University of Virginia Library

Stealing Hershey's Thunder

The Justice Department's creation of a
special unit to prosecute persons who interfere
with either the conscription process or
the recruitment activities of the military
services is a step in the right direction,
as much as we deplore the situation which
has led to the anti-war demonstrations.
Although General Hershey's controversial
directive of November 8th has yet be rescinded,
at least violators will be prosecuted
by the Justice Department, not by
selective service officials.

Whether the 74-year-old Selective Service
director's instructions that local draft boards
immediately induct students who "physically
interfere" with military recruiting on campus
will be enforced with success remains to
be seen. The General told the Washington
Post there had been no change in his
policy, but Attorney General Ramsey Clark
is in effect restraining General Hershey's
desire to be judge and jury over antidraft
demonstrators. The Selective Service,
of course, will continue to deal with individual
violations such as draft card burning
or failure to report for physical examinations.

In a joint statement, the director and the
attorney-general insisted the new unit would
not interfere with "lawful protest." They
were quick to point out, however, that
lawful protest does not include physical interference
with the work of draft boards
or recruiters and that persons who help or
advise young men to violate the Selective
Service laws will be prosecuted, too.

Cracking down on anti-war protests has
become a preoccupation of Attorney-General
Clark of late, a reflection of the Administration's
desire to retaliate against the
campus protesters who have disrupted recruiting
and inducting, who have scared
away high officials from keeping speaking
engagements, and who threaten to be a
great embarrassment to the President as the
1968 election approaches.

We hope that the Justice Department officials
who carry out these prosecutions will
not lost their sense of perspective, as did
General Hershey when he confused the
Selective Service's role in conscripting men
on as equitable basis as the present laws
allow with that of a penal institution.

We should like to repeat our plea to
President Shannon that he follow the example
of an increasingly large number of
educators, like Chancellor Grayson Kirk of
Columbia and President Lloyd Elliott of
George Washington University, in expressing
opposition to General Hershey's
directive.