Evening star., 1942-06-08
Draft Officials
Say U. 5. Offices
Ask Few Delays
Deferment Requests
Reasonable, LocoI
Headquarters Thinks

Government departments have
been reasonable and in some cases
ultra-conservative in asking defer
ments of Federal employees regis
tered with District draft boards, To-
cal headquarters of selective service
said today.
This followed a report by special
Senate committee, headed by Sem
ator Tydings of Maryland. that
while the privilege Of draft Cefer-
ment on the whole had not been
abused. some glaring instances of
unjustified avoidance of military
service by Government employees
had been found.
The committee is asking selective
service to review the cases Ct about
1000 Federal employees under IS
years Of age.
A committee official said today
that most of the instances appeared
to be defermentS granted by small
town draft boards awed by the ap-
pearance of an important agency
chiefs name on deferment request.
Sometimes Not Even Asked.
Some officials thought the defer
ment requests had not been inspired
by the department concerned. 1t
was thought that in some cases,
local boards were sufficiently i'm
pressed by the fact that one of their
town boys was working in Wash
ington to defer him even without
an official request.
While a number of Federal en-
ployes are registered with their
home town draft boards, and in
some cases may not have followed
the regular procedure in requesting
deferment. those who are registered
here go through various wedding out
processes. Each section chief re-
ports those he thinks should be
deferred to his immediate superior
and 1t goes up the line until the
f1nal decision within the department
Is made by committee or individual
designated by the agency head.
OF all District registrants classified
up to the end of April. Il per cent
were classed in IA and 3 per cent
In 2-B. The national figure for oc-
cupa tional deferments is about 5 per
cent.
Capt. John r. Browne. occupa-
tlonal advisor at local headquarters.
said it had been his experience that
Government departments for the
most part were more conservative in
their requests for deferment than
private industry In fact, he said.
some departments have probably
been more conservative than they
should be.
Treasury Most Conservative.
In some cases. he said, men not
considered as necessary" by their
department have been deferred by
local boards here because of their
knowledge of the overall labor pic
ture and the difficulties of finding
requirements for certain types of
work
He considered the Treasury De-
partment the most conservative of
all Government agencies in its re-
quests for deferment.
The only method of wedding out
those who should not have been de-
ferrec, he said was for Government
agencies to make their own surveys
of the standing of all their male
employees, which would also give
them a picture of the needs for re-
placement and training 1t should
be the responsibility of the Govern
ment agencies as employers. he said,
to notify local boards where en-
ployes have been Improperly de-
ferred.
The Federal Bureau of Investiga-
ton, the Commerce and Treasury
Departments have completed such
surveys, he said. and the Navy De-
partment is now working on one.
Other departments are following
suit.
Report Due at End of Week.
The Senate committee probably
will not have its report ready to
turn over to Maj. Gen. Lewis B.
Hershey, director of selective service,
until the end Of the week, a COM
mittee official said This will in
clude a record of the apparent
abuses with request that the cases
be reviewed.
National headquarters of selective
service will be given the name of
the department, registrant's name,
age. title, grade and salary and the
local board which deferred him. 1t
has not yet been decided what the
mechanics of the review will be
that is whether local boards, State
headquarters or national headquar-
ters will go over the cases.
The Senate will not get the COM
mittee's full report on what it has
compiled during its personnel sur
vey for two more weeks, it was said
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