Fifteen Years of War?

In scope and in detail the stern demands of the nation's preparation for war --in Korea and whatever lay beyond--were rapidly becoming clear. Leaders of both parties, united in the nation's determination to meet the aggressions of the U.S.S.R. and its satellites, were also in overall agreement on the things that had to be done. Where there were differences they lay in the area of ways & means.

Stuart Symington, chief of economic mobilization, told a Senate committee:

"Members of the international Communist movement will not hesitate to shoot any who stand in their way ... It is now clear that the military power of these Communists is organized, very great and growing rapidly." If the U.S. is to survive, said Symington, then the President's emergency recommendations (see below) represent the minimum requirements.

Ohio's Robert A. Taft warned the Senate that the country might be facing possibly ten to 15 years of higher military budgets, i.e., ten to 15 years of wars or preparation for The War. While Taft was not yet ready to approve all the controls the President demanded, he had a stern formula of his own. He wanted Congress to impose higher taxes to put the nation on a pay-as-you-go basis right away. His suggestion: a 25% increase in income taxes.

"Those taxes would be very heavy," Taft conceded. Democrats, too, indicated that the U.S. could soon expect a bill to raise this year's taxes. The nation, said Taft, must become a semi-garrison state ; it cannot go on borrowing its way and "enjoying ... a domestic spree.

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