"We desire no war hysteria," he stated in foreshadowing his stupendous programme, "we do not seek war and we covet not a yard of foreign territory, but we are determined to keep hostilities far from our shores."
Democrat Vinson, who hails from Georgia, said he believed his programme of construction could be completed in three or four years. Said he: "The Navy that we have built up or authorized is sufficient to deal with one aggressor, whoever it may be, but it offers insufficient protection against possible combinations of aggressors. In the light of present circumstances, the American people demand a Navy capable of meeting every need of national defence."
In conclusion, Representative Vinson stated that he did not propose creation of two separate American Fleets, but simply reinforcement of the one that is now in existence—Havas.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.