University of Virginia Library

In New Book

Grad Students Present
Alternatives To Draft

By Rod MacDonald
Daily Staff Writer

A book recently published by
a group of University graduate
students involved in the economics
dispute has received good
reviews and has been ordered to
a second printing prior to its
public release, it was learned today.

"Why The Draft: The Case
For A Voluntary Army" has already
had 15,000 copies sold to
bookstores, forcing an additional
printing of the $1.25 paperback
before its general release date,
March 12, said James C. Miller
III, the book's editor, in a Cavalier
Daily interview yesterday.
In addition, both Milton Freidman
and John Kenneth Galbraith
have endorsed the book.

The book was written by Mr.
Miller, David B. Johnson, Cotton
M. Lindsay, Mark V. Pauly,
Joseph M. Scolnick, Robert D.
Tollison, and Thomas D. Willet.
Mr. Lindsay, president of the
graduate economics club, and
Mr. Tollison, vice-president, have
figured prominently in the recent
economics department controversy,
and penned the initial letter
that began the dispute.

Department Breakup

"We want to bring this to the
public's attention to prove the
worth of our economics department,
and to prove that the students
who are charging the
breakup of this great department
are competent students," said Mr.
Miller.

Besides the initial sales from
the very first brochure sent to
booksellers, this argument is supported
by the favorable criticisms
of Milton Freidman and John
Kenneth Galbraith, two very
prominent economists who in the
past have disagreed frequently.

Mr. Galbraith wrote to Book
World that "The last thing of this
sort (an endorsement from both
economists) was, I suppose, the
Molotov-Ribbentrop pact."

Endorsed By Galbraith

Mr. Galbraith's endorsement
was as follows: "This is an excellent
piece of work by a group of
men of sound professional training
and of the relevant age and
ways been made by the old and
concern. Policy on draft has a lagging,
and never so much as now,
and by the specialists in cliche
and tradition. This fresh view is
exceedingly welcome, and I, for
one, hope it will be highly influential."

In addition, Mr. Freidman
wrote: "This is an important and
exciting book. It is important because
it deals with a crucial problem
of society: must we continue
to man our armed forces by
methods that are repugnant to
our national values? It is exciting
because it shows so decisively
that the present method is neither
desirable nor necessary—and it
shows this by a careful, dispassionate,
and reasonable examination
of all the evidence and all
the arguments. The young men
who have collaborated on this
book have done their country a
great service."

Miller Cites Book

Mr. Miller cited the book as
"evidence that our economics department
is an excellent and productive
one. James Buchanan,
one of the departing economics
professors in the controversy,
gave a great deal of help in writing
the book, which borders
closely on the disputed area of
political economics, a central area
in the economics department-government
department theory.

The basic thesis of the book is
based on four criteria; equity,
feasibility, national tradition, and
social balance and democratic
ideals.

Hidden Tax

"Under any form of conscription,
there is a tax on the conscripted
amounting to the difference
between the amount of military
pay and the amount that
would have induced the conscriptee
to volunteer, the book argues.
"A volunteer army would force
no one to pay this hidden tax."

Under feasibility, the authors
claim the cost of changing to a
volunteer army would be "equal
to that wage bill that would lure
enough volunteers. Thus, the volunteer
army would have the lowest
real cost of any army.

"During and after the War of
1812, Congress refused to endorse
a bill of conscription," the
authors say. "The Civil War is no
proof that a volunteer army will
not work; in fact, experience suggests
the opposite.

"While it is true that a volunteer
army would be a mercenary
army, it is by no means clear
that this would lead to instability
in the military establishment and
danger to the civilian populace."

Authors' Plan

The plan presented by the authors
is: 1) immediate raise in
pay for first-term enlisted recruits;
2) improved working conditions
for military personnel; 3)
more energetic and creative recruiting
policies; 4) economy in
the use of military personnel; 5)
continuation of the selective service
mechanism but a date set
for the termination of conscription
with its possible future use
tied to an act of Congress; 6) a
well-trained volunteer reserve.

"Why the Draft" also opens
with a preface by United States
Senator Edward Brooke that
states, "I am especially hopeful
that all members of Congress
will very earnestly ponder this
work. I know that it has added
immensely to my understanding
of a subject about which I
thought myself fairly knowledgeable
before reading the manuscript,
and I am sure that a similar
experience awaits many of my
colleagues on Capitol Hill."

Photo By Gill

'Why The Draft: The Case For A Voluntary Army'

Successful New Book By University Graduate Students