Salt Lake Telegram | 1939-04-26 | Page 1 | Outlay Asked to Begin Work on Navy Bases

OUTLAY ASKED TO BEGIN WORK ON riAVY BASES $549,000,000 Measure for Army Sighed by President WASHINGTON, April U (.TV-President (.TV-President Roosevelt today elgned the SMS.SOS.ses war department appropriation bill. WASHINGTON, AprU 28 (UP) President Roosevelt to day asked congress to appropriate appro-priate $31,621,000 to finance immediate start of work on a $66,000,000 chain of naval ai;-bases ai;-bases in Alaska, the south Pacific, Pa-cific, the West .Indies and in Florida. - . . 4 He aled asked the .house appropriations appro-priations committee to authorite letting of contracts to complete the program. This . Would consist of contracts approximating $16,00000. Mr. Roosevelt previously had asked for approximately SlS.000.000 in Im- mediate appropriations for the program. pro-gram. - Sign Naval Bin Mr. Roosevelt last night signed the Vinson bill authorizing the bases, a further step in ths intense national defense program. Cbairmsn Jsmes G. Scrugham D. Nev.) of the house naval appropriations ap-propriations subcommittee, ssid the supplemental requests would be considered in connection with the (688.000.000 regular navy budget bilL He said that total requests for the navy this year now approximate approxi-mate (800,000,000 a peace-time reo-ord. reo-ord. The new appropriation would I make possible immediate construction construc-tion on the 12 newly authorised air beats. They are located in Alssks, s chain of Pacific islands, Puerto Rico, Florida, at Tongue Point, Ore.; Norfolk, Vs.; Quonsett Point R. I, snd to enlsrge the naval aircraft air-craft factory at Philadelphia. ' Location of Bases The authorised Pacific air bases sre located at Kaneohe bay, Hawaii; Ha-waii; Midway island, Johnston island. is-land. Palmyra Island, Pearl harbor, Hawaii. They would provide facilities facili-ties for basing approximately 120 additional scouting and bombing planes in the Pacific. The navy said work can begin thia summer under procedure designed de-signed to provide maximum speed in construction. The navy also announced that It will lease pert of its big ordnance plant at South Charleston, W. Va, to the Carnegie-Illinois Steel corporation cor-poration to accelerate deliveries of lightweight heet-treated armor plate. The plant has not been used I since the World war.