Evening star., 1942-12-30
DC. Youths, 19,
Face Draft Call
In January
Officials Predict
Induction Soon
For Married Men


The District will fill the bulk Of
its calls for selectees in January
from the ranks of the 19-year-o -olds.
a District draft spokesman said
yesterday.
Predicting that the induction OF
married men was coming soon in
the District, the draft official dis
closed, however, that local boards
had been instructed not to call
married men in January.
Calls on the local boards to sup
ply men are being arranged so that
all the boards will start calling
married men at about the same
time.
Step-Up Need Explained.
The halt order on drafting men
who have reached their 38th birth
day anniversary made 1t necessary
to step up the calls on the younger
men, it was explained Most of the
20-year-olds who registered with
the older men last February in the
third registration have already
gone into the service.
The War Department announced
yesterday that soldiers 38 and over
are beginning to trickle back intN
civilian life.
Although the order to release cer-
tain men in that age group from the
armed service is less than a month
old, a department spokesman said
the machinery for their honorable
discharge already is functioning, pro-
viding they satisfy, on an individual
basis, the provisions that:
l. The soldier has voluntarily re-
quested discharge in writing to his
immediate commanding officer.
2. The soldier is handicapped by
advanced age, 38 years and over. to
such an extent that his usefulness
to the Army is secondary to that Of
industry.
3. The soldier has presented sat-
lsfactory evidence that he will be
employed in an essential war in
dustry, including agriculture, if he is
| discharged from the Army"
VINO Sets Rules.
The department said that It
probably would be some time" be-
lore figures were accumulated from
the various camps and posts on the
number released. The commanding
officer In the field. the spokesman
said, has the authority to issue the
honorable discharges.
AS guide to those officers. the
war Manpower Commissions list of
essential industries has been laid
down as the basis for determining
whether a soldier now SO or older
would prove more valuable in civilian
production.
Inc War Department emphasized.
however. that no soldier would be
discharged unless a suitable trained
replacement is present and available,
that any discharges from the Army
under the plan would be granted in
furtherance of the war effort and not
as right of the individual
Hence the various commanding Of
ncers nave a great deal of discretion
IN determining whether a man
should be discharged or not.
New Men Needed.
with the supply of available men
from the third registration virtuallv
exhausted, the draft official said.
IL Will be necessary to fill January
calls with 19-year- -olds and Febru-
ary calls with 18-year-olds.
All available 18 and 19 year olds
who registered on June 30 probahlv
Will be inducted by the end of Feb
ruary, it was said.
Inc only remaining group stand
ing between the draft and married
men Will then be the Youths who
nave reached their 18th birthday
anniversary since June 30 and are
now registering for the draft.
Group Makes Slim Buffer.
This group, however, makes a slim
puHer. In the first place, enlist
ments nave shrunk this pool of
manpoWer, and sn the second place
oovs IN this age group have the
privilege of remaining in high
school until the end of their school
year Nearly half of them are high
sCnool students, and a number of
them are expected to take ad-
vantage OF this opportunity to fin
ISM out their school term.
The last of the former 1-B men
those with minor physical handi,
caps, will also be called for Army
service in January, the draft official
said. Most of these men already
have been called.
Local draft headquarters also is
sued a reminder to the 18-vear-
olds who have not yet registered
that they must do so at their local
boards before S pm. tomorrow or
be considered delinquent.
Draft boards are averaging about
/ Is registrants each. A draft officiaI
estimated that this number should
be doubled in each board to reach
the expected total of youths regis
tering before the end Of this wear,