Evening star., 1943-04-15
Navy and Ship Agency
In Undercover Fight
Over AuxiIiaries
House Committee Drufts
Bill to Provide Huge
Building Proerom
BY the Associated Press.

0y the Associated PRESS.
A behind the scenes struggle
between the Navy Department
and the War Shipping Admins
tration for control over the aux
iliary ship construction program
was disclosed today by the House
Naval Affairs Committee in rec
ommending 100000 tons of new
vessels.
In formal report, the committee
said 1T has been proposed that the
Navy not build this type of ship in
the future but that it be built or
acquired solely by the Maritime
Commission and made available to
the Navy"
Bluntly. the committee asserted
that such change in policy lat
this time would be catastrophe, :"
that it would make the Navy De-
partment ''pensioner' of the War
Shipping Administration and pre-
vent Congress from filling Navy
needs in an orderly manner"
Turned Down by Budget.
Meanwhile, it was learned that
the Navy presented to the Budget
Bureau its request for the 1000 900
tons of auxiliary vessels, and was
turned down with notice that the
VISA would get the money and
authority to build them.
The next step came when Under
secretary of the Navy Forrestal and
high official in the Bureau of
Ships wrote the Naval Affairs Com
mittee confidential letters protest.
ing the change in policy.
Taking up the cudgels on behalf
of the Navy, Chairman Vinson and
the Naval Affairs Committee
promptly drafted measure author
izing the construction, despite the
lack of the usual recommendation
for it from the Budget Bureau.
Likely to reach the House floor
soon, the bill has been stymied tenn
porarily in the Rules Committee
with the probability that further in
formation will be sought from the
Navy, VISA and the Budget Bureau.
The Naval Affairs Committee ar
gued that there is grave reason for
doubt" that the Navy's requirements
as to design and specifications would
be met if the VISA took over control
OF the auxiliary program.
Maritime Commission Ships it
said, ARE basically commercial de-
sign. and the changes that can be
made in this design to make the ship
adaptable for Navy use are limited.
The initial cost OF the ship will prob
ably be less, but the cost of CONVEX
sion will be high, and the ships will
not be efficient as ship built from
original Navy plans"
Plan Provides 900 ,0e0 Tons.
The 1000. .OO0-ton naval auxiliary
program, envisioning, an expenditure
OF approximately 1929. 100, 900.
would supplement 2,550.00O tons of
similar vessels which have been au-
thorized by Congress since May.
l941.
The tonnage would De builtS into
such vessels as auxiliary aircraft car
riers. ammunition ships, refrigerator
ships. cargo ships, minesweepers..
transports, rescue tugs. landing craft
and tank landing ships
The committee" said its report.
was advised as to the rapidity with
which combatant ships of all types
are joining our fighting force. This
obviously requires that ample pro-
vision be made for ships to service
them. such as tankers, store ships,
repair ships. etc.
This war. at least in the present
stages. is largely amphibious. This
feature requires a large number of
transports especially fitted to carry
troops and land them on beaches.
often against opposition, together
with their equipment, in the most
rapid manner
The committee pointed out that
the publicly announced losses of
naval auxiliaries from December 7,
194l. through February 20, l943, have
reached ~. or 118,55l tons. and
added that it is necessary to have "a
substantial working balance in order
to cover at least a portion of this
contingency