Evening star., 1949-02-20
Draft Slowed
By Volunteers
Army Underestimate
w h a t Recruiting
Gould Achieve
By Rowland Evons, Jr.

The Army, a few short months
ago crying for men and spending
millions preparing to handle them.
is now turning away volunteers
and cutting down its size.
And the Selective Service Sys-
tenn, modified last June to supply
the Army with as many as 10000
men monthly. is now drafting no
one.
Why?
Go back to last spring. just be-
fore Congress enacted the draft
law and authorized an Army man
power ceiling of $4,000 men and
officers plus 10000 one-year vol
unteers. At that time the Army
was down to a postwar low Of
$50 900.
Military intelligence foresaw a
war possibility. Czechoslovakia
had just been taken over by a
Russian dominated government.
Our Army was dwindling
President Truman and Congress
said we should act fast to get our
war fist cooked into position. The
draft, rather than universal mill
tary training, was picked as the
best way.
Army Underestimated
On June 81 a highly placed
Army official said the Army would
probably call between 100000 and
225, 900 draftees during the first
IL months of the new draft.
No one knew just how much
the draft would stimulate enlist
ments. AS it turned out. the Army
has drafted only $4,000 men and
it may not have to draft any more
at all.
The Army simply underesti-
mated what it's recruiting service
could do with the draft as a selling
point. Voluntary enlistments more
than doubled between May and
July and they have stayed around
the 35.000-a-month level ever
since.
If this trend started so quickly
why didn't the Army call off its
draft plans at once?
For one thing, it wanted to get
to the 100000 mark fast and the
draft would naturally help. (Actu-
ally, it only had money to sup
port 100000. Congress, although
it authorized $4,000, did not ap-
propriate money for that many)
AS early as October Army per-
sonnel officials saw q possibility
that actual drafting might not be
needed to get to full strength. But
If they had announced this just
before the November presidential
election, it was felt even the deaf
would have heard cries of playing
politics.
Played 1t Safe
And there was this paradox.
Just one month after the draft act
was passed President Truman told
Defense Secretary Forrestal that
he would recommend budget
ceiling for the defense establish
ment of $4,000, 900, 900 for the IL
months starting next July /.
This was less than MIR. Forrestal
wanted. The Army's share would
not support it at a strength near
the congressionally authorized
s37, 1000.
It wasn't till after the election
that MIR. Forrestal announced al
location Of the $4,000, ,000, 900
among the three services. The
: Army's cut will restrict it to q total
Of 677,000 for next fiscal year
even less than its present strength
of about 100000.
Today the Army has had to
abolish two-year enlistments and
put ceiling on the number of
men who may enlist for three,
four, five and six year terms.
Its enlistment rate is running
high (more than 40 per cent? and
!, a proposed pay raise won't dis
J; courage volunteers.
But If the voluntary enlistment
curve should suddenly plummet
: the Army has the draft to fall
back on.
distributed by the Associated rress)