Mr. Roosevelt's special message to Congress is expected to stress the extraordinary aspects of present international affairs and reaffirm the nation's determination to defend the Western Hemisphere against possible foreign aggression.
Great attention is being given by the President—himself the Assistant Secretary of Navy during the Great War—to the construction of capital ships. Some experts here believed today that the United States Navy by 1943 may possess greater battleship strength—"the backbone of the fleet"—than even Great Britain. Within five years the nation will be able to muster capital ships totalling possibly as high as 800,000 tons.
At present the United States has fifteen battleships afloat. Two more are under construction, scheduled for completion late in 1941. Four others, which will be laid down early in 1939. are expected to be completed by 1943 looking for political issues to project into the 1940 Presidential campaign-In past election years tariff policy usually has been a major issue tariff-making now is entrusted largely to the State Department under the reciprocity bargaining act, the Hull reciprocity programme probably will come in for political "sharpshooting." However, extraordinary nationwide public regard for the Secretary of State may make it inadvisable for the Republicans to center their attacks on the Administration's tariff policies. Cohsequently emphasis on the budget and proposed national defence expenditure is expected.—United Press.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.