mean business, instead of talking
about it-expand."
Next day the steel manufacturers
announced their plan to build new
factories and expand production.
CAPITAL. CHAEE