Evening star., 1946-03-24
No Time to GambIe

IGIlSlOIl OF SeleCGlVe S6TVlCe pcyOIlQ
the statutory expiration date Of May
is next may be summed up in these
few words: This is no time to gamble
with our commitments in the realm
of peace making in a war shattered
world, or with our security require
ments in this critical period of global
readjustment. That it would be a
gamble to cast adrift from the draft
and depend completely on voluntary
methods of bringing our depleted
military and naval forces to proper
strength is plainly evident from the
facts and figures supplied to Con-
gress by the Secretaries OF State, War
and Navy and by top-ranking officers
of both the uniformed services.
The testimony showed that demo-
bilization will continue in some of
the services for many months to
come-in the case of the Army
ground forces until July i, 1947.
Although the Army and Navy had an
encouraging degree of success in the
initial stages of their voluntary re-
cruiting drives after VI day, Army
and Marine enlistments recently
have been falling off. In recruiting
more than 100000 men in five
months, the Army has noted with
growing alarm drop in enlistments
from $4,000 in November to 1884
last month. About As per cent of
these enlistments are for short terms
-12 to 18 months. Recruiting officers
fear that elimination of the draft
would cause further drastic reduc-
ton in the number of the short-term
volunteers. The loss of from 10000
to $4,000 draftees per month, plus
decline in volunteer recruits, would
make it impossible for the Army to
meet the tremendous responsibilities
to which it is committed by reason
of the occupation program, to say
nothing of what the War Depart
ment describes. as the Overriding
requirement to present a strong
military posture in a world which is
still unsettled"
In addition to its job of maintain
ing occupational troops in Europe,
Japan and Korea until conditions
there are stabilized, the Army must
continue its training program at
home in order to qualify recruits for
tasks abandoned by combat vet
Grams, must keep up it's research and
development work on new weapons
and techniques, must man key bases
in the Panama Canal Zone, Alaska
and In the Atlantic and the Pacific
Oceans and must be ready to provide
such forces as may be required by
the United Nations Organization.
The War and Navy Departments
assert they can meet these obliga-
tions with certainty if the selective
service law is extended beyond May
Is; but they cannot be certain of
success If the law expires at that
time. How long the draft will be
necessary to supplement voluntary
enlistments can only be estimated,
because so many intangible factors
are involved in future developments.
The proposed 20 per cent increase in
service pay would probably en-
courage recruiting to some extent.
Secretary Patterson and General
Eisenhower, with an eye to the in
tangibles, recommend at least a
years extension. This proposal is
more realistic and much safer than
the suggestion in some congressional
quarters that a limitation of four
months be put on the extension
which, incidentally, would end the
draft few weeks before the Novem-
Der elections. The issues at stake
in this matter are too grave to be
decided by political considerations or
left to chance.