Another Million?

To the load on the national economy that a total armed force of 11,100,000 will bring to the U.S., another generally unforeseen burden was added last week. Selective Service's Major General Lewis B. Hershey and Colonel Lewis Sanders hefted it for a Congressional Committee. Their prediction: to maintain itself at top strength, the U.S. will have to draft not 11,100,000, but 12,000,000. Reason: this year, at home and abroad, there will be 900,000 casualties.

The figure included more than the casualties of war, and admittedly it was speculative. The total of 400,000 set out for battle casualties could be nothing more than a guess. But the rest was based on statistics. About 500,000 will have to be discharged, some because they simply cannot stand up under military life, even in the U.S.

Psychoneurosis is the 1943 name for World War I's shell shock. But it goes much further. Psychoneurotics who have never heard a shot fired in anger are now being discharged from the Army (current strength: 5,500,000) at the rate of 1,000 a week. The Army's explanations: 1) lack of emotional elasticity in men who want to be unafraid but are driven to nervous crack-ups by uncontrollable subconscious fear; 2) soldiers' anxiety about their families; 3) their lack of ability to adjust themselves to Army regimentation; 4) inability to stand the physical rigors of military life.

Suicidal morbidity, distraction through fatigue, uncontrollable confusion or duodenal ulcers are effects most likely to develop during pre-battle training. Extreme neuroses--blindness, insanity, paralysis--usually occur only in combat.

For this loss there must be replacement, and some of it will come from the nation's family men. This week Selective Service opened another replacement pool. It rescinded its blanket deferment of men between 38 and 45, ordered them classified like younger men. Well knowing that these military oldsters are not suitable for frontline services, Selective Service may still use some for rear-area duty. Meanwhile it hoped that others would take to the farms, fill out another manpower gap.

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