The journal. (Caldwell, Ohio) 1934-1961, 1958-06-26


there are a certain number of
planes in readiness, and that
Generals and Admirals have CO.
ordinated plans for use in case
of emergency. The key to Ger
many's defeat in 1945 rested on
the breakdown of industrial
production. America was OF the
victorious side in 1945 largely
because of its ability to produce.
Men and planes are important,
indeed, but they are only the
first line of defense in case OF a
prolonged struggle.
Quietly working in the inter-
ests of building Americas pro
duction strength is the Office OF
Defense Mobilization, which was
established by the Defense Pro-
duction Act in 1850. That office
coordinates the acquisition OF
strategic mineral resources and
important and vital hardware for
use in the event of military
emergency. Since the Korean
War, the ODM has continued its
work of coordinating mobiliza-
ton planning, particularly as 1t
refers to what responsibilities
industry and the general public
would have if we were attacked.
Research enables the Office of
Defense Mobilization TO deter
mine the number and volume of
supplies that would be necessary
and enables it to determine how
many should be on hand current
ly and how many factory units
must be in readiness to begin
production so as to maintain a
predetermined volume of supply
In the event of conflict. there
is no time after declaration of
war to create the methods, pro-
cedures, and techniques of
economic mobilization. Undoubt-
edly, the Office of Defense Mob
ilization now has figures and
charts which would indicate how
many hand-grenades or any other
type of ammunition would be
needed to be coming from the
production lines within a month
after a shooting war was initiat-
ed. 1t would also know the names
of factories which would be in
position to start the production
of particular type of military
hardware, so that the troops at
the front would have a continu-
Gus supply of the military items
which they need. Without this
kind of preparedness, made in
the light of constantly changing
weapons, our nation can have
no real security.
Naturally, we. do not anticipate
that our need for defense mobili-
zation will continue indefinitely.
Although the picture looks dark
today, we constantly cultivate
the optimistic belief that the day
| can come when America and all
other nations may relax their
defense effort. For this reason,
the Office of Defense Mobiliza-
ton is regarded as a temporary
office and the Defense Produc-
ton Act is thought of as tenn
porary piece of legislation. Each
two years, the Congress reviews
the situation in the light of then
existing world tensions and de-
termines whether or not the
Defense Production Act needs tC
be extended This week, the
House of Representatives, recog.
niZing the imperative need Of
continuing the functions of the
ODM and the emergency powers
granted, extended the Defense
Production Act, but in its con,
sistently optimistic and hopeful
attitude, extended it for only two
more years.
Space Age Defense
BY a vote of 402-1, the House
last week passed bill to re
| organize the Department of De
fense to clear away some Of the
administrative brambles tha
prevent quick, positive action ST
necessary in the space age. From
the vote, one might think the
bill was popular with practically
everybody in the Congress. Thi:
was far from the case.
The bitter argument ragec
over the feeling in many quart
ers that the bill did not go fal
enough in untying the hands O
the Secretary of Defense to &C
decisively in an emergency
Stronger proposals intended t.
put an end to the inter-servict
rivalries and disagreements tha
have sometimes threatened tn,
defensive power of the nation
were defeated earlier by tn,
much narrower margin of I'll
1872.
In this fight, the House wa
apparently not yet ready to YES
| in the Secretary of Defense th'
immense powers that are nov
thought to be necessary. The,
are, indeed tremendous powers
probably unprecedented for an,
appointed cabinet officer il
peacetime. We do live, however
| in time of possible peril which
calls for an immediate abilit.
to defend ourselves. Ocean
spanning rockets have diminish
ed our priviledged geographical
position in the world The bill
as enacted, recognizes this fac
although it well may not provid'
| all Of the authority the situation
calls for. We must now await tn,
decision of the Senate to see th'
final version of this new auth
ority. Whatever the decision, few
| bills considered this year will