Evening star., 1945-01-16

women in many war industries, has
given new life to the project.
The Selective Service System
which has refrained from enter
tanning an opinion as to the desir-
ability of registering women, has
quietly taken cognizance of the pos
sibility that it may have the job TO
do and is prepared. The pressure
of thumb on a button could start
the processes of registration almost
overnight:
The first step naturally would be
to broadcast to the women of the
country why, when and where they
were to be registered. The why would
be a statement of the Nation S
need, the when would be any date
or dates fixed upon and the where
would be chiefly the local drafting
boards.
Job Limits Needed.
All this assumes that Congress
would authorize registration Con-
greSs also would have to fix the age
limits of those required to enroll
There are now close to A million
men registered, all the men between
18 and IS years. Obviously no such
extreme age bracket would be set
up for women. The 21-to-35 bracket
used in the first registration of men
is considered more reasonable, and
that would mean some Is million
women. A little more than that
number CT men, practically all the
men in America between those ages,
were registered in one day, October
Is, 1910, The remainder of the A
million names have been obtained
since then through the lifting Of
the age limit for registration and
the coming of age of additional
boys.
But If Congress should decree the
registration of women it seems GER
tain it will be limited to the age
group out of which could be obtained
those most able to perform useful
services, the group between 81
and 35.
An added reason for this limita-
ton is the fact that members of
Congress disposed to support the
necessary legislation wish to define
precisely what the women-those
later to be drafted-would be used
for. Millions of women are not
needed, only a few hundred thou
sand. 1t is admitted that register
ing 100000 in order to obtain
the relatively small number needed
is cumbersome method. The best
argument offered in its behalf is
merely that it will work, whereas
no other method has worked. Ap-
peals of all kinds and expensive
recruiting campaigns have failed.
Would Prolong Legislation.
The task of registering 10000, 900
women is not considered very diff
flcult. Recalling the ease and speed
with which men were registered, it
is believed the same would be true
in the case of women. Registration
day itself, incidentally, probably
would not be a single day. On that
memorable October 16, 1910, nearly
million persons, teachers, election
officials and other public employees,
were required to take down the
names and fill out the blanks, work.
ing all day in 10000 spots, such as
schools and voting places.
To register all the women in one
day. it is thought, would upset Amer
1ca's business, industrial and home
life and thereby the war effort
pretty completely. 1t is deemed
more practical to take only limited
number in any one day, stretching
the process out over a fairly Ions
period. Done in this manner, it il
said, the 6,400 draft boards usine
their $4,000 clerical employees and !
certain number of experienced vol.
unteer assistants, could handle thu
undertaking quite easily.
One line of thinking that is heare
Is that the very act of registering
would impel many women to take )
new look at their relation to the war
with consequent increase in volun.
teers, but this reasoning does moi