Evening star., 1951-06-29
Peace
Continued From First Page.)

and its satellites.
| Mr.. Lovett said the depart
ment already was receiving in
dications that such a relaxation
might come about, should a cease
fire be negotiated. He said let
ters were being received from
young men who had received
their draft numbers asking if
they would be called into service
should there be a cessation of
Korean hostilities.
He described that as sigma
that there could be a let-dowr
and added that he could moi
overemphasize that such q re-
lexation would be bad for the
country.
He said the world situation as
regards tensions was dark and
that relief from the Korean war
might make it possible for the
Communists to move in other di-
rections.
If the United States allows the
Politburo to write its defense pro-
gram, it Is courting disaster. the
Secretary declared.
Military Progress Hailed.
But the Secretary began his
conference with an optimistic
note as to the country's military
progress. He said that as of to-
day there were 3,250,000 officers
and men in the armed services
compared with 1.460.00 last June
80.
The Army, Navy, Air Force and
Marine Corps are about on sched-
ule as far as manpower Is con-
cerned, he said, but in the ma
terial field the progress, while
good, has not been good enough.
The services are building to-
ward a strength of 3.5 million by
July 1. 1852. i
In the field Of aircraft procure
ment, Mr.. Lovett said, the delivery
rate has been about 80 per cent
of that scheduled and he described
that performance as good but
spotty in certain areas.
Mr.. Loyett said he expected air.
craft production to hit 100 per
cent of the scheduled output by
this fall.
Tank Output Spotty.
He said tank procurement had
been rather spotty and that light
tanks had been produced ex-
tremely well and ahead of sched-
ule. However. there has been a
shortage of component parts in
this field, he added.
But the Secretary dwelled at
length on his fears that there
would be a relaxation should an
armistice come about in Korea.
He said the Nations defense ef-
forts appeared to be geared to the
temperature in the Kremlin and
that it did not make sense to him.
He pointed out that during his
career in the Government he had
always tried to keep a reasonable
military stature for the country,
but added that he had no success
in the past. He referred to his
term in the old War Department
during and following World
War II.
The Nations defenses are now
low, If anything particularly in air
power. Mr.. Lovett declared.
Parallel Likely Zone.
No specific area where the cease
fire would be effected has been
stated by any responsible official
on either side, but the 38th Par
allel seems a likely zone. Earlier
this week Secretary Of State Ache
son said settlement at the 38th
would be a victory for the U. NJ,
whose forces are now fighting
north of that line.
But suggestions that settle
ment on the 38th Parallel be made
met with sharp criticism on Cap
itol Hill
Senator Douglas, Democrat. of
Illinois, who sided with the admin
istration in the Macarthur in
quiry. said he had "very grave
doubts that the U. N. should
agree to stop the fighting with
the Reds still holding the north
ern half of Korea.
'That would be in the nature
Of a drawn battle" he added. "It
would not be a real victory" He
suggested a line about 100 miles
north of the 38th in the narrow
neck of the peninsular.