Coulee City dispatch. [volume] (Coulee City, Wash.) 19??-19??, 1941-05-08
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Washington, d. G.
TERRITORIAL BASES

States are now considered our best
safeguard against invasion. But
army and navy brasshats get a
scorching rebuke in report pre-
pared by the house appropriations
subcommittee that inspected terri
torial bases.
Written by Rep. James G. Scrug-
ham of Nevada, chairman OF the
group, the report recommends the
immediate creation of an "inde-
pendent air force" This would be
intended to correct two chief
abuses:
CD The location of army and navy
bases almost side by side in flat,
unprotected country, thus inviting
destruction by enemy bombs" (2)
Failure to build hangers, repair
shops and other facilities under
ground.
Regarding the first criticism the
Scrugham report states: "This
policy of concentrating highly essen
tial military or industrial struc-
lures in very limited areas cannot
be too strongly condemned, and
may constitute an error of gravest
consequences. This is as true in our
territorial as we'll as our continental
defenses.
''The lesson of the destruction of
the Polish air force by the Germans
at the beginning of the war seems
to have gone entirely UNDECIDED (by
the aeronautic bureau chiefs re-
sponsible). In flat country, pro-
tected air facilities may be imprac-
teal, but where there are adjacent
hills, it seems inexcusable to DELHI
erately build bases invitingly
located for bombing attacks, and so
close together that an enemy plane
can hit one if it misses the other.
Everywhere the story is the
same, from Hawaii to Puerto Rico,
from Alaska to the Virgin Islands,
Jamaica and Trinidad. Also, no
adequate plans have been formulat-
ed for water reserves, except to con-
tract for drilling few wells, with
gave uncertainties as to quality
and quantity"
Scrugham's conclusions are that
a tragedy of the first magnitude"
may develop unless immediate
steps are taken to rectify conditions
at the territorial bases. His solu-
ton is the Capitalization of all mill
tary air forces under single head
with cabinet rank.
ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR AIR
One of the significant differences
between the war and navy depart
ments is the hostility of navy brass
hats to civilian scrutiny and control
of their operations.
Deciding that the vastly expanded
army air corps needed central di-
recting head, Stimson and Patter-
son selected Robert Lovett, New
York banker and World war ace,
for the job and had the President
appoint him. There was no inter-
ference from the generals, and air
corps chiefs are working harmoni-
ously and effectively with their new
civilian boss.
Navy brasshats, on the other
hand, are fighting tooth and nail to
block similar civilian intrusion
into their gold-braided realm.
Through high-powered lobbying OPP
erations in the house, the admirals
wormed into the $500, 100000 navy
appropriation bill provision that
would make it impossible to name
an assistant secretary for air.
The prohibitive clause is a very
slick piece of axing. On it's face
it has no connection with the pro-
posed civilian appointee. 1t merely
bars the expenditure of navy funds
"for any additional positions
at rate of compensation in excess
of $4,000 year" The pay for an
assistant secretary is $4,000 year.
TOUGH DRAFT BOARDS
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