On 6/13/06, Dan Scanlan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
A few years back I stumbled upon this list while searching for The Manpower Channelling Report, 10-page or so typed essay said to have been written by General Hershey of the Selective Service System. The essay was included in the orientation package mailed to new members of local draft boards. ... It was proof that the United States government was using the Selective Service System to manipulate ("social engineering" was its phrase) local societies. ..."Conspiracy" is a fair and accurate description of the government's use of the Selective Service System for something other than feeding fodder to its war machine. The System was also used to hammer neighborhoods into preferred demographics.
You don't explain what it was that the SS was doing here. The article from Ramparts appears at http://alamo.nmsu.edu/~nbrewer/brewchan.html. I reprinted it at the end. First of all, this was _not_ a conspiracy. To be a conspiracy, it has to be secret rather than given as part of an "Orientation Kit" openly distributed by the SS. Second, it's good to consider the social-science viewpoint on this (which I see as best done using the Marxian method). But first, some personal experience of my own. When I went to the draft board, I told them I had bad knees. No, they told me, don't apply for a 4-F (disability deferment). It's better to use your student deferment as long as you can (as I did, until I won the draft lottery). On the other hand, when I was in college (Yale), suddenly my roommate Ed received a draft notice. His draft board's attitude: no working-class kid from upstate New York should be in college. Luckily, the ACLU helped him. What was the difference? in a word, class. I was from a rich white district in the 'burbs of Chicago, while he was from a dirt-poor district. That's the social science approach: look at the _structure_ of society if you want to know what's going on. The ruling class rules society (even though it typically hires others to govern the state) so that most if not all institutions in society -- including the SS -- reflect its power. The SS system favored the rich -- and the richer you were, the more it favored you. (Of course, kids like John Kerry could look "gallant" by volunteering, while working-class kids usually didn't have that option.) Class inequality in the SS system hit those of racial minorities most strongly, though it also hit the "red neck" contingent of whites (e.g., my friend Ed) pretty hard. The specific political economy and system of government during the 1950s and 1960s also played a role. This was an era of the warfare/welfare state, run by big business in alliance with big government (with big labor as a junior partner), oriented (back then) toward building the domestic market in nationalist competition with other nation-states and acting (as now) as the imperialist hegemon. Fitting with this, it was also the era of liberal social engineering: build freeways (and thus suburbs), build big state schools (like Clark Cur's University of California), tear down ugly slums (urban renewal/negro removal), "fight poverty" (after the initial "mistake" of trying to empower the poor), etc. The SS "channelling" program was just one more element of this. In addition, the causation of this political economy of social engineering were not a one-way street (as in most conspiracy theories). The ACLU helped my friend resist the SS. The anti-war movement helped a lot of people, so that there was a "from below" element in the process, not just a matter of "top down" social engineering. Of course, in the end, having the political economy be a two-way street rather than the rule of the "benevolent" technocrats couldn't last. The old political economy started falling apart in the late 1960s, to be replaced by neo-liberalism in the late 1970s. -------------------- "Channeling" is one of ten documents in an "Orientation Kit" put out by the Selective Service. It was issued in July 1965 and has recently been withdrawn. The following are excerpts from that document. [start quote] One of the major products of the Selective service classification process is the channeling of manpower into many endeavors, occupations and activities that are in the national interest.... The line dividing the primary function of armed forces manpower procurement from the process of channeling manpower into civilian support is often finely drawn. The process of channeling by not taking men from certain activities who are otherwise liable for service, or by giving deferment to qualified men in certain occupations, is actual procurement by inducement of manpower for civilian activities which are manifestly in the national interest. While the best known purpose of Selective Service is to procure manpower for the armed forces, a variety of related processes take place outside delivery of manpower to the active armed forces. Many of these may be put under the heading of "channeling manpower." Many young men would not have pursued a higher education if there had not been a program of student deferment. Many young scientists, engineers, tool and die makers, and other possessors of scarce skills would not remain in their jobs in the defense effort if it were not for a program of occupational deferments. Even though the salary of a teacher has historically been meager, many young men remain in that job, seeking the reward of a deferment. The process of channeling manpower by deferment is entitled to much credit for the large number of graduate students in technical fields and for the fact that there is not a greater shortage of teachers, engineers and other scientists working in activities which are essential to the national interest.... The System has also induced needed people to remain in these professions and in industry engaged in defense activities or in the support of national health, safety or interest.... This was coupled with a growing public recognition that the complexities of future wars would diminish further the distinction between what constitutes military service in uniform and a comparable contribution to the national interest out of uniform. Wars have always been conducted in various ways, but appreciation of this fact and its relationship to preparation for war has never been so sharp in the public mind as it is now becoming. The meaning of the word "service," with its former restricted application to the armed forces, is certain to become widened much more in the future. This brings with it the ever increasing problem of how to control effectively the service of individuals who are not in the armed forces. In the Selective Service System the term "deferment" has been used millions of times to describe the method and means used to attract to the kind of service considered to be most important, the individuals who were not compelled to do it. The club of induction has been used to drive out of areas considered to be less important to the areas of greater importance in which deferments were given, the individuals who did not or could not participate in activities which were considered essential to the defense of the Nation. The Selective Service System anticipates further evolution in this area.... No group deferments are permitted. Deferments are granted, however, in a realistic atmosphere so that the fullest effect of channeling will be felt, rather than be terminated by military service at too early a time. Registrants and their employers are encouraged and required to make available to the classifying authorities detailed evidence as to the occupations and activities in which the registrants are engaged.... Since occupational deferments are granted for no more than one year at a time, a process of periodically receiving current information and repeated review assures that every deferred registrant continues to contribute to the overall national good. This reminds him of the basis for his deferment.... Patriotism is defined as "devotion to the welfare of one's country." It has been interpreted to mean many different things. Men have always been exhorted to do their duty. But what that duty is depends upon a variety of variables, most important being the nature of the threat to national welfare and the capacity and opportunity of the individual. Take, for example, the boy who saved the Netherlands by plugging the dike with his finger. At the time of the American Revolution the patriot was the so-called "embattled farmer" who joined General Washington to fight the British. The concept that patriotism is best exemplified by service in uniform has always been under some degree of challenge, but never to the extent that it is today, In today's complicated warfare, when the man in uniform may be suffering far less than the civilians at home, patriotism must be interpreted far more broadly than ever before. This is not a new thought, but it has had new emphasis since the development of nuclear and rocket warfare. Educators, scientists, engineers and their professional organizations, during the last ten years particularly, have been convincing the American public that for the mentally qualified man there is a special order of patriotism other than service in uniform--that for the man having the capacity, dedicated service as a civilian in such fields as engineering, the sciences and teaching constitute the ultimate in their expression of patriotism. A large segment of the American public has been convinced that this is true. It is in this atmosphere that the young man registers at age 18 and pressure begins to force his choice. He does not have the inhibitions that a philosophy of universal service in uniform would engender. The door is open for him as a student if capable in a skill badly needed by his nation. He has many choices and he is prodded to make a decision. The psychological effect of this circumstantial climate depends upon the individual, his sense of good citizenship, his love of country and its way of life. He can obtain a sense of well-being and satisfaction that he is doing as a civilian what will help his country most. This process encourages him to put forth his best effort and removes to some degree the stigma that has been attached to being out of uniform. In the less patriotic and more selfish individual it engenders a sense of fear, uncertainty and dissatisfaction which motivates him, nevertheless, in the same direction. He complains of the uncertainty which he must endure; he would like to be able to do as he pleases; he would appreciate a certain future with no prospect of military service or civilian contribution, but he complies.... Throughout his career as a student, the pressure--the threat of loss of deferment--continues. It continues with equal intensity after graduation. His local board requires periodic reports to find out what he is up to. He is impelled to pursue his skill rather than embark upon some less important enterprise and is encouraged to apply his skill in an essential activity in the national interest. The loss of deferred status is the consequence for the individual who has acquired the skill and either does not use it or uses it in a nonessential activity. The psychology of granting wide choice under pressure to take action is the American or indirect way of achieving what is done by direction in foreign countries where choice is not permitted. Here, choice is limited but not denied, and it is fundamental that an individual generally applies himself better to something he has decided to do rather than something he has been told to do. The effects of channeling are manifested among student physicians. They are deferred to complete their education through school and internship. This permits them to serve in the armed forces in their skills rather than in an unskilled capacity as enlisted men. The device of pressurized guidance, or channeling, is employed on Standby Reservists of which more than 2-1/2 million have been referred by all services for availability determinations. The appeal to the Reservist who knows he is subject to recall to active duty unless he is determined to be unavailable is virtually identical to that extended to other registrants. The psychological impact of being rejected for service in uniform is severe. The earlier this occurs in a young man's life, the sooner the beneficial effects of pressured motivation by the Selective Service System are lost. He is labeled unwanted. His patriotism is not desired. Once the label of "rejectee" is upon him all efforts at guidance by persuasion are futile. If he attempts to enlist at 17 or 18 and is rejected, then he receives virtually none of the impulsion the system is capable of giving him. If he makes no effort to enlist and as a result is not rejected until delivered for examination by the Selective Service System at about age 23, he has felt some of the pressure but thereafter is a free agent. This contributed to establishment of a new classification of I-Y (registrant qualified for military service only in time of war or national emergency). That classification reminds the registrant of his ultimate qualification to serve and preserves some of the benefit of what we call channeling. Without it or any other similar method of categorizing men in degrees of acceptability, men rejected for military service would be left with the understanding that they are unfit to defend their country, even in wartime. An unprejudiced choice between alternative routes in civilian skills can be offered only by an agency which is not a user of manpower and is, therefore, not a competitor. In the absence of such an agency, bright young men would be importuned with bounties and pirated like potential college football players until eventually a system of arbitration would have to be established. From the individual's viewpoint, he is standing in a room which has been made uncomfortably warm. Several doors are open, but they all lead to various forms of recognized, patriotic service to the Nation. Some accept the alternatives gladly--some with reluctance. The consequence is approximately the same. The so-called Doctor Draft was set up during the Korean episode to insure sufficient physicians, dentists and veterinarians in the armed forces as officers. The objective of that law was to exert sufficient pressure to furnish an incentive for application for commission. However, the indirect effect was to induce many physicians, dentists and veterinarians to specialize in areas of medical personnel shortages and to seek outlets for their skills in areas of greatest demand and national need rather than of greatest financial return. Selective Service processes do not compel people by edict as in foreign systems to enter pursuits having to do with essentiality and progress. They go because they know that by going they will be deferred. The application of direct methods to effect the policy of every man doing his duty in support of national interest involves considerably more capacity than the current use of indirection as a method of allocation of personnel. The problem, however, of what is every man's duty when each individual case is approached is not simple. The question of whether he can do one duty better than another is a problem of considerable proportions and the complications of logistics in attempting to control parts of an operation without controlling all of it (in other words, to control allocation of personnel without controlling where people eat, where they live and how they are to be transported), adds to the administrative difficulties of direct administration. The organization necessary to make the decisions even poor decision, would, of necessity, extract a large segment of population from productive work. If the members of the organization are conceived to be reasonably qualified to exercise judgment and control over skilled personnel, the impact of their withdrawal from war production work would be severe. The number of decisions would extend into billions. Deciding what people should do, rather than letting them do something of national importance of their own choosing, introduces many problems that are at least partially avoided when indirect methods, the kind currently invoked by the Selective Service System, are used. Delivery of manpower for induction, the process of providing a few thousand men with transportation to a reception center, is not much of an administrative or financial challenge. It is in dealing with the other millions of registrants that the System is heavily occupied, developing more effective human beings in the national interest. If there is to be any survival after disaster, it will take people, and not machines to restore the Nation. July, 1965 [end quote] -- Jim Devine / "Mathematics has given economics rigor, but alas, also mortis" -- Robert Heilbroner.
