Evening star., 1951-01-21

concentrations would be too expel
Now, thoroughly aroused. Un
original plan at a much higher
price, but he has ordered an even
larger and costlier expansion of
it so that Americas aircraft in
dustry will have the capacity to
produce $4,000 modern Air Force
and Navy planes year. Simul-
taneously he has ordered expan-
sion plans for his ground Army
and surface Navy. He wants the
best and most modern types of
weapons in the world for his fight
ing forces. and he wants them
produced as fast as American in
dustry possibly can. because:
Uncle Joe has neglected to say
just when he might make call.
Inasmuch as he is a neighbor-
his Siberia practically abuts Uncle
Sans Alaska-and as neighbors
often come in by the back door,
Uncle Sam is suddenly very anx-
ious to have everything in ef-
fective working order.
Though he has ordered expan-
sion of the aircraft industry for
a production capacity Of $4,000
modern military planes a year.
Uncle Sam says he is not now
buying that many planes and he
hopes he never has to, but If he
needs them he wants to be as
sured they can be turned out.
There is a great distinction be-
tween preparation for a produc-
ton capacity of $4,000 modern
military planes a year and prep
arations for the actual purchase
of that number Immediately. AL
ready confusion exists and criti-
cism will continue to mount
against the Government for not
getting out the orders for the
planes at greater speed and in
greater numbers.
Won't Stampede Lovett
Orders for what kind of planes
for what kind of operations in
what parts of the world and
when? Veteran aircraft procure
ment specialists of the Air Force
Navy and the aircraft industry
label this the foremost problem
of the hour, and they expect j,
to remain such for a long time tt
come.
If threats of Soviet aggression
could forever be stamped out BY
the mere formality of purchasing
$4,000 military planes" then ii
could be accomplished in a month
America used-plane dealers and
statesmen could round up that
many civil types in half that time
and the remainder could be de-
voted to converting" them to
military plans by painting on Air
Force and Navy markings, mount
ing a machine gun at some prom
inent place. hooking a bomb rack
under each wing and commission
ing them into the armed services.
Americans are invariably anes-
thetized by a favorable balance in
numbers. 1t sounds so logical
If Uncle Joe has $4,000 planes,
then Uncle Sam should have 50.-
900. That numerical advantage
would stop him. Airplanes can be
built quickly. 1t is only matter
of money, and we have the money.
Where are the airplane orders?
Fortunately there are seasoned
aircraft procurement authorities
in the Air Force and Navy who
cannot be rushed into pouring out
orders for aircraft not essential
to the overall defense plans just
to satisfy a public clamor. But
should these officials be directed
to hand out orders for "airplanes"
to appease the critics, citizens can
be sure they will never get by the
desk of Robert A. Lovett, the
Deputy Secretary Of Defense. Mr.
Lovett has an enviable record to
support this. Long before Pearl
Harbor he served as War Secre-
tary Stimson's assistant on Army
Air Forces plane planning and
buying before being elevated to
the post of Assistant Secretary OF
War for Air. A Navy pilot in the
first World War, he knows the
fundamentals of aircraft capabili-
ties. He knows the detailed per-
formance specifications of the
United States planes in the Hitler
Jap war. If he doesn't know now
the details of the 1851 jet-pro-
pelled-sweptback wing models and
their capabilities to accomplish
their missions. he Is thoroughly
qualified to make his own evalua-
tiopS