Somber Warning

Ever since his days as the first Secretary of the Air Force, Missouri's Stuart Symington, now a U.S. Senator, has been calling for greater U.S. air power, and warning against cuts and cutbacks in Air Force appropriations. Last week, on NBC's Meet the Press, Symington gave the U.S. people his most somber warning yet.

Newshen May Craig of the Portland (Me.) Press Herald led off by asking Symington for an estimate of current Soviet strength.

Symington: They have a very great air force, not only a defensive air force but an offensive air force. And any time from here out, many people think they also have enough atomic bombs to attack the U.S.

Mrs. Craig: What defense have we got against them? Could we stop them if war began now?

Symington: A recent study that I saw showed that under ideal conditions, 20% of their attacking bombers could be shot down by our present defenses. Under conditions not considered ideal, as, for example, night or low-level attack, we would shoot down about .01% of what they sent over . . .

Lawrence Spivack, one of the M.C.s of Meet the Press,* threw Symington another question: "Senator, you have said over and over again that if the American people knew the truth they would demand more air power . . . What truth do you know that they ought to know?"

Symington: Well, I think they might know that . . . with the premise that the Russians have enough atom bombs to make the attack--and certainly nobody questions that they'll have those bombs within twelve months--then, under the condition that the bombs are properly placed, the first attack would destroy at least one-third of our industrial capacity and kill around 13 million people.

As the program drew to a close, Symington was asked what he and other airpower advocates would do if they failed in their efforts to override Defense Secretary Wilson's plan to cut $5 billion from 1954 Air Force appropriations. Said the Senator: "We're just going to keep on trying to give the American people the facts about the American air force as com pared to the Russian air force. We may lose this battle, but we won't lose the war. If we do lose the war, then we've lost the country."

* For less somber news of another Meet the Press M.C., see below.

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