Evening star., 1946-09-11
Service Merger Foes
ICheered al Possibility
OF Delay in Action
BY the kssociotsd Pres,


Army Navy merger foes were
cheered today by a hint that
President Truman has showed
aside suggestions for beginning
unification by executive order
rather than waiting for congress
Sional action.
The ranking civilian and uni
formed heads of the two depart
ments-Secretary of War Patterson,
Secretary of Navy Forrestal, Gen.
Eisenhower and Admiral Nimitz--
were summoned to the White House
for an hours conference with Mr..
Truman yesterday.
Charles G. Ross, presidential press
secretary, later announced there
had been "a broad discussion
with a view to working out the uni
f1cation legislative program to be
presented to the next Congress.
Rejects Thomas Proposal.
Some of those keenly interested
in the merger question said they
interpreted that to mean Mr.. Tru-
man has turned down the proposal
advanced by Chairman Thomas of
the Senate Military Affairs Com
mittee. Senator Thomas late last
month disclosed he had written to
Mr.. Truman urging him to use his
power of executive order to set up
a council of common defense" "
one of the features of the merger
bill worked out by Senator Thomas
and other Senators.
The Navy has been somewhat less
than enthusiastic over the general
idea of merger, although the Army
has plugged for 1t hard.
However, War Department officials
in a position to know said they be-
lieve a number of policy-m making
leaders of the department are cool
toward the executive order idea.
Their thought is that a firm legal
foundation such as would be pro-
vided by legislative adoption of a
merger bill is desirable in so con-
troversial matter,
Face New Members.
Another factor which some unfit
cation advocates consider significant
is that the administration, in pre-
senting the program to Capitol Hill
again next year, will be dealing with
a new House and a Senate in which
one-thrid of the membership has
been newly elected.
A fair proportion of men in the
congressional election contests are
World War II veterans, and this
years balloting is the first since the
citizen army returned home. Hence
merger proponents are counting on
the personal interest of veterans
to resolve the controversy
The council of common defense"
outlined in the Senate committee
bill would comprise the President,
the Secretary of State, Secretary of
National Defense the proposed
armed forces civilian head and
the chairman of National Security
Resources Board The latter agency
would be one of those set up under
general plan for co-ordinating
the operations and objectives Of the
armed forces with the Nations
economy and its diplomatic policy.
AAF Representative Missing.
1t was noted that yesterdays
White House parley did not include
direct representative of the Army
Air Forces. The Navy has been par
ticularly sensitive to what some
Navy officials have contended would
be the loss of naval aviation under
the unif1cation plan.
War Department proponents of
merger assert there is no thought of
stripping the Navy of aviation
needed for its own operations and
protection, such as carrier biased
aircraft. There is within the Army
Air Forces, however. a large school
of thought that the Navy should
relinquish heavy bomber aviation
designed for strategic air lombard
ment.