Evening star., 1949-03-28
Johnson to Crack Down
On Interservice Feuding
New Defense Head Determined to End
Public Bickerins by Armed Forces
By Elton C.. Fay
Associated Press stan Writer


Big Louis johnson came to the Pentason
today to take over the job Of Secretary Of
Defense.
All around the Pentagon headquarters Of
the frequently squabbling Army. Navy and
Air Force, the brass and semibrass were
asking:
How tough will he be? Is it true that
he intends knocking heads together? Will
there be some new faces about the council
table?
Those who know Mr. johnson said hs
held no thought of belligerency or Of i'm
mediate wholesale changes in the personnel
Of the national military establishment. But
they advised strongly against any continue.
ton of the interservice quarreling.
To induct the 58-year- r-old lawyer and one.
time Assistant Secretary of War into Office,
Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson was asked
to administer the OATH If the ceremony
seemed pretentious it's planners did not
design 1t for Mr.. Johnson's sake. The swear
ing-in could have been handled in q matter
Of minutes.
Farewell Tribute to ForrestaI.
But the Pentagon wanted to say military
good-by to the outgoing Defense Secretary
and it was for James Forrestal that the
troops the bands. the ruffles and hourishes
OF drums and bugles were ordered. The Air
Force, the Navy and the Army each may
have resented the restraints the first De-
fense Secretary sought to put on them, but
MIR. Forrestal personally was respected and
liked.
The gray little man with the fighters face
came to Washington nine years ago. Thin
Tipped. SILENT Mr.. Forrestal arrived here as
one Of the small band of men Franklin D.
Roosevelt chose to help him at the White
House because they had a passion for an
@vavyv tf1yo IYo x~x
Department to become Undersecretary, then
Secretary. He did not enter the Government
service to make more money The banking
flrm business pays better. Even the ano-
nymity is better.
Except for the fact that both men smoke
pipes and do not need to worry about money.
Mr.. Forrestal and Mr.. johnson have little
in common.
Mr.. johnson is big powerfully built, blunt
spoken. q veteran of many skirmishes on
convention floors. He has the reputation
of being politically skillful-at least he
raised funds so successfully for President
Trumans campaign that the Democratic
National Committee found itself with .
satisfying surplus.
johnson Has Experience.
His friends have contended that he II
qualified otherwise. They point to his serv-
ice as Assistant War Secretary in 1s37-40;
to his appeals when war was approaching
the United States for industrial mobiliBa-
ton; to his fight for the start of heavy
bomber force.
That was decade ago. BY comparison
his job then was easy
Now he becomes the civilian chief Of all
the armed forces. responsible only TO the
President and Congress
He steps in as the Atlantic pact nations
are making known their needs for arms from
the American arsenal. Much of the responsi.
bility for deciding how the weapons can b
provided must rest eventually on him.
The military unifcation program is still
new. Both Mr.. Forrestal and President Tru-
man have pointed to deficiencies and have
recommended changes. The Air Force and
Navy still cannot agree about such subjects
as the probable effectiveness of the Bo36
bomber compared with carrier borne avia-
ton. The. Army, caught between the clashes
of the two glamour services. tries to explain
that wars still cannot be won without ground
armies.
And in and around and through all this
confusion the national defense establishment
Is supposed to revamp and re-equip its armed
forces to make them ready for lighting
atomic age war.