Evening star., 1950-07-10
Ship transportation
Called Most PRESSING
Need in Korean War
Passenger Vessels
In Poeifie Moy Be Token
Over, Writer Says
By David Laurence

4AAoAAAS1b 444 C44A 44A00
China as well as Korea.
Here is what it means-sum-
marizing the views of military
men who believe that resolutenesS
and forehandedness now will Stave
off thrusts by the Communists in
critical areas of the world:
/. It means at least 10000
more American troops for Korea
alone-half for combat and half
for support. There were about
10000 American troops in Japan
before the Korean war broke out
and this Army has to be REIN
forced.
2. 1t means that at least three
more of the large aircraft carriers
of the Essex type-of which II
are in "mothballs" be COM
missioned promptly by the Navy.
and the requisite number of cruis-
ers and destroyers added to pro-
tect the carriers against subma-
rine attack.
more Transports Nee0ed.
3. It means also-and this is
the most acute need of all-there
must be more transports made
available at once. Auxiliary ships
of all kinds, not only to carry
troops and planes, but to trans
port fuel and food and ammuni-
ton, must be taken out of moth
balls" Immediately and crews as
sembled to sail them. More than
$50 ships will be needed for this
purpose. No requisitioning of the
big passenger liners of Britain
and the United States will be nee
essary in the Atlantic unless gen.
eral war breaks out, but it may
be necessary to take over some of
the passenger ships in the Pacific
this summer.
Perhaps most important of all
is that the United States Joint
Chiefs Of Staff have been unani-
nous in their recommendations
and harmonious in their func-
tioning from the start of the Ko-
rean crisis, and it is at the civil
ian end where things have begged
down. The delays have been due
to red tape and a tendency to
waste time asking the military
people to give detailed break
downs and justify their requests.
This is inexcusable in time of
crisis.
Studied From Money Angle.
It should have taken fifteen
minutes but it took a full week
before the plan-revealed for the
first time in these dispatches last
Monday-for a call to volunteer
reserves" was finally authorized.
At first it was denied officially
that anything like it was being
planned, but the fact was the mat
ter was being studied for several
days from a ollar-and-cents
angle.
1t should have been obvious that
experienced personnel, especially
technicians, ready for active duty
in the Navy and the Air Force,
could not have been obtained by
expanding the draft or by recruit
ing enlisted men. Likewise, while
a division of Marines were alerted
and packed up when the Korean
crisis broke, they were not or
dered to sail for a week and they
had not left California two weeks
after the outbreak of the Korean
war. The reason? No shipping was
Immediately available.
The remedy for these delays lies
in putting the White House and
the various civilian secretaries of
the armed services on a war foot
ing. The three operating heads of
the Joint Chiefs of Staff should
meet at least once a day with the
Commander-in-Chief and the lat
ter would then get his military ad-
vice direct. He could cut red tape
and issue orders to reduce civilian
''kibitzing" and the lengthy paper
work which is all right in peace
time but becomes Illustration in
wartime. There are four civilian
secretaries for the armed services
and various committees set up by
them, as well as civilian agency
known as the National Security
Council which is interjected be-
tween the Joint Chiefs and the
President. Congress never in
tended that to be the practical
Setup In wartime.
When wartime operations are in
progress, the military must be
given the right of way and the
civilians must assist and not try
to direct if serious delays are to
be avoided and lives are to be
saved on the fighting fronts.
The gravity of the situation in
creases every day. The United
States has been caught unpre-
pared for sudden war. It will take
ID months to put the aircraft in
dustry into full production. Mean
while, planes in "mothballs," most
OF them good enough for the in
terim, must be gotten out and
f1iers provided for them. The. new
jets may have to be held in re-
serve for the time when the Rus
SLAMS may bring out their jets.
The next point of danger is
Formosa, which is 100 miles from
the mainland of China. The Navy
has been ordered to protect For
mosa but it cannot do so unless
1t has more planes in service and
this means more aircraft carriers
and fliers. If the Chinese Com
munists start bombing Formosa
expected now any day the
American Navy, with only one
carrier task force in those waters,
will have to be aided by the Air
Force based on Okinawa 300 miles
or more away from the bases on
the China mainland that will
have to be blasted.
More carrier task forces for the
Mediterranean and the Indian
Ocean and more United States Air