Washington. Jan. 3, Chinese Refugees Going The greatest peacetime military and naval programme in the history of the United States will get under way to-day when Congress reconvenes to consider how best to meet the challenge of troubled times the world over. Since adjournment of the special session in December, national indignation over the Panay bombing has reached its peak and died down, but not without leaving an increased determination to push preparedness in all fields.
America's answer is expected to be the appropriation by Congress of over U.S.$1,000.000,000 in the regular budget for the Army, the Navy and their air arms, placing the United States high in the list of rearming Powers, During 1937 both Army and Navy reached the highest peak of efficiency in years, due to the orderly replacement of equipment and ships, to increased ce-ordination of command, and to the rapid progress toward completion of new fortifica-tons and bases.
The needs of 1937, however. in the opinion of many authoritative federal circles, were only a legacy of the years following the Washington Naval Conference, in which the armed forces fell behind other nations in modernity and efficiency.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.