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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 8, 1958)
MAIL TRIBUNE, McdforJ, Ortgen, WeJntsJay, OcfcUr 8, 1 Far-Reaching Changes May Be iVOade En EDraft and Reserve Training Laws By LOUIS CASSELS UPI Correspondent Washington-flTD-Arithmetic and pubilc opinion may lead Congress to make far-reach- 1 W'fc r I ml changes - next year in the nation's draft and re serve training laws. Unless the world situa tion takes a turn for the I worse, these iouis (Jassei changes are likely to be in the direction of easing the military obliga tion which now hangs over the heads of millions of young men between the ages of I8V2 and 26. The draft and reserve laws are due to expire on June 30, 1959. This means they will automatically come up for re view soon after the new Con gress meets in January. While a simple extension of the pres ent laws is possible, there are at least two good reasons for believing that Congress will favor substantial revisions. The first reason is simple arithmetic, which shows that the population of draft-age youths is growing steadily while the manpower require ments of the armed forces have declined. In 1955, when the present draft and reserve laws were enacted, the number of youths reaching the threshhold age of I8V2 totalled about 1,100, 000 a year. Now the postwar baby boom is beginning to be reflected in the late-teen age groups. Next year more than 1,200,000 youths will reach the age of 18V. In 1960, the figure will rise to 1,300,000. And by 1965, it will jump to nearly 2,000,000 a year. Emphasis on Mobility The armed forces mean while are putting more em phasis on mobility and atomic firepower, r less emphasis on sheer numbers of men in uni form, in 1955, the armed forces took in about 600,000 civilian youths through vol untary enlistments, reserve call-ups and the draft, to maintain their strength at the authorized level of 2,600,000 men. In 1958, the figure is fewer than 450,000. Congress knew when it en acted the 1955 laws that the number of youths entering the draft-age pool each year would be substantially larger than the number drawn out of it for active service. But it assumed that up to 250,000 youths a year would enroll for the special six-months re serve training course provid ed as an altenative to the draft. This drain-off from the manpower pool, when added to the number of youths dis qualified for military service, was supposed to bring the manpower situation roughly into "balance." If these assumptions had been borne out jn fact, the 1955 laws would have been truly "universal" in the sense that every qualified youth would sooner or later have seen military service. But the assumptions have not been borne out. Because of budget limitations which Congress itself imposed on the size of ready reserve units drawing drill pay, the armed forces have never taken more than 100,000 youths a year into the six-months training course. This year, they are taking in only about 50,000. and deferment policies have taken up some of the slack. Fathers are, forall practical purposes, draft-proof, and de ferments are granted to those who wish to continue their education, provided they are making a satisfactory school record. In theory, anyone who gets a deferment remains draft liable until he reaches his 35th birthday. But by execu tive order, no one over 26 may be called until all the younger eligibles have been taken. How many youths are es caping military service alto gether under these laws and regulations? It i virtually im possible to arrive at a specific figure because Selective .Ser vice records are not set up to answer that particular question. But a study by the of Harvard, both of whom ar gue that the right way to fill military manpower needs in peacetime is to raise military pay to the point where it will Ford Foundation's Fund for (attract enough career volun- the Kepublic concluded thatjteers. exemptions and deferments "have been so greatly inflated that more than one half of all young men will never see any military service under the present application of laws." And this brings up the sec ond reason why Congress is likely to consider a major overhaul o f draft - reserve laws. Public opinion is begin ning to react against a peace time conscription system which many people regard as blatantly unfair. What alternatives will Con gress consider? Obvious Possibility Abolishing the draft out right is one possibility. It is supported by such prominent persons as Ralph J. Cordiner, president of General Electric Co., and Prof. J. K. Galbraith But any such proposal will run into stiff opposition from defense officials. They con tend that the draft is needed, not only for the 120,000 in- the ductees it brings in each year, but also for the much larger number of youths who en list volutarily. Another solution would be to return to the 1940 draft aw, under which men were "Selected" for service by lot. Supporters of this idea say that if only one youth out of two is actually needed for ser vice, it would be fairer to FASCINATING WORK London -(UPD- An advertise ment in the personal column of The Times today offered "m eager pay, fascinating work." It was seeking a choir master for Wormwood Scrubs prison. make the choice by lot that to maintain the present system under which service is sup posedly "universal" but ac tually is universal only for those who can't find a way of ducking it. Backers in Pentagon A third plan, which has some backers in the Pentagon', is to adopt the system used in many European countries. A youth becomes eligible for military service at a certain age say 18 and remains liable for call for a fixed per iod of one or two years. If he isn't chosen for service during that time (by lot or otherwise), he is henceforth exempt. A fourth alternative is to make national service truly universal. Every youth, ex cept the comparitively few who are grossly handicapped physically or mentally, would be inducted as soon as he reached the prescribed age and would be assigned to some kind of training or ser vice for a period of, say, one year. If a youth were not physically capable of combat infantry training, he might be used to type records. One who could not read the instructions in a training manual might still be very useful In the mess hall. We Giv. GREEN STAMPS CENTRAL REXALL DRUG Main and Central my COUGH is GONE! How About Yours ? For fast relief of coughs following colds or flu do as I did. Take Creomulsion Cough Syrup at once. 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White or light grey, random fleece lined sweat shirts. All sizes. $1.00 Ladies' Car Goals Water repellent poplin car coats. ... Warm, quilted linings, large shawl col lars. Sizes 12 to 18, in black, red, and beige. Brushed Rayon Suitings $1.98 Yd. Value 45 inch width brushed rayon suitings. Looks like wool. New fall patterns. Very special for this sale only ooc $irv5 Jf.lft and IV 99 Yd. Orion Mix Blankets $7.95 Value Washable orlon mix blankets with as sorted floral design. Sizes 72 x 84 $ 5.00 Athletic Sox 59c Value White Athletic Sox. English rib knit tops. Thick and absorbent. Sizes 10, 11, and 12. 21.00 Boys' Sweat Shirts Size 6 to 16 Fleece lined round neck sweat shirts. Comes in red, white, yellow, and blue. Warm and washable. Dacron Mix Half Slips $2.49 Value White dacron and cotton mix Vz slips. Fancy, lace trimmed bottoms. Sizes small, medium, and large. $ 2.00 Nylon and Cotton Bras White nylon and cotton bras. Famous name brand. Sizes 32 to 38. In A and B cup size. 1.00 Ladies' Plisse Crepe Pajamas $2.98 Value Fancy printed patterns or plain colors in washable cotton plisse crepe pajamas. No ironing required. 2.00 Corduroy Yardage $1.19 Yd. Value Fine quality pinwale corduroy yardage. Ten assorted colors. 36 Inches Wide 89 Yd. Part Wool Boot Sox 59c Value For 12" or higher. Part wool boot sox. Medium grey random color. Regular standard foot size. 2 Pair $1. 00 98 Boys' White Tee Shirts 59c Value White, short sleeve cotton Tee shirts. Sizes 6, 8, and 10 only. Take them away. '21.00 Red Hunting Hals $1.49 Value A very special buy. Red felt hunting hats. Sizes 6 to IVz. Buy now for only 1.00 Plaid Flannel Shirts $2.98 Value Warm, washable flannel shirts. Beau tiful new fall plaids. All sizes. A red hot special. 1.99 BEDSPREADS $5.95 Value Heavy woven cotton Bates type bed spreads, or wavy baby chenille type bedspreads. Mostly double bed size. $ 3.00 Woolen Yardage Val. to $3.98 Yd. Washable, 60 inches wide, woolen- yard age. Plain colors, plaids, and fancy tweedy mixes. Your choice 2yards$5.00 Ladies' Hand Bags $2.98 Value Closing out one group of handbags. As sorted styles and colors in plastic, calf, suedes and leathers. 2.00 plus tax Boys' Corduroy Pants $4.95 Value Heavy ; weight zipper fly corduroys. Sizes 6, 8, 10, and 12 only. Assorted colors. 4.00 White Handkerchiefs Full cut white cotton men's handker chiefs. Hemstitched edges. Buy your supply now for fall and winter. 10. 1.00 Men's Canvas Gloves 25c Value Red wrist canvas work gloves. Men's sizes. Very special at this low price. 5 '1.00 ' "Cannon" Pillow Cases 59c Value First quality, standard size Cannon brand pillow cases. Sizes 42x36. Spe cial at 21.00-. Printed Outing Flannel Val. to 49c Yd. Fancy new fall prints in 36-inch wide outing flannel. This is an exceptionally good buy. 3 $1.00 Ladies' Nylon Hose $1.35 Value Closing out some Famous Name brands, first quality nylon hose. Sheer 60 gauge, 15 denier. Assorted sizes and colors. 1.00 Boys' Striped Tee Shirts $1.25 Value Only sizes 6 and 12. Fancy stripes, round neck, short sleeve models. Your choice $ 1.00 Men's Nylon Jackets Regular $5.95 AU nylon washable jackets. Lay back collar. Zip front. Comes in white, navy and light blue. $ 5.00 BOYS' CAR COATS Quilt lined car coats with hoods. Entirely washable. Comes in red or beige. Sizes 4 to 7... ..............4.79 Sizes 8 to 12.... ...5.95 5S7 fleas - CHILDREN'S HOUSE SLIPPERS $1.98 Values Closing out one group of boys' and girls' soft soled house slippers. Broken sizes 11 to 3 . . . Your m lk choice I iUU lJ
