Evening star., 1942-11-30
U. 5. Agencies
Sitting Tight
On Deferrnents
Await Further Orders
Before Asking Board
To Cancel Requests
BY MIRIAM OTTENBERG

! BY MIRIAM GUTENBERG.
Government departments are
sitting tight" and waiting for fur
ther instructions before canceling
the draft deferments of Federal
employees as requested by the Presi-
dent two weeks ago, 1t was learned
today.
In most cases. they are not asking
Tor deferments of any more en-
ployes during what they consider an
interim between instructions but
IN at least one department a COM
promise was worked out whereby
draft boards were notified that half
q dozen men whose induction was
imminent were in essential work,
although no formal deferment was
asked.
The Presidents order of Novem-
Der II provided that future requests
for deferment as we'll as all Federal
employe deferments that already
had been granted 60 through him.
Most departments have not turned
over any cases to him yet pending
further instructions.
Draft Board Told to Wait.
Meanwhile, 1t was learned that
confidential memorandum has
gone from national selective service
headquarters to draft boards, ad-
vising them not to re-classify Fed
eral workers from occupational de-
ferments to la until they are
advised to do 50 by Federal agency
chiefs.
Local boards were told to assume
In the fuaure that requests for
Federal workers have been made
In accordance with the Presidents
directive and such requests should
be considered in the usual manner. :"
No provision was made in the
draft board memorandum for a Spe-
cial notation that the cases had
been reviewed by the President or
his representative.
What steps the White House is
taking to determine who should be
deferred could not be learned. The
lists of key positions prepared by
department chiefs and sent to the
Civil Service Commission and from
1t to the War Manpower Commission
have not been requested by the
White House and are still at the
Civil Service Commission, where
they were put on file after the War
Manpower Commission had re-
viewed the approximately $4,000
positions on the list. This was the
list that had been prepared as a
guide to granting future occupa-
tional deferments OF Federal en-
ployes.
Limited to Key Positions.
The Government agencies sur
veyed today all declared they had
been careful not to abuse the draft
and had limited their requests to
key positions.
Here is the situation ut present in
Federal departments and agencies
checked by The Star:
Treasury-Secretary Morgenthau
has been particularly strict about
seeking draft deferments, an aide
said, and at present only a dozen
have been deferred. Requests to
continue these deferments have
gone to the White House. Most of
the men in this group are technical
men in the Bureau of Internal Rev.
enue and, according to the Treasury
spokesman. are over 40 years of age.
Public Works Agency-A memo
randum has gone to all agencies
under PWA informing them that no
further requests for deferment will
be granted except in accordance
with the Presidents order. Most of
the deferments, around 300 or more,
according to a PWA spokesman, are
for men now working on the Can
ada Alaska highway or the Inter-
American highway at Panama. The
spokesman said it was dif1icult to
get men to leave the country for
these jobs and that they had to get
men who could stand up to the
erueling work.
Deferment Limited.
As their jobs are finished. he said.
their deferments expire. OF the six
other agency deferments granted,
all in the administrative office, three
are now in military service and the
deferment Of the other three will
expire soon.
Commerce. spokesman said I'VE
don't have any men deferred that
we couldn't do without" Most of
the men now deferred. he said, are
In the Civil Aeronsutics Admins
tration, Weather Bureau, Coast and
Geodetic Survey and the Bureau OF
Standards. None of the defer
ments has been Cancelled because
I'VE don't know which ones the
President will approve" All agen-
cies under the Commerce Depart
ment, the spokesman said, have
been told to 60 into a replacement
training program with the result
that 1000 women have been en-
ployed In the last seven months in
Jobs previously held by men.
War Production Board-A total Of
% men is now deferred for occupa-
tional reasons, a WPB personnel aide
reported. All cases are now being
reviewed. Some deferments have
expired since the Presidents order,
but no further requests for defer
ment have been asked. A WPB COM
mittee will consider q number of
eases this afternoon at a meeting
and will ultimately write to the
President asking for deferments.
Interior-This department is wait
ing for q procedure to be set up that
will be universal" and few requests
for deferrhent have been made in
the past, an Interior Department
spokesman said. The practice has
been to give employees q factual
statement Of their jobs to present to
draft boards for their judgment. i.
Replacements Difficult.
Efforts to train requirements, how
ever, have been futile in such tech
nical bureaus as the Bureau Of
Mines and the Bureau Of Reclama-
ton. Other specialists for whom it
Is diff1cult to And draft.nroof ro-