Evening star., 1945-12-20
The President on Mercer

President Truman's message to
Congress recommending unification
OF the armed services into a single
Department Of National Defense is
a commercially fortnight and dis
passionate exposition of his views on
this highly controversial subject.
The committees of Congress in
trusted with the heavy responsibility
of deciding the issue have been pre-
sented with a statement which. in
effect, summarizes the outstanding
arguments Of War Department pro-
ponents Of the one-department plan.
Coming as 1t does from the Com
mander in Chief Of the Army and
Navy, it Is but natural that Mr.. Tru-
mans recommendations for inclu-
sion in the cabinet of a secretary
Of national defense, with assistant
secretaries in charge Of coordinate
land, sea and air branches, will bear
great weight with the legislators. At
the same time, the message comes
as a disappointment to the Navy,
which is strongly on record against
the setting up Of a superdepart-
ment Of the kind advocated by the
Army and by the President.
On careful analysis, however-and
Mr.. Truman's statement deserves the
most careful analysis-it will be
found that many of the arguments
which the President advances In be-
half Of the single e-department idea
are applicable with equal force to
the unification program proposed by
Secretary Of the Navy Forrestal in
his testimony at the Capitol against
the Arnny's overall agency theories.
Mr.. Forrestal, guided largely by rec
concentrations of the Eberstadt re-
port-which was no less .yrthright
and objective than the President's-
made 1t clear that the Navy, too, Is
an advocate of unification, though of
another sort. Thus, a study of the
Presidents plan side by side with
the Nays plan will show that both
are designed to integrate land, sea
and air operations in the field and
on the home front, both are intended
to effect coordination OF military
and civilian efforts in wartime and
peacetime, both call forscloser liaison
between military and diplomatic au-
thorities, both hold out hopes for
administrative economies and EN-
cheney. In connection with econo-
mics, incidentally, the President
speaks Of the desirability of unity
ing procurement and supply services
Of the various branches. It is in
teresting to note that the Joint
Chiefs Of Stats, in its merger re-
port, advised against a single supply
agency in any plan for. immediate
reorganization, on the ground that
1t would complicate rather than
simplify supply problems.
Nor is there any real conflict be-
tween the Army and Navy proposals
with regard to the long -nourished
ambition Of the Army Air Forces to
be an independent arm of national
defense. While the Navy is not en-
thusiastic over the separate air force
plan, 1t has no particular objection
to 1t provided it does not involve
absorption Of the Nays own highly
specialized and highly effective car
rier and Marine air arms. 1t is graft
flying that the President has sided
with the Navy in its vigorous conten-
ton that naval aviation and the
Marine Corps should remain inte-
grail parts of the naval establish
ment.
All in all, the question to be de-
cided by Congress is not, therefore,
whether there shall be "uniflcation"
Of the armed forces, but whether
unification shall take the form ad-
vocated by the President and the
Army or that suggested by the Navy;
whether the unification shall be Of
the revolutionary--and as yet un-
tried-type envisioned In the crea-
ton of a vast department OF ma
tional defense or Of what Mr.. For
restal calls the evolutionary and
war-tested system Of Joint, overall
control through a co-ordinatine
agency similar to the wartime Joint
Chiefs Of STAFF expanded to insure
effective liaison between military
and diplomatic officials and to pro-
vide for scientific research and con-
servation Of resources.
The question is Of such transcen-
dent moment to the security Of our
country that Congress should con-
slider 1t long and thoroughly, in an
atmosphere devoid Of partisanship
and emotion, before reaching q final
decision.
Useful Little Ducks
As Chairman Gilmore Clarke OF