Selective Service and the PhysicistG. H. B. and H. A. B. Citation: Journal of Applied Physics 13, 1 (1942); doi: 10.1063/1.1714795 View online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.1714795 View Table of Contents: http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/journal/jap/13/1?ver=pdfcov Published by the AIP Publishing Articles you may be interested in Selective Service Phys. Today 7, 24 (1954); 10.1063/1.3061732 Selective Service Policies Rev. Sci. Instrum. 13, 315 (1942); 10.1063/1.1770051 Physics and Selective Service Rev. Sci. Instrum. 13, 47 (1942); 10.1063/1.1769969 On the Physicist in the Government Service Am. J. Phys. 7, 157 (1939); 10.1119/1.1991426 Opportunities for the Physicist in the Government Service Am. J. Phys. 7, 148 (1939); 10.1119/1.1991424

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Volume 13

Journal of

Applied Physics January, 1942

Selective Service and the Physicist

Number 1

O N the basis of nation-wide reports, the general prac- from unnecessary 'interruptions by carrying out ... the tice of giving occupational deferment (Class II B) intent of ... (the) phrase which provides for the defer­

to physicists and to college students preparing in physics ment of those 'in preparation or training' for a necessary has become well established by local draft boards. This is occupation in an activity necessary to the national in­very noteworthy. While it is now well recognized that terest."1 And more specifically, regarding students, "If a physicists are engaged in a profession which is at the very local board determines that a particular student registrant heart of defense, this was not obvious in the early days of is in training to perform a function which the national the Selective Service System. Or rather it was obvious interest requires should be performed, and that at the only to a limited number of persons intimately familiar time such student will begin to perform that function there with the demands made of science by modern warfare. will be a shortage of persons qualified to perform such Thus the establishment of this nearly universally accepted function, it should defer such student."2 policy speaks well for the judgment of those making up - The problem with which the local boards are faced is the Boards. They can now feel that their judgment IS that of knowing which are the "necessary fields of activi­confirmed as being in the best interests of the nation. ties," and those in which a shortage of personnel.already

The basis for the deferment of certain individuals is exists or is imminent and whether an individual is already contained in Section 5 (c) of the Selective Service Act or will shortly become a "worker" in these fields. and in paragraphs 350-353 of the Regulations of the Se- Various memoranda,3 issued by General Hershey to lective Service System. While the deferment of any occu- State Directors, discuss this problem with respect to pational group, as such, is various fields. Such a memo-specifically forbidden, provi- randum, issuedApri122, 1941, sion is made for the deferment after discussing the results of

" T'HE erroneous argument has sometimes of "necessary men -and per- a survey made by the Bureau been advanced that the importance of sons in the process of becom- of Labor Statistics, com-

physics in modern war is a reason why ing, through training or prep- ments: "The following are " physicists should not be der~rred from aration, "necessary men. './' professional occupations in

Selective Service-that the Army needs This includes persons whose which authorities allege that a . . d them. This argument must be dismissed at inductIOn mto the arme ser- shortage will exist, but which

d h h once. It is true that the Army and Navy vices woul impede, t roug have not yet been studied by '1' need many physicists but they find it neces-inabl Ity to replace them or in the Bureau. However, there

h . I d f sary to select them by name for their par-ot er ways, natlOna e ense. is complete agreement ... The following excerpts from ticular special ability. They select them that the present and future

communications issuing from direct-not through the Selective Service demands of the national de-

S I . S . H d System. The National Roster of Scientific e ectlve erVlce ea quar- fense program for college . d' f h and Specialized Personnel in the Executive ters are m Icative 0 t e gen- trained scientific personnel

I . I d f Office of the President and other prores-era occupatlOna e erment '.I' will transcend the normal sup-I· '" sional agencies are giving abundant and po ICY. "",ny unnecessary ag- ply of graduating students.

gravation of existing short- competent help in staffing the armedforces .. . "3a The list which foliows f k · with physicists. Already well over 10 percent ages 0 necessary wor ers m includes physics among others.

d f . . . b of the entire profession is enlisted in or e ense actiVities can e pre- Later data completely d b . h working directly for the Army and Navy vente y carrymg out t e verify the existence of the

. f P h 352b f and a much greater number jor Govern-mtent 0 aragrap 0 "alleged" shortage of physi-h R I · "1 Al ment departments and bureaus conducting t e egu atlOns. . . . so, cists. For example, a list of

"Th . I' d . I' military research "or the armed "orces. e natlOna m ustna tram- J' J' "Occupations Important in. ing program can be protected the National Defense Program

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• . . in which it is Expected that the Demand Currently Exceeds or in the Immediate Future Will Exceed the Supply ... ,"1 issued by the Office of Production Manage­ment and circulated by the Selective Service System includes the occupation of Physicist. This alone provides a sufficient basis for the classification of physicists as "necessary men" but there is additional evidence from other sources.

The demand for physicists in national defense is iIIus­trated ,and a shortage is indicated by various statements and letters of the United States Civil Service Commission. For example, a letter dated September 26, 1941, and re­ceived by the American Institute of Physics (among others) includes the foIlowing:

"The number of Junior Physicists on the employment lists of the Commission is not sufficient to meet the needs of the government. . . . Attention is caIIed to the provi­sion for the acceptance of applications from senior students if otherwise qualified, who show that they expect to com­plete the required coIIege course. . . ."

A letter from the Commission dated September 17, 1941, and addressed to "Members of the Physics Profession" states in part "An examination has been announced by the Civil Service Commission to recruit technical and scientific aids for Various Government agencies. Men and women are needed to do research and testing in physics, chemistry, radio, explosives, fuels and metaIIurgy .... Study in physics is not only qualifying for the physics option, but may also be used for the assistant grade of the radio option."

In a relatively recent statement entitled, "Fields in which recruiting difficulties are anticipated," issued by the Civil Service Commission to "furnish educational insti­tutions information which will assist them in planning their work ... and in guiding students with proper aptitudes to those fields in which the Government is having particular difficulty in securing personnel . . .," a tabulation is presented showing "estimates of appoint­ments in a selected number of fields made during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1941, and estimates secured from defense agencies of their requirements ... " for the next two years.' Physics is included prominently in this tabula­tion and it is indicated that future needs are expected to be somewhat greater than those of the past year.

2

Another authoritative source of information, the Office of Scientific Personnel, established cooperatively by the National Research Council and the National Defense Re­search Committee, has very recently conclucted, with the assistance of the American, Institute of Physics, a study of the current degree of mobilization of physicists for national defense work. A report of the findings of this survey shows that a high proportion (as high as 73 percent of one group selected for analysis)5 of the fuIIy qualified physicists of the country are already engaged in defense work. "Such figures should be considered not only as revealing the extent to which physicists have been mobilized for defense, but also as emphasizing the blow to the American educa­tional system in which physics teachers are needed to train other physicists, and also to assist in the training of stu­dents of medicine, chemistry, and engineering." Certainly the high percentages of men already mobilized points to a dangerously low reserve of manpower in physics.

President James B. Conant, of Harvard, now Chairman of the National Defense Research Committee, has clearly indicated the place of physics in the present defense effort. Writing in a recent issue of the News Edition of the Journal of the American Chemical Society," he emphasizes the importance of chemists and chemical research in na­tional defense and then states that so far as the present state of matters in research is concerned, "This is a physicist's war rather than a chemist's. For the present, at least, there appear to be more investigations of a physical nature than there are chemical military problems."

I t is therefore highly evident that the interests of the nation have been best served by adherence to the policy of deferment of physicists and of students in training for this profession and that a continued foIIowing of this policy on the part of local boards is of vital importance.

1 Selective Service Circular Number 3, May 24, 1941.

G.H. B. H. A. B.

2 Selective Service System. Memorandum to All State Directors, 1-244. September 16. 1941.

3 Memoranda to All State Directors. particularly the following: 1-62. 1-135. 1-244. 1-247. and 1-256.

3. Memorandum. April 22. 1941. 1-62 . • Undated. referred to in Bulletin No. 17, American Council on

Education. Higher Education and National Defense. as having been sent to the presidents of all colleges and universities.

'Rev. Sci. Inst. 12.525 (1941). 6 News Itdition, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 19. 1237 (1941).

JOURNAL OF ApPLIED PHYSICS

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