The Waterbury Democrat., 1946-05-07

N@~-N---~~0~-
 members of the house before an- other election, the legislators may deal more directly with some of the hard jobs awaiting them.
 Despite the national disaster aS- poets of vthe strike situation, post war reconversion has proceeded at good pace. The productive capa- city of the nation is turning easily from war to peacetime manufac- ture. The national debt is decreaS- ing for the first time since spending began to exceed Treasury revenue late in the Hoover White House term. Employment is up-not down. The prophets of doom who expected 8,OOO,OOO to 1O,O00, 900 persons to be unemployed within 8 year after Germany folded have been proven wrong.
 The people have money in
 their pockets. In fact there Is
 so much money and so much
 debt accumulated now that fur
 ther imitation Is inevitable. But
 prices are being held fairly well
 although there is bitter protest
 because gOvernment-cOntrOI1ed
 economy is held responsible for
 keeping goods from eager pur-
 chaSers.
 A glance backward highlights the mistakes made in the first enthus- iasm of victory. Foremost was the partition of Germany among four conquering powers in such manner that the administration of the Reich has been dismal and disillusioning failure. By contrast the postwar administration of Japan by the iron-willed Gen. Douglas MacAr- thur has been a glittering success.
 Here at home, world food needs were undereStimated to a degree almost unbelievable. Abandonment of rationing-a politically desirable act-has left the Government with out adequate authority to obtain the food 1t wants for export. The hard facts of the food situation are that a stearving Europe shortly would be expected to be a Com munistic Europe and the United OCaJ6S IS aSalIlSC Lk1SCs
 The military machine with
 which the United States helped
 defeat Germany and with which
 the United States licked Japan
 with little more than token help
 from others has been junked.
 On the evidence of the highest
 Army and Navy officers we are
 becoming a second-rate military
 power.
 Admiral Chester Nimitz said on Jan. 10, 1946:
 "The Navy at this moment is un-
 That goes for the Army, too, and the plight of the Air Force is as bad.
 Second guessing the Army Navy situation, 1t is admitted by all con- cerned now that the most costly blunder of the war was the an- nouncement of a point system for discharge. The point system did two things which have almost de- prived us of an Army and a Navy ir the fighting sense of the words.
 It got the best trained, most
 experienced men out of the
 service first. I'm 8 given ground
 crew, for instance, the crew
 chief and his ablest mechanics
 were out almost immediately
 because it is only by long serv-
 ice-by which points are acc
 cumulated-that man become
 a crew chief or a top mechanic.
 The ground crew members re-
 maining were not competent to;
 take the places of the departed
 men. The other fault of the point sys- tenn was that it hit all military units simultaneously. No single division or regiment remained in- tact. The experienced men, senior non-commissioned officers and such, were the first to go. The result was that shortly after point dis. charges began, the United States found iself with an Army which had sent most of its best men from every division and every fleet back into civilian life. A ship or regi- ment minus its key enlisted per- sonnel is defenseless pigeon.
 It was the will of Congress, how ever, that disqualification be done quickly. Under the legislative prod the Army and Navy have accom- pliShed wonders.
 The combined Navy, Marine
 Corps and Coast Guard strength
 on VIE Day was 3,S68, 900 ofl-
 cers and men. It Is 1866, 900 to-
 day. The fleet, excluding small
 landing craft, numbered lO,562
 ships one year ago. It numbers
 7,OO8 today.
 VIE Army strength was $500, 900 officers and men. There now are approximately 2,3OO,OOO in the Army. It will be down to 1850, 900 oy June 30. Since VIE Day through T Al