Detroit evening times., 1945-06-18
PAUL
N1ALLON
Behind
The News

WASHINGTON, June 10
w Great hopes are daily eX-
pressed for new San Francisco
results to establish genuine
peace.
The air is filled with fresh
efforts and advice 10 design a
living relationship with Russia.
The world is struggling to-
ward peace across the front
pages from coils. / 10 3 these
days with problems Of Poland.
veto powers. world courts and
small nations.
But the SoundeSt commentary
on how much has been accom-
pliShed--how far we have been
able TO go-lies behind one
sentence report that navy secre-
tary James Forrestal has been
at the White House several
times lately.
1t can be said the navy is
working up new program for
postwar defense power and the
authorities from the top down
(can / mean the White House
as well as the navy department.
already have decided there is
not to be much economy in their
naval planning.
"DETAILS we'll may come into
~ the category of secrets and
legitimately are subject TO vol
untary censorship. Yet il is no
secret this nation will wind up
this war with navy much
stronger than the combined
fleets afloat in all other nations.
l published sometime back an
estimate that our navy would
be 5 to / over Britain by the
end Since then The British
have gone into warship building,
! understand.
But the estimate still holds
good, at least as a broad numer-
ical picture of our relative pro-
spective power on the high seas.
Ours will be even more than
a two-ocean navy. and with it's
great acceleration in flying
power, already is measured by
some experts, as three-ocean
force. (You can name the third
ocean,
Two good naval bases in the
Philippines also are being pro-
vided by naval authorities.
Maryland's Senator Tydings
who has returned from Pa
ciic trip says the Filipinos are
anxious for us 10 have these
and any others we want, in view
of their disastrous experience
from the japanese invasion.
4 GOOD many senators also
"A want TO see us get the Jap
island base in the Pa cific, and
they have their eye especially
on Truk (Which we have not
yet captured)
This is in the trusteeship mill
at San Francisco-the operation
of which might well be OBJ
served from now on, in the light
of the established prospect that
our navy is TO be larger than
all others combined and must
therefore weigh the RESPONSE
bility Of the seas on her prov.
The hearings of the special
House committee on the youth
draft proposals of the army also
might he classified by some as
classic commentary on how
far we have been able to go in
the struggle toward peace-but
this is an entirely different
proposition.
IN THE first place. Mr.. Tru-
L man has said nothing about
it. Questions at press con-
ferences as to whether he
favored the army program TO
take every boy away from his
home for year in the army,
have brought no commitment.
In the second place, Con-
gress is paying but little stten-
tion to the Woodrum hearings.
They are generally considered
as an airing Of pentup steam on
a high running subject. No
action is expected anytime soon.
Some publicity impetus may
have been furnished by Rus
sias decision 10 draft even boys
down to Ii and IS years for
similar training. although few
Of the legislators are inclined 10
measure our needs against Rus
sia's, or fall into the despairing
anticipations of such a con-
fict.
I think there is reasonable
general official viewpoint here
on that subject, which does not
expect war, sincerely wants
living arrangement which will
establish peace, but also wants
American defense.
The Woodrum hearings thus
far have developed only two
sides to the youth draft ques-
ton. the army's and the side
of those who are against any
military training.
A third unheard side sdvo-
Gates the best possible military
training under d m mocratic
methods. without = draft and
without removing the boys from
their homes
TT WOULD build up the Ma
Il tional Guard into real
guard OF the nation. give IL
tapks pIanas and money. move