Evening star., 1942-08-20

all parts of the David Lawrence
country are to be credited, ma jor
fiasco is in prospect, revealing not
merely lack Of planning but in
efficiency, as we'll as, in some in
stances, downright stupidity.
Lack Of uniformity, unfairness,
discourtesy, incivility and disregard
Of the economic system is being
charged against local boards, and
even officials as high as the State
director sometimes do not seem to
know rudiments OF fair play in
handling the personnel of the busi-
ness world.
Denying hearings in connection
with essential employees, and show
ing a manifest indifference to the
well-balanced statements and news
releases from the national head
quarters, local boards are creating
. problem which may reveal a bad
breakdown before long unless the
President or Congress begins to dig
into 1t and see the way the system
Is failing to function.
Key Men Marched Off.
Beginning with the pious idea of
~selective" service. the theory was
established that the Government
would do the selecting. Meanwhile
voluntary recruiting wasn't shut off
and even now at this late date is
being debated between governmental
agencies.
Then the business world was as
sured that essential employees could
Be retained. Instead they are being
marched off in large numbers to
induction centers without chance
for hearing to the employer. Re
ports are heard to the effect that
key employees wind up in non-es-
sential, clerical Jobs that can be done
by persons Of far less qualification.
Then there is the disparity be-
tween boards. In some instances,
men physically qualified and un-
married and not engaged in essen
tial occupations haven't been called,
while in neighboring areas men who
are married and are engaged in
essential work are being drafted.
The public has been told much
about the selective service regula-
tions, but when citizens confront the
local draft boards with the news
from Washington, the boards mani
fest indifference and arbitrarily rule
Is they please
Take a case in point. Many men
were classified as I-B, which means
they had some physical defect. En-
ployers considered that these men
would not be called and hence in
many instances did not file requests
for deferment for occupational rea-
sons. But overnight the selective
service headquarters suddenly de-
cides to ignore physical defects.
Employers try to get hearing
for their essential men but are told
by the local draft boards that this
cannot be done and that occupa-
tional deferments should have been
filed long ago. Asked for a copy of
any regulation which stipulates that
occupational deferment forms must
be filed by a certain time or no hear
ins will be granted, the local boards
and, in one instance, the State d.
rector-reply that 1t isn't matter
Of regulation but matter Of
"policy."
Breeds Isolationism.
When told that certain employees
are engaged in an essential industry
and should be deferred, State di-
rector says that in his State they
don't recognize certain businesses as
essential even though the selective
service headquarters has issued such
. list for some time.
II manpower is to be taken in
Discriminatory and no attention is
to de paid to the economic produc-
ton machine, a certain way to break
down morale, cause confusion and
make mockery of the "selective'
service system is to let the local
boards function without any ma
tional supervision or discipline
Whether this fall-down is the fault
OF Congress or the men in the ma
tional headquarters is not easy to
determine, but it is significant that
although numerous cases of in
Justice have been reported, no con-
gressional committee has cared suf :
ficiently for the citizens interests
to investigate the whole operation OF
the law which Congress passed.
Isolationists were made after the
last war not by congressional
speeches but by returning soldiers
who complained bitterly of the un-
fairness with which they had beer
treated by the draft 1t looks as ii
isolationists will be bred in large
numbers If the citizens interests
continue to be cavalierly treated.
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