U.S. “WAR CABINET” MEETS

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 189, 8 May 1941, Page 9

U.S. “WAR CABINET” MEETS

Roosevelt’s Proposals INCREASED BOMBER PRODUCTTON WASHING'! May 6. '

President Roose uminoned a special meeting . . his. “War Cabinet’,’ yesterday, consisting of the Secretary of State, Mr. Hull; the Secretary of the Navy, Colonel Knox; the Secretary for War, Mr. Stimson; and the Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. Morgenthau, to discuss his request for greatly increased bomber production to give the democracies command of the air. The meeting was also attended by the Army Chief of Staff, General Marshall; the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Stark; MajorGeneral Arnold, who has just returned from London with a report bn Britain’s aerial needs, and Mr. Hopkins, who is in charge of purchases under the Aid to Britain Act. An hour after the meeting had been convened, Admiral Towers, Chief of the Navy Bureau of Aeronautics, was called iu.

Informed circles say that rapid reinforcements of the Royal Air Force for all-out bombing of Germany is the objective of President Roosevelt’s emergency order to speed up the production of long-range bombers, the eventual goal of which is reported to be 500 a month.

Naval Landing Force.

Colonel Knox told the House Naval Committee that “it is critically important now for the navy to have a landing force ready to operate.” It is learned that the United States Is planning to send four cutters to Greenland to prevent any further Axis activity. They will possibly include the North Star and Bear of Oakland which were used in the Byrd Antartic expeditions.

Senator Pepper, in a speech in Hie Senate, demanded that the United States should “get tough,” and occupy, with Britain, such strategic points as Dakar and the Azores, the Canary and Cape Verde Islands, Greenland, Iceland. Singapore, and also points in the Far East to “shut up Hie Japanese navy In its own lair.” “A few American pilots,” he said, “and a few first-class American'bombing planes can make a shambles of Tokio.”

He advocated that the United States should abandon all neutrality frills and send its ships wherever international law permits, and if Axis submarines interfere, he said, "Blow them from the water as fast as we can." Seized Italian Ships.

The Maritime Commission has order, pd Hint 27 of Hie seized Italian ships be repaired. An attempt by isolationists in Hie House of Representatives to prevent the transfer to Britain of Axis ships seized in American ports was 'defeated by 161 voles to 131. Declaring that Hie trend of events “seems to point strongly to the United States entering the war,” President Quezon asked the Philippine Assembly to appropriate 10,000.000 pesos to provide civilian defences. He also asked the Assembly to extend his emergency powers.

President Roosevelt cancelled his regular Press conference today, owing to a slight fever and gastro-intestinal d istnrba nee.