Lend-Lease May Give U.S. Pacific Bases

Northern Advocate, 10 February 1943, Page 2

Lend-Lease May Give U.S. Pacific Bases

WASHINGTON. Feb. 9. [ The secretary for the Navy (Colonel I Knox) testifying in the House Foreign ; Affairs Committee said the United | States must maintain control of the i Pacific after the war, retaining the [ necessary network of air and naval [ bases to disarm Japan on sea and keep S her disarmed for a long time, j He expressed the opinion that Lend- [ Lease will aid the United States rriatjerially in obtaining the desired bases ! throughout the Pacific, and favoured [ negotiations for this beginning without [ delay. I He added-: “We are not avid for more I territory, but are wise to insist on [complete control of sufficient bases to prevent another war of aggression in the future.” Colonel Knox declared that LendLease had been a major factor in stopping the Axis. Lend-Lease tension will j be a major, perhaps a decisive factor j in our ultimate victory. Reciprocal Naval Aid Tribute to the close co-operation between American and British navies was paid by Colonel Knox today when discussing Naval Lend-Lease, which he said was by no means one-sided. [ Upon Lend-Lease, said Colonel Knox.] depended the execution of the Allies'! war strategy for combined action oil (he United Nations. The extent of! Lend-Lease could be gauged to some! extent by the scope, which embraced j 26 countries. The United States Navy; had transferred to the Allies, mater-1 ials and services of a value of ap-j proximateiv 800,000,000 dollars. Thei greatest proportion had gone to Brit-: ain because she had the largest fleet. : Items included ships, fuel, planes,;

[landing craft, and minesweepers. * The United States also had over-; [hauled to the end of last year 246 for-j j eign naval vessels at a total cost of ; 117,850 dollars. Many were large com-i bat ships and aircraft-carriers.. The 1 American Navy was also carrying cn' an extensive training programme for, loreign personnel. The naval Lend-i Lease had by no means been one-sid-- ! ed. Ships of the United States Navy [were receiving substantial help in for—eign ports, repairs and revictualling being supplied all over the world from Scotland to New Zealand. This had[ been done without' charge "and with-; out delay under reciprocal aid. Invaluable aid, which could not be mea-| sured in dollars, was given in ex-j change for technical information, of-! ten highly important and secret.