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Show lARMY 10 MUSTER ! OUT SEVEN MILLION More than 3,000,000 Will be Out by Xmas Secretary of War Robert P. J Patterson revealed today that imore than 3.000,000 of the 8,000,- 000 soldiers in service on VE day j will be discharged by Christmas, i and by next July only 1.000.000 i of the wartime army will still be i in uniform. This means that six out or ev-I ev-I ery seven V-E day veterans now in the army will be discharged by I next July 1, he told a press con-- con-- faience. He met newsmen shortly 'after taking the oath, succeeding Henry L. Stimson, who retired j last week. By late July, 1946, he said, the army's total strength will be down to 1,630,000 or less. The -draft and voluntary enlistments will provide the additional men. The army is counting on 50,000 draftees draft-ees and 30,000 . volunteers per month. Promising to release men as fast as possible, he also reported that the army's discharge rate has reached 26,000 a day; that mora than 1.000,000 men have been released since V-E day, and that more than 2,000,000 others will be discharged by Christmas. His forecast of future strength was the lowest yet given. The White House said this week that 1,950,000 was the goal for next July 1. Patterson pointed out that this figure Included 320.000 men who w'ould be in the process of discharge. Even on the basis of 1 present estimates, he said, the total force will be only 1,630,000 a few weeks after July 1. The latest navy forecast came this week from Vice Admiral Louis E. Denfeld, chief of navy personnel. He said that 88.155 navy men had been discharged through September 21, and that an additional 750,000 will be mustered mus-tered out by Christmas. The navy's strength will be cut to 550,000 officers and men- by next September 1. Patterson appealed for continuation continu-ation of selective service as a matter of justice to the men who fought the war. "If selective service should be abandoned at once," he said, "the people should face the fact that it- would mean that a large number num-ber of men who have seen hard service and are now scheduled to be released will be retained for the benefit of men who have not served at all." The army will do its best to get volunteers, he said, but it does not believe it can get enough : to do the job alone. He promised that demoboliza-tion demoboliza-tion will proceed as rapidly as possible, regardless of the army's future size. That will not be a determining factor until next April when a decision is to be made on peacetime strength, he said. "We will not keep men in the I service, to give jobs or ranks to I higher officers, or because we want a large army, or because of any long-range policy for the military establishment," he added. He warned, however, that I enough military strength must be : kept to win the peace. |