Evening star., 1944-02-18
VINO Upho|ds 12.7%
Of Father Deferments
In Federal Agencies
Only 1,5l4 Appeals
Approved, Puryeor Tells
House Hearing
BY MIRIAM GUTENBERG.

Deferment for only 1,5l4 IA
theirs in the Government service,
or 1877 per cent of the first 1898
cases considered, has been ap-
proved so far by the War Man.
power Commission Review Com
mittee on Government Defer
ments, Edgar Puryear, Review
Committee chairman, told a
House Military Affairs subcom-
mittee today.
Among those whose deferment was
asked by the War Shipping Admin
istration-and promptly denied by
the con1mittee-was a trombone
player.
Attacked by the subcommittee in
vestigating draft deferments at its
meeting Monday, point credits for
age and number Of children did not
appear on the deferment point chart
submitted by the Review Committee
today. At the same time. Mr.. Pur-
year revealed the Review Committee
is considering limiting deferment
requests to four months.
38,525 Requests Submitted.
The Review Committee, Mr.. Pur-
year said, has completed action on
fathers in "a agencies out of the 81
agencies which have submitted de-
ferment requests. A total of 38,525
requests have been submitted.
Mr.. Puryear replied to testimony
of the District Draft Board chair
men, who were witnesses Monday
by denying that draft boards auto
matically grant the deferment re-
quests approved by the Review Com
mittee. Mr. Puryear said Is or 20
letters already have come to the
committee reporting that Govern
ment requests have been denied by
the draft boards.
The question of limiting Govern
ment deferment requests to four
months arose after Representative
Harness, Republican, of Indiana
declared that if the 60-day defer
ment order holding up induction of
fathers in the Government was fair
it should have applied to fathers in
private industry. too, and Repre-
sentative May, Democrat, of Ken
lucky and chairman of the full Mil
itary Affairs Committee, accused the
Review Committee OF retarding the
How OF men into the armed forces.
Questioned Regarding Musician.
The committee fastened on the
trombone player when Mr.. Puryear
included musician" on the long list
OF occupations for which agencies had
requested deferments. When several
committee members. led by Mr.. Nav.
wanted to know the name of the
agency making the deferment re-
quest for the musician, Mr.. Purvear
declined the information on the
ground it would be embarrassing, but
he offered to do so in executive ses-
sion. The committee brushed his
of1er aside and he revealed that the
man was employed in the War Ship
ping Administrations Orchestra.
Mr.. Puryear, assisted by E. J.
OBoyle, who is in charge of rating
men on the point system, gave these
indications of how the committee is
working:
Men In administrative work and
those with some degree of technical
knowledge and ability get two points
Tor being extremely essential" A
petroleum engineer in the Petroleum
Administration for War was given as
an example.
A man would. get no credit for re-
placeability if a number of people
are doing the same work.
Experience Counts.
Experience in Government and in
dustry is purely mathematical
calculation and file clerk with six
years experience in Government and
six years previous experience in
private industry could get four
points.
A man with several college degrees
in line with his present work might
get two points as unusually quail
fed" and college graduate who
may not be experienced in his pres
ent work would get one point as
somewhat qualified" because he has
"a trained BRAIN"
The Review Committee automati-
cally questions deferment requests
of all economists but radio repair
man probably would be approved for
deferment If he shows some expert
ence.