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Show A Day For The Navy On Monday, of Laext week, the people of the United States will observe "Navy Day," no.v broadened broad-ened by the President to be "Naval and Total Defense Day." The safety ox the nation, for' many years, rested exclusively upon tne navv of the United States. We maintained a small standing army, relying upon toe warships of the fleet to safeguard safe-guard . tne nation- against sudden attack and to give 'us ample time in which to train and equip an army suitable to any emergency. The collapse of France and the fear that tne British Empire migi.it ibe beaten by Adolf Hitler last year, and that units of the British fleet might come under the control ol Germany, caused tne people of this country to reconsider their position in reference ref-erence to the mew methods of a arfare. We were then engaged in a great naval expansion program uut tne fact that years would elapse beiore tine fleet could .be enlarged to protect us in two oceans made it mecessary for the United States to prepare an army to take care of any grave peril that might develop before the tie naval program could be completed. it should toe understood thai vnen we speak of the United bLates Navy, are included the ileet air arm and tlhe shore establishments es-tablishments that make it possible pos-sible for the warships to function func-tion efficiently. The development develop-ment of air power has not been overlooked by our naval leaders and dive bombing, inow so mudh in vogue, was developed! by the American navy. The importance of adequate defensive forces, upon both the Pacific and Atlantic ocean, is a 'national duty that is being performed. per-formed. The size of our fleets depends upon the size of the fleets maintained by other nations, na-tions, especially those that are in the .class of potential enemies. Surely the - protection of our .hipping, in all the waters of the world, is a vital part of the nation's na-tion's defense. On Naviy Day we would remind re-mind the people of the nation of the experience we have had with dissarmament because, just as surely as we live, when the present 'world emergency expires, ex-pires, there will arise an insistent demand for economy at the expense ex-pense of the fleet. The United States once junked hundreds of millions of dollars worth of warships war-ships in the belief that disarmament disarma-ment could be established as a principle between nations. Today, To-day, we meed the ships that were not completed ' after the last World War. As a people, we Should not lose sight of the fact that the possession of an adequate navy will make unnecessary the maintenance main-tenance of a stupendous anmy. With safety assured in the Atlantic At-lantic and Pacific oceans, where the two-ocean navy will be on guard, there will not toe meed of a huge standing army. This will :be economy. |