Evening star., 1940-12-08
Conscription Officials
Seeking Answers 10
Battling Problems
Questions Seem to Evolve
Around Interpretation
By individual Boards
Bv CARTER BROOKE JONES.

By CARTER BROOKE JONES.
While the complex task OF re-
cruiting a selective service army OF
5000 900 men is going forward more
smoothly than those familiar with
similar experiences in the past an
ticipated, there are plenty of prob
lens facing draft officials in various
sections of the country, some of
them battling.
For instance, one local board has
classified as available for immedi-
ate military service man with a
wife and five young children.
The children have $4,000 trust
fund left for their care. Thus they
are not strictly dependent on their
father for support.
Yet, if he is sent to training
camp for a year, the children will
be deprived of the counsel and
companionship of father for a
period which looms long and large
to the very young.
Question of Interpretation.
The case has come to the atten-
ton of officers at national Selective
service headquarters, though not as
a formal appeal, 1t is said to be
still before the local board. But it
raises a general question of how
strictly to construe the law and
its supporting regulations.
The selective service regulations
provide that a dependent must de
pend in fact for support in rea-
sonable manner, in view of such
persons circumstances. on income
earned by the registrant by his
work in business occupation or
employment
On the other hand, the regula-
tions also state that a local board
should determine questions of de-
ferment on this ground with SYM
pathetic regard for the reglStrant
and his dependents" adding that
"any reasonable doubts in connec-
tion with dependency should be re-
solved in favor of deferment. and
in doubtful cases the local board
should be mindful of injuries which
may be expected to result from
separating q father from his chill
dren or a husband from his wife"
This paragraph adds: The mainte-
nance of the family as a unit is of
Importance to the national we'll
being"
1t seems to be resolving into
matter of how strictly local board
applies the law.
Drafting Married Men.
One board in a distant locality is
reported to be drafting more married
men than single men. This board is
said to have learned in each of these
intances that the wife was employed
or had independent means. Yet this
policy caused a "squaWk' in the COM
munity which reached national
headquarters. Many of the neigh
bors felt that the board should have
used its discretion and ordered out
single men ahead of married men,
regardless of the economic status.
These questions are sure to come
rG1 for discussion when all the State
directors of selective service meet
here Thursday for two days of dis
, cussing common problems.
Some of the ranking officers at
national headquarters are outspoken
in their belief that Congress should
amend the law to clarity the defini-
ton of dependent" and give the
boards clear authority to defer all
married men until such time as they
may be needed in the national de-
fense, pushing ahead in the train
ing program single men without
dependents.
Neither the State draft executives
nor the national officers of selective
service have authority to decide
which registered men shall be de-
ferred on the statutory grounds of
dependency or vocation or for other
reasons. The boards have sole power
Yet there are appeals. Any drafted
man or his family or employer may
take an appeal to the regional ap-
peal board. On the question of de-
pendency alone, under certain condi-
tions, an appeal may be made
from the appeal board to the Presi-
dent.
Boomer or later President Roosevelt
will be called on to decide an appeal
involving some such question as that
OF the man with five children.
IrOnic Experiences.
The individual experiences of reg
lstrants are not without an ironic
and amusing side.
There was, for example, the hotel
OIL captain in New York. His reg
1stration number was drawn so high
IN the national lottery that there
seemed no chance he would be called
Tor the next year. He had an oppor-
tunlty to work in Florida for the
winter. He notified his board where
he was going. The board decided to
transfer his registration outright to
Florida board.
The Florida board gave him the
next vacant number 1t happened
to be one drawn early in the lottery.
The lad promptly received a ques-
tlonnalre and was in line for an
early call to the colors. But national
headquarters intervened with the
suggestion that his card should have
remained in New York, since he was
to be away only temporarily. The
card was sent back, and the original
board, which has the registrants
address, can summon him if he is
needed.
Another youth was not 81 on
registration day, October Is and so,
under the law, he did not have to
segister. He went to Hawaii to
attend school. Hawaii had a later