Show 24 e fi R RE REN E EN Washington D C TANK TA BUILDING PROGRAM There was a good reason why Lord dynamic m n nIster nister nister Ister of ot supply listed tanks as the theNo theNo theNo No 1 objective of ot h s visit to the theU theU theU U S He flew over largely to try to persuade our army ch els cis to lend lease h m the major share of our growing output There Is sharp division in the army over this Armored unit corn com commanders manders have been champing at atthe atthe atthe the b t for tor the tanks now beginning to roll off oft assembly 1 nes They need the equipment not only to tram train their men and officers but to keep up which morale morale which sags when mod modern modern modern ern war machines are missing or simulated Buck privates to generals have griped over being forced to play at soldiering This was one of the main mam causes for the strong sent meat ment among cit cat zen soldiers aga extension of their year s a service They could raise no enthusiasm for cont nu ng to tram train without p meat ment On the other hand the general staff believes that it is far tar more vital VI VItal vital tal to the immediate security of the theU theU theU U S to let lct our tanks and other armament help hold off oT the Nazis 3 m miles es from our shores The its contend that a aU aU aU U S tank is performing tely more valuable service knocking out NazIs on the torrid deserts of North Africa or the bloody steppes of Russia Rus Russia sia than using up oil in a 3 training camp in m Texas They favor send sending mg most of our new tanks to Britain for the present and Beaverbrook s miss on is to clinch that argument British Need The British need for tanks par for tor the latest type 32 ton med um tanks is extremely urgent It was lack of these that caused the rout In m Greece and prevents the British from taking the offensive m in Libya and on the continent Also WithOUt med um tanks the British would be in m desperate straits should Hitler make his feared eared overland move into Spain and Portugal across the Strait of G and down the Atlantic coast of French West Africa to Dakar Thanks to the U S 5 the British are well supplied with light 12 ton I tanks So far tar they have received about together with spare parts These light tanks have given a good account of themselves They are superior to similar German and Italian types But mounting only 50 cal ber guns and lightly armored they are no match as Greece and Libya have proved for tor medium Axis tanks STEEL SHOWDOWN The and the steel industry finally have taken drastic steps to regula regulate te es as and increase ca capacity panty but it took all kinds lands of nag grog by the government to get them to do it One of the most spectacular of these nagging sessions took place m in inthe inthe the board room recently and was attended by Eugene Grace of Bethlehem Steel Tom Girdler of Republic Ernest Weir of Weir Weirton Weirton Wen ton ton Irving Olds new head of U S Steel together with aith v Ith Ed the old head Leon Henderson Knudsen and representatives from the army navy and mant me corn com commiss miss on The steel manufacturers immedi immediately immediately put the government represent representatives on the defensive with the ques ques- ques- ques question question tion tzon Well what do you want us to do Cut off all steel to the consumer con sumer Price Administrator Henderson replied re replied replied plied that such a curtailment would be disastrous that steel to the con consumer consumer consumer sumer could not be cut off right away Other government represent represent- representatives representatives hemmed and hawed So dId the ship builders The meeting got noVo nowhere here Finally Admiral Emory Land rel reI relative of ex Colonel Lindbergh but no believer in m his views got upLand up upLand upLand Land chairman of the i commiss on Is a close friend ot of I Bethlehem s Eugene Grace But look ng at Grace and the other steel manufacturers the admiral gave them a dressing down he m have g ven yen to his own sa lors I ve ye been listen ng to you for two hours he said and I m fed up with it I don t know what the fault is or whose fault it is But I Ido Ido Ido do kno v that the shipyards are four to six weeks beh nd ad because they haven t got steel And I also now know that if you fellows want to you can correct that shortage You ve ye been talking about ex I your plants Now if you mean bus ness instead of talking about it it expand expand Next day the steel manufacturers announced their plan to build new factories and expand product on CAPITAL CHAFF Wh te to House press secretary Steve Early kept it to h mid but privately he was sore at the bungling of Churchill Roosevelt press rela tons t ons If they had left it to him the res It would have been different Amer can ed tors resented the fact that fist flut ne vs of the m meeting broke in London A lot of other Ameri Americans Americans cans resented U tl e a idea that ne vs about the r own President had to come via the British censor velt h An not the Brit h was to blame |