Evening star., 1941-08-01
Sponsors of Draft Extension
Agree on Compromise Fixing
Maximum Duty at q Years
Taft Says Proposal
Is Not Acceptable
To Foes of Bill
Ey the Associated Press.

Senator Hill, Democrat, of
Alabama said today that Spon-
sors had agreed to compromise
Army service extension legisla-
ton to provide a maximum of
212 years of service for citizen
soldiers.
Senator Hill told reporters that
proponents were attempting to work
out an amendment which would
limit to 18 months the additional
service that any selectee, National
Guardsman, Reserve or regular en-
listed man might be called on to
undergo.
This 1S-month extension, he said,
would be in addition to the Il
month selectees, GuardSmen and
Reservists now are required to serve.
Some Regular Army enlisted men
are serving one-year tenureS and
others three-year periods. The same
18-month extension would apply to
them, Senator Hill said.
The Alabaman emphasized that
the additional 18 months was the
maximum of active duty to which
any individual would be subjected,
pointing out that many might be
released long before that period was
up as new personnel came into the
ranks to replace them.
Formula Sought.
"We are trying to work out
formula that will preserve the
principles of the legislation and still
be acceptable to the War Depart
ment." he told reporters.
Senator Taft, Republican, of Ohio,
who has proposed that maximum
of 16 months be fixed on the service
required from selectees, said he old
not believe the administration COM
promise would be acceptable to op-
ponents of the bill.
81 think we might be willing to
accept a maximum OF 20 months,
but to say that these men will be
liable for a total of 2l2 years service
is not much of compromise, he
added.
Army Deadline Passes.
Meanwhile, Congress, immersed in
argument and still far from a decl-
sion, today passed the Army high
commands urgent deadline for &C
ton on the service extension legls-
lation.
In the Senate, where debate was
In it's third day, Senators Clark,
Democrat, of Missouri and Vanden-
berg, Republican, of Michigan kept
up the attacks of vocal opposl-
ton group by charging that to pass
the bill in its present form would be
to make the men in uniform liable
to military service for life"
Administration leaders, however,
manifested unshaken confidence
that they commanded ample votes
for a 2-to-1 victory on the final
showdown which they hoped for
some time next week.
i ne f1OuSS HAS ycI W IdhC ukI tllC
measure and, while leaders there
were equally confident, some others
predicted that it would find rough
road. Several Representatives said
they thought changes might even
be made, necessitating joint
House Senate conference committee
to work out a final compromise.
Deadline Fixed by Marshall.
The situation, it was generally
agreed, made it certain that final
disposition of the legislation would
be delayed well beyond the August
l deadline fixed by Gen. George C.
Marshall, Army Chief of Staff.
Testifying before the Senate Mil
itary Affairs Committee two weeks
ago, Gen. Marshall said that if no
action was taken by today, the Army
would have to bring home important
garrison units from outlying bases
in Hawaii, Alaska and elsewhere
and prepare to demobilize them.
Furthermore, he said, replacing
tIlOSC ull4IS WOulO Dc ullIlCulL DE-
cause the available replacement
units contained men nearing the end
OF their service.
Senator Clark and Vandenberg
found much to criticize today in the
measure.
This bill keeps these soldiers in
for life and the only answer the ad-
ministration people have to that is
You don't think the President
would do that, do you?'" Senator
Clark declared.
Vandenberg Agrees.
Agreeing with this view, Senator
Vandenberg said he thought it would
be bad for the morale of the citizen
soldiers not to know when their
service would end"
Senator Wheeler. Democrat, of
(See DRAFT, Page A-15)