Evening star., 1943-09-16
Dancer Ahead

IAC 11lot udy VI IlCdl lllSS Uc1UIS
the Senate Military Affairs Commit
tee on the proposal to ban or defer
the draft of fathers makes it clear
that this is essentially question of
whose judgment should prevail in
matter of this kind.
There is no mathematical process
by which the armed services can
demonstrate conclusively that they
must induct men with children.
They can show how many men are
needed to fill quotas, but they can
not prove that these quotas are abso-
lutely necessary to the successful
conduct of the war.
On the other hand, they can state,
on the authority of expert opinion,
that the armed services must have
a certain number of men by certain
date If they are to 60 through with
military operations planned or plan
ming. And they have done this with
out qualification. Undersecretary of
War Patterson told the committee
that a ban on the induction of
fathers would cripple the military
effort by forcing the services to draw
upon single men now engaged in the
production of munitions. Lieutenant
General Joseph T. McNarney warned
that a prohibition against the draft
OF fathers would upset the Army's
strategic plans. Whoever initiates
such change" he said, must
assume the grave responsibility for
Ignoring the considered Judgment of
our military leaders, arrived at after
careful and prolonged study" Ad-
miral King, commander in chief of
the United States fleet, advised the
committee that there can be no low
ering Of the numbers of men to be
furnished the armed services by
December 81 without serious detri-
ment not only to planned operations
but to operations that are now under
way or in process OF mounting.
In the face Of these categorical
statements a majority of the COM
mittee apparently remains uncon-
vinced. Presumably the Senators
feel that their judgment on this
military question is better than that
OF the military commanders. But
upon what grounds is the senatorial
Judgment based? They certainly are
not military experts. Nor do they
even pretend to have any informa-
ton which has not been available to
the military leaders They are
stalking an inexpert judgment on a
military question against the judg-
ment of the best military minds in
this country, with the crippling of
our war effort as the price of error.
That is something which should be
made perfectly clear now, for if Con-
gress goes through with this plan to
override the high command, and II
military setback is the result, there
should be no doubt in any ones mind
that the full responsibility will rest
on the Senators and Representatives
who vote for the ban on inductions.
1t is most earnestly to be hoped,
however, that Congress will not
trample on the judgment of the men
who have been intrusted with re-
sponsibility for the conduct of this
war. If the legislators will look back
over the record they will find that
time has upheld the judgment of the
military commanders in every in
stance in which there has been a
difference of opinion between them
and members of Congress. And they
should also keep in mind the fact
that anything which Congress may
DO now to cripple our fighting power
will inevitably be paid for with the
lives of other men who have already
been drafted and sent to the combat
fronts.
No one wants to draft fathers and
send them to war. But neither does
any one want to "let down" the mil
lions OF other American men who
have been drafted and sent away to
fight.