Pearl Harbor: The Seeds and Fruits of Infamy - Ludwig von Mises ...

84 Pearl Harbor: The Seeds and Fruits of Infamy
the president so angry. He pounded the table and asked ‘Who
wants something on a piece of paper’?” Tell that bureau chief that
he would “give him something on a piece of paper, but it will not
be what he expects.” 17 So Stark, as acting secretary of the navy—
the secretary and assistant secretary were away at the time—took
on himself the responsibility of authorizing the construction. Th e
dry dock, completed just ten days before the attack, was put to
immediate use.
Stark wrote Kimmel of the problems he encountered in
obtaining authorization to build up the Navy.
I am struggling, and I use the word advisedly, every time I get
in the White House, which is rather frequent, for additional
men. . . . Th e President just has his own ideas about men. I usually
fi nally get my way but the cost of eff ort is very great and of
course worth it. I feel that I could go on the Hill this minute
and get all the men I want if I could just get the green light
from the White House. 18
In answer to Kimmel’s requests for ships and supplies to bolster
the Pacifi c Fleet, Stark often mentioned the dire straits of the
British, whose economic lifeline was being threatened by German
submarines. He also cited the demands for supplies being made
under the lend-lease program.
Soon to be superimposed on our Navy ordnance problems
through the administration of the Lend-Lease Bill is the task
of procurement, inspection and delivery of enormous—almost
astronomical—quantities of ordnance supplies for the British
Navy and any allies which may survive to fi ght the Dictators. 19
17Robert Greenhalgh Albion and Robert Howe Connery, Forrestal and the
Navy (New York: Columbia University Press, 1962), pp. 87–88.
18Joint Committee, Pearl Harbor Attack, part 16, p. 2148, Stark to Kimmel,
February 10, 1941.
19Ibid., part 16, p. 2153. Stark to Kimmel, March 3, 1941.