Government Officials Doubt Peace Corps Will Affect Draft

The Peace Corps plan proposed by President-elect John F. Kennedy will not seriously affect either the draft or ROTC, high members of the Government have told the CRIMSON.

A spokesman for Lt. Gen. Lewis B. Hershey, Director of the Selective Service System, said that the Corps would "put no strain" on the manpower pool. He said that Hershey had looked into the plan and observed that even 10,000 men would hardly cut into the number drafted each year.

The spokesman added that there are many deferment programs in effect under the Selective Service and pointed out that the Peace Corps would be relatively small in comparison with other programs.

No Problems for ROTC

Charles C. Finucane, Assistant Secretary of Defense, said that Kennedy's proposal would "absolutely not" cause any problems for the college ROTC programs. His view was similar to that held at Harvard by James T. Hennessy, professor of Military Science. Hennessy said that as far as he could see, ROTC enrollment would not suffer if the plan is put into effect.

The Peace Corps plan is presently being studied by a non-governmental committee, appointed by the International Cooperation Administration and financed by funds allocated in the Mutual Security Act of 1960. ICA officials expect the report to be completed by May at the latest.