Evening star., 1950-09-16
Army FIunks
|4% Of Whites,
|29% Co|ored
Figures in District
Mental Tests Cited
As Rejection Factor
By George Beveridge

By George Beveridge
Only 4 per cent of the Districts
white youths ordered to take the
Army's controversial mental quail
fication test have been rejected
for failing it, but nearly 20 pei
cent of the prospective colored re-
cruits have been turned away fol
hunking.
These rates, based on the city's
latest draft figures, are a major
factor in the high rejection rate
which has drawn bitter criticism
from Capitol Hill and draft off,
cialS.
Through August 80, the Army
turned down 848 of the 1,414 meu
sent by draft boards here. And
282-about 20 per cent-failed the
mental tests, But the vast ma
jority, 1852 mental test reflections
came from the oil colored mep
called up. OF the 503 white mer
examined, 20 failed the test.
Main Reason for High Rate.
Army officials cited the high
number of colored youths sent by
District boards as a main reason
for the city's high rate. But
considering that factor, they said
there is nothing disturbing about
either the District or national
rates.
The reason, they explained to
a reporter, is that at this stage OF
mobilization the Army is trying
to develop a training force" OF
men who would be leaders in case
of an all-out mobilization. In
such an event, it is almost certain
that passing grades for the test
would be cut.
The test, they said, was set up
with the expectation that 13 per
cent of the general population
would fail it.
In first Army tabulations, Of
ficials disclosed that 1872 per cent
of the first 1921 men examined
were rejected for failing the men
tai exam Another 9.3 per cent
also failed the test, but these men
had in addition physical defects
which ruled them out.
To eliminate malingering as far
as possible, the armed forces have
ordered examining officers to re-
view all cases of men who fail the
tests. These officers have power
to pass" administratively men If
there is evidence they purposely
f1unked. In addition, any one
examined with a high school edu-
cation is automatically acceptable
for the mental phase.
The Army also struck back at
criticism of the high rejection rate
for all causes. The rate-far above
that of World War II-stands at
about so per cent in the District
and the rest of the Nation.
"But during the war;" an official
said, 1--WE were scraping the bot
tom of the barrel. Enlistments
were barred, and there were few
defermentS. Now, we are dealing
with a thinned-out group which
simply isn't comparable"
Standards Unchanged.
Thousands of the youths the
Army would most like to have are
enlisting-in the Navy and Air
Force as well as the Army
rather than be drafted, he con-
tinued. And many of the %, "a
and 25-year-olds now being called
up for induction were examined
and rejected in the last days OF
World War II. Not available for
induction are about 2.5 million
veterans between the ages of Is
and 26.
Maj. Gen. R. w. Bliss, Army
surgeon general, said the present
physical qualifications are sub
stantially the same as wartime
standards.
"The (present) Alb per cent &C.
ceptance rate should by no means
be taken as representative of the
health of the general American
population" he declared. "It is
believed that a significant in
crease will occur when the young
er and less depleted age groups
are reached"
District draft officials credited
this same depletion of white men
in the age groups called for the
high number of colored men sent
for examination. Because fewer
colored men were called for World
War II service, and because fewer
have other deferments, they said,
draft boards have had a larger
number of classified la. The
boards select candidates for in
duction strictly by age, officials
stressed, calling the oldest 25-
year-olds first.