Evening star., 1945-02-18
Committee Will Take
Final Action tuesday
On Nurse Draft Bill
BY CARTER BROOKE JONES.


The House Military Affairs Com
mittee voted down, 13 to 9, yesterday
plan to give nurses a further,
chance to volunteer for the armed
forces before drafting them.
The committee, approving other
amendments designed to protect
veterans hospitals and use present
machinery to determine which
nurses are essential to civilian du-
ties, will take up the May draft
bill for final action Tuesday.
The proposal to defer the induc-
tion of nurses until the voluntary
system has had another test was
made by Representative Fenton, Re
publican, of Pennsylvania. He Of
fered as substitute for the main
section of the bill provision direct
ing the Secretaries of War and Navy
to conduct for 80 days an intensive
campaign to recruit the personnel
required to give soldiers and sailors
adequate nursing care. If this plan
failed to bring in enough nurses,
the heads of the armed forces would
be directed to propose to Congress
an amendment to the Selective Serv-
Ice Act allowing induction of nurses.
Realizes Urgent Need.
Representative Fenton, physi-
clan, said after the executive session
that he realized, particularly after
his recent trip to Europe with a
subcommittee, the urgent need for
Army nurses and he wanted to see
this critical situation met as soon
as possible. But he felt, he ex-
planned, that the Army never had
given voluntary recruiting a fair
test, since an adequate national
drive had yet to be put on.
"I believe" he added, that my
plan would bring in the nurses more
quickly than a draft act"
The mmittee approved an
amendment suggested during hear
ings on the legislation by Brig. Gen.
Frank T. Hines, veterans admins
traitor. This would provide that no
nurse could be taken from a vet
eran'S hospital and indicted into the
armed forces without a release
singed by the veterans administra-
tor or his deputy.
Gen. Hines told the committee he
did not want to interfere with re-
cruiting Army nurses and he was
willing to see his younger nurses go
into military service, but he feltl
that when this was done the Vet
erans' Administration should be as
sured replacements. He pointed out
that its hospitals faced serious
shortage of nurses and they were |
performing an essential service for
disabled veterans of this war as well
as past wars.
Protect Civilian Needs.
The committee adopted another
amendment requiring selective serv-
ice boards in drafting nurses to ac-
cept the recommendations of the
Procurement and Assignment Serv-
ice for deferment of those consid-
cred necessary to civilian needs
This service, set up by the War
Manpower Commission, operates
through State and Community Com
mittees and already has an exhaus-
tive list of nurses classified accord
ing to essentially.
Another amendment which got the
green light would stop the practice
of the Army and Navy of disquali-
tying for commissions nurses trained
in smaller hospitals, those with no
more than so beds. There was testi-
mony at the hearings that many
competent nurses were lost to the
services by this rule
The committee also approved an
amendment requiring draft boards
to exhaust eligible members of the
Army and Navy Nurses Cadet Corps
before inducing civilian nurses.
Minimum Age Raised.
The committee previously had
adopted amendments raising the
minimum age of induction from 18
to 20, leaving the maximum age
at IS and allowing selective service
to draft any qualified" nurses, re-
gardleSs of whether she was regis
tered with State board.
Representative Fenton suggested |
that the maximum age be raised to
so. He pointed out that many older |
nurses could be used in this coun-
try, with the younger ones sent
overseas. The committee disagreed. |
DR.. Fenton then proposed an amend
ment fixing the limit at 48 years
This likewise was rejected.
The May bill was ordered redraft-
ed with all the approved amend
ments. The clean bill" will be
placed before the committee Tues