REARMING BY U.S.

Press, Volume LXXXVI, Issue 26199, 24 August 1950, Page 7

REARMING BY U.S.

Big Budgets For Years To Come TESTIMONY TO CONGRESS

(N.Z. ftress Association—Copyright) (Ret. 8.30 p.m.) t WASHINGTON, August 22. Military leaders expect the Korean war to end in six months, but the Communist threat elsewhere will keep the United States spending above 25,000,000,000 dollars a year for many years on defence. This estimate is disclosed in the published record of closed hearings by the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee oh Mt Ttumail’s emergency request for 18.000.000,000 dollars in extra defence funds. The Secretary of Defence, Mr Louis Johnson, the Secretary of State, Mr Dean Acheson, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Omar Bradley, and other high military officers, testified at these hearings. Mr Johnson said the increase of the fighting forces would continue for two or three years, and defence Spending should level off in 1955 at 251000,000,000 dollars a year, not counting foreign arms aid.

The officials emphasised that the outlook depended on the assumption that Russia would not strike elsewhere and start a third World War. Mr Johnson warned that the mobilisation costs he outlined would be only a first instalment if the Korean war should be the beginning of larger things.

The hearings brought out many details of United States rearmament for the first time, including:— (1) The Navy has called up 53,000 reservists and plans to call up another 35,000 to help to man 911 ships by June 30 next year. (2) The Army plans one new combat division and two new replacement training divisions—it had 10 division? at the outbreak of the Korfeah war arid has since called four National Guard divisions into active duty. (3) The Air Force will use extra funds to buy 4428 aeroplanes, bringing its front line combat strength to 15,000 aircraft. (4) The Navy will buy 2377 new aeroplanes and build 139 new ships, mostly small vessels. It will convert 31 others, including “moth-balled’ carriers, and add schnorkels to 19 submarines. (5) The Navy will spend 149,000,000 dollars and the Army 180,000,000 dollars on emergency construction at scores of bases throughout the United States. ' . Military Training Plans Mr Johnson told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the United States lacked the pool of trained manpower it needed to meet the threat of total war. He urged the immediate enactment of a universal military training programme. Mr Johnson said the two fundamental deficiencies hindering the United States’ foreign policy, alarming its allies, and encouraging potential aggressors, were: (1) the lack of art integrated military force in Western Europe of sufficient strength to hold a potential aggressor until help arrived, and (2) lack of readiness for United States manpower mobilisation which would enable the nation to meet the threat of total war within the time limit imposed by present conditions. He said that steps were being taken under the North Atlantic Treaty to place an effective force squarely across the Communist approaches to Western Europe, but they must be backed by tangible evidehce that the United States had the capability and determination rapidly to reinforce it if war came, “arid that ffieahs universal training."

Mr Johnson said that the training would be postponed until after the Korean war, but legislation now would provide a basis for an integrated programme.