Evening star., 1953-03-29
Bv John A, Giles

Former Secretary of Defense
Robert A. Lovett believes the
Army is trying to make him the
goat for it's ammunition short
age, and fireworks are promised
at a Senate hearing beginning
Wednesday.
Mr.. Lovett is expected to en-
ohatically deny accusations which
high Army officials have reported
to newsmen that the Army had
to prod him for almost a year
before he ordered an all-out
ammunition production last No
vember.
In fact, he will assert en-
phatically that Army Ordnance
dragged its feet continually and
alone among the services during
the multi-billion rearmament
program he supervised. If neces-
sary, he plans to present records
to prove his point.
Mr.. Lovett is no novice to Capt.
tol Hill. He has always been
diplomatic in his numerous ap-
pearances during his long tenure
in the State and Defense De-
partmentS.
Ready to Enter Fight.
"But when the Army. or per-
haps, more specifically Army
Ordnance, tried to make him the
goat, after having failed to put
the blame on Congress, he de-
cided to take off his gloves and
call a spade a spade" a close
associate said yesterday.
THE facts are" the associate
continued that Mr.. Lovett, while
Secretary, transferred $1.1 billion
In Mutual Defense Assistance
Program funds to the Army in
September. 1850, with the under
standing the money would be re-
stored to MDAP when Congress
voted supplemental funds when
it returned. OF the total, 1868
million was for ammunition. The
following January only $78 mil
lion of the funds had been obli-
gated and virtually none of it for
ammunition.
I'm January, 1851, Mr.. Lovett
laid before Congress a plan for
partial financing of production,
including ammunition. Under it,
a service can start buying by
making what amounts to a down
payment, awaiting congressional
appropriations to pay the bal
ance. Army Ordnance made little
or no use of this device.
"The facts are that Army Ord
nance never reached the delivery
schedules which it proposed and
which the Secretary of Defense
approved in June, 1851, at the
start of the build-up. Those
schedules, if they had been car
ried out, would have exceeded
consumption and restored the
reserve stocks which were used
to prosecute the Korean wal:
Those schedules included thu
production of nearly 6 millior
rounds Of 105-millemeter artil-
lery shells per quarter. That wa.
one of the categories which be.
came in short supply.
Throughout the period. Mr.
Lovett kept receiving bland as
surances from the Army that the
ammunition picture was excel
lent"
Expediter Appointed.
Finally, this source said, Mr.
Lovett appointed an expediter
Clay Bedford, executive vice
president of Kaiser Frazer Corp
Upon Mr.. Bedford's return tc
business, Mr.. Lovett appointed
Hugh Dean, Chevrolet vice pres.
ident, who stills holds the post
It was this experience, it was
said, that made Mr.. Lovett rec
ommend to former President
Truman that something be done
to bring about a reorganization
of the Army's technical services
However, he admitted such at
tempts would be like backing into
a "buzz saw"
Thus, the Van Fleet-Pentagor
dispute over ammunition short
ages and conduct of the Korean
war threatens to erupt into q
bitter controversy.
The statements by Gen. James
A. Van Fleet, former commander
of the 9th Army in Korea, and
the forthcoming Senate inquiry
have stirred the Pentagon per-
haps more deeply than anything