THE CLOCK NEEDS WINDING

The immediate effect of sending service men to college for two, three, or four years, however, will be to deprive the nation of an important part of its effective fighting strength. The services have been given a free hand in establishing whatever college training they prefer, but one service cannot alone decide whether these men will best serve their country by entering the firing-line now or later. Conscious of its own needs and ignorant of the manpower situation as a national problem, neither the Navy nor any other branch can be allowed to draw off into cold storage vital men until all its own goals and desires are amply satisfied.

Like everything else in the wartime economy, college manpower is a shortage commodity which must be carefully rationed and allocated, and can no longer be handled in a free-for-all, grab bag fashion. But mere numbers are only part of the problem; physical and mental standards are equally vital in the equitable distribution of what the forces regard as the prospective officer pool. Here, where the most careful control is required, the greatest individual choice and one-sided competition are rampant.

To men with a high-school diploma and the proper physical requirements, the Navy and Marines offer several years of liberal education and a sure chance to train for a commission. To these same men the Army offers only the draft and a limited chance for short technical courses or officer candidate training. Where the vast majority of the best officer material will go is only too obvious, and equally so is the effect of the discrepancy of programs on the achievement of a well-balanced American fighting force.

When the President issued his enlistment ban last December, an Army-Navy armistice seemed to have been finally reached, and the WMC talked glowingly of a single master plan for the colleges and an all-embracing, truly selective service. Today the Navy is again enlisting men under the guise of voluntary induction and the manpower clock has been turned back to Pearl Harbor days.