Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1943-02-20
The Army Would Suffer

There seems to be a disposition in
Congress to meet civilian manpower
needs at the expense of the armed
forces. The military men know what
they are doing and have a plan for
raising fighting army and trans
porting it across the seas. But be-
cause of painless illy-dallying over
civilian manpoWer, there is danger
that the military plans will be re-
shuffled and modified as a short cut
to meeting civilian needs.
The President was on sound ground
yesterday in reminding his press con-
ference that the size of the Army
should not be settled by popular
debate. The size of the Army is a
component part of our military
strategy in fighting global war. 1t
is a general staff problem, the solu-
ton subject to ratification by the
President as commander in chief.
AS the size of our military forces in
1943 is settled question, the Presi-
dent was inclined yesterday to de-
plore the extensive debate over the
subject in Congress.
If this debate over size of the Army
was being conducted in the hope of
reaching a decision on the most
effective fighting force we could
muster, it would be far easier to de-
fend. AS matter of fact, the size
of the armed forces from military
point of view is not being discussed.
The size of the armed forces is being
debated only in its relation to the
prevailing, and undoubtedly serious,
shortages of civilian manpower,
especially on the farms. The size of
the armed forces, a military con-
Sideration of first Importance, is
given secondary Importance in rela-
ton to civilian manpoWer needs.
Popular discomfort over handling
Of civilian manpoWer. threatening
injury to the armed forces, is re-
fected in three pending bills. They
have substantial backing. One is the
Kilday bill, aimed primarily at de-
laying induction of fathers, but con-
tanning an amendment multiplying the
recent Manpower Commission order
for men to transfer from nom
deferrable occupations to war work
or face induction. The bill was re-
ported from the House Military
Affairs Committee by the overwhelm-
ing vote of 23-2 The two other
measures, by Senator Bankhead, with
farm bloc backing, would defer farm
workers and would furlough from the
Army until next January all soldiers
who, previous to induction, were
bona flde farm workers.
These measures would meet some
civilian manpower needs at the ex-
pense of the armed forces. But in
stead Of calling on the armed forces
for civilian manpoWer as a last resort,
reduction of these forces and inter-
ference with their training are con-
sidered as the first expedient. We
are talking about disrupting essential
military training to supply man
power, but nobody in authority is
talking about abrogating the hun
dreds Of 'featherbed" rules through
out industry, enforced by contracts
as methods of spreading the work and
increasing employment The Presi-
dent recites the story, with evident
relish, of the Russian children who
went into the fields to harvest the
crops and cut wood for fires. But the
national service bill, introduced in
House and Senate, receives no official
Endorsement from administration
leadership and organized labor, espe-
cially, views it with alarm.
Our soldiers are dying now in
Africa at the hands of a tough we'll
equipped enemy. Soon we shall know
the meaning Of real casualty lists
Thousands of homes in America are
going to learn the terms of sacrifice
that war demands. But as a Nation,
we seem to learn slowly.