Evening star., 1950-04-25
Navy 10 Build
Atonl-Powered
Submarine
Sherman Also Reveal:
Plan to Use Cruiser
For Guided Missiles
BY the Assoeioted Press

The Navy today disclosed plans
to build radically new type SUBJ
marines-one to be atomic DOW
ered-and to convert q cruiser
into a guided missile combat
vessel.
These construction plans were
made known in a request to Con-
gress for authority to build 112
vessels of varying types.
Admiral Forrest Sherman, chief
of naval operations. told the House
Armed Services Committee the
recommendations were put before
Secretary of Defense johnson on
February 13.
Admiral Sherman said the pro-
posed program would cost 1896
million.
Mcmahon Urges Civilian Defense
Meanwhile. Senator Mcmahon,
Democrat, of Connecticut chair
man Of the Joint Congressional
Committee on Atomic Energy
emphasized after a White House
visit that this country must pro-
ceed in an orderly way with OUR
civilian defense plans"
Senator Mcmahon, whose COM
mittee has been studying this
subject since November, refused
to comment when asked how he
thought civilian defense would
shape up were war to start to-
morrow.
Senator McMahon's views were
expressed when he was asked if
he thought civilian defense plan
ming should be stepped up.
He explained that he always
has taken the attitude that this
matter was something that had
to be attended to and that plan
ming should be conducted "intel-
igently without trying to scare
either ourselves or the people"
'"The facts are serious enough
without trying in any way to exag-
gerate them" Senator McMahon
said.
Joint Committee Planned.
The Connecticut Senator said
he thought that an arrangement
would be worked out whereby a
Joint committee on civilian de-
fense would be set up with mem
bership drawn from his cwn COM
mittee and the Senate Armed
Services Committee headed by
Senator Tydings. Democrat, of
Maryland.
A question Of jurisdiction has
arisen since the Armed Services
Committee also started to hold
civil defense hearings but Senator
Mcmahon said that he thought
this would be worked out salts
factorily and that he had so ad-
vised President Truman.
"Only about one third of the
civil defense problems are in the
Pentagon," he said. The rest
are in outside agencies"
Senator Mcmahon said he also
had discussed the Craftsmanship
Of the Atomic Energy Commission
with President Truman, but he
would not comment on prospects
for filling this post which has been
vacant since Chairman David E.
Lilienthal resigned some weeks
ago.
Atomic Training to Start.
Sumner T. Pike, member of
the commission, has been acting
chairman.
On the civilian defense front,
the Government preparing to
launch a Nation wide program to
train civilians in handling instru-
ments which detect the presence
Of deadly atomic rays.
The intended scope of the pro-
gram, designed to aid in home
front defense in time of war. was
discussed today by Paul j. Larsen,
director of the Office of Civilian
Mobilization.
In a statement prepared for
high-level courses in Pathological
monitoring at Brookhaven Ma
tional Laboratory. Brookhaven,
N. Y; Oak Ridge National Lab
oratory, Oak Ridge. Tenn, and
the University of California at
Los Angeles. Mr.. Larsen said:
Such monitoring services must
be provided in order to protect
the lives of firemen, policemen,
rescue workers and others. i.
They also must be provided to
permit sound decisions on the
evacuation of persons whose con-
tinued presence in radiologically