Evening star., 1942-06-05
Bv MIRIAM GUTENBERG.

service. But they have obligations
that 60 with a wife and child. They
have to think of them and they'd |
like to plan for them.
Looking for an answer amid many |
conflicting views expressed recent
", Star reporter this week In
terviewed the man in the best posi- |
ton to know what the future holds
for the family man-MaJ. Gen.
Lewis B. Hershey, director of Sc
lective service.
One thing was made clear-theres |
no way any particular ga man
can be certain if it will be six
months, a year, or ever. Too many
unknowns are involved.
Gen. Hershey said recently that
men with genuine dependency"
would be reasonably safe from a
draft call this year. He told The
Star, however, that that was a pure
prediction" If the Army should
jump a million in its calls for men,
he said, you can't expect me to
stick to that"
The Senate Military Affairs Com
mittee this week, reporting out the
family allotment bill, predicted 1t
would be eight or nine months be-
fore family men were lnducted. |
That was on the basis Of the best
available estimates, but the COM
mittee itself pointed out there's no
certainty these estimates are accu-
rate.
No Such Thing as Security.
Admitting the quandary that
exists in the minds of ga men, Gen.
Hershey summed up the situation
when he said there was no use
looking for security. We're all
fighting for security and there just |
isn't any. That's why we're fight |
ing"
In the course of making seven or |
eight speeches week, the select1ve !
service director admits some con-
fusion may have resulted. He points |
out, however, that he has been try |
ing to do several jobs at once
answer everybody's questions, keep |
local boards from swinging to ex-
tremes, discourage draft marriages"
and encourage men with dependents |
to seek jobs in war industries.
For instance, on March 20 he
told a Woman's group here that
Americas manpower shortage had |
reached a point where dependency |
could no longer be recognized as a
basis for deferment unless the reg
istrant was also in an essential
industry.
That, he said, was Ito blast men /
into war work" but it was inter-
preted at the time to mean no more
deferments. So, few days later, !
when the general was asked in Co. |
lumbus if there were to be no more |
deferments, he said regiStrants in
their 3Os and even in their 2Os |
would not be drafted at once If |
they have dependents.
On March 27 he got back to his |
other theme. In Baltimore he said /
that "every ablebodied man-young |
eventually will enter the war"
Many Ifs and Whereases.
The general explained to The |
Star reporter he hadn't meant every |
man would enter the Army, but
that they would all go into war
work.
Here's what the general said jan
uary on the National Radio Fo
rum and as far as he is concerned,
1t still goes:
Married men with dependents
will continue to be deferred until |
the need for men becomes much
greater than it is at present"
Actually, as explained by the gen. !
eral and others at selective service,
there are so many ifs and where
ases that the man with a family |
is in no better position to predict |
his future than the merchant whose
business might at any moment be
declared unessential or rationed.
First, there are the variations be-
tween local boards. Local circum-
stances determine how they handle
each registrants case, within the |
limits of national policy.
Then, there are the various ways |
that may be selected to fill local
board reservoirs of la men. Each |
one of these would postpone little
longer the time when husbands and
fathers might be tapped for service.
Standards Being Revised.
First of these is passage of the
pending compulsory allotment bill
which yesterday passed the Senate
and soon is expected to be reported
to the House. That would enable |
draft boards to take out OF the de-
ferred class and put in la thou
sands of registrants who make some |
contribution to a mother or father |
or some other dependent who is not |
part of their home.
Second is lowering Of physical |
standards. That is up to the Army.
1t already has lowered teeth and
eye standards. If it took in num-
ber of 1-B men for limited service,
corresponding number of physically |
fit soldiers would be released from
desks for combat service. Lowered
physical standards might also bring |
in thousands of men with venereal
diseases in non-communicable stages.
Third is Army acceptance of il
literates-men who cannot read or
write. That is now under discus
sion.
Fourth is lowering of the age
limit to take in the 18 and 19 year
olds who register this month, but |
are not liable for military service.
A considerable time before the
eight or nine months grace for men