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Show j Roosevelt Urges J Speed in War Plane Production WASHINGTON, D. C President Roosevelt Monday night demanded aerial supremacy for the democracies democ-racies and called upon Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson to increase in-crease production of heavy bom-, bom-, bers "with all possible speed." "... Command of the air by the democracies must and can be achieved," Mr. Roosevelt said in a letter to Stimson. "Every month the democracies are gaining in the relative strength of their air forces. We must see to it that the process is hastened and that the democratic superiority in the air be made absolute." The president did not specify by what ratio he was ordering heavy bomber production speeded up. But he left no doubt that the objective ob-jective he has fixed will strain this country's production, facilities He gave Stimson virtual carte blanche authority to take whatever steps are necessary to achieve the goal. One source said the chief executive execu-tive was demanding peak production produc-tion of 500 bombers a month, or 6000 a year. Combined with the British output, this would give the United States and Britain superiority superi-ority over axis production, it was Bald. Mr. Roosevelt, who is in almost constant touch with Stimson, apparently ap-parently made the letter public so as to impress upon the public the gravity of the British position and to reemphasize his frequent warning the United States must go on an all-out defense production produc-tion basis. It was also seen as a reaffirmation reaffirma-tion of his determination to provide pro-vide Britain with "the tools" to insure a German defeat. The president told Stimson he was ordering the office of production pro-duction management to provide "apppropriate" priority ratings to clear tne way lor au-out production. produc-tion. His letter left no doubt that the axis aerial challenge must be met in kind and bettered. '"The effective defense of this country and the vital defense of other democratic nations requires that there be a substantial increase in-crease in heavy bomber production," produc-tion," he wrote. "To this end will you take whatever action is needed, need-ed, including the procurement of aircraft, to obtain substantially the production rate which I am indicating to you in a private memorandum." The order came less than a week after Mr. Roosevelt directed the maritime commission to pool 2,000,000 tons of shipping to aid 1 Britain. It likewise followed ex-! tension of the United States neu- I trality patrol far out in the At-1 lantic. I |