Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1943-02-09
BY GOULD LINCOLN.

BY GOULD LINCOLN.
The Wadsworth-Aus bill,
now before the House and Senate
Military Affairs Committees,
brings the issue of drafting man.
power for essential war industry
to the fore, very much as the
Wadsworth-Burke bill started
the legislative drive for the Sc
lective military, now law.
Representative eWadsworth Of
New York and Senator Austin
OF Vermont, co-sponsors of the
labor draft measure, are both
Republicans. Mr.. Wadsworth
and Senator Quincy OF South
Dakota, also Republican,
sponsored the 18-year- old draft
act. If and when man.
power bill is finally taken up
and put through it may bear the
imprint of Democratic leaders in
the Congress, although that need
not necessarily be so.
What is important at this stage
is that concrete proposals, dealing
effectively and simply with the
question OF the draft of manpow-
er, are now before Congress. And
what is further important is
that this question, which has
been ducked very much as the
military draft was for months
during the early days of adding
to the national defense, must, in
the opinion Of many, be definitely
tackled. The manpower needs of
war industry and non-war in
dustry, of agriculture and of the
military forces itself are forcing
the issue.
This country has never had a
labor draft law during war. It had
never had 4 military draft law
either, in time Of peace, until
the present act was put through
Congress more than 4 year be-
fore the Japanese attack on
Pearl Harbor. The only possible
excuse for q labor draft now is
to put this country in a better
position to carry the war to a
definite and final victory.
The administration, through
the War Manpower Commission,
headed by Paul McNutt, has at
tempted to deal with the need
of workers in the essential in
dustries. It has sought by vol
untary agreements to provide the
additional labor for war plants,
to prevent the pirating of labor.
In order to better coordinate
the whole manpower question it
has more recently placed the
selective service administration
under the Menpower Commits
sion. And most recently an or
der has been issued to force men
engaged in non-war industry to
leave such Jobs and 60 into the
war plants, on pain Of being
drafted into the military service,
even though they be married and
have children. .-.s-
Present Plan Indirect.
In other words, the administra-
ton has sought by indirection to
bring the necessary pressure to
bear to obtain the labor required
for war plants and for farms. It
stands ready, il man leaves a
non-war job and. takes. one in q
war plant and then decides to
leave that. even If he be- over the
military draft age as 1t now
stands, to compel him to remain
in war industry by threatening to
blacklist him so he cannot obtain
work In other factories. It can
do this by threatening the fac
tories hiring such men with the,
loss Of priorities for materials
required in manufacture.
Many members of Congress do
not like this idea. They prefer
that Congress fix the law, il these
things are to be done, and that
they be done in accordance with
the law. It is another case of
resentment OF government by
"directives"-some of which have
never been contemplated in laws
enacted by Congress.
The milk in the coconut, how
ever, Is to deal effectively with
the manpower problem. If the
time has come when it is essential
that men and women, too, be in
war factory, shipyard or farm,
the situation must be met-and