United States Munitions Supremacy Important

Wanganui Chronicle, 7 November 1949, Page 5

United States Munitions Supremacy Important

Its Value To Western Allies In Event Of A Land War

NEW YORK. Nov. 6 (Rec. 6 pm).—The United States must endeavour at all times to maintain such munitions supremacy that any potential enemy would be discouraged entirely from taking the path of aggression, said the Secretary of Defence, Mr. Louis Johnson, in an address last night to the American Legion. He believed the United States .

cation and transportation, his produc- • tion facilities—and defend ourselves against the strategy upon which he is likely to concentrate —a blitz ground attack against nations friendly to us, and atomic raids upon our industrial centres.” Mr. Johnson said the United States had had more time to prepare a means to counteract effects of atomic ; bombs should she become a victim of such attack. He warned that the > United States’ Western Allies must ; consider the possibility of being out- . numbered in manpower in the event , of war, and they must make sure the deficiency would have its compensai tions “in the superiority of our .weapons, our skill, our facilities, and our industrial potential.”

had much superior weapons to any potential enemy. The United States was still ahead of the rest of the world in munitions production. "The supremacy in mass production is still ours, and by a wide margin, but, like all leaders in any race, the breath of those close behind us is warm on our neck,’’ he said. "We are still ahead, but we must continue to remain ahead. Our weapons must be developed for use not against a theweticai enemy of another age but for defence against a present great land power. Our strategy must be to strike back where he is likely to be . weakest —his long lines of communi-