Evening star., 1944-03-21
81% Of Fathers
In Essential j. ).
Jobs Face Draft
$500 Of 34,098
Keep Deferments
After 'Screeninq'

Eighty-one per cent of the
pre-Pearl Harbor fathers con-
sidered "essential' by the Gov
ernment agencies employing
them faced induction at the will
OF their draft boards today as a
result of decisions of the Review
Committee on Federal Defer
mentS.
Confirming earlier reports that
few fathers would survive the re-
view committees Screening" the
committee reported to Congress late
yesterday that out of a total of
34,098 deferment requests sub
mitted by 81 Federal agencies, only
$500 of them were approved.
Industry Ranking Proposed.
At the same time, Senator Brew
ster, Republican of Maine, author of
a bill before the Senate Military At
fairs Committee to direct tempo
rary deferment of necessary work.
ers OF all ages. suggested creation of
Government board to rank indus
tries by their war importance as
step toward ruling on the draft
status of young workers.
This procedure, he said, might be
the most expeditions way of easing
the plight of such industries as the
tool and die trade which appealed
to the committee for deferment of
$1,000 skilled workers under 26.
These workers, the committee was
told, comprise about third of the
industry's employees and If they are
drafted the output Of tool, dies and
gauges for war production would
drop 30 per cent.
In the report on Government de-
ferments, most of the approved re-
quests went to the Post Office De-
partment, but its batting average was
less than 20 per cent. 1t had re-
quested deferment for 25,931 men.
The committee approved $3.50 re-
quests, Edgar Puryear, committee
chairman, said the men whose de-
ferments were approved were all
specialized personnel with long ex-
perience-railway mail clerks, dis
tributors and inspectors.
Time Recommendations.
The post Office employees were all
recommended by the committee for
siX-month deferments but the non-
post office deferments recommended
varied from 60 days to six months.
OF the 1,459 deferment requests
approved outside the post Office the
committee recommended 81 defer
ments for so days, 522 for 80 days
and 875 for six months. Under the
law draft boards cannot grant de-
fermentS of Government employees
without an authorized Government
request nor for longer period than
is officially requested. On the other
hand, they do not have to follow the
committees deferment recon-
mendations, although, it was testi-
fled earlier on Capitol Hill, they
usually 90.
Outside the Post Office Depart
ment, 8,l67 deferment requests were
filed with the committee. Six of
the requesting agencies, including
the National Labor Relations Board
which had requested 83 deferments,
were denied any deferments.
Action Within 80 Days.
Several agencies will lose the ma
jority of their deferred fathers with
in 80 days. The Agriculture De-
partment, for instance, which re-
quested deferment for l,489 men
and had l45 approved, will lose
26 of those men at the end of
two months and 83 more at the
end of three months. Only 36 of
the 1,489 were approved for six
month deferments. Of the 176 ap-
proved for the Veterans Admins
tration, l26 were 90-day deferments.
The District government request
ed 205 deferments and had 2 ap-
proved for so days, IL for 80 days
and 81 for six months.
Not reviewed by the Puryear
Committee were the deferments of
the thousands of men now on re-
placement schedules who will be
gradually released to the armed
forces. The Navy, most of the War
Department, the Tennessee Valley
Authority and the Bonneville Power
Administration are all on replace
ment schedules.
The committee was operating
under directions from President
Roosevelt to give fathers employed
in the Government service who
were doing essential work the same
consideration for deferment as