The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1942-09-16
BY RAYMOND CLAPPER

statements Iildhc ~ VA NtAdA
We are planning to raise an
army OF eight to ten million
men by the end of next year.
Judging BY those statements
we must be about half way
there now.
Three main problems are now
faced by selective service and
manpower officials. One is the
lowering of the draft age to Is
wears. Another is the suspen-
sion of recruiting, and the third
is maintenance of working
forces in war production plants.
Within few days the house
military affairs committee will
begin hearings on proposed leg
islation to lower the draft age
TO IS. This was introduced by
Rep. Wadsworth in the house
and by Senator Quincy in the
senate. There has been hesita-
ton in congress about taking
such action now. The admins
tration officially has made no
request for action. Mr.. Roose-
welt said this week he did not
think it would be necessary to
draft Is and 19-year-old youths
until the first of the year.
War department and selec-
tive service officials are gen.
orally In favor of legislation.
and increasingly so rs the
draft reaches into married
ranks.
However, those in closest
touch with selective service
problems believe many are over
estimating the number of men
that can be obtained by lower
ing the draft age. Usual esti-
mates are that 2,50O,000 men
would be brought in. Officials
point out that many of these
youngsters already have enlisted.
They can only guess but some
of those best qualified to judge
believe we ought not count on
more than 100000 sure. In
other words. although lowering
the draft age will help. it will
not remove the necessity of
taking married men nor Of TAX
ing many industrial employees
previously deferred.
Suspension of recruiting is
under consideration, Mr.. Roose-
welt says. Selective service Of
ficials strongly advocate an end
of recruiting, some in the man.
power commission advocate 1t.
The main opposition has come
from the navy. The issue is be-
ing forced to a head now.
One important reason advance
ed among selective service Of
ficials for ending recruiting is
that until this is done, control
of industrial manpower will be
impossible. They say that ship
yards and aircraft factories are
losing as many men through re-
cruiting as through selective
service. Hysterical waves of en-
listing have occurred in some
plants. When some deferred
employees are taken by draft
boards. their fellow workers
make a break TO enlist. At one
navy yard civilian workers were
deferred in large numbers on
the plea of the navy that they
were essentials. A few days
later a navy recruiting crew
appeared and many Of the men
enlisted.
This may seem to be lacking
in appreciation of the spirit Of
patriotism, but nothing. of
course, could be further from
the minds of selective service
officials. They are charged with
handling hundreds of thousands
Of men, with drawing them in
to armed service with a mimi
mum of disruption to war pro-
duction. They are trying to
weigh where a man is most
needed, in the army or at his
JOB. Recruiting causes disloca-
tion' and the demands on the
country's manpower are now
at the point where il must be
used carefully to best advsn-
tage.
The third problem. msinte-
nance Of working force in war
production plants is heading
10 the point where the govern
ment may have 10 direct men
10 stay on the job and not shift
TO other employment. The man.
power commission already has
issued orders to that effect COW
ering numbering and non-fer-
rous mining in u western
states.
But officials are facing the
TACT that it may have to come.
as It did in England. They are
less certain as to when. In any
event they feel no such step
would be effective unless re
eruiung was stopped, for many
men, restricted against chang
ins to better-psying jobs. would
20 into the services.
Those are some Of the ques-
IONS uppermost now IN the
business Of raising a mass army