Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-05-26
Selective Service Law Proposed
BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN.

years to study the question Of con-
scrtption In every detail and propose:
a bill covering the whole subject. The
Congress. however, has avoided even
authorizing such committee:
The result is that more than ten
years have elapsed since the enc q me
last war, and the United Stat{S mas
made no real preparation to met an
other such emergency. If war were de-
clared tomorrow. we could have NO
draft Of any sort until Congress en-
acted a special Law for the purpose.
We could have no control over produc-
ton or prices of materials except b.
individual bargain end purchase We
are, as q nation, still IN the status OF
1917. despite all of the lessons OF the
Great War.
What the Last War Taught.
The experts in the Department Of
war have made constant studies or
this situation, and for time hoped Tor
early enactment Of some form Of uni
sversal draft Law. The military men
thought IL would be wise to have the
President in o position to draft man
power and to command the immediate
service Of great. factories for supplying
the armed forces If the Department Of
War now asks only for an act to au-
thorize CONSUMPTION Of manpower, It
Is because the subject rs . whole Is 90
complicated that 1t seems easier to get
action on one part Of it ut time. The
general star knows exactly, by expert
ence, how mAnpower should be en-
rolled In an emergency. It Is fairly
easy to show Congress just what man
power draft means. When the discus
sion gets into the realm of commander
ing factories. conscripttng raw mate
rails and otherwise dealing with the
ef1rp1x, aafAmffdT AnAfAaR rnrnrIirH finyTg
arise.
What the Department of War has
done since 1920 has been to make o.
very complete study Of the raw mate
rial supplies Of the Nation and the
manufacturing plants. The general
star now knows just about what ma
terials Of war can be produced per day.
week or month in present factories, and
how other factories can be most quickly
converted to war production. Thus the
department is keeping itself prepared
for an emergency. II war is declared
it knows where 1t must look for what
win be needed. Whether It gets this
Supply quickly by some plan Of draft,
or more slowly by bargain and pur-
chase, It knows what 1t wants and
where to get It.
The American declaration at Geneva,
made by Ambassador Gibson. that this
Nation would be agreeable to limita-
ton Of land ornaments without consfd-
ering organized reserves or the question
of CONSUMPTION, leaves us morally free
to consider any form Of wartime draft
policy which seems good to US. We have
oficially said that We are not going to
try to stop the CONSUMPTION policy Of
France, for example, or any other ma
tons scheme Of universal training
which produces q constant abundance
of wholly or partially trained reserves.
Our own reserve military force n rela-
lively small, some $4,000 reserve on
GERS and no enlisted reserve, with about
$4,000 officers and 10000 men in the
National Guard and as many partially
trained men as develop through the an
nual Citizens Military Training Camps.
As we are obviously not going to be
O mflitAristic nation the Army experts
believe 1t all the more necessary TO be
ready for quick action In turning from
peace 10 war in case Of crisis. Secre-
tary Good points out, in proposing .
draft act, that the most critical time in
any war Is the period Immediately fol-
lowing the declaration of war. He says:
The saving Of few days, or even Of a
day. during that period may spell the
difference between prompt victory and
O long war."
These lessons Of the war are kept
fresh in the councils Of the General
STAFF, but getting any results in the way
Of preparedness by action Of Congress
has always been O. very dif1cult thing
under our form Of government. The
efforts to get draft act of any sort
into law have gone on for 10 years and
remain without definite results.