Army officials said the President's message would ask Congress for appropriations to remedy what both the Army and Navy regard as an alarming shortage of ammunition and ammunition manufacturing machinery in the United States. Special appropriations also are expected to be asked for construction of additional anti-aircraft guns, searchlights, fire control machinery and other equipment which military experts call The President, high Administration officials said, will ask funds with which to make American defences guarantee protection against invasion and provide a Navy powerful enough to carry a war into the enemy's territory, should the United States become involved in war.
Officials said the President would request appropriation of two or three million dollars for modern powder manufacturing machinery alone, thus eliminating one of the s necks" existing in America's national defences. Between seven and eight million dollars probably will be asked for construction of anti-aircraft guns, officials said.
The War Department hopes to obtain a total of between twenty and twenty-five million dollars in supplemental appropriations as a result of the President's message. About $1,000,000 of these appropriations would be used for the organization of an enlisted reserve, Army officials said.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.