Compulsory military training for a period of from 8 to 12 months.—Appearing on behalf of the American Federation of Government Employees, a union of Federal workers, Mr. Charles I. Stengle said: repre "I want to say in the beginning of my remarks that the group which sent is 100 percent American and ready to do its part in any way toward furthering national preparedness. We have, however, without taking any decided stand on the question of compulsory military training, met with considerable distress and disturbance of mind over the question of what will happen to many of our people were they called in to compulsory military training. Many of them have been employed by the Government for many years. They have established their homes and are now paying for them, largely on the installment plan. Many of them have families to support. Many of them have dependent fathers and mothers to support, and as they look at the picture from the outside before this committee makes its report to the Senate of the United States they are wondering what will become of them were they ordered into compulsory military training for a period of from 8 to 12 months [italics supplied], and at the expiration of that period find that their jobs are gone because of their absence from their daily work for the Government."1 * 14 Idea was to spread military service throughout Nation.-Brig. Gen. William E. Shedd, Jr., Assistant Chief of Staff, G-1 (personnel), War Department, had this to say: I feel that regardless of whether we can procure the men by voluntary enlistments or not, the principles of selective service are so fair, so just, and so democratic, they produce the men we need at the time we need' them; they spread the requirements of military service over the entire personnel of the country in such a just and proper way that I believe that those reasons are so compelling we should adopt selective service even if we could fill our requirements by voluntary enlistments. 15 STATEMENT OF FREDERICK J. LIBBY, EXECUTIVE SECRETARY OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR PREVENTION OF WAR, WASHINGTON, D. C. (Submitted to the House Military Affairs Committee on the extension of the term of service of draftees, Reserve officers, and the National Guard, and related proposals) JULY 28, 1941. Mr. Chairman and Members of the House Military Affairs Committee, three proposals are before Congress: 1. To extend indefinitely the term of service of draftees, National Guardsmen, and Reserve officers beyond the 12 months specified in the draft law; 2. To authorize an indefinite increase in the number of draftees beyond the present limit of 900,000 serving at any one time; 3. To permit draftees in our Army to be sent anywhere in the world (the draft law forbids sending them outside of the Western Hemisphere and our possessions). Each of these proposals would give more power to the President at the expense of Congress. The President would hold the draftees in the Army as long as he deems necessary. The President would determine the number of draftecs to be conscripted. The President would have power to send the draftees to Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, or the islands of the seas. IF CONGRESS DECLARES A NATIONAL EMERGENCY, IT MEANS ALL-OUT WAR The President has asked Congress to declare a national emergency. The effect would be to permit retention of draftees and, as some Congressmen believe, and as we fear, sending them anywhere in the world, with the responsibility upon Congress. In any case, the moral effect of such a declaration, both abroad and at home, would be substantially that of a declaration of war. The following arguments are offered in support of the Administration's proposals: 1. That the safety of this country is imperiled; 14 Hearings, ibid., p. 291. 15 Hearings, ibid., p. 353. 2. That the Army will "disintegrate" if the draftees go home at the end of their 1-year term of service; 3. That the extension of the term of service will not break faith with the draftees because the draft law itself provided that "whenever the Congress has declared that the national interest is imperiled," the term of service can be extended. OPPONENTS OF THE ADMINISTRATION'S PROPOSALS DENY EACH OF THESE THREE CLAIMS (1) A little reflection shows that the country is not in immediate peril of attack, since all potential enemies are occupied with their enemies nearer home; our immediate danger comes from the aggressive policies of our own Government, which threaten to involve us in the European war via Iceland or in protecting British and other interests in the Far East. Some predict that we shall get into the European war by policing Latin America. Our Army was not conscripted for these purposes. (2) The Army will not "disintegrate" if we keep faith with the draftees, because the inductions into service have been staggered. Of the first 900,000, 300,000 have not yet been inducted and have a full year to serve. Nearly 400,000 have only recently been inducted and have from 7 to 11 months to serve. Only 19,000 will complete their term of service before the end of 1941, 13,000 in November, and 6,000 in December. To fill the vacancies when these men go home a new draft of men who have reached 21 in the past year has just been held. With regard to the National Guard, the situation is equally favorable to keeping faith. Only 57 of the 156 units now in service will complete their 12 months before the end of 1941. As for Reserve officers, only 55,000, which is approximately one-half of the number available, have so far been called and they could be replaced with the advantage of giving training to the other half. (3) The violation of faith involved in these proposals is so fundamental that the wording of the law fails to touch the real issue. These men were inducted to defend this hemisphere and our possessions if attacked. Both major political parties had just adopted solemn pledges which meant that the conscripts were not being called to fight in foreign wars. The Republican platform said: "The Republican Party is firmly opposed to involving this Nation in foreign war." The Democratic platform said: "We will not participate in foreign wars, and we will not send our Army, naval, or air forces to fight in foreign lands outside of the Americas, except in case of attack." The President repeated these pledges again and again and again before a single draftee was called into service. Typical is the following quotation from the President's address in Boston, October 30, 1940: "Your boys are not going to be sent into any foreign wars. They are going into training to form a force so strong that, by its very existence, it will keep the threat of war far away from our shores. The purpose of our defense is defense." The contract with the draftees was based upon these repeated pledges. We are breaking the contract and undermining their morale if we send them to fight and die in foreign lands. NOT CANNON FODDER FOR STALIN NOR FOR CHURCHILL These men are in danger of being betrayed also from another equally important angle. They were not conscripted to fight for Stalin nor for Communism. They were not conscripted to fight for Churchill's war aims. They were conscripted to defend their own country. It is the duty of Congress to protect them in their rights. BRITISH GENERALS LOOK FOR ANOTHER A.E.F. The famous British generals, Wavell and Auchinleck, told Harold Denny, New York Times correspondent, that great American armies are going to be needed to defeat Hitler. "American manpower will be needed in this war as much as in the last," was General Auchinleck's frank statement. OUTPOST THEORY MEANS POLICING WORLD If the claim is made that the draftees must be held in order to man such remote outposts as Iceland and perhaps the Azores, with a view to defending America from across the ocean, one has only to examine this theory carefully to reject it. Carried to its logical outcome, this reasoning would require our Army to seize the Azores in order to protect the Atlantic and then seize Portugal in order to protect the Azores; our occupation of Iceland would lead to our establishment of bases in northern Ireland and Scotland to guard Iceland. To protect Alaska we should soon be seizing bases in Siberia. This is old-fashioned imperialism under a new name. Its logical end would be an attempt to police the whole world. Our draftees were not conscripted for any such purpose. KANSAS CITY, Mo., July 18, 1941. HON. ANDREW J. MAY, Chairman, House Military Affairs Committee, As commander in chief of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States I have just completed a tour that has taken me into all parts of the country. I am confident America's overseas veterans of our previous wars heartily endorse Chief of Staff General George C. Marshall's appeal for legislation that will retain our present armed forces intact. We believe it is absolutely necessary to maintain our present Army forces intact and to increase the present strength of the Army with additional personnel. We favor repeal of that portion of the selective service law which limits time and place of service for those men who have been and are being mobilized in our present national emergency. The men who compose our Regular Army, National Guard, and selective service units have been merged to create one great unified military force. Release of any of these men at this time will destroy our entire army structure, creating utter confusion and chaos in the attempt to build an efficient military organization. This disintegration of our Army will greatly imperil our national interests and security. Such action would be as foolhardy as complete demobilization and disarmament. If Congress permits destruction of the defense machine we have been building during this past year, we can be sure the axis powers will be encouraged to bolder attacks upon our national welfare. The American people have already indicated their willingness to make every necessary financial sacrifice for national defense purposes. I am convinced the people expect Congress to support the expert advice and recommendations of our military leaders. Commander in Chief JOSEPH C. MENENDEZ, Congressman ANDREW J. MAY, Washington, D. C. THE AMERICAN LEGION, EPH BOGGS POST, No. 49, INC., DEAR CONGRESSMAN: Attached hereto is a resolution adopted by our post on Tuesday, July 22, 1941. It is our unanimous opinion that the sentiments expressed in the resolution should be the policy of our Government during present emergency. We sincerely trust that you will concur with us and that you will support the legislation pertaining to this subject. With best wishes and kindest personal regards, I am Sincerely yours, S. P. GOODMAN, Commander Eph Boggs Post, No. 49, the American Legion. RESOLUTION Whereas due to the world-embracing aggression of the Axis Powers, whose belligerent campaign is rapidly encircling the democracies in Europe and threatening our own Government, a national emergency and crisis exists; and, Whereas under the Selective Service Act, limitations and restrictions relative to tenure of service are imposed on all selectees; and Whereas manufacture of implements and munitions of war has not kept pace with the number of men inducted into service and as a consequence, those men have not received the benefit of the military training to which they are entitled; and, Whereas the national crisis apparently becomes more acute from day to day and a substantial increase in the complement of the armies of the United States appears essential to the safety of our form of government, rather than a decrease that would be entailed by a dismissal from the service of selectees and National Guard men who have served their 1 year; now therefore be it Resolved by Eph Boggs Post, No. 49, Department of West Virginia, the American Legion, That members of the National Guard and particularly selectees up to the age of 28 years, who are now in the service of the United States, be kept in the Army so long as the present emergency exists or until they have received adequate training with proper equipment for actual combat; and, be it further Resolved, That additional enlisted men and selectees be inducted into service as rapidly as equipment and training facilities can be supplied and that the maximum manpower of the Army be left to the discretion of the Chief of Staff of the United States Army; and, be it further Resolved, That a copy of this resolution be forwarded to Senators Kilgore and Rosier, and Congressman Kee, of the State of West Virginia, Senators Barkley and Chandler, and Congressman May, of the State of Kentucky, and to G. Stanley Hamric adjutant of the Department of West Virginia, the American Legion, for publication in the West Virginia Legionnaire. |