Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-12-03
ofMen
Seen Peril
To Defense
Same Trouble in Last
War. johnson Says
BY HUGH s. JOHNSON

- developing in materials for
defense is a shortage in defense
man-power. Like so many other
problems of the draft, this also
is not new. In the last war il
was found that, in the early
regulations, no discrimination
had been made b e tween the
kind of physical qualifications
required for fighting in the front
line trenches, for rolling pills in
a medical supply depot and for
tens of thousands of other jobs
that could have been handled as
easily by men with slight physi-
cal disqualification.
On the great Reconsideration
of December, 1917. men were
classified physically as between
those who were fit for any kind
of combat service and those
who, while not so generally fit,
were fully competent to handle
the ordinary tasks of life of
which there are many classified
tions in the army.
Sometimes the other qualifi-
cations so far outweigh the
purely physical ones that the
difference is grotesque. We once
filled a requisition for pigeoneers
experts in handling carrier
pigeons) and, more as a joke
than otherwise one army de-
-tachment rejected one of these
specialists, not because he had a
wooden leg, but because it had
knot-hole in it.
DY THAT time the principle of
~ making common sense use
of our military material had
been so generally recognized and
approved that. when wooden
legs didn't interfere with the
special duty desire, it didn't in
terfere with acceptance.
This whole subject is rapidly
becoming a very serious one
today. The navy which has not
looked with favor upon conscrip-
ton. and did not do so at the
beginning of the last war, is be-
ginning to feel a pinch that will
soon cause its acceptance. al
though this will require some
change in the law.
The need for various types OF
skills, both in the army and the
navy as well as in industry, will
very soon require the use OF
women and girls in many such
jobs as molders and pattern
makers where they frequently
do better than men.
If carefully applied this prin-
ciple alone will release many
thousands of highly skilled
workmen. Too rigid physical
requirements and application of
the 28-year rule may deprive
the armed services of men that
will become absolutely indis-
pensible in this highly mechan-
lied war. The changes made
through what appeared 10 be
expedient at the time when the
revised plan was adopted, are
now appearing not TO have
looked far enough forward.
These matters are too serious to
permit pride in a hastily made
decision TO stand in the way OF
correcting it.
TO SUM this whole matter up,
i the whole subject of classifi-
cation for the purpose OF max
ing the maximum use OF avail
able man-power is even more
important than priorities and
other very drastic action taken
to make the. greatest available
use of available supplies.
For the present, and for a
considerable time to come, this
battle is one of machine produc-
ton on the one hand, and the
organization of very highly
skilled mechanical war organ
ization on the other.
We will soon find that we
cannot afford to waste single
skilled man on an unskilled joo
or not to utilize every person OF
either sex available for training
for skilled jobs whether in uni
form or not.
The matter of using women
can be carried to extremes.
They have no appropriate effec-
tiveness in actually bearing arms
or in the heavier tasks of truck
driving and the like. But there
are plenty of places where the
dizziness. accuracy and speed OF
their fingers, hands and minds
are more useful than those OF
men.
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