U.S.A. NAVAL EXPENDITURE

Greymouth Evening Star, 30 December 1937, Page 7

U.S.A. NAVAL EXPENDITURE

HUGE ADDITION PROPOSED

PRESIDENT’S APPEAL

[BY CABLE —PRESS ASSN, —COPYRIGHT.]

President Roosevelt, in a. Press conference, disclosed that the present world unrest may cause him tjj recommend to Congress the construction of additional warships. He said that their construction could not be characterised as part of a preparedness drive, nor would' they represent an attempt to match Great Britain’s .naval programme. . .

Mr. Roosevelt made public a letter to the chairman of the Appropriations Committee of the House of Representatives, in which he stated that since the submission of the 576,000,000-dollar naval estimate, “world events have caused me growing concern. I do not refer to any specific nation or to rnny specific threat against the United States. The fact is that throughout the world many nations are not only continuing, but enlarging their armament programmes.”

NEED FOR HASTE WASHINGTON, December 29. Inquiries made at the War. and Navy Departments revealed that President Roosevelt has ordered that ! his rearmament plans , shall, be pressed as fast as possible, regardless of a budget balancing or other political considerations. It was also revealed that Mr. Roosevelt expects to ask Congress to appropriate much more than 1,000,000,000 dollars for national defence in. the 1938-39 fiscal year beginning in July. The Navy Avill be apportioned about 580,000,000 dollars, in addition to special appropriations for extra warship construction, Mr. Roosevelt foreshadowed, and the Army will be apportioned probably 415,000,000 dollars. Also, in addition to both appropriations, several deficiency supply bills are anticipated. In best-informed circles it is stated that some time ago Mr. Roosevelt ordered the War Department to speed up its aeroplane purchase programme, with the result that the Army air corps has at. present on order 1,352 aeroplanes of all categories, which are being’ delivered at the rate of between two and five a day. Because of this, the air corps is almost a year ahead of its schedule programme of having 2,320 serviceable military aircraft by 1940..

“NOTICE TO THE WORLD?’

NEW YORK, December 29.

The Washington correspondent of the “New York- Times” - characterises the . action; as “another of the series of— moves - calculated - to serve as a notice to Japan and to the whole world that the United States stands, ready for any eventuality.” The correspondent added that Mr. Roosevelt had long been planning some dramatic move to focus the world’s attention on the insistence of the United States that her rights should everywhere be respected.

In this connection it is disclosed that the items feft* the improvement of the Pacific coast fortifications and for the equipment of the Hawaiian and Philippine bases have been withdrawn from the Budget, with the intention of including them on the supplementary estimates.

BOMBERS FOR HAWAII.

(Received December 30, 1 p.m.) SAN DIEGO, December 29.

For the strengthening of the Pearl Harbour fleet at the Hawaiian air base, the Navy has advanced the date for the scheduled flight of twelve powerful patrol bombers to the Pacific outposts, from February to about mid-January. It was also hinted that the flight might involve six more than a full squadron, or a total of eighteen. " " ’■ ' Officers refused to discuss whether the date advancement had resulted from the situation in the Orient, but indicated that the possibility of sending six additional planes resulted from the Navy’s desire to equip the Hawaiian based squadrons with spare planes as rapidly as they were ■ constructed. ■ , . .