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Show WASHINGTON-N&WS WASHINGTON-N&WS hl FROM OUR CONGRESSMAN W. K. GRANGER War Production The President told his pros conference that lessons les-sons learned In actual combat had led the Government to lower its volume schedules for tanks and planes in order to concentrate on heavier and more effective types of these war machines. While the num-Ler num-Ler of tanks and airplanes produced will be smaller than scheduled a year ago. the amount of steel used in their construction will be essentially essen-tially the same as planned originally. origin-ally. The program for tanks a year ago tailed for a large scheduled production pro-duction of M-3 tanks, but the ex-l.crience ex-l.crience of warfare, particularly in the Libyan desert, has made it advisable ad-visable to change over to the M-4 tanks. The present program calls for fewer actual planes than planned a year ago, but the decrease will be translated into more gun power, longer range and generally greater combat effectiveness. Convoy Action The Navy has transported trans-ported 600,000 American soldiers to overseas stations without the loss of a single man", according to the War Department's Bureau of Public Relations, Army War Secretary Stlmson has announced that the Alaskan Highway High-way is now om to trucks carrying munitions and materials to troops in Alaska for its entire length of 1.671 miles. Ten thousand soldiers divided into 7 army engineer regiments regi-ments and 2,000 civilian workmen under direction of the Public Road Admln'stration completed the Job in slightly over 6 months. The preliminary furlough period of two weeks now given newly-inducted soldiers will be reduced to one week beginning November 1. Navy The Navy announced that workers in vital industries men In Selective Service classifications 2A, 2B, and 3B will be rejected for enlistment en-listment in the Navy unless they present a release from their local draft boards. The Navy has already taken steps to place Into effect the new manpower policy outlined by the WMC. The Navy Department said caa- jiialties of U. S. Naval forces Marine Ma-rine Corps and Navy reported from October l to October IS, Inclusive, I totaled 408. including 194 dead, 142 i wounded and 72 missing. Although mast of the casualties resulted from direct action with the enemy, names of those last In accidents at sea and in the air on duty directly connec-'ed connec-'ed with war operations are also in luded. Tills lLst brings the total of Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard casualties reported from December De-cember 7, 1941, to October 15 to 15.8144,453 dead, 1,593 wounded, and 9.7G8 missing. |