Evening star., 1945-11-03
Cabinet Compromise
Seen Air Forces Aim
Dispute on Single Defense May
Evaporate, Says Writer
By David Laurence

Evaporate, Says Writer
BY David Laurence
An unhealthy feeling is developing
between top men in the Army, Navy
and Air Forces over the proposed single
department OF national defense.
Many Navy men feel that the Army
will retain large organization and
will have a larger share than 1t de-
serves in the appropriations of the
coming years.
Many Army Air Force officers feel
that they have won the war and that
both the ground forces and the Navy
should recognize the air forces of the
Army as entitled to an equal voice in
the future strategy and appropriations.
1t has been more or less Of mystery
why the Army generals and the air
force executives operating together
have been SO anxious to bring about a
single department Of defense in which
the Army would have a one-third voice,
the air forces a one-third and the
Navy third. This certainly doesn't
compare with the opportunity for each
of the services to have secretary at
the cabinet table to argue for their
respective appropriations.
Favor Compromise"
Knowing, therefore, that the Navy,
which has powerful influence in Con-
gress, would oppose to the last ditch a
single department in which the Navy,
instead of having 100 per cent repre-
sentation in the cabinet would be cut
down to 33A per cent, the air forces,
which have all along felt they should
be independent, are expected in the
not far distant future to abandon their
stand and come out for the "compro-
mise" they have really been favoring,
namely, secretary for air.
The Navy has been opposing the in
dependent air force idea because of a
fear it would separate the Nays own
air arm from the fleet. But the Army
Air Forces folks now make it clear that
they do not wish to deprive the ground
forces of an air arm, If they want 1t, or
the Navy Of an air arm and that they
will not seek to emasculate the Marine
Corps as has been charged in some
quarters.
On this basis, namely, separate air
force which confines itself to strategic
operations-very much as was the case
with the goth Air Bomber Command
which reported to the United States
Joint Chiefs of Staff directly-there Is
a chance that the whole dispute may
evaporate.
Actually the military men are talk
Ing Of two different things. The ad-
vocates Of single department of ma
tional defense talk about it usually
as If 1t were only a matter of unified
command in the field and they con-
fuse the two things as If they were
really parts of the same thing. The
Navy men, Of course, favor unified
command in the field and that's what
Admirals Nimitz and Halsey have in
dorsed. But when 1t became apparent
that the single department was means
OF controlling the Navy and reducing
its stature and influence in the presi.
dental cabinet, it was natural for ADJ
mirals Nimitz and Halsey to say they
had changed their minds. This was
but charitable way of saying that
did not perceive "the Ethiopian in the
woodpile" when the subject was first
broached to them.
One Aspect Unrevealed.
One aspect of the plan has not come
out yet. That's the scheme to clip the
wings Of the director Of the budget
and deny him any voice in the making
of future appropriations for the armed
services. In fact, there Is q hint in
one piece OF testimony from a high
Army general that it Is desired to cir
cumvent the entire civilian side of the
executive branch altogether and re-
quire the President to send the budget
to Congress exactly as it is prepared
by the commander of the combined
armed services, who is, of course, not
to be civilian. This angle will be
worth exploring later on
All other Government departments at
present must submit their estimates
and accept the curtailments made by
the director of the budget. To say he
.'AA~AA Aioe 4oSoGAOAl tAlC CSt1lldtcS Vi Gk1S
armed services as to what they want
to buy or build is to declare that the
director really should be deprived Of a
voice in the estimates of all other de-
partments, too. For it might be argued
that he knows no more about the
Agriculture Department than he does
about the Navy or the Army or the air
forces.
If the whole thing can be compromised
by giving the air forces a separate de.
partment, it certainly is worth ths ar!ae,
for as long as the United States Joint
Chiefs of Staff is retained under the
direct control of the President, it will
not impair the efficiency of our mill.
tary system to maintain three depart.
ments with three civilian secretaries
instead of one to check the military.
minded. In fact the unified command
plan has come to stay and the contro.
versy over how little civilian super.
vision should be permitted is one that
hardly seems to be a matter for the
military folks to determine-at least as
long as our democratic system remains
free from militarism.
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