Conant Fights Action On Peacetime Draft

Twelve leading American educators have sharply attacked premature consideration of compulsory military training, in an open letter to President Roosevelt made public this week. Headed by President Conant, Princeton's President Harold W. Dodds, and Robert Maynard Hutchins of the University of Chicago, the group contended that "military training offers no real solution to national problems of education, health, or responsible citizenship in a free society."

In a strong stand on the highly controversial issue of the universal peacetime manpower conscription which has been urged by the President and powerful pressure groups throughout the country during the past several months, the letter voiced an emphatic disapproval of "the control of even a year's education of young men by the federal government."

"We have heard no argument which convinces us of the necessity for action at this time," the letter stated. "A continuing program of public education as to the requirements of national defense is certainly in order; but we challenge the necessity of urging the American people to act under ... the stress of war ... to bring them to a decision which, it is said, they would not reach under more normal conditions.

"We suggest that experience with the Prohibition Amendment indicates the unwisdom of attempting to determine long-range revolutionary policies in wartime. In our judgment, present commitment of the nation to a year of military service is unwise for the following reasons:

"1. The proposal is not related to successful prosecution of the war; it is for peacetime conscription. Under the Selective Service Act, which can be continued, present personnel needs of the armed forces can be met as far as the nation's resources of manpower permit. The question under discussion is exclusively peacetime conscription.

"2. The adoption of peacetime conscription would be a revolutionary change in fundamental American policies; to effect such a change ... under the emotional pressures of war ... is unwise. It is alleged in some quarters that unless Congress acts ... now ... compulsory military training will never be adopted. This rests on a distrust of the capacity of the American people which we do not share. It is to imply that the American people cannot arrive at a wise decision on a great issue through the democratic processes after a cool and deliberate debate."

The petition warns that "if compulsory military training is enacted under war conditions and proves to be unwise, the resulting reaction will seriously jeopardize an informed and intelligent defense program for the United States in the postwar world."

"3. The basic issue is not compulsory military training, but adequate national defense; peacetime conscription is only one element in a rounded defense program under modern military conditions. ... Adequate defense under conditions of modern war involves... a satisfactory scheme for basic scientific development and the training of personnel for this development. It also calls for a carefully integrated plan for organization of our industry for military eventualities....

"4. Clearly no one can now foresee the international situation when the war is over; it is therefore impossible to determine intelligently the extent of defense measures which will be needed...."

Striking out at what many leaders of opinion have considered the most vital aspect of the entire situation--the psychological dangers of preparing for combat while laying the groundwork for lasting peace--the letter continues in a note of realistic idealism.

"5. The American people are fighting this war with high hope it will eventuate in an enduring peace. We all look for measures of international cooperation which will reduce the necessity for large-scale postwar military establishments. If Congress should now prescribe a year of compulsory military training, the action together with the necessary accompanying measures for mobilizing industry and science would be interpreted as meaning that we must continue, to live for an indefinite period in an armed camp.

"6. The decision on peacetime conscription should be taken strictly on the basis of military requirements after the war.