National Affairs: 20,000 Men a Month

By the end of October, 100,000 draftees will have been called since war flared up in Korea. Last week Major General Lewis B. Hershey, head of the draft, said he would need 50,000 more men in November—and he was "just warming up."

True, he was nearing the end of his budget—the Army had the money to pay for 185,000 draftees during the fiscal year, and he was only 35,000 short of that figure. But Congress would have to expand the draft; he didn't think, he testified, that the Army would try "to get by with anywhere near as low" a figure. The 185,000-man ceiling, he added, "actually doesn't mean anything, as I see it, because we have been talking right along in terms of 20,000 men a month."

Draftees can be drawn from the ages 19 to 25, but Selective Service men, beginning from the top, were already down to the 24-and 23-year-olds. Married men—now generally deferred for what amounts to a year—may "eventually" be called, too, said officials, after Congress passes a dependency bill which both Houses are now working on.

Congress last week ended the privilege of 18-year-olds to enlist for a year; now they must sign up for two years or wait for the draft.