The worldwide race for naval and aerial supremacy and the possibility of war in the Pacific may force the United States to withdraw its Philippine defence line to Hawaii in order to protect the Pacific coast of the mainland, it was learned here to-day.
The War and Navy departments are known to be considering a plan of action following the independence of the Philippines, but some strategists in both departments are urging that the American fighting forces should withdraw sooner.
In the event of war, it was pointed out by Navy officials here, the necessity of holding the Philippines would require such a heavy concentration of naval strength in the Far East that the coast of the mainland would be left vulnerable. They pointed out that the worldwide rearmament race embraces super-dread-naughts, huge bombers and cruisers with cruising ranges tremendous enough to weaken or possibly shatter ar American defence line extending from Alaska to the Philippines and Panama.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.