Milford chronicle., 1956-08-31
HOW STRONG ARE THE RUSSIANS

How strong the the Russians-and how
adequate are this country's defense estab-
lishment and security program? These enor-
mously important questions have been given
an answer by our ranking military man
Admiral Arthur w. Radford, Chairman of
the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The AdmiraPs
views were presented to a Senate subcom-
mittee and excerpts were released for pub
lication at the beginning of August.
Admiral Radford pointed out that the
threat to our security consists of the poll
ces and power of the Soviet Union-and
that the problem is how to best meet this
threat without undermining our fundamen-
tai values and institutions" Moreover, the
situation is vastly complicated by the fact
that the threat is not solely military one
it also involves economic, psychological, and
subversive programs Thus, "we must be
constantly prepared and remain sufficiently
flexible to counter all of these threats stimuli
taneousy."
Still another difficulty faced by the De-
fense Department Admiral Radford went
on, lies in gearing production schedules to
anticipated obsolescence.' The nuclear aer-
onautical and electronic sciences wait for no
man. Revolutionary changes and develop
ments may take place almost overnight.
Thus, the question of obsolescence weighs
heavily in deciding how many weapons of
any particular type should be produced.
In view of all this, Admiral Radford
said, 81 believe that at the present time and
under present world conditions the overall
defense program is sound one
Then, in answer to questioning by sub
committee members, Admiral Radford dealt
with various phases of that program. He
does not, for instance, believe that guided
missiles will drasticaly change the picture
for considerable time to come. He opposes
the proposal that it is time to abolish the
present military services and replace them
with single service and a single uniform.
AS he put it, "We could all go in the same
uniform and we would still have compart-
mentation within this single uniform"
He does believe that modern weapons
make it possible for nation to have power
full deterrents with smaller forces than In
the past-and that we have such deterrents
and will have still more effective ones in the
future. He feels that the North Koreans
would not have attacked South Korea in 1850
if we had had even one little combat unit on
the 38th parallel--for the reason that they
would have known that war with us would
follow. And, he reasons, our potential enc
mics are not likely to take warlke steps
now if they know that u. S. retaliation would
be inevitable. In this connection, he feels
that Congress should give advance author
ity - "unmistakeable notice to the whole
world''-for u. S. military action if ag-
gressors threaten our national and interna-
tional interests.
Finally, Admiral Radford touched on
Russian strength Here he said: There is
good reason to believe that we normally over
estimate Communist capabilities III almost
every respect . There has been an almost
hysterical assumption of great capabilities
on the part of the Communists, some OF
which, in my opinion, actually do not exist. "
The sum of his testimony was simply that
the enemy capabilities are watched and
evaluated with extreme care and thorough
ness-and that our defense program meets
the present needs of this nation.
6SSSe%S
AFTER THE SHOWS
The nations national quadrennial politi-
cal binge is now over. and all the people who
were little punch-drunk with speeches and
platforms and delegates votes can settle
down and think about few other things.
For sheer drama-and drawing power
even in the undramatic moments-those con-
ventions must get top rating by any living
room standard. People who have been known
to flip off the switch at the sight of the coun-
try's best comedians and finest musicians sat
glued to their television sets hour after hour,
then got up the next morning to read prac-
tically every word in their newspapers. They
stopped Office work for the best speeches and
most exciting balIoting They ignored
friends, meetings and household chores to
watch and listen and read all about it.
The political talk and maneuvering they
disapproved of gave them fine chance to
complain The parts they liked gave them
happy opportunity to praise and quote and
ally themselves with some of the country's
most skilful conventioneers.
Except for election night, there's nothing
quite like the big shows of the political par
ties The politicians just wish they could
find that much enthusiasm for working fo1
their candidates.