CHEMICAL AND ENGINEERING
NEWS W A L T E R J. M U R P H Y , Editor
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Selective
JL RESIDENT TRUMAN has brought Selective Service to an end a n d while certain newspapers profess to be profoundly disturbed by the manner in which the President bas administered the coup de grace to the act, we fail to share that concern. Mr. T r u m a n in his messages appears to be somewhat contradictory. He makes out a reasonably good, case for continuing conscription, pointing o u t t b a t "the only assured way of maintaining t h e Army and Navy at their required strength during the fiscal year 1948 is to resort to Selective Service", b u t then advises that the act be permitted to lapse because there is a "reasonable expectation that better results may be obtained" from recruiting. For our part, we are glad t h a t he has requested the demise of Selective Service. Throughout the war and after, Ave have been highly critical of the maniier i n which the act has been administered. We believe t h a t if conscription is necessary as a peacetime precaution, a new approach should be taken. The Selective Service Act was written after World War I and was supposed to incorporate in it the lessons learned during that struggle. I t turned o u t to be an act more appropriate for the Spanish-American War era and most certainly did not prove very satisfactory in the technological age in which World War I I was fought. The act, defective though it surely was, might have proved reasonably satisfactory if those administering it had been bold enough to disregard public opinion. However, the question of why Mrs. Jones' son was drafted while Mrs. Smith's boy next door was deferred for occupational reasons was a tough one to explain to Mrs. Jones and understandably so. Admittedly the problem was a tough one and one with political implications. Those who were designated to administer the act were in a very unenviable position. We honestly believe that as the struggle progressed the W a r Department, as a result of the development and tremendously effective use of new weapons and equipment, recognized more clearly t h e role of the scientist and technologist in modern warfare. I n fact, Secretary of War Patterson has said, "I have not the slightest doubt that in the future the scientists will be fully as
Service potent a factor as the tradi clonal fighting forces in capacity for warfare. The national security will be largely in their keeping." B u t early in the war a pattern for Selective Service had been set, and it was difficult to revise the basic approach. Essentially Selective Service was supposed to be operated independently of the War Department. The latter disowned any responsibility for the actions of the former, yet a military man, a general, headed Selective Service and most, if not all, state directors had colonel or major handles to their names. Naturally the suspicion arose that Selective Service was under the domination of the military. It would have been more satisfactory if the high echelon in Selective Service had been civilians. The
AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY, believing
t h a t the special talents of chemists and chemical engineers were not utilized in the war effort as efficiently as possible, determined some time ago to poll its members on their wartime activities. Such a survey would not only report on past history but would provide background for the formulation of plans for more efficient use of scientific manpower in any future national emergency. We are delighted to report that when this proposal was brought to the attention of the War Department, it indicated great interest in the project. Indeed, it decided to ask all of the important scientific and engineering societies to fashion questionnaires after the one developed by the ACS • and to poll their members. A number of organizations have complied with the request and are now compiling data on the wartime activities of their members. Shortly the War Department and Congress will have a\ r ailable the most comprehensive survey of scientific and technical manpower ever made. More than 30,000 members of the ACS have returned their questionnaires, with more coming in daily. We understand t h a t the membership of our sister societies are responding in large numbers. In due course, the National Roster of Scientific and Specialized Personnel will issue the results of the survey and, with these facts at hand, we believe Congress will be in a position to enact a measure which will be a decided improvement over the present Selective Service act.
