Mr. Bywater also understands that British Navy estimates for 1939, to be presented to Parliament, will provide for considerably larger additions to the British Fleet than had been expected.
The. defensive requirements of Great "Britain in European, Eastern and Far Eastern waters, he states, have been duly weighed, and certain items in the estimates are likely to cause surprise.
"It will be found," says Mr. By-water, "that the British Commonwealth will no longer be disposed to entrust the security of her vital trade routes, and lines of communication, to the goodwill of foreign Fowers."
There is evidence that the standard of relative naval strength has been revised tofconform with the change: in the international situation, concludes Mr. Bywater.—Reuter.
Washington, Dec, 4.
N his annual report on the Army's air service Mr. Louis Johnson, Assistant Secretary of War, today stated that the United States supply of military aircraft and of anti-aircraft defence equipment were far short of even "minimum" security requirements.
Mr. Johnson called upon the nation to awaken to a realization of the real danger to the U.S. from potential enemy bombers.
"Anyone acquainted with the facts," he said, "who considered the bombing which has been characteristic of the Spanish and the Chinese operations must be aghast at contemplation of the havoc hostile bombers could and would wreak on unprotected cities."
The Assistant Secretary said that previously the United States" quantitative deficiencies in aircraft had been somewhat offset by qualitative technical superiority.
"However, American technical superiority is no longer appárent," Mr. Johnson warned.
"Recent advances on the part of other countries have equalled if not exceeded our efforts....It now appears that our research and development programmes must be accelerated if we are to regain the position of technical leadership.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.