Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1943-02-18
Bankhead Bill Return!
Fdrmer-SoIdiers in
u. ). 10 Land for Year
Measure One of Two
Offered,os Senators
Question Hershey Doto

Two bills intended to relieve
the farm manpoWer shortage
were introduced today by Sena-
tor Bankhead, Democrat, of Ala
bama after a Senate bloc of more
than 80 members disagreed with
estimates by Maj. Gen. Lewis B.
Hershey, selective service direc-
tor, as to the effect of a 11,000,-
900 Army on farm production.
One of the new bills would require
release until January l, 1914, of all
soldiers now in the United States
who we're engaged in agriculture
prior to induction. Each man fur
Laughed would have to agree to do
farm work at prevailing wage rates
or for compensation equivalent to
Army pay, whichever is higher.
The other bill provides that no
draft registrant may leave an agri-
cultural job unless his selective serv-
ice board determines he should en-
gage in some other employment in
the best interests of the war effort.
MarSnau TO be CaIleO.
A Senate Agriculture Subcommit-
tee, meanwhile, voted to demand an
explanation from military authori-
ties of the needs for an armed force
Of IL 100000 men. Chairman Smith,
Democrat, of South Carolina said
Gen. George c. Marshall, Army
chief, of staff, would be summoned
early next week.
Gen. Hershey, cautioning against
interfering with the military effort,
said it would be possible to main
tam 100000 men in the armed
forces without disturbing the 500
600 physically qualified men of draft
age on the farms.
He estimated that by December
81 there will be 435, 900 single farm
/ ers classified in the deferred &C
/ listing, and 2,627 900 married farm
ers in the &c classification. Already,
he said, 256.826 have been classified
as &c and l07,l76 as sc.
Gen. Hershey said the little viii
lage in which he was born could be
used to represent the United States
in microcosm, as it had about 1872
population, one for every million in
the country.
Parable From Village.
IN the early days" he said, eff
10 men from that village had to go
out and fight Indians, and 20 or so
stayed at home to mold bullets,
then if the 100 that were left had
called for some Of the 10 Indian
fighters to come home and help
wash the dishes my village wouldn't
have survived.
My forbeorS,' he added, wouldn't
rest easy in their graves if they
thought 100 million Americans
couldn't keep the country running"
Senator Aiken, Republican, of
Vermont remarked that the gen.
erals forbears had only Indians
to worry about, not the OPA
Gen. Hershey reiterated that his
job was to obtain men for the serv-
ices and not to determine the size
of the armed force
Smith Promises Probe.
I'VE are going to find out who S
responsible" Senator Smith told
him. If We keep at the present
rate the people will be going hun
CRY, barefoot and naked"
In some congressional quarters
the Bankhead proposals were re-
garded as a defiant gesture from
farm State Senators to the Army
refusal TO release agricultural help
in the armed forces to work on the
farms
The War Department was re-
ported to have agreed on a policy
10 release units, such as battalions,
to aid farmers in harvesting crops
IN cases Of emergency
Some Senators protested, how
ever, that experienced help was
needed While these units may aid
the larger growers they added the
little farmer" would be no better