TABLE F.-Percent distribution of principal causes for rejection at local boards and induction stations, April 1942-December 1942-Continental United States Continued

TABLE G.-Percent distribution of principal causes for rejection at local boards and induction stations, February 1943-December 1943-Continental United States

1 Local board rejection rates estimated for period September-December.

Includes registrants rejected for educational deficiency before June 1, 1943, and for failure to meet minimum intelligence standards after that date, as well as those rejected for mental deficiency.

AGE DISTRIBUTION OF REJECTED MEN

Rejection rates increase, as expected, with age. About one in four men 18-20 years of age are rejected, while over two in every three men 44-46 years of age are rejected. Among Negroes the comparable rates are two in five and four in five. (See fig. 3 and table H, below.)

PERCENT OF REJECTION BY AGE ...

TABLE H.-Local board and induction station rejection rates per 100 registrants examined, by age and race, September 1942 to June 1943-Continental United States

75.4

REJECTION RATES BY PLACE OF RESIDENCE

There always has been an interest in comparing rejection rates between urban and rural populations. The data for November and December 1943 indicate that the rejection rate in rural areas exceeds that for urban districts of 2,500 or more population. The difference is slightly more marked for Negroes than for white registrants. It is probable that this difference in the rejection rates for urban and rural communities is real. However, current information does not lend itself to a water-tight comparison of this sort, the reason being that such large numbers of rural populations are deferred under the provisions of the Tydings amendment that the sample of this group may be less representative of rural men than the urban sample is of city men.

Table I shows rejection rates in relation to urban and rural residence. shows the rates by race and State of residence

Table J

TABLE I.-Rejection rates per 100 registrants physically examined, in relation to place of residence November to December 1943.

Local board and induction station rejection rates per 100 registrants examined by race and State February 1943 through August 1943

1 Includes all races other than Negro.

States having less than 0.3 percent of total Negro registrants are omitted.

Local board and induction station rejection rates per 100 registrants examined by race and State February 1943 through August 1943-Continued

States having less than 0.3 percent of total Negro registrants are omitted.

PREPONDERANCE OF PSYCHIATRIC REJECTIONS

June 1, 1944, figures indicate that rejections for mental disease number 701,700 or 16.6 percent of those rejected; mental deficiency (including illiteracy) 582,100 or 13.8 percent; for neurological disorders, 214,800 or 5.1 percent; totaling in these categories, 1,498,600 or 35.3 percent of the grand total of the rejected registrants. The picture as a whole shows that of some 13,000,000 men examined, there are still approximately 4,000,000 rejectees, despite the lowering of standards and all the rehabilitation that has been carried on throughout the Nation. More than a third of the rejections are for neuropsychiatric reasons.

The question arises as to whether psychosomatic diseases should be included in this category. They are closely related in many instances at least. They represent the visceral expression of disease, functional or organic in nature, rather than nervous and mental diseases per se. Selective Service figures revealed an unusually high incidence of psychosomatic diseases in peacetime selection especially in the whites. The incidence of neurocirculatory asthenia was 6.7 times as great in the whites as for the Negroes, and for peptic ulcer, 10 times greater. The effect of war has greatly increased the incidence of psychosomatic diseases in the Negro who, in peacetime, appeared relatively immune. As a result, it can be stated that the psychosomatic disorders are appearing in increasing frequency in the Negro as well as in the white.

ASSOCIATION OF DEFECTS

While one defect may be sufficient cause for rejection, the number of registrants who may have more than one disqualifying defect is also of interest. Sample data are available for the month of December 1943, which indicates that 70.4 percent of all registrants have only one disqualifying defect. The figure for the white registrants is 73.2 and for Negroes 64 percent. Twenty-one and seventenths percent of all registrants had one other disqualifying defect and 7.9 percent had two other disqualifying defects. Registrants rejected for mental deficiency were most prone to secondary and tertiary associated defects while those registrants rejected for hernia were most likely to have no other defect. Eye and musculoskeletal defects accounted for a considerable part of all additional disqualifying defects recorded for rejected registrants. The proportion was slightly higher for white registrants than Negro. In the case of the latter syphilis is an important associated defect and in some instances may be the actual cause of the primary defect for which the registrant was rejected.

DEFECTS OF LIMITED-SERVICE REGISTRANTS

Data as of January 1, 1944, covered by this report indicate that about 2 percent of the inducted registrant's were acceptable for only limited service. Approximately three-fourths of these registrants had eye defects and about 1 in 10 had musculoskeletal defects. One and three-tenths percent of the registrants had hernias which were considered acceptable after the change in regulations MR 1-9 made by the War Department on November 11. Table L indicates the distribution of principal defects among registrants found acceptable for limited service and later inducted. The distribution of defects among those inducted and those still in class I-A-L, eligible for limited service, remains about the same.

TABLE J.-Percent distribution of principal defects of limited-service registrants November to December 1943

It would be extremely difficult to make an accurate estimate of the number of rejections for preventable or remediable defects. That this number is of large magnitude, there can be little doubt. It is felt that from 15 to 20 percent of men rejected for military service are rejected because of disqualifying defects which could have been easily remedied. At the present time, we are not ready to estimate the preventable defects.

The present IV-F pool amounts to 4,200,000 men. Conservatively, I would estimate that 700,000 of these men are rejected for remediable defects. This means 1 out of every 6 men in the present rejected pool.

But when it is recalled that the Army claims to have accepted 1,500,000 men who would have been rejectable by the higher physical standards of peacetime, it can be seen that this number, added to 700,000, would mean a remediable pool of 2,200,000, of which 1,000,000 were dental cases and another 300,000 were illiterates. (See fig. 4, p. 1647.)

This means that one out of every six men examined (whether accepted or rejected) had a remediable medical, dental, or educational defect which, if remedied, would have qualified them for general military service under peacetime standards, These standards are admittedly higher than have been demanded in civilian life.

REHABILITATION

Appreciating early the significance and deep danger for the Nation faced with the appalling rejection of 50 percent of the first 2,000,000 men examined, the President formulated, in October 1941, a national plan of rehabilitation to be carried out under the auspices of Selective Service. This venture and subsequent experience of Selective Service in the pilot testing of these plans in Maryland and Virginia was discussed before this meeting in the statements of Major General Hershey and the dental aspects will be discussed by Capt. C. R. Wells, United States Navy.

Despite the fact that the plan was abandoned by Selective Service, many isolated and sporadic attempts at rehabilitation have been carried on throughout the intervening years. The best State plan is probably that of New Jersey. Whereas rehabilitation for industry has been carried on since the last war, five rehabilitation centers have been established within the State and their service has been made available to registrants. Rejectees have been interviewed at the time of rejection and talked to a representative of this rehabilitation commission. As a result, those rejectees really wishing rehabilitation have had this service made available to them within New Jersey.