Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1940-07-06
Army, Navy Experts
To Testify on Studies
OF Military Training
Senote Hearings Put or
As Services Agree to End
Silence on CONSUMPTION
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
Silent so far on all proposals for
compulsory military training, the
Army now has consented to give
Congress its expert conclusions on
40 years OF study of peacetime con-
scription.
Informed that Army and Navy
spokesman would testify Tuesday,
the Senate Military Affairs Com
nittee yesterday postponed further
hearings on bill to require regis
tration of all men between 10 and
IS for defense training.
At the same time, on receiving
assurance from the War Depart
ment that thousands of Garand
semi-automatic rifles could be made
ready for an emergency, the COM
mittee killed a bill by Chairman
Sheppard to make a second gun, the
johnson rifle, also standard equip
ment for the Army.
Sponsors of the registration bill
indicated at hearings that they
proposed to give training immedi-
ately to about 3.77 per cent of the
male population between 10 and IS
and to spend for the program about
what the w. P. A. costs annually.
The 1941 w. P. A. appropriation is
$l,125, 100000.
Wants 100000 Men.
Col. Julius Ochs Adler, general
manager of the New York Times,
told the committee 100000 men
should be trained as soon as feas-
ible and that an equal number should
be called up over period of years.
The 1880 census showed $4,000, 900
men between Is and Is, and the
1910 count is expected to list S.
O00,000-of whom 100000 would be
BIT per cent. In 1880 there were
4,400, 900 men between 10 and 81,
the age group from which most
trainees are expected to come.
Requesting the views of Army and
Navy experts on those points, Sem
ator Sheppard said the War De-
partment had been working since
the World War on compulsory train
ing plans. However, the subject has
been officially taboo among Army
officers.
Garand Rifle Production.
AS for arming a vastly enlarged
force, the War Department informed
Senator Sheppard in letter signed
by former Secretary Woodring that
production of the Garand rifle can
be materially accelerated if neces-
sary"
For an Army of 100000 the in
itial requirement is slightly over
10000" rifles, the letter said, and
the Springfield (Mass) arsenal is
producing 200 daily per eight-hour
shift, while the Winchester Repeat
ing Arms Co. will supply $3.50 a
month.
If the arsenal worked only 40
hours week, annual production at
those rates would be 10000 rifles,
or half the initial requirement per
year.
Standard, Rifles Opposed. s.ess,
Use of two STANDARD" rifles would
be handicap" to the Army, Mr..
Woodring declared. He added that
the Johnson is not superior" to the
Garand. Both recently were DEM
onstrated to congressional commit
tees. ~' - -
Lewis Sanders, Reserve officer and
New York engineer, testified before
the committee yesterday that fears
of dissatisfaction on the part of
highly paid mechanics brought into
service at S. month were ground
less because every mechanic in the
country would automatically be kept
out under this program because we
can't spare them from industry"
He also disagreed with a conten-
ton by Senator Downey, Democrat.
of California that to provide the
kind of troops needed for a mech
anized army would require a train
ing period of several years. A man
could be trained in four months,
Mr.. Sanders said, to operate any
machine that was ever made"