Show NEWS T I 1 HE PAUL LON rel released ased by western newspaper union AR NAVY unification SHOULD START AT ONCE washington mr truman made the proper move to get get his nia army navy unification bill through congress the navy had performed an all out lobbying job against tho the program it was in charge of navy assistant secretary H hensel who woi worked ked through the navy league pro promoting moUng speeches and articles by admirals and arousing naval affairs committeemen in both houses bouses if mr truman succeeds i in stopping navy agitation he will get his bill through because there is no other opposition except that which may be continued by the naval committeemen who fear they may lose their seniority standing in their committee jobs but the bill Is not on the program for this session the tha calendar of both houses Is air already eady crowded for the next several months and the leaders are p planning ian ning a summer recess to let the legislators go home and mend their broken fences in preparation for their reelection election re campaigns the navy never had much of a case no one can oppose unification its as a theory appalling duplications of army and navy services filled the committee record of hearings army and navy competed with each other in bidding for or such things as clothing for example in that line one service might have a surplus of some items while the other had a deficiency in negotiating their separate contracts they were actively competing against each other then again on small islands uhe like guam there would be a naval hospital constructed and maintained a mile away from an army hospital it was shown also that in armament the navy and army encountered needless conflict furthermore the building of separate airports around the world caused duplication waste in many instances NAVAL DELAYING ACTION in t the e face of such overwhelming evidence the navy centered its campaign largely upon delaying action by congress its basic tear fear and claim was that the navy was to be put under the army by unification which simply is not true the thomas subcommittee has reported re port now a bill which proposes to set up the unification this way A single in secretary of common defense in the cabinet with three secretaries under him one each for army air and navy then an overall over all chief of staff with a recommendation that the president rotate this office between the three services giving it to army for a year then to air and then to navy three assistant secretaries ret aries arles representing each branch of the service and finally legalization of the joint chiefs of staff set up during the war to provide cooperation in strategy between the services this setup preserves the navy as just as much an independent unit as the army or the air forces it does not put the navy under the army but it Is true the army numerically is stronger and may wield a greater influence in the combined department than the admirals or air arm despite the legal equality of each branch delay in enacting the program until next year will greatly impede efficiency in national defense defens even even if the legislation could be enacted today at least a year or more I 1 would be required to work out and effect the vast details of reorganization while the soviet seems to be leisurely withdrawing its military army from iran it Is leaving behind a political army which has an excellent chance of absorbing the country as britain and the U S have no armies on the ground military or political next possible russian move may be to cut the nearest slice of turkey already defined in the official mos cow journals this is a thin slice running about miles westward in length along the black sea with a depth of 75 to miles inland the turks could not stop such a move without naval assistance from the british or U S their frontier i armies r could easily be bypassed by passed by russi russian an amphibious landings in their rear A late grapevine report to trustworthy authorities here indicates russia is in no condition to try this or any other major venture hei casualty list from the war has nol yet been published and no one knows how many she lost dussias Rus sias manpower shortage has been made acute by critical short tage farm arm tractors locomotive and trucks to an extent where she sh cannot hope to supply her people with food and necessities necessity e economists noted st al irs boalt for or the fourth five year plan tc t end in 1950 were lower than his 1941 goals in pig iron steel oil locomotives tives freight cars paper leathea and some other phases in short his figures suggest he will fail all shor of f prewar production utter foul oui on more 0 rp e years if af figures can be trust fd ed |