Evening star., 1946-04-10
Merger Row Seen
Hompering Defense
Writer Says Pressure Group Won
Victory for Army
By Dapid Laurence

Time that should be spent on pressing
problems of military and naval policy
OF an immediate nature has been vir-
| tually wasted on a measure to combine
the armed services under a single ci-
Villain secretary.
Ihe bill has just been completed by
Senate subcommittee on military af-
lars after many months of work. 1t
represents the effort of pressure group
TO get more appropriations for one serv-
Ice as against another It is a contro-
versy that could well have been post
poned and the same amount of time
and thought given to the extension of
the Selective Service Act and the mair-
tenance of an adequate air force as
well as Navy
While the various service chiefs and
their lobbyists on Capitol Hill have BEEN
quarrellng about a theoretical plan to
| consolidate the departments into one.
the Army has been demobilized far be-
yond the point that it should go, the air
forces are not up to the strength they
should be in a world that must in
evltably see air power as of primary
Importance, and the Navy has been cut
down to the point where it is admittedly
ineffective today.
Unwisdom Clearly Seen.
II anything were needed to prove the
unWlsdom OF single department with
only one civilian at the cabinet table.
1t Is what has happened already to the
NaVy's appropriations. The director of
the budget and not the men of ex-
perlence in the Navy have cut the
nudget. The same thing happened be-
fore 1899. That is why America had a
Pearl Harbor tragedy and why it can
concelVaoly have another If war comes
again.
Fortunately for the present admins
tration, 1t will be out of power when
the next conflict comes and some con-
gresslonal committee will be trying to
find out what happened in a past era.
That's why the United States expended
tens OF thousands of lives in the Pa
cif1c-and that's why many more tens
Of thousands are now at home manned
and sick. It's because the United States
never listened to its military and naval
men but put the responsibility for de-
fense in the hands Of civilians who cut
the appropriations to fit their own con-
ception Of what ought to be done.
The Army and Navy and air forces
got along fairly well together during the
war in the arrangement known as the
Joint Chiefs of Staff, from an operating
standpoint. The plan could be given
the sanction of law and joint operating
setup continued.
One Department Unnecessary.
But a single Department of Defense
isn't needed in order to make the United
States Joint Chiefs of Staff effective.
Actually, Mr.. Truman is busy man
and he has given only superficial con-
sideration to the plan. He never brought
it up before the cabinet and yet he
publicly commended the plan in a
message to Congress When some OF
his cabinet demonstrated with him at
private luncheon, he did not agree.
In other words, the President of the
United States, who is entrusted with the
responsibility of being Commander in
Chief, did not make study of the whole
defense problem and hear all sides
before coming to a conclusion.
What chance would there be for the
Navy under setup which prompts the
President to take prejudiced view of
the whole matter from the start? 1t
has been said that Mr. Truman has
favored the selection for Secretary Of
the Navy now of only a man who is
willing to curtail the Nays present
position in the cabinet. This is not .
happy augury.
Means More Bickering.
If the plan goes through, it will mean
more instead Of less pickering. Will
Congress in both houses agree to con-
solidate the naval and military commit
tees? Obviously separate committees
will remain, and the Navy will be asking
for reconsideration there of cuts made
by persons unfriendly to the Navy pro-
gram. Similarly the air forces will quite
naturally be out for their service and
the Army will likewise seek to keep its
concept of what should be spent for
ground forces.
Just why the President wants a single
secretary at the cabinet table, when he
doesn't really allow any of the Cabinet
to discuss the problem nowadays at
cabinet meetings anyhow, is a mystery.
The man who really runs the armed
services is the budget director, and he
acts on instructions from the President
who doesn't give the matter the study
he should for the simple reason that
he hasn't the time The Pearl Harbor
Committee records ought to be read and
reread. What America needs is three
secretaries-for Army, Navy and Air
Force-and the President should listen
to all three and then formulate policy,