Evening star., 1951-10-30
Congress Must Decide
Universal Training Issue
Measure Cont Be Bottled Up
In Committee Under Low
The Political Mill
By Gould Lincoln

Congress will have to say whether it
really meant what it said when it passed
earlier this year the law proposing and
authorizing system of universal mill
tary training. For it will have before it
when it meets next January the COM
pleted report of the fiye-man National
Training Commission, detailing a pro-
gram of six months unbroken military
training for 18-year-olds who are physi-
cally and mentally qualified. There will
be no more ducking.
Under the law, the Armed Services
Committees of the House and Senate
must file reports to their respective
houses on the training plan within As
days after receiving the commissions
recommendations or at the next session
of CongresS-in this case the session
which opens January 8.
The law also provides that If there is
any inclination to bottle up the reports
in committee, any member of either
house may call the reports up for con-
sideration.
Fight Waged for Years.
The fight to establish a system Of uni
versal military training in this country
has been waged for years. It has taken
a long time to convince people that such
system is essential for national defense
and that it will avoid violent fluctua-
tions which have in the past character
lied our military preparedness and
plagued the conduct of a consistent
foreign policy based on adequate
strength. The opponents of universal
military training were strong enough
last summer to compel Congress to post
pone final and fixed decision. They
undoubtedly will seek to postpone again,
or defeat outright, the actual set-up of
the military training program.
The country is having taste, however,
OF what it costs to be adequately pre-
pared to fight-without system of uni
versal training. We have today the all
tentative. which is training and main
tanning under arms continuously armed
forces totaling some three and a half
million men. It is costing some fifty or
sixty billions of dollars year. If there
is to be any surcease of this tremendous
burden which the taxpayers bear some
other program, which will provide trained
reserves in sufficient numbers at all
times to safeguard the country from
attack, must be devised. The answer
ls-universal military training, with the
men going into reserve units for several
years after completing their training
period. 1t has been estimated by the
military that it will cost $4,187 900 600
the first year to put the system into full
effect, and thereafter $2,158, 900 900 a
year. The members of the commission.
however. are not convinced that it will
cost so much.
Need for Men Is Great.
Because the country is at war today in
Korea and the need for men in the
services Is great, it is possible, in the
opinion OF the commission, to start the
system of universal training only "in a
moderate way" The commission, how
ever, is emphatic that it should be
started-and expanded as soon after as
possible. Its members probably realize
that should there come truce in Korea
and possibly settlement of that con-
fllct, the outcries against universal mill.
tary training would again burst forth in
volume. They realize that an election is
coming up in November, 1852, and that
II the opponents of UNIT can stall the
Dill along in Congress until the cam.
palgn is on, minority groups opposing
that system may so threaten Represen.
tatives and Senators as to make legisla-
ton greatly difficult.
1t seems incredible, after the lessons
the American people-unprepared for
war-had in 1917 and 1941, and finally
in 1850, they would be content to sink
back into a state of unpreparedness.
There seem. however, plenty of people
willing to stick their heads in the sand in
order not to be bothered. There are.
too, groups of labor leaders, of educators
and others who believe their own in
terests would be interfered with by the
adoption of UNIT. They do not put their
opposition to the system on that ground.
preferring to speak against interfering
with the education of young men and
interference with getting jobs and into
their hfe's work. The supporters of
UNIT in Congress and out must be pre-
pared to wage a real fight for early
legislation IN the next session Of
Congress.
National defense should not be q
partisan political issue, but the candi-
dates for the presidency, and other high
office, who oppose UNIT, should be
weighed carefully.