Evening star., 1943-08-10
Gen. Hershey Refuses
Any Prediction on
Drafting Of Fathers
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
LOS ANGELES, Aug. 10.-Selec-
tive Service Director Lewis B.
Hershey frankly admits there are
too many imponderables involved"
right now to venture guess as to
what may happen in the father
draft situation.
You tell me what the situation
IN Europe, in Russia and in the
Pacific will be in two weeks or
month and I'll tell you how the
draft will be working" said Mai.
Gen. Hershey, here to testify be-
fore House Military Affairs sub
committee.
L can't make any predictions
about fathers or essential workers
too many imponderables are in
volved," he added in press confer
ence, but you may rest assured that
we will scrape the bottom of the
barrel and pool all the manpower
We have before we turn to fathers"
Ruling Is Stop Gap.
Gen. Hershey also said he be-
lieved some of CALIFORNIA; man
power-draft problems, on which the
subcommittee began hearings last
week, are due to the States rapid
development as an industrial region
since the outbreak of war.
Addressing the subcommittee yes
terday, he declared the induction
suspension of key aircraft workers is
an emergency measure, permitting
full review of the situation by the
War Manpower Commission. Ship
yards, he said, must prove the need
if they want the same policy applied
to them.
1--WE have always applied emer-
gency measures in cases where in
dustry tells us the situation is, at
the moment, untenable," he stated
However, you can't keep industry
alive on emergency measures. The
plants have been given time to sur
vey their situation and make rec
concentrations for individuals as
they see fit"
Seek Concurrent Calls.
Representative Costello, Democrat,
OF California, subcommittee chair
man, asked the draft director:
will fathers in some States be
called before fathers in other
States?"
I'VE are trying to work that prob
lem out" Gen. Hershey answered.
But on-fathers will exist in labor
areas because we are constantly
afraid to cut too close to the mini
mum in productive centers."
Comments on Order.
Gen. Hershey, in an earlier inter
view, said President Roosevelt's let
ter to agency heads regarding the
airing of disagreements had been
ordered distributed routinely to all
draft boards but, he said, obviously
was not aimed at them.
Gen. Hershey said he passed on the
letter to all State draft directors,
with instructions that copies be re-
layed to local boards, because 1t bore
a notation, "for distribution within
the agency" He said he presumed
the letter had been distributed to
boards In all States by now.
Revealed in New Jersey.
CThe first report Of the plan to
mail copies of the Presidents letter
to all draft boards came yesterday
from New Jersey. Col. Edgar N.
Bloomer, New Jersey selective serv-
ice director. mailed copies OF the
letter to all the States 202 local
boards)
The Presidents letter was to cab
met members and heads of admins
trative agencies and told them not
to argue so much" said Gen. Her
shey. II suppose it has been cir
culated in all Government agencies,
including even the Forestry Service.
But the letter obviously was not
written for the draft boards, the
appeal boards, their immediate sub
ordinates Or any other persons on the
draft board levels"