STATEMENT OF COL. F. V. KEESLING BEFORE SPECIAL SUBCOMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE DRAFT DEFERMENTS UNDER SELECTIVE SERVICE TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 1944 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SPECIAL SUBCOMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE DRAFT DEFERMENTS UNDER SELECTIVE SERVICE, The subcommittee met, at 2:15 p. m., pursuant to notice, Hon. John M. Costello presiding. Mr. COSTELLO (presiding). The committee will be in order. The purpose of calling a meeting of the committee today was so that we might obtain some additional information from Colonel Keesling in regard to the matter which we discussed in the hearing of the committee a few days ago. Particularly, we wanted to check upon the veterans' employment functions as well as induction functions of the Selective Service and the U. S. E. S. during the period following the termination of hostilities in Europe. The first matter I want to discuss with you is the matter of the employment functions. Last week we raised some questions in regard to the functions of the various agencies with regard to the employment of veterans. STATEMENT OF COL. FRANCIS V. KEESLING, JR., CHIEF LIAISON AND LEGISLATIVE OFFICER, SELECTIVE SERVICE SYSTEM Colonel KEESLING. The Wagner-Peyser Act, Public Law 30, Seventy-third Congress, created the United States Employment Service in the Department of Labor and provided for it to absorb the employment service previously existing in the Department of Labor. The Wagner-Peyser Act also provided for the establishment of a veteran's employment service within the United States Employment Service. Under the Reorganization Act of 1939, Public Law 19, Seventysixth Congress, and under Reorganization Plan No. I, the United States Employment Service was consolidated with the unemployment compensation functions of the Social Security Board. By way of a telegram from the President, dated December 19, 1941, followed by Executive Order No. 8990, dated December 23, 1941, the United States Employment Service was federalized for the duration. Under supplemental Executive Order No. 9247, dated Sepatember 17, 1942, the United States Employment Service was transferred to 1 the War Manpower Commission together with the veterans' employment functions that were contained in it as the result of the WagnerPeyser Act. The functions of the Selective Service System in the field of veterans' employment were first created under section 8 of the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, which conferred upon the veterans certain rights to restoration to former jobs as well as certain reemployment benefits. In addition, one of the provisions of section 8 (g) gave specific authority and responsibility to the Director of Selective Service with respect to assisting the veteran in getting his former job or a new job, and for the record I believe it would be advisable to read that section to you, 8 (g). [Reading:] The Director of Selective Service herein provided for shall establish a Personnel Division with adequate facilities to render aid in the replacement in their former positions of, or in securing positions for, members of the reserve components of the land and naval forces of the United States who have satisfactorily completed any period of active duty, and persons who have satisfactorily completed any period of their training under this Act. Under that provision, section 8 (g), the Director of Selective Service established, almost at the outset, a division in national headquarters to undertake the responsibilities and the duties of that section. Also, State headquarters were given specific instructions and functions in this regard, as were also reemployment committeemen and local boards in the local jurisdictions. You are all familiar with the fact that there are many thousands of reemployment committeemen and local board members who are assisting the veterans free of charge under this procedure. Somewhere along the line under the provisions of section 10 (a) (4), which authorizes the use of other agencies, and by way of an agreement between General Hershey and Governor McNutt, arrangement was made whereby the United States Employment Service would be utilized by the Director of Selective Service in an endeavor to get new jobs for veterans, while Selective Service would concentrate on restoration of veterans in former jobs. This did not mean that the Director of Selective Service felt that he had removed himself from responsibilities under section 8 (g) to obtain new jobs for veterans. It merely meant that he was cooperating with existing Government agencies and utilizing them as far as possible. It is obvious that if the United States Employment Service should fall short and should not perform the job, if it did not have sufficient facilities in certain localities to assist the veteran, the situation must be met under section 8 by the Director of Selective Service. Mr. COSTELLO. The U. S. E. S. does not have offices everywhere in the United States? Colonel KEESLING. No, sir; they do not have. Wherever they have them and they can be used, we use them. Mr. COSTELLO. There would be many smaller communities in which the U. S. E. S. would not have an office, but there would be a selective service board. Colonel KEESLING. Yes. These thousands of reemployment committeemen and local board members who are assisting in this employment and reemployment program furnish their services free of charge, which is a great saving to the Nation, and a great many of these men, I understand, are very important men, and very well thought of and regarded in their communities. We expect many more of our local board members will feel responsibility toward the men they inducted and will desire to assist them to get their old jobs back or to get new jobs. Another step that came along after section 8 (g) of the Selective Service Act was Executive Order 9427 of February of this year under which the President established the Retraining and Reemployment Administration for the purpose of having various agencies participating in veterans' matters coordinate their activities. Subsequent to that Executive order, the G. I. bill was enacted on June 22, 1944. That act established a three-man board consisting of General Hines, General Hershey, and Governor McNutt. This board was to establish the policies. The act provides that these policies were to be carried out by General Hines through the United States Employment Service and the selective-service facilities established under section 8 (g). At the time the bill was in conference I inquired of the conferees whether the effect of the legislation in any way negatived any of the provisions of section 8 of the act, and they said, "No," it was proposed to get the heads of the three agencies together to determine policies and to get proper coordination, and then to utilize the existing agencies whether they be the United States Employment Service or the selective-service facilities as well as cooperating and coordinating with any State facilities that existed, because, as we have indicated before the governors of the States are very much interested in the veteran, and by proper cooperation and coordination everybody can be pitching in to try to help the veteran, and we certainly know that there is plenty of work to be done to accomplish the task. I am informed by General Hershey that there is the closest cooperation and coordination by and among the three agencies whose heads are on this G. I. veterans' employment board, and I feel certain that this coordination and cooperation will continue to exist not only among the Federal agencies, but also between the Federal and State agencies, for certainly the Governors of the States are interested and have some facilities which must be taken into account so that the veteran will be given the best possible opportunities for securing employment. As an example of the coordination which now exists between these three Federal agencies, recently Selective Service decided that the existing 40-day period in section 8 within which a veteran must apply for his former employment following discharge, should be extended to protect a veteran who was hospitalized immediately following discharge for more than 40 days. Legislation would be necessary to give effect to our decision in this regard. However, instead of submitting our recommended legislation directly to the Bureau of the Budget, we submitted it to General Hines for suggestions and his views. General Hines, in turn, checked with other interested parties and with Mr. Byrnes. Subsequently, after some modification, there was general agreement on the part of all concerned and we submitted the proposed legislation to the Bureau of the Budget. Just the end of last week we were informed by the Bureau of the Budget that the recommended legislation was not in conflict with the President's program and on Monday we transmitted the recommended legislation to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House. That legislation extends the initial 40-day period to 90 days and provides that the 90 days will run from discharge or will run from termination of hospitalization following discharge, provided that the hospitalization is not for a period longer than a year. That means a veteran who is discharged or released from the service and is immediately hospitalized for not longer than a year can have not only 40 days but 90 days if this legislation is enacted, whereas under the existing legislation if a veteran is hospitalized immediately following discharge for longer than 40 days but not longer than a year, and is, therefore, not physically qualified for a job during that time which is one of the conditions precedent for getting restored to a job he would not be covered, but under the new proposal he would be. Mr. COSTELLO. That was in keeping with the recommendations that were made last Tuesday when the committee met. Colonel KEESLING. Yes, sir; Mr. Costello, I believe that was in keeping with one of the points we discussed. The other point I think you may have in mind is the point that Mr. Elston brought up, and that was the W. M. C. 60-day provision within which a veteran may go and take any job he wants to take without being subject to the W. M. C. restrictions on controlled referrals or employment. General Hershey has already submitted the committee's views to the G. I. bill three-man policy board, that is, that the 60-day provision should be wiped out entirely, and that the veteran should be permitted to take any job he desires, or shift from job to job, as he sees fit. Mr. ELSTON. You say the time it begins to run is after the veteran has ceased to be hospitalized. What about the veteran who is not hospitalized, but who is incapable, because of physical disabilities, from performing any work. Colonel KEESLING. He is not covered now and would not be covered under this modification, because the conditions precedent in order to get restored into your former job are 1. The veteran must apply within 40 days after discharge; 2. He has to be qualified to perform his former job; 3. He has to have a certificate of satisfactory service while in the armed forces; and 4. It must not be unreasonable or impossible for the employer to grant him employment. If this man is physically incapacitated it might be that he would not meet the qualification test, or it might also be that, if his physical incapacity is such that he could still qualify to perform his work, he would be able to meet the test. It depends on the individual facts of each case. I believe that that covers the background, Mr. Chairman, on the veterans' employment facilities situation, and I believe that the outlook is very good for continued cooperation on the part of the members of the three-man board of the G. I. bill. There is one point I am not sure about, and that is the possible effect of the post-war reconversion legislation, and whether or not there will be anything in that which will grant authority to the Director of War Mobilization and Demobilization to formulate or coordinate policies of this G. I. bill three-man board. Mr. COSTELLO. There is one more matter I meant to question you about and that deals with this problem of demobilizing the men as the men return from the war theaters. I believe the matter has been pretty much discussed back and forth the last couple of days, in view of the statement which is attributed to General Hershey. I understand that he is supposed to have made a statement to the effect that we can keep people in the Army about as cheaply as we could create an agency for them when they are out. I would like to know if that statemen. was made by General Hershey, and, if it was made by General Hershey, if it was made prior to our meeting of last week, or subsequent to that meeting. Colonel KEESLING. That statement you refer to there was not made following the meeting of last week. That was made sometime in August when the general was going around the country meeting with some of the local boards and State directors. Mr. COSTELLO. In other words, the meeting we had last week, at which it was indicated that the men would be demobilized in orderly fashion, would supersede any statement that General Hershey might have made prior to that time. Colonel KEESLING. That is right, and I would like to go into a little bit more detail on that if I may, Mr. Chairman. Mr. COSTELLO. It was my understanding that at the time the statements were made before the committee last Tuesday the Army, the Navy, and Selective Service were in agreement as to the procedure they might endeavor to use in demobilizing the men. Colonel KEESLING. I understood that was the purpose of last Tuesday's meeting, namely, to have the Army and Navy in, who were primarily interested in demobilization and who have paramount authority with respect to who is to be demobilized, and at what times they are to be demobilized, and in what numbers they are to be demobilized, and, also, to have Selective Service there in view of its interest by reason of its veterans' employment responsibilities. Mr. HARNESS. May I ask a question there. General Hershey has been sitting in with the Army and Navy in formulating these plans for demobilization, has he not? Colonel KEESLING. Yes. Mr. HARNESS. And they have been working on that for several months, have they not? Colonel KEESLING. Longer than that. Mr. HARNESS. It was after they started these plans for demobilization that he made that statement out in Denver, was it not? Colonel KEESLING. I recall that General Tompkins had stated that the plans had been under consideration for some time. Now, just when the general entered into the picture personally in connection with the plans I do not know. I know that the Selective Service, the Army, and the Navy have, necessarily, been working together on it. The Selective Service has a definite interest in demobilization, and the rate of demobilization. There is no question about that because of our responsibilities to get jobs for veterans and hence our interest in the time, place, and rate of demo bilization. We called the attention of the Army and Navy, and will continue to do so, to certain possible pitfalls that may come into the picture which might adversely affect the veteran and our operations. 63486-44-2 |