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Show Buy Vessels to Link New Bases ArmytoSpend$23,000,000; Plan to Expand Forces In Alaska. WASHINGTON. The war department depart-ment has completed plans for a 323,-000,000 323,-000,000 program for additional vessels ves-sels to serve Atlantic bases leased from Great Britain and the army garrison in Alaska, it was learned. Plans for a "tremendous expansion" expan-sion" of the Alaska force also were disclosed. Details could not be learned, however, because of tightened tight-ened army regulations that no information in-formation will be given on plans to strengthen outlying defense pbsts. The ship purchases will be made by the quartermaster corps, the coast artillery and the air corps, it was said. Most of them will be small craft of varying types which can navigate easily in small harbors har-bors and shallow waters at the various vari-ous bases. Other Phases of Program. It was understood that $1,600,000 of the funds would be earmarked to pay for three passenger liners the President Roosevelt, President Jefferson Jef-ferson and President McKinley which were obtained from the maritime mari-time commission for conversion into troop transports. Other phases of the program were said to include: Air corps Acquisition of a number num-ber of small armored boats, rescue ships, picket boats and other shallow-draft vessels. Quartermaster corps Purchase of two 300-foot passenger-freight boats of 3,000 tons each which would be capable of transporting about 600 men and 1,500 tons of freight. Coast artillery Eight whale boats and two motor sailers for target and general defense work and four mine planters. Order Greater Speed. Greater speed also was ordered for the government's cargo shipbuilding ship-building program, and maritime commission officials predicted that vessels totaling between 3,500,000 and 4,000,000 the World war rate would slide off the ways in 1942. Arrangements have been made for 40 new ways for the mass production pro-duction of 312 merchant ships under the war-aid appropriation. In addition, addi-tion, 51 new ways are built or building build-ing for the construction of 200 "ugly duckling" ships ordered under the government's emergency shipping program. The 91 new ways, combined with existing facilities of private yards, will be sufficient to attain the recotd World war output of ships, a high maritime official said. |