Evening star., 1948-09-18
ForrestaI in Banquet
Speech Hints Of New
Economic Controls

The possibility of new economic
controls, priorities and allocations
was raised by Defense Secretary
Forrestal last night at an Air Force
Day banquet here, celebrating the
flrst anniversary Of the force as an
Independent unit.
Amid much applause and a
lengthy speech on the benefits of
uiiflcation, Mr.. Forrestal warned
that, even the ceiling of SIS
OOO.000,000" Che President's) would
constitute 40 per cent of the 1s48-49
budget"
'1t is open to question" he said.
whether this level of appropria-
tions can be translated into the
production of war goods without the
imposition of some forms of control,
but 1t seems almost certain that
any level substantially beyond that
figure would inevitably demand the
creation of controls, priorities and
ALLEGATIONS.
1000 Attend Banquet.
This part Of Mr.. Forrestal's speech
went almost unnoticed in an au-
dience of more than 1000 top-rank-
ing Air Force, Federal and aviation
officials, who had assembled in the
Hotel Statler for a banquet spon-
sored by the Air Force Association
and the Aero Club of Washington.
Some Air Force officers interpreted
Mr.. Forrestals remarks to mean
that the Air Force must build up to
its newly authorized strength of 10
groups by the use of "war-weary"
World War II aircraft brought out
of storage, as against new planes.
Secretary for the Air Force Stuart
Symington, after few preliminary
remarks, complimented Mr.. For
restal as having approved for pro-
duction all the airplanes given by
US by Congress"
He evidently referred to the fact
that the Defense Secretary had held
back, until this month, the alloca-
tion of funds granted to the military
establishment in view OF the tense
world situation.
Mr.. Forrestal recently released
large amount for the Air Force.
The Defense Secretary told the
group that we could have dominated
Europe after the end of the war
against the Nazis, eff we had chosen
to maintain our power or even
part OF it."
Instead, he said, we chose to de-
mobolize and throw our lot with the
United Nations and the relief and
reconstruction of Europe.
He numbered the billions which
the United States spent in the period
between the end of the war In
Europe and the start of the Marshall
Plan, adding:
"At the end of the war" with
Japan I'VE had in our possession
the most lethal weapon that came
out of it, the atomic bomb. We
proposed that this deadly weapon
be subjected to international con-
troll and offered to surrender our
priority rights. including the right
of visitation and inspection OF
manufacturing plants, to an inter-
national body"
Pays Tribute to Hoffman.
After paying tribute at this juno
ture to "one of the ablest business
men in the United States, Mr.. Paul
Hoffman" administrator of the
European Recovery program, Mr. !,
Forrestal remarked that: ~.~~ =.
"The energies ofthis Government
both in regard to the party presently
in power and to the opposition, are
concentrated today on an attempt to-
find viable procedure for accommo-
dation with the other great military
power in the world and upon making3
the machinery of tire Vnfted Nations
work as an effective instrument for
the settlement of disputes between
sovereign States.
"Our representatives in London.
in Moscow and in Berlin, for 80 days
have been conducting negotiations
with great restraint and patience
under trying circumstances. Their
work has been toward one and only
l.