SIDENT Roosevelt's special Washington, Jan. 12. national defence message asking Congressional support of the Administration's defence programme involving appropriations of approximately $2,000,000,000 will be sent to Congress today.
Meanwhile the report regarding the probability of a European war before next summer, which given to the Senate and House Military Affairs Committees yes terday by the American Ambassadors to France and Britain, overshadowed all other news in American newspapers.
The appearance of the two Ambassadors, Mr. William Bullitt, Ambassador to France, and Mr.
Joseph Kennedy, Ambassador to the Court of St. James, Britain, before the secret joint session of the Congressional committees yesterday was regarded as the Administration's first major s top designed to obtain legislative approv: for the current defence proposals.
Many Congressmen were so notably affected by the Ambassadors' testi-many yesterday that they declined to discuss it publicly, but others frankly termed it a "build up" for the President's defence programme which is expected to provide one of the major debates in the new Congress.
Several Senators expressed their intention of discussing the defence programme in connection with United States foreign relations. Senator Robert Reynolds, Democrat of North Carolina, led a group of Senators attacked the Administration's r hysteria" and scoffed at the predict tions of the two Ambassadors that war was impending in Europe.
"Who is There to Fight"
"There is not going to be any war," Senator Reynolds said. "Who is there to fight? Germany owns mpst Europe now. France is a declining Power. England is at the will and under control of Hitler and Mussolini. Her life-line can be cut both in the Mediterranean and Red Sea "It is true that Hitler has persecuted minorities ànd our beans are in sympathy with them, but I am damned if we want to get into war for the sake of minorities of any country on earth. Ninety-nine per cent. of the American people are opposed to war."
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.