Evening star., 1952-01-06
$50 Billion Budgets
Defense Economy Labeled Bad Policy;
The Bureau Hears All by Mail
By George Fielding Eliot


Now We hear that the President
had decided to set an arbitrary cell
ing of $50 billion on defense expendi-
lures for the coming fiscal year. This
isn't good news, if it is true. The last
time this budget-ceiling device was
tried in 1948, when the ceiling was
SIS billion, one result was a row
among the three services over their
respective slices. which boiled over
into public brawl in the fall Of that
year. Another result-and one far
more injurious to the public welfare
was the unreadiness of all the
services to meet the responsibilities
which suddenly fell on them in the
latter part of the fiscal year.
The trouble with fixing a budget
ceiling for defense expenditures is
simply that it is device, a trick
by which political leaders try to duck
responsibility for facing unpleasant
facts and bearing the political con-
sequences.
In 1948. the President and his ad-
visers wouldn't face the unpleasant
facts as presented by Secretary of
Defense Forrestal 1t was an elec-
ton year. It wouldn't do to put the
heat on the taxpayers-who are also
voters-with an election coming up.
So defense expenditures were limited
by an arbitrary ceiling, fixed not
according to the military needs of the
country, but according to somebody's
guess as to what the Nation would
stand without (a) cutting out of the
budget any politically desirable items,
or (b) increasing taxes in an election
year.
Defense Expenses Up
Now comes 1952-another year.
The defense expenditures of the coun-
try have mounted enormously as a
result of the Korean war and the
international situation. But it's still
true that. as in 1948, we cannot buy
all the guns we need except at the
sacrifice of some of the butter.
This reporter tries to avoid the
realm of prophecy. but is prepared
to go on record as saying that the
trick won't work any better in 1852
than it worked in 1948.
For this device permits political
and domestic realities, which can be
measured or at least reasonably esti-
mated, to outweigh military neces-
sites. the size of which must rest
partly on guesswork and almost
wholly on the professional opinion of
people who are not politicians. Those
who favor it must support it by
guesSwork of their own-by adopting
an attitude of optimism about the
military needs of the immediate flu
ture. We find. therefore, rising
tendency among administration poll
ticians to say that the danger Of
war is diminishing.
Maybe the danger of war is dimin-
ishing But if it is, there is rea-
son. That reason lies in the esti-
mate of the world situation reached
by the Kremlin, faced with the grim
fact that the time-gap between wars
beginning and effective mobilization
of United States fighting power has
been substantially reduced by this
years military budget.
Time Log Lessons
When we declared war on the
Kaiser's Germany in April, 1917, it
was not until September, 1918, that
an American Army was capable of
fighting full-scale action in France.
When we declared war on Nazi Ger
many and Japan in December, 1941,
it was not until November, 1912, that
we, were able to begin our first
large-scale military effort-the land
ing in North Africa. In the first
case the time lag between American
decision to fight and military effort
on the battlefield was II months.
In the second case it was II months.
The only hope we have of avoid
ing World War III is that the present
enemy shall not be able to reach
any such comforting calculation.
We are fortunate in having, in
Secretary of Defense Lovett, a pub
hc servant of statesmanlike qualities,
who is as fully alive to the need for
maintaining a due proportion be-
tween defense spending and the ma
tional resources as was Secretary
Forrestal. We might do well to recall
that if Mr.. Forrestal's advice had
been taken in 1948, there might, in
1850, have been far less of the waste
which is born of haste In meeting
emergency at all. for the outbreak
of war in that unhappy peninsula
was surely based on a Kremlin esti-
mate that we could do nothing effec-
tive tc check it. We can't afford
any more such estimates.
(Copyright 1852, General Features Corp.)