Milford chronicle., 1958-08-08
PENTAGON REORGANIZATION BILL

but not good enough. 1t includes many of
the recommendations embodied in the Origi-
nal Administration proposal, including a
streamlining of the channels of command
and certain broadened powers for the Secre-
tary of Defense. But it did not give him
three things he considered of top import
aDce, and which he worked for with much
greater vigor than he recently had given
to most legislative programs.
The House refused an amendment which
would have prohibited the service chiefs
from going to Congress and presenting their
views on their own initiative 1t refused an
other amendment which would have depriV-
ed the individual service secretaries of re-
sponsibilities and powers they now possess.
And it refused still another amendment au
thorizing the President to merge or elimi-
nate long established service functions with
out having to obtain Congressional approx
al All in all, most correspondents and COM
mentatOrS regard the House action as sub
stantial defeat for the Administration.
A good many people, it is clear, must
wonder why the proposals of man with
Dwight Eisenhower's command experience
and war record were either rejected or ma
terially modified by legislative body. And
the answer to that question has been par
ticularly well presented in one of Walter
Lippman's recent columns.
First of all, there was very real and
widespread feeling that what the President
asked for would result in a general staff
system in fact though not IN name AS Mr.
Lippman writes g. he did ask for some
thing very close to it in principle. He asked
for the virtual suppression of the civilian
secretaries of the various services and he
wanted to take away from the Chiefs of
Staff their present right to appeal to the
Congress. 1t is this right of appeal which
prevents any one of the services from being
overridden by combination of the other
two, and makes certain that on great issue
its views cannot be suppressed and must be
debated"
Representative Vinson, who is and long
has been the most potent voice in the House
on military legislation, explained the con- I
troversy clearly. There are, he said two
well defined system of strategic planning.
One gives almost unlimited power to single
Chief of Staff, supported by general staff
which he dominates. And this system, he
went on is "superficially effective in ar
irving at swift decisions 6. because it is |
shaped to eliminate from consideration al
tentative courses of action The other sys-
tenn is the one we have now, with Joint Chiefs
of Staff, subject to civilian authority, each
Of whom is free to express his views and to |
present and press the case for his own par
ticular service.
Mr.. Lippman makes point of the ut
most Importance, and one which is not gen.
orally known to people unacQuainted with |
global military operations. supreme COM
mander-as General Eisenhower was-does
not do strategic planning. He advises and
counsels. But the decisions are made at a
still higher level-that of the chiefs of state. |
In World War III, for instance Churchill and
Roosevelt, aided by the combined Chiefs of
Staff of the two countries, made these de-
ciSionS. The commanders, no matter how
elevated their rank, then carried them out.
In sum, strategic planning is one thing
actual operations are another. To quote |
Mr.. Lippman again, system where one man
has only to approve or disapprove, and does
not have to weigh alternatives :" is the
most effective way to command and operate
an army" But, he then writes: "It would
be dangerously inadequate way to make
high military policy, to do the strategic plan
ming for our global commitments and our
rapidly evolving weapons" 1t was this kind
of thinking that caused the House to take
the action it did on the reorganization bill.
THE THREAT OF DROWNING
During the summer drowning is great
er threat to children than polio, pneumonia,
heart disease, tuberculosis, and influenza
combined. Approximately 1000 people in
the United States die each year by drown
ing.
Of those who die by drowning, it has
been estimated by government officials that
9012 per cent of them die needlessly. A great
many of these are children who have not
been taught to swim, or who have not been
taught to respect water.
Among the boys going in the service in
World War II, it was discovered that only
one out of ten was a skillful swimmer. Five
of the ten possessed only elementary skill,
and four of the ten couldn't swim a stroke.
Among the general public the number of
competent swimmers is, of course, even
smaller than the ratio in the service.
Parents cannot emphasize too often to
their children the need for safety while
swimming. Here are some rules that may
save a life: avoid deep water, never swim
alone, never swim in unfamiliar water don't
be a show-off, stay on land when overheated
or chilled, and try to keep calm when in
trouble