Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1940-09-15
Historic Legislation

Congress made history yesterday.
BY completing legislative action on
the CONSUMPTION bill, it wrote a
memorable and climaCtic chapter in
the record of session marked by
notable achievements in the realm
of national defense. That record,
replete with unprecedented peace
time appropriations for the Army
and the Navy, with fortnight au-
thorizations for the immediate build
Ing up of the Nations defenSes in an
era of extreme danger for the worlds
remaining democracleS, serves notice
TO totalitarlan aggreSSOrS, all and
sundry, that the American people,
while wont to cling fast to peace,
stand ready to meet force with force
If or when the emergency should
arise.
Consumption is drastic step to
take in time of peace. But the peace
which this Nation knows today is
not a normal one. 1t is, in fact, a
most Shaky and uncertain peace, a
peace which may collapse at any
hour, at any moment, under the
impact of international gangsteriSm
run amok. 1t was with that ominous
picture impressed upon its people
and its Government that America,
reluctantly but cOurageOuSly. has
faced the stark realities of the pres
ent. Those realities are such that
any nation would be gambling with
its entire future, its very existence,
If it were to ignore the fearful march
of events; if it were to fail to take
whatever steps its military and naval
experts deem necessary to guard
against threatened attack. In that
spirit of self defenSe-nOt in any
spirit Of militariStic avarice-the
United States now takes stock of its
vast resources. human as we'll as
material in preparing for what may
come in the dark days which lie
ahead
Time for preparation grows shorter
as the crisis abroad grows ever more
acute. yet it is we'll that the i'm
portant and grave steps which we
have taken in the past months lead
ing up to and including compulsory
selective service should have been
weighed carefully-as they were.
The draft legislation which finally
emerged from Congress yesterday is
not perfect, of course. but It repre-
sents an intelligent, democratic ap-
proach to the problem Of creating a
great reserve of trained man power
for use only in self defense. 1t will
provide a list of Is 100000 men be-
tween the ages of tWenty-one and
thirty-fve, inclusive, of which some
100000 men would be eligible for
active service. 1t will empower the
Government to compel industry to
comply with essential orders for
defense, under penalty of temporary
seizure of their plants on a rental
basis and of severe criminal punish
ment. 1t will interfere in no way
with the voluntary enlistment system
already in force. 1t will place all
ConsCrlpted men on equal footing,
regardless of social position. Through
its time-proved selective methods, it
will train large numbers of men with
the least possible dislocation of the
national economy and with a mini
mum of hardships for the men
themselves and for their families.
Only President RoOSevelt'S sigma
ture is needed to place this vital
plan in operation. That formality
will be completed this week The
draft machinery then can begin to
function according to an advance
schedule. which contemplates regis
tration two weeks after enactment
of the law and actual induction of
the first trainees within thirty or
forty days of the signing of the bill.
America will then be on its way
toward that greater degree of security
which can come only from total pre-
paredness against the worst that
can happen.