Evening star., 1940-10-08
Local Draft Boards
Given Authority 10
Summon Witnesses
Assured Full Power
In Enforcing Details
Of Conscription Law
By CARTER BROOKE JONES.


Boards will have this power to
determine facts to guide them IN
determining whether men are ellgl-
BILE for immediate military service
and any other issue which may arise
from enforcement of selective serV-
ice law.
: The regulations also allow a board
to direct any person ito produce
such records or papers as may be
deemed necessary" Witnesses may
be summoned by any police officer,
the regulations state.
The witnesses" add the regula-
tions. shall be compelled to appear
and testify before the local board
in the same maner as witne Sses
may be compelled to appear and
testify in court
Court Aid Assured.
The boards. further, are entitled.
on application, to the aid of the
Federal courts in enforcing this
provision.
The regulations provide that a
board may avail itself Of the serv-
ices of any police officer necessary
to the performance of its functions"
These regulations, given the force
of law by the signature Of Presl-
dent Roosevelt, thus put teeth into
the broad power given the local
boards to classify the 16,400000 men
between the ages of 81 and So who
will register on october 16.
The boards are counselled, in an
other section of the regulations
made public yesterday. to keep in
mind that the maintenance of the
family as unit is of Importance
to the national we'll being
The regulations concerning de-
tendency, summarized for the press
at national selective service head
quarters yesterday afternoon, lay
down a liberal policy in dealing with
married men and others having de-
pendents, asserting that deferment
for such cause should be considered
with sympathetic regard for the
registrant and his dependents
The rules declare that in doubtful
cases the local board should be
mindful of injuries which may be
expected to result from separating
father from his children or hus-
band from his wife"
Federal Employees Reminded.
Government workers were re-
minded today BY the Civil Service
Commission that they must register
here or wherever they are stationed,
regardless of their legal residence.
but they were advised that this will
not affect their civil service status
or their voting residence. All Fed
eral employees within the draft ages
of 81 to Sc must register and are
entitled to no blanket exemption,
but must be dealt with individually
by their boards.
The commissions announcement
= pointed out that selective service
headquarters had held that Federal
workers employed here should give
District address. The commission
added that otherwise an individual
may suffer embarrassment by rea-
son of delay in receiving mailed
notices.
Further circumStanCes-Such as a
legal residence elseWhere-may be
explained to the board when the
draft questionnaire is filled out
The commission, however. has ruled
that giving local addresses will not
affect legal or voting residence as
regards civil service administration.
So far as the commission is con-
cerned, in the administration OF
LOT
ers still will be regarded as residents
of the State from which they were
appointed. Thus their names Will
remain the same on the quota lists.
It will be up to the draft boards
to decide whether any Federal work.
ers who may be placed in Glass /
certified for immediate military
training-are to be inducted here
or in the State which they claim
as legal residence.
Affect Both Employed Cases.
Frederick Osborne. chairman of
the Presidents Advisory Committee
on Selective Service, told neWSpa-
permen, when questioned about the
= new regulations, that even when
both husband and wife were working,
the local board would have discre-
ton in deciding whether the wife
vas wholly or in part dependent on
the man registering for the draft
II calling the husband for a years
service would lower her standard
of living, the board could take that
into account and perhaps place
him on the deferred list, Mr.. Os-
borne said.
But where the wife is earning an
adequate living he added, "and
there are no children, she can't be
considered dependent on him.
1t will be up to the local board
to weigh each case, Mr.. Osborne
indicated, bearing in mind the Pres
ident'S instructions that 1t should
view deferments for dependency
with sympathetic regard for the
I0gistrant and his dependents"
Asked whether a man would be
regarded as a draft dodger if he
married just before or even after
registration day, Mr.. Osborne re-
Piled not necessarily. adding:
we don't want to stop all mar
riages for the next five years-the
life of this act There will be men
who will marry in good faith in
tending to establish a home and
raise family"
Board to Decide.
Mr.. Osborne and Col. William H
Draper, jr., who shared the task OF
answering questions of the press
agreed that it would be up to the
local board to decide whether a
man had married solely to evade
the draft. If the evidence indicated
he had, his plea of dependency
could be disregarded or he could be
punished for violating the act.
Col. Draper was asked whether a
board would be complying with the
law if it adopted the policy OF
of from service all married