Evening star., 1950-07-24
Sub Attack Could Start
War With Russia, and
U. 5. Navy Isn't Ready
Air Force Propaganda
Which Hurt Marines and
Sea Forces Is Recalled
By David Laurence

"OI4Q Wal ILL SOU4O OVd1b IL
the next 10 days if a Russian SUBJ
marine should attack any Of the
American troop transports now on
the high seas bound for Korea.
Nervousness among high on
cials and military men is growing
as it is realized that a nstion
which sends out Yak fighter planes
under O North Korean insignia
could readily fly that flag on
submarine, too.
But If o single torpedo from a
hostile submarine strikes an
American ship and causes loss OF
life, demand will arise for an in
slant reprisal with atomic bombs
to be dropped on the Kremlin. So
these next 10 days could be crit
ical.
The American troopships have 9
reasonable amount of protection
with destroyers, cruisers and es-
cort carriers; but not anything
like the protection they should
have against enemy submarines
This is because the United States
Navy has been deprived Of the
necessary number of hunter
killer" carriers and patrol planes
for anti-Submarine work.
Marines Are Depleted.
The plight Of the Navy is, in
deed, scarcely realized by the
American people. Nearly all of its
fighting ships are In "mothballs. /"
its trained personnel In large part
discharged and its Marine Corps
the very mobile force needed for
just such o job as arose In Korea
-decimated and its remnants
kept 5000 miles from the trouble
areas.
Who is responsible for this?
Since the end Of the last war, a
steady stream Of propaganda
starting with high officials and
continuing throughout the United
States Air Force and to some ex-
tent in the Army has fostered the
idea that B-36s, that is intercon-
tinental bombers, could fly across
oceans, drop atomic bombs and
the enemy would be defeated in
60 days. The B-36s are invaluable,
but they fly very high and can't
hit the targets which low-level
bombing can hit. They can't fight
. Korean war.
The Navy struggled valiantly
against the propaganda and when
In desperation some naval officers
threw discretion to the winds an6
forced the House Armed Services
Committee to hold hearings last
autumn. the pro-Air Force propa-
ganda denounced the Navy's lad
mirals" as fancy Dams" and
rebels" The House Armed Serv-
Ices Committee did investigate
and did make a fortnight report
siding with the Navy. But the
Senate Armed Services Commit
tee. under the Craftsmanship of
Senator TydingS, performed a
"whitewash" Of the mistakes Of
Secretary Of the Navy Matthews,
who did not insist on standing up
Tor his own Navy and getting the
necessary funds but succumbed
instead to Defense Department in
structionS issued under the guise
Of loyalty to "unif1cation." Today
America Is paying in bloodshed
the cost Of the blunders Of con-
greSSional committees in failing to
Insist on the removal or impeach-
ment Of the civilian secretaries
who fell down on the job and mis-
calculated Americas needs for de-
fense.
Army Hasn't Tanks.
1t isn't the Navy alone that's
unprepared. The Army has hardly
any tanks. The Marine Corps,
which should have been built up
as the very mobile force needed
for a job like that of Korea. was
cut down and its splendid low
level flying units curtailed. Worse
than this, the Army today hasn't
the tactical Air Force to support
three divisions in combat.
What it all teaches is that all
manner Of weapons and services
are needed in war. Even battle
ships would come in handy today
with their 12-inch guns in bonn
harding the Korean coast cities.
Their flrepower would do q real
Job and proof of this is the fact
that some heavy cruisers are now
being rushed to the Far Eastern
area to help. There's not a battle
ship in the Pacific.
More than $50 billion has been
spent on defense in the last five
years-preparing for a certain
kind Of war which the enemy may
never begin. This was a blunder
comparable to that of the French
who relied on the Maginot Line.
The United States has sup
planted Great Britain as police
man Of the seven seas. This is a
global job in which the American
Navy has taken over the task
which the British Navy performed
for centuries. But the American
Navy is helpless to police the sew
en- seas. It is below adequate
strength In the Mediterranean
and below what it should be to
defend the approaches to Europe
and the Baltic, and without the
ships to do a job that might be
needed in and around the Persian
Gulf If trouble breaks out II
Iran.
It will take at least a year tx
18 months to build the Navy III
again and at least that length O.
time to get all the tanks for thu
Army and the tactical air unit
for the ground troopS. One car