Evening star., 1949-08-31
Senators Delay Action
On Arms Aid Bill 10 LET
Admira|BadgerT Testify
By J. A. O'Leory

BY }. A. OLeoTy
Action on the administrator
$1,450,0O0, 900 foreign arms bill
was put off today until next week
to enable the two Senate commit
tees handling it to hear Vice Ad-
miral Oscar Badger on conditions
in Asia.
Admiral Badger, who has been
Asiatic fleet commander, is en-
route home and probably will be
called before the two committees
in closed session a week from to-
day.
When the Foreign Relations and
Armed Services Committees met
this morning they had expected
to act on a compromise amend
ment fixing the arms fund for
Western Europe at s1,O00.000, 900,
q reduction of $3.50, 100000 from
the administrations figure.
No Vote Is Taken.
Chairman Connally explained,
however, that while the compro-
mise was very favorably re-
ceived," no vote was taken.
Some committee members, in
cluding Senator George, Demo
crat, of Georgia favor a deepe,
cut, and action on the whole sub
ject was put off until next week.
The presence of Admiral Badger
is desired by a group of Senators
who want some military help for
non Communist China added to
the bill. This group is led by Sen
ator Knowland, Republican, OF
California. They argue it is in
consistent to arm Western Europe
against the spread of communism
without doing something to check
it in Asia.
Subcommittee Agrees.
A four-man subcommittee was
reliably reported to have agreed
late yesterday to the Vandenberg-
Dulles proposal to cut $l60,990,00O
from the Western European fund,
leaving it at $1,000,000,00o. OF
this amount, half would be cash
for the current year and half con-
tract authority, payable in 1851.
If the Is Senators comprising
the two committees agree on ST.
OOo,O00,00 for Western Europe 1t
will be partial victory for the
administration, because there are
several committee members who
want to cut much deeper.
Senator George may offer an
amendment to allow only $780,
10000 instead of $500,000,000 in
cash for the current year. He is
likely to fail in committee, but on
the floor of the Senate there will
be another fight to cut the pro-
gram as deeply as the House did
War Factory Decision Awaited.
Both houses are going along on
other sections Of the bill, provid-
ing $211, 10000 for Greece and
Turkey, and $27, $4,000 for Iran,
Korea and the Philippines.
It was not clear today what
compromise the two Senate COM
mittees will work out on the con-
troversial question of spending
$155 100000 of the European al
lotment to reopen war factories
overseas.
When Senators Vandenberg and
Dulles, the leading Republican
advocates of bipartisan foreign
policy. proposed to cut the Euro
pean allotment from $1,160,990.-
900 to an even 81 900, ,000, 900, their
main purpose was to eliminate the
sum earmarked for rehabilitatins
munitions plants in France and
other North Atlantic treaty ma
tions. Their argument was that
this step should not be taken by
the single action of the United
States before the Joint Defense
Committee is set up under the
treaty.
Plan May be Modified.
Two days ago the committee
voted, II to 8, to. let tools and
raw materials be shipped abroad
for use in overseas arms factories,
which meant defeat of part of the
Vandenberg-D program.
There were signs yesterday,
however, that the committee might
modify this decision, rather than
go to the Senate with its members
so sharply divided. Close OBJ
servers of the situation believe
the administration will need the
full support of the Vandenberg-
Dulles group of Republicans to
save the arms bill from further
cuts on the floor.