Evening star., 1948-09-05
Draft SetupHere
Moves Into High
Gear This Week
Local Boards and
Appeal PoneIs to Be
Organized Formally
By John A. Giles

The District Selective Service or.
ganization will move into high gear
early this week as local and appeal
boards are formally set up and the
first Of the detailed questionnaires
are mailed to early registrants.
All men born in 1925 began regis
tering yesterday for the 2l-month
draft. They will continue to regis
ter Tuesday, since all draft offices
are closed over the Labor Day holi-
day.
In the District a total of 24y63l
had registered as of last night,
Frank D. Norton, deputy Selective
Service director, announced. The
registration was very slow" YES
terday with only 260 signing up, he
added.
Training Plans Completed.
The Army, meanwhile, completed
its plans for training the first 10000
lnductees in November-55 of them
from the District, 237 from Virginia
and 143 from Maryland-by recall
ing certain retired officers for spe-
cialized jobs and increasing the
number of reservists being placed
on active duty. Both categories are
needed because of the expanded
force.
Reservists recalled to active duty
last month-au with their consent
-totaled 3,7o0, new high. They
will be fully re-oriented when the
Army begins reaching its fully au-
thorized strength of 9000 900 officers
and men next spring.
There is no wholesale recall Of
retired officers, high-ranking
Army personnel officer said, but q
number are being placed on active
duty in special assignments for
which they are fitted by experience.
Approximately 700 recent grad
yates of the Reserve Officer Train
ing Corps also have been ordered
to active duty for not more than 81
months, under provision of the
1948 Draft Act.
Hold Reserve Commissions.
These ROTC graduates hold re-
serve commissions as second heu-
tenants and have had no less than
80 days of continuous active serv-
ice. Most will be ordered to report
for Army duty about October Is.
Any junior reserve officer, subject
to service, the Army added, can
volunteer for active duty without
waiting for the October is date.
Any officer who Is student Of
medicine or dentistry will be al
lowed to complete his schooling be-
fore being called UP for active
duty.
The Army also has begun plans
for its next draft call in December
which will involve between 10000
and $4,000 men.
To Meet Wednesday.
Mr.. Norton said yesterday that
members Of the 13 local boards and
the four appeals pamela along with
Government agency appeals agents..
would meet at 8 pm. Wednesday in
the Interior Department Auditorium
to organize formally.
A chairman and a secretary for
each board and appeals panel will
be named after the general meeting
at which the operation of the draft
law will be discussed. Those mem
bers who have not already taken the
oath Of Office will do so at the meet
ing.
The questionnaires to be mailed
out early this week will go first to
the single, non-veteran, non-father
25-year-olds from which the first
inductees will be taken. Later the
questionnaires will be mailed to
others. Tuesday is the deadline for
mailing out the first of the all-im.
portant classification forms.
Mr.. Norton said the draft ma
chinery was running smoothly and
that he expected no bitches between
now and September 18 when the
last of those born in 1880, but before
September 10. complete registering.
Others to Register.
Men born in 1926 will register
Wednesday and Thursday, those
born in 1927 on Friday and Satur-
day.
The city has more than 200 CEN
ters at which men may register.
Five police stations were added
yesterday to the four city-wide CEN
ters, the "a fire houses, two centers
at American University and private
industry and governmental agency
registrations.
The five stations, which will be
open to registrants for the remain
ing period, are: Sixth, Thirteenth
and Nicholson streets NV: Eighth,
Forty second and Albemarle streets
NV; Ninth, 525 Ninth street NE;
Eleventh, Chicago street and Mich
OILS avenue Sc, and Thirteenth,
Ninth and u streets NV.
Registration hours are from am
to 5 pm.