HEARING BEFORE A SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON MILITARY AFFAIRS. UNITED STATES SENATE SEVENTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION ON S. 763 A BILL EXEMPTING CERTAIN MARRIED MEN WHO 86147 MAY 5, 1943 Printed for the use of the Committee on Military Affairs UNITED STATES WASHINGTON: 1943 COMMITTEE ON MILITARY AFFAIRS ROBERT R. REYNOLDS, North Carolina, Chairman ELBERT D. THOMAS, Utah WARREN R. AUSTIN, Vermont HENRY CABOT LODGE, JR., Massachusetts WESLEY E. MCDONALD, Clerk SUBCOMMITTEE ROBERT R. REYNOLDS, North Carolina, Chairman ELBERT D. THOMAS, Utah UNITED STATES OF AMERICA MARRIED MEN EXEMPTION WEDNESDAY, MAY 5, 1943 UNITED STATES SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON MILITARY AFFAIRS, Washington, D. C. The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 10:30 a. m., in the committee room of the Committee on Military Affairs, United States Capitol, Senator Robert R. Reynolds (chairman) presiding. Present: Senators Reynolds and Austin. Also present: Lt. Col. Francis V. Keesling, Jr., Chief Liaison and Legislative Officer, Selective Service System, and Capt. Roger A. Pfaff, Selective Service System. The CHAIRMAN. This is a meeting of a subcommittee of the Military Affairs Committee to consider S. 763, a bill exempting certain married men who have children from liability under the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, as amended. We have a report from the War Department and another from the Secretary of the Navy, which together with the bill, we will insert in the record at this point. (S. 763 and the reports referred to are as follows:) [S. 763, 78th Cong., 1st sess.] A BILL Exempting certain married men who have children from liability under the Selective' Training and Service Act of 1940, as amended Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 5 of the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, as amended, is hereby amended by adding at the end thereof the following new subsection: "(m) Every registrant who was married prior to December 8, 1941, who has maintained a bona fide family relationship with his family since that date, and who has a child or children under 18 years of age shall be exempt from training and service under this Act." Hon. ROBERT R. REYNOLDS, Chairman, Committee on Military Affairs, WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington, April 20, 1943. United States Senate. DEAR SENATOR REYNOLDS: The War Department is opposed to the enactment of S. 763, Seventy-eighth Congress, a bill exempting certain married men who have children from liability under the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, as amended. This bill, if enacted, would provide a mandatory blanket exemption from training and service in the land or naval forces for every registrant under the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, as amended, who was married prior to December 8, 1941, has maintained a bona fide family relationship with his family since that date, and has a child or children under 18 years of age. The War Department is advised by the national headquarters of the Se'ective Service System that as of January 1, 1943, more than 8,000,000 registrants, from 18 through 37 years of age, were classified and placed in the deferment category of III-A, and that more than 6,000,000 of such number were put in class III-A because they have one or more children under the age of 18 years. The proposed legislation, therefore, presents the simple issue whether the war effort can suffer without serious impairment the withdrawal of 6,000,000 men who are eligible for training and service from the national pool of manpower. Plainly, it cannot. Great opportunities are now developing for us to end the war as quickly as possible. In order that we may take complete advantage of these opportunities it is essential that the carefully planned and coordinated program of raising and training an army composed of our best equipped fighting men be not impeded. It is manifest that this bill would greatly limit the source of necessary men available for this purpose and would dangerously affect our ultimate victory. No legislation is needed to impress upon the War Department the importance of preserving the institution of the American home. It ranks first and foremost in the American way of life that this war is being fought to preserve. That men must be subjected to great hardship for that ideal is unfortunate, but the war in which we are engaged cannot be won in any easy manner and without much trouble and sacrifice. So far as has been possible, the family has been spared. That policy should continue to be followed. However, the War Department does not believe that any exemption from the inevitable share of the family in this great burden is expected or sought. The War Department believes that the most equitable manner of determining the obligation for service in the armed forces for individuals with families is provided by existing law. Section 5 (e) (1) of the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, as amended, authorizes the deferment of men who have wives or children or wives and children with whom they maintain a bona fide family relationship in their homes, but specifically provides that no deferment shall be made in the case of any individual except upon the basis of the status of the individual. Of the more than 6,000,000 persons who would be exempt from service in the land or naval forces under the provisions of S. 763, there are undoubtedly many with families, including minor children, who are well able to serve their country without inflicting an undue financial burden upon their families. It is evident that a total exemption of such individuals would be unjustified. For the foregoing reasons the War Department recommends that S. 763 be not enacted into law. The Bureau of the Budget advises that there is no objection to the submission of this report. Sincerely yours, (Signed) HENRY L. STIMSON, Secretary of War. Hon. ROBERT R. REYNOLDS, THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY, Chairman, Committee on Military Affairs, United States Senate. MY DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The bill S. 763 exempting certain married men who have children from liability under the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, as amended, was referred to the Navy Department by your committee with request for views relative thereto. The general purpose of this bill is indicated in its title. The bill amends section 5 of the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, as amended, by adding at the end thereof the following new subsection: (m) Every registrant who was married prior to December 8, 1941, who has maintained a bona fide family relationship with his family since that date, and who has a child or children under eighteen years of age shall be exempt from training and service under this Act. It appears that the above new section should be added as section (1) instead of (m). Subsection (i), (j), (k) were added by the act of November 13, 1942, Public Law 772, Seventy-seventh Congress, and no new subsections have been added since that time. The exemption from selective service of men who have children under the age of 18 years would obviously reduce the field of procurement of manpower for the armed forces and would, in the end, result in lowering the standards considered necessary for the efficient operation of the services. Executive Order 9279 prohibited voluntary enlistments in the Navy and Marine Corps of men between the ages of 18 and 38, and required that the procurement of men between such ages for these services be through the Selective Service System. Considering further restrictions on the availability of manpower for the services, which are likely to be imposed in the interests of essential industry and agricultural employment, the Navy Department is of the opinion that the subject bill should not be enacted, and recommends accordingly. The Navy Department has been advised by the Bureau of the Budget that there would be no objection to the submission of this recommendation. Sincerely yours, FRANK KNOX. The CHAIRMAN. Senator Wheeler, you introduced this bill, and we will be glad to hear you on it. STATEMENT OF HON. BURTON K. WHEELER, UNITED STATES SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF MONTANA Senator WHEELER. Briefly, I will say this: I understood that Mr. Hoover had made a report on the situation that existed with reference to the youth of the country, and I called him and asked him if I could get a copy of his report. He said that he would send it to me, which he did. In that report he showed that crime had increased in the youth of the country as a result of the married women going to work in the defense plants and the breaking up of the homes by reason of the fathers being taken into the Army. Now, that seems to me to be an exceedingly important factor to take into consideration when we are considering the question of taking fathers into the Army. If it were necessary to take them, I would say: "Of course, take the fathers, take everybody in this country," but according to the figures furnished me by Senator Ed Johnson, who, I might say, gets me most of these figures, and which he said are correct, the air forces as of December 31, 1943, overseas would be 736,000; training, 1,131,000; defense of the United States, 112.000; internal ferry, 42,000; miscellaneous, 180,000, and supply, 190,000, or a total air force proposed for December 31, 1943, of 2,391,000. Our air forces, in other words, are estimated, by December 31, 1943, to equal the total of all Axis Powers. Now, the total United Nations air forces are estimated to be twice that of the total of the Axis Powers. Senator AUSTIN. Excuse me. What figure do you have for the overseas? |