Evening star., 1945-11-17
THE EVENING STAR Washington D. C. :. AT
NOVEMBER

", Is4s.
that the single department viii keep
a proper balance between the serv-
ices, so long as the other possibility
in fact exists, it remains a most
serious argument against the single
No Belief In Isolation.
Here again I wish to make it
clear that I do not believe in isola-
tion for the Navy. The events that
led up to the Pearl Harhor disas-
ter have now been made public and
have shown clearly enough that not
only between the War and Navy
Departments but between both of
them and the State Department
there should have been more CO.
ordination of thinking and action.
In the period we are now entering
the need for this appears greater
than ever before, and I favor all
practical means for increasing it.
The Secretary of the Navy has pro-
posed very wisely that a national
security council be formed, whose
nucleus would be the Secretaries
of State, War and Navy and their
advisers, with permanent staff to
correlate information and proce-
dure. AS a means of getting the
services together, this would seem
to be more workable and in its
way, more far-reachingv@since the
State Department would be in
cluded-than an uncertain merging
Of the two existing military depart
ments or the addition of third.
1t would insure that all plans and
activities of both Army and Navy
would bear a direct relationship to
the developing foreign policy of the
country and to the United Nations
organization which it is pledged to
support. 1t would insure also that
no hasty decisions as to the status
of our seapower would be taken
without study by those whose duty
it is to know the interests of the
United States throughout the world.
I believe that our basic national
policies, the promises we make to
ourselves and to other peoples, re-
quire above all that we maintain
our power at sea unimpaired until,
if ever, it is conclusively shown that
that power is no longer necessary
to us.
Other Improvements Needed.
In addition to the need for a
national security council and for
new agencies in the procurement and
logistic fields, believe the expert
ences of the past war have proven
the need for other improvements
to correct the weaknesses now evi-
dent. I recognize the need of
central intelligence organization to
provide complete up-to-date and ac-
curate intelligence properly analyzed
and made available in usable form
for all agencies of our Government,
military and civilian. With the
development of new weapons and
the uncertainties facing us in the
postwar world, timely and accurate
intelligence has become vital to our
national security.
I also believe that every possible
encouragement must be given to
scientific research and develop
ment. Adequate arrangements must
be made within and between the
military services and outside agen-
cies to provide for continued scien-
tific development.
There is need for improvement in
the systems of inter service educa-
ton and training in order to insure
maximum efficiency of all arms
under unified command in the field.
Such a system can be inaugurated
without impairing technical pro-
ficiency in each service and at the
same time preserving the morale
and esprit de corps of the individ-
ual services. 1t seems unnecessary
to enforce a merger upon the serv-
ices to accomplish the needed i'm
provements in this field. (
/ I sincerely believe there are many
improvements to be accomplished
within and between the military
services and between the military
services and all other parts of the
Government and the civilian econ
omy concerned with national secur-
ity. A proper decision requires a
careful balancing of the advantages
and disadvantages of all proposals
made. We should be certain that we
do not destroy the strength of our
present system in accepting new
and untried one. We should not
adopt a new system that may bring
in its wake ills more serious in char
acter than now face us.