The Augusta Courier

TRUTH ABOUT ARMS SHORTAGE DEMANDED OF TRUMAN

Administration Struggling To Avoid Giving Reason For Plight

WASHINGTON, D.C., October 24, 1950. - United States Senator George W. Malone, Republican, Nevada, today demanded an explanation from the administration of why we will lack arms of every classification and why we are short in all elements of military strength, after the unprecedented spending of over $48,000,000 on the Military Establishment during the past 4 years. The demand was made in a statement issued by the Nevada Senator.

"The question has been asked previously, but not satisfactorily answered," Senator Malone said, continuing:

"The American taxpayers, already bled by a spendthrift administration, have a right to know where this money has gone. They say that half of it has gone for salaries; that is no explanation. Salaries for doing what? Certainly not to improve our military strength. The outbreak of the Korean War exposed our pitiful unpreparedness.

"Why such a large proportion, nearly nine billion, for civilian personnel; what did they do?

"The break-down into major categories of expenditures-all before Korea-shows over $2,000,000,000 spent for commercial travel. Travel for what? Certainly not to improve our military strength.

"Of the forty-eight billion, about ten billion is listed as having been spent for equipment. What kind of equipment? The kind our American boys were handed when they were sent in to battle the Korean Reds?

Not one dollar of the forty-eight billion spent went for atomic bombs or for anything connected with atomic-energy warfare. That was extra. And not $1 of the amount went for military aid to other countries. These items were extra.

"Where did the money go? Was it wasted? Was it spent unwisely?

"The lack of weapons capable of blasting the Soviet-type tanks of the North Koreans in the beginning, and the absence of tanks as good as these make Americans wonder where our money went.

"Many Americans would like to know why such low proportion went to provide weapons, why we were caught with obsolete planes? We would like to know also, in view of the high percentage spent to keep military personnel on hand, why we ran into a shortage of troops trained for combat? To say that the personnel was elsewhere in the world is not the answer. for, if that were true, why then the draft calls to make up the deficiency?

"The billions spent for the military between VJ-day and the outbreak of the Korean War would have meant that we had strength somewhere, trained for fighting, using the best guns and equipment but when the Korean War developed we learned we were sadly weak throughout our Military Establishment.

"Now we are threatened with more demands for more money. Producing the aircraft and other weapons which we now lack is an urgent necessity. But it is essential, too, that Americans get ironclad assurances from the Defense Department that the additional billions will provide, instead of military forces hampered by glaring inadequacies, the well-rounded armed might which is the Nation's most imperative need."