Evening star., 1940-08-28
House Group Revises
'Conscription Bill as
Senate Vote Neors
Passage Due Today;
Amendments Beaten;
Debate Limited
(Senate Roll Calls on Page A-3J
BY J. A. OIEARY.

While the Senate sought to reach
final vote on the Burke -Wads-
worth military training bill by this
evening, the House Military Com
mittee today took two steps that
brought its measure into closer line
with the Senate plan.
In two-hour executive session
marked by sharp division of senti-
ment, the House group took the fol-
lowing action:
Struck out authority for home de-
fense units of men between 1S and
81 and from As to "a.
Adopted a Senate provision to
prevent men in military training
from being sent outside the Western
Hemisphere, except to United States
possessions.
Committee Vote Delayed.
Although the House Committee
had hoped to report the bill out this
morning, controversy over the age
limits put off vote until this after
noon.
Representative Byrnes, Democrat,
of Tennessee whose motion to cut
out the home guard feature carried.
l3 to 10, predicted the bill would not
be reported out of the committee.
He admitted, however. that after
the Senate acts, House leaders could
proceed to take up the question by
a petition to discharge, or by action
of the Rules Committee.
l.
his motion struck at the heart of
the bill. the measure still requires
registration of all men from Is to
63 inclusive, and still makes all
men between q and IS liable for
military training,
Broader Than Senate Bill.
These age provisions still leave
the House bill broader than the
Senate measure, which confines
both registration and military train
ing to the age group from 81 to 81
years.
The net effect Of the Byrns mo-
ton is to eliminate the home guard,
which the Senate had dropped
weeks ago.
bill was on the home stretch today,
with passage virtually certain, fol-
lowing the defeat last night of two
major efforts to kill its essential
features.
A new effort to defer the conscrip-
/ ton program until Congress should
declare existence of an emergency
! u,aS defeated todav
BY 55-to-27 vote, the Senate re-
iected an amendment to the Burke
Wadsworth bill offered by Senator
/ Wiley, Republican, of Wisconsin,
which would have permitted imme-
| diate setting up of conscription ma
chinery, with registration of men
from 81 through 30, but which would
have prohibited calling men into
service until Congress declared the
step necessary.
Last night the Senate first voted
down, 81 to 20, the Walsh amend
ment, which would have prevented
the actual induction of any men
into training camps until Congress
declares the country to be at war or
threatened by invasion
1t then promptly rejected an al
tentative by Senator Taft, Repub-
lican, of Ohio to change the bill
from compulsory to a volunteer
plan. This was beaten, 55 to %.
Debate Limit Approved.
After these two major attacks by
the opposition had been stopped,
Majority Leader Barkley finally OBJ
| tanned unanimous consent agree
ment that had been blocked for
several days, limiting debate on
both the bill and amendments.
This agreement, limiting speeches
on amendments to Is minutes, and
on the bill to 80 minutes, is expected
to hasten final passage sometime
today.
Hopes dashed by the chambers
rejection of the Walsh amendment,
opposition leaders resignedly told
reporters their fight was over.
Senator Taft's proposal would
have raised the authorized strength
of the Regular Army from 375,0 900 to
100000, and empowered the Army to
train reserve of 100000, but only
by volunteer enliStmentS.
The only serious threat remaining
is the Maloney substitute to post
pone induction of men into the serv-
! ice until January. While this pro-
posal may muster more votes than
the Walsh plan, administration
leaders are confident they have q
majority to beat this also.
If the bill remains in its present
form the Government probably
would begin the induction of train
ees in October.
With the Senate galleries packed
(See CONSCRIPTION, Page A-3J