Evening star., 1950-11-14
Will 1t Be Enouqh?


Communist intervention in Korea affect among
other things, our defense production program.
If the Intervention is to be limited in character
the build-up plan now being put into effect
probably will be good enough to meet the long
range security needs of the Nation. But If Mao
Tse-tung-with the Kremlin cheering him on-is
determined to go all-out against our American
and allied United Nations forces, then that plan
will have to be greatly increased in scale and
tempo with as little delay as possible.
Up to official planning has been
predicated on the assumption that a general
world war is unlikely in the immediate future.
Thus, as Defense Secretary George C.. Marshall
recently said to the Business Advisory Council of
the Commerce Department. our present-day
rearmament program-together with related
military assistance to our Allies in the Atlantic
Pact-is designed to be carried out over period
OF four years or perhaps longer. It is not a
"quickie" job It's purpose is to build up our
own strength and the strength of the free world
to degree that will make the United States
and Ike-minded nations sufficiently mighty in
the international balance of power to stay the
hand of Soviet aggression, avert a global con-
fict and thus pave the way for eventual settle
ments capable Of bringing about an honorable
and enduring peace
This program-though it will be tremend-
ously costly, though it is unprecedented in our
peacetime history, though it has raised serious
infationary threats, and though it will create
some sharp pinches and inconvenience in our
civilian way of life-falls considerably short of
total mobilization. It's pace and scope are meant
for situation that can be described neither
as peace nor as war-an in-between situation
full Of menacing international tensions that
make large-scale preparedness imperative but
yet period in which the danger of general
world war is not supposed to be imminent
enough to warrant an all-out immediate effort
in such fields as military production Hence
as envisioned right now, the program is not ex-
pected to cause swift and deep cutbacks in the
output OF consumer goods like automobiles, re-
frigerators, televison SETS etc. It's full impact in
that sense probably will not be felt until next
spring summer.
The turn Of events in Korea, however, raises
the possibility that the timetable and size of our
present rearmament drive may have to be funda-
mentally revised. Certainly, if Red China-with
Russia's support-throws its full Manchurian
strength against the United Nations something
like miracle will be needed to avert the kind
of warfare that could soon lead to global con-
fict In such circumstances, as Secretary Of
Commerce Charles Sawyer has just indicated, we
must regard as tentative all estimates that have
been made up to now as to how much we must
prepare, and how fast, in order to survive as
free Nation in a world that seems suddenly to
have grown more dangerous than ever Tomor-
row or next week or next month, depending on
the nature of Developments we may find that
what we are doing at the moment is much less
than enough.
In any case, even if the present program
proves adequate, our National Production Au-
thority, according. to Secretary Sawyer will
henceforth have to rely chiefly on mandatory
controls. This is so because recent experience
has shown that voluntary compacts "just won't
work" as instruments to apportion civilian and
military output in way that will be least up
setting to our national economy. Quite clearly,
regardless of whether not the world situation
worsens, our free-enterprise system will have to
operate for long time to come on something
quite different from normal peacetime basis