OCR Text |
Show DEAR El... An Open Forum for readers of The Mdiovd Xews. Fetters of reasonable length will be published, but privileg-e of editing any and all letters is reserved. All letters must be signed, however names will be i withheld upon request. Dear Steve : I thought I might drop yon a note and state my1 ' views on the highly controversial draft deferment issue which you mentioned in your paper last week. There is, ., T think, much to be said for both sides of the issue, hut it ' seems to me that the people you quoted have failed to I mention one or two things which are important concerning" concern-ing" this issue. ? c'pfons and there are cases v ! n certan hardships at home would prevent people from attending college because of f nancial difficulty. To that extent the bill is unfair and ,nould be amended to provide financial assistance for those students who are financ ally unable un-able but have the mental ca-pacitv ca-pacitv and ambition to prove they "could render greater service serv-ice to their country through finishing college rather than going d.rectly into the armed forces. MAX G. ABBOTT. students who were in the upper half of their class in grades were not r'ch men's sons. Rather Rath-er they were, for the most part, students who had little or no help from home and were working work-ing their own way through j school. With the availability of ' part time work and scholarships most students who have the desire de-sire and the ambition can attend 1 college. I know there are ex- I " In the first place, and highly important, those students who are deferred to fin'sh college are nol being EXEMPTED from m litary service, but are, rather, being deferred as the ruling mplies. Immed ately upon completion com-pletion of their college training hey will go into the military :ervice whenever they will do the most good. The armed forces are convinced that'' these young people will be of more vlue to their country and to I the armed forces if they com-j com-j plete their college training fiist. Russia can throw into service i approximately two men for ! every one man we could muster and it is obvious therefore, that we can compete with Russia only if we are superior in tech-j tech-j nical advancement and training, not on a man for man basis. Opponents of the bill have called it a protector of the rich man's son. I doubt very much ii the facts will bear out this point of view. In the five years I spent in college most of the |