Evening star., 1940-07-02
Member of the Associated Press.
Meritorious Proposal


There is a great deal of merit in
the suggestion that President Roose-
welt and Wendell Willkie, the Repub-
lican presidential nominee, should
hold an early conference to consider
what additional steps need to be
taken by this country to build up
our national defenses against what
ever dangers the future may bring.
At the present time our prepared
ness efforts in the direction. of build
ing up our material resources
planes, guns, munitions, tanks, etc
seem to be progressing as satisfac-
torily as could be expected But in
the vital complementary field of man
power-and without adequate num-
bers of trained and hardened soldiers
and reserves the best equipment is
useless-we are falling behind to
very dangerous extent.
This fact was demonstrated Sun
day evening by Senator Burke of Ne
braska in a radio discussion Of the
compulsory military training bill
which he has introduced in the SEN
ate. Senator Burke based his argu-
ment for a national selective peace
time draft on the theory that volun-
tary enlistments never will produce
needed man power, and the further
contention, which should be beyond
possibility OF dispute by this time,
that in this era of lightning war"
no nation can afford to wait until
hostilities have started before begin
ming the gigantic task of training an
army. The disaster which has over
taken France and Britain bears wit
ness to the accuracy of his second
point, and the correctness of the first
is adequately attested by the fact
that an intensive recruiting cam
paign for the Regular Army has pro-
duced only $4,000 enlistments during
the first five months Of this year.
We are going to need a great many
men, probably million or more, to
man the equipment we are now be-
ginning to produce. Should we be
forced into war we will need at least
as many, and they will have to be
trained and ready when the fighting
starts, for an enemy will not give us
opportunity to train troops once hos
tilities are under way. But at the
present rate of enlistments it would
require nearly thirty years to raise a
force of 100000 men and it would
require three years to bring the Reg
ular Army to the 375,0OO men for
which funds are now available.
These figures tell their own story.
The method of voluntary recruitment
Is wholly inadequate in our present
emergency. To wait three years to
bring our Army up to its maximum
authorized strength would be utter
folly In times like these. And mean
while, we will have accumulated a
vast quantity of materiel which will
be Of little value because Of the lack
OF trained men to use it. The indis-
putable facts being what they are,
there is but one course for us to take
and that is to put into effect imme-
diately system of selective military
training, without, any further squan-
dering OF precious time while we en-
roll volunteers at the ridiculous rate
Of something less than 5000 a month.
Both Mr.. Roosevelt and Mr.. Willkie
have indicated their willingness to
meet and discuss problems affecting
our relations with other nations. BY
all odds the most urgent of these is
that relating to the adoption of the
one system that can assure the
United Safes of an adequate reserve
Of trained man power, and the Presi-
dent and the Republican nominee
could render no greater service than
to come to an agreement which
would lift this vital matter beyond
the reach Of partisan politics.