OP TUB
q. OF
Pathways of Peace
A History of the Civilian Public Service Program
Administered by the Brethren Service Committee
LESLIE EISAN
&M1is
BRETHREN PUBLISHING HOUSE
ELGIN, ILLINOIS
Copyright 1948
Brethren Service Commission
GENERAL BROTHERHOOD BOARD
Church of the Brethren
Printed in the United States of America
by the
BRETHREN PUBLISHING HOUSE
ELGIN. ILLINOIS
7o my wife,
FRANCES L. EISAN,
who has shared fully with me in the writing
of this volume
M723546
HtflTHDHAWJV
Contents
Part I Backgrounds
1. The Brethren Peace Heritage and Civilian
Public Service 17
2. The Men of Brethren CPS 49
Part II The Brethren CPS Units: Base Camps and
Special Projects
3. Base Camps: The Work Projects and the
Camp Organization 73
4. Base Camps: Camp Life 112
5. Changing Emphases: Special Projects 188
6. Mental Hospital and Training School Units 205
7. Agricultural Units 239
8. Crestview and Tallahassee 273
9. The Minnesota Experiment in Starvation and
Rehabilitation 296
10. Relief Training and Service Units 313
11. Castaner and the Martin G. Brumbaugh Re-
construction Unit 333
6 Pathways of Peace
Part III The Administration of Brethren Civilian
Public Service
12. The Church Agencies and Selective Service . .363
1 3. Central Administration and the Local Units . . 395
14. Some Financial Aspects of Brethren CPS . . . .423
Part IV Epilogue
15. Toward an Evaluation 441
•
Bibliographical Note 447
Glossary 457
Appendix 458
Index 475
Introduction
Civilian Public Service was a logical development of
the concern of the historic peace churches, and others,
for an adequate recognition of conscientious objection
to military service, and of the growing desire of the gov-
ernment to find a more satisfactory solution to the prob-
lem of what to do in time of war with those citizens who
could not in good conscience accept military service. It
was a constructive compromise between what the churches
wanted and what the state preparing for war felt should
be granted. Thus, while it was never fully satisfactory
to either, it did in a significant measure secure the values
of both.
Civilian Public Service offered the members of the
Church of the Brethren and others an opportunity to
make a positive witness against war and at the same time
provided an avenue of expression for a growing concept
of creative citizenship. It was a decided improvement
over the provision made for conscientious objectors in
World War I. Even during World War II it was too far
advanced for the majority of drafted Brethren, as was
evidenced by so many going into the army. Only a few
Brethren refused both military and alternative service.
But these few, together with others in and out of camps
who were beginning to question the adequacy of Civilian
Public Service as a pacifist witness against war, serve as
a reminder that more adequate provisions for conscien-
8 Pathways of Peace
tious objection should be sought for the future. Thus,
Civilian Public Service was a limited pacifist instrument,
both from the standpoint of its ability to satisfy the
basic desires of all types of men in its services, and from
the standpoint of its ability to keep up functionally with
the trend of many of its adherents toward increasing non-
co-operation with a conscripting government. Though Ci-
vilian Public Service was experimental and naturally de-
veloped many new phases and types of service, the basic
structure was rigid and did not accommodate itself to the
evolving ideology of the men and supporters of Civilian
Public Service.
Civilian Public Service will be evaluated primarily in
the light of its contribution, or lack of contribution, to
the recognition accorded sincere conscientious objection
by a normally democratic state engaged in or preparing
for war. There are many other criteria for evaluation.
The author has pointed these out, and provided an ade-
quate selection of materials for critical judgment. Suffice
it to say here that any complete appraisal of Civilian Pub-
lic Service will need to include Aristotle's value, that
"the nature of anything is the best into which it can
grow." The significance of the movement lies to a con-
siderable degree in what it did to the thinking of the
men in it, and those engaged in it from church, com-
munity, and government, on the basic issues of respect for
conscience and safeguarding minority rights.
CPS was a co-operative venture. It involved the asso-
ciation of conscientious objectors from widely differing
viewpoints and backgrounds. It required constant ne-
gotiations between the churches and the government. It
necessitated continuous interpretation to the local com-
Introduction 9
munity. Any successes the movement obtained were made
possible only through the united efforts of all these groups.
The major responsibility on the part of the churches was
undertaken by the Mennonites, the Friends, and the
Brethren, but almost two hundred different religious
groups were identified with the movement, and a score
or more took up its leadership.
The CPS experiment offered the churches an oppor-
tunity to work out their belief of church-state relation-
ships in a practical way instead of from a purely theoret-
ical and librarian approach. Also it served to crystallize
the desire of the churches for channels through which an
increasing sense of community responsibility might be
expressed. For some of the churches and for many of
the men, this was the beginning of a vital Christian social
concern for the local and world-wide community.
The author of this history is uniquely qualified by
training, experience and temperament to produce a good
history of Brethren Civilian Public Service. He holds de-
grees in history from La Verne College and Claremont
Graduate School in California. His graduate study was
in the field of American history, and he is a student of
historiography. He was himself an assignee participant
in Civilian Public Service, serving seventeen months in
a base camp at Belden, California, and seven months as
historical records clerk in the Elgin office. Though a lay
member of the Church of the Brethren, he comes out of
non-Brethren background. He has attained a high degree
of historical objectivity, and combines independent judg-
ment with sensitivity to the value-judgments of others.
He possesses the necessary patience and energy to insure
the accuracy of the smallest detail. Perhaps most import-
10 Pathways of Peace
ant of all, the author remains in the background of the
story he relates, and the reader gains confidence as he
reads that it is the way Civilian Public Service happened
rather than the way the author wished it might have
happened.
This is the first of several proposed general histories of
Civilian Public Service to go to press. It is offered to
the public in the hope that it will provide a convenient
reference manual and that it will contribute to a bal-
anced interpretation of the movement and the events it
records.
W. Harold Row, Secretary
Brethren Service Commission
Elgin, Illinois
Preface
This history aims to recount the significant facts of
the Civilian Public Service program administered by the
Brethren Service Committee. Civilian Public Service was
the "program of work of national importance under ci-
vilian direction" provided by the national draft law of
1940 for registrants conscientiously opposed to war and
to induction in the armed services. The Brethren Service
Committee of the Church of the Brethren was one of the
private religious groups offered the opportunity by the
government to help administer such work.
The Church of the Brethren is a small denomination
of not quite two hundred thousand members which, from
its founding in 1708, has maintained a belief in peace as
one of the teachings of the New Testament. The Breth-
ren, in co-operation with the Friends, the Mennonites,
and others, sought, and were granted, a share in the man-
agement of the alternative service because of their con-
cern for peace and conscientious objection to war.
As a history of the Brethren Civilian Public Service
program, this study is one phase of the story of consci-
entious objection to war during World War II. Other
phases, which lie beyond the scope of this study, include
the similar CPS programs of the Friends and the Mennon-
ites, and other church groups; the service of many objec-
tors in the noncombatant branches of the armed forces;
the imprisonment of other objectors; and the activities of
12 Pathways of Peace
those pacifists who were not subject to the draft law.
In arrangement, the study is divided into four parts.
Part I is introductory in nature and outlines the back-
grounds and thought patterns of two of the major par-
ticipant groups— the Church of the Brethren and the
drafted conscientious objectors. In the first chapter, the
peace belief of the Church of the Brethren is traced from
its beginning to the war period, with an emphasis upon
those factors related to the alternative service program of
1941-1947. In the second chapter, the population char-
acteristics of the assignee group are described, as well as
their attitudes toward war, peace, and alternative service.
These chapters are placed first in the history in the be-
lief that an understanding of the backgrounds and thought
patterns of the church and of the men will lead to a
fuller understanding of the course of Brethren CPS.
Part II is concerned with the projects established to
provide work of national importance— the base camps and
the special units. Several chapters are devoted to a rela-
tion of their history.
Part III describes the manner in which the Brethren
CPS program was administered. It is primarily concerned
with the relation of the central administrative offices of
the church to the local units, and with the relationships
of the church to Selective Service. The history proper
closes with the last chapter of Part III.
Part IV is in the nature of an epilogue. In it, the
author abandons the role of the objective historian and
seeks to raise for the reader questions pertinent to an
evaluation of Brethren Civilian Public Service. Whereas
Parts I, II, and III are concerned with the problem of
Preface 1 3
recounting the history of the program, Part IV is con-
cerned with the problem of passing judgment upon it.
In the writing of this history, the author has sought
to give an objective account of the program as reflected
by the primary source materials. It has not been pos-
sible, however, within the limits of one volume, to in-
clude all the details or to note all the exceptions to the
general trends of events. The author has had to decide
to include some materials and to omit others, simply from
lack of space. Such decisions, common to all ventures in
historiography, were necessarily made on the basis of an
evaluation of the significance of the materials, and intro-
duced into the study a subjective element.
For such viewpoints and value judgments as are ex-
pressed in this study, the author assumes sole responsi-
bility. Likewise, his is the responsibility for such inac-
curacies of factual statements as may occur. The correc-
tion of such inaccuracies or the expression of divergent
judgments will be received gladly by the author.
A bibliographical essay indicates the documents upon
which the study is based, and provides guidance for those
interested in research of their own. An appendix and a
glossary have been included also. The quotations used
are primarily excerpts from documents, with unessential
portions omitted.1 Quotations are used primarily for
illustrative purposes and are substantiated in their im-
port by numerous other unquoted documents. Thus the
footnote references are only suggestive of the extent of
source materials used.
In reading this volume, the most satisfactory results will
accrue if only tentative concepts are formed until the
]In almost all instances, the omitted portions are indicated by ellipses.
14 Pathways of Peace
final pages are read, for each chapter and topic, in a sense,
modifies every other. The questions posed in the last
chapter are relevant primarily in light of the materials
discussed in the chapters preceding.
It should also be borne in mind by the reader that
Civilian Public Service was essentially a wartime program,
and as such was subject to all the currents of emotion and
feeling existent in such times. Although dissociated from
the war effort, CPS felt the impact of the war psychology
and the temper of a society engaged in a global war.
Finally, the author would like to express his apprecia-
tion to the Brethren Service Commission for its generous
financial aid in this study and to W. Harold Row for his
interest and help. The complete academic freedom ex-
tended by the service commission and staff to the author
created an ideal research arrangement. During the course
of the study many persons gave valuable assistance in
many ways. Thanks are due to Ora W. Garber and to
Lorell Weiss for their gracious help. To the many as-
signees and other participants in the venture— number-
ing over fifty— who have read various portions of the man-
uscript, the author is under heavy obligation. Their
criticisms, suggestions, and insights have assisted greatly
in the effort to secure factual accuracy and a balanced per-
spective. Permission to use copyrighted materials has
been granted by the Journal of Psychology, The Ameri-
can Dietetic Association, the American Psychological As-
sociation, Inc., the Christian Century Foundation, and
the Brethren Publishing House. The illustrations, based
on materials from camp newssheets, are by Paul Dailey.
Leslie Eisan
Elgin, Illinois
Part I
BACKGROUNDS
In seeking to understand the nature and development
of Brethren Civilian Public Service, some attention may
be given to the patterns of thought and systems of values
to which the groups involved in the venture gave alle-
giance. More than in most areas of life, performance and
action in Civilian Public Service were directly related to
ideational concepts. Since there was much diversity of
outlook among the many groups represented in the
program, it seemed, in turn, almost inevitable for the
emerging patterns of action to reflect this diversity.
In the pages following an indication is given of the
backgrounds and thought patterns— and their diversity—
of some of the major participant groups. The first chap-
ter is concerned with the Church of the Brethren and its
beliefs; the second is concerned with the drafted assignees.
CHAPTER 1
The Brethren Peace Heritage and Civilian
Public Service
The history of the Church of the Brethren has been
particularly rich in thought relating to the great human
problem of war and peace. A most recent phase of this
history has been the venture of the church into the pro-
gram of Civilian Public Service. In many respects this
program seems to have been a rather natural product of
the Brethren past, being rooted in beliefs and practices
dating back to the very founding of the church. Thus
seen it is the extension of an older faith into the present
day. But coupled with this older faith was a newer
manner of approach, so that Brethren Civilian Public
Service came to be an effort to conserve and achieve the
old ideal by and through a modern mode of expression.
The Brethren Peace Roots Are Deep
1708-1940
The Church of the Brethren, from the year of its
founding, 1708, has held steadily to the ideal of peace
as the way of life indicated by Jesus.1 From the teaching
of this concept as an ideal it has not varied materially
*See D. W. Kurtz, Ideals of the Church of the Brethren (Elgin: Brethren
Publishing House, 19S3, a pamphlet).
Also see Rufus D. Bowman, The Church of the Brethren and War (Elgin:
Brethren Publishing House, 1944). chapter 2.
18 Pathways of Peace
in a period of over two hundred years, although in this,
as in other matters, the practice of individual members
has not always conformed to the faith.2
The Brethren Tested by a Crisis
As early as the Revolution, in the year 1781, the church
is on record as being opposed to war and the shedding
of blood. At the Annual Meeting (Annual Conference)
of that year, the matter was discussed at some length.
The position which the Brethren took is revealed in the
following article:
Inasmuch, at the big meeting of Conestoga, last year, it has been
unanimously concluded that we should not pay the substitute
money; but inasmuch as it has been overlooked here and there,
and some have not regarded it (sad conclusion), therefore we, the
assembled brethren, exhort in union all brethren in all places to
hold themselves guiltless, and take no part in war or blood-shed-
ding, which might take place if we would pay for hiring men volun-
tarily; or more still, if we would become agents to collect such
money. And inasmuch [as] some brethren have received written
orders to tell the people, and afterwards collect (such money) ac-
companied by a threat of a heavy fine— we exhort heartily, not to
be scared to do that which is not right. Still, we exhort, also,
heartily, that if a brother should be fined, there should be provision
made for such brethren, and assistance rendered as far as concerns
money. . . . Concerning the tax, it is considered on account of the
troublesome times . . . and in order to avoid offense, we might
follow the example of Christ (Matthew 17:24-27), yet if one does
not see it so, and thinks, perhaps, he, for his conscience' sake could
not pay it, but bear with others who pay, in patience, we would
■It is likely that there was less practice in conformity with the peace doctrine
of the church during World War II than in any other period preceding. Over
90% of the members drafted or volunteering in this war were in full military
service. Fewer than 10% were in either the noncombatant service (1AO) or
CPS (4E). Figures are taken from Merlin C. Shull, A Classification of Members
and Friends of the Church of the Brethren Under Selective Service, March, 1945
(a mimeographed bulletin).
Brethren Peace Heritage and CPS 19
willingly leave it over, inasmuch [as] we deem the overruling of the
conscience as wrong.3
These same wartimes brought forth another notable
statement which gave fuller expression to the peace ideal.
In the colony of Pennsylvania, in 1775, popular feeling
was running high against those of the nonresistant faith.
The Assembly recognized the situation, and, in an at-
tempt to counter it, asked that an attitude of tolerance
prevail. Then they spoke to the nonresistants.
. . . and to these conscientious people it is also recommended,
that they cheerfully assist, in proportion to their abilities, such as-
sociators as cannot spend their time and substance in the public
service without great injury to themselves and families.4
It was at this point that Brethren thought received a
clear formulation. Speaking to this same body, in joint
address with the Mennonites, they declared:
The advice to those who do not find Freedom of Conscience to
take up arms, that they ought to be helpful to those who are in
need and distressed circumstances, we receive with cheerfulness
towards all men of what station they may be— it being our principle
to feed the Hungry and give the Thirsty Drink;— we have dedicated
ourselves to serve all men in everything that can be helpful to the
preservation of Men's Lives, but we find no Freedom in giving, or
doing, or assisting in anything by which Men's Lives are destroyed
or hurt.5
*Minutes of the Annual Meetings of the Church of the Brethren (Elgin: Breth-
ren Publishing House, 1909). page 6. This book (and others similar to it) should
not be confused with the yearly pamphlets issued by each Annual Conference.
The latter are referred to as Annual Conference Minutes.
^Quoted in Bowman, op. cit., page 78.
*Ibid., page 80. Compare with the ff. by the Brethren Service Committee, that
agency of the church charged with the administration of the Brethren Civilian
Public Service program: "The Brethren Service Committee finds its charter in
the words of the Master: 'I was hungry and ye gave me to eat; ... I was a
stranger and ye took me in; I was naked and ye clothed me; I was sick and ye
visited me; I was in prison and ye came unto me . . . inasmuch as ye did it to
one of these my brethren, even these least, ye did it unto me.' " (From, Annual
Conference Minutes, 1941, page 52.)
20 Pathways of Peace
The Peace Doctrine Challenged and Sustained
In 1785 and in 1790 the Annual Meeting again con-
sidered the question of war and more especially the rela-
tion of the Brethren to the state. Some of the members
not in full accord with the peace doctrine were urging
that the military service was being required of them
by the "higher powers," i.e., the government. They
pointed out that the New Testament taught submission
to such authority (1 Peter 2:13-14). The reply of the
meeting was:
. . . that the higher powers bear the sword of justice, punishing
the evil, and protecting the good, in this we acknowledge them from
the heart as ministers of God. But the sword belongeth to the
kingdom of the world .... Thus we understand the beloved
Peter, that we are to submit ourselves in all things that are not con-
trary to the will or command of God, and no further.6
They [the government] cannot compel us, if they would, because
we are to obey God rather than men.7
Taken together these ideals formed the peace belief
of the early church. It is this belief which has continued
on to the present day without significant change in idea-
tional content. This is the old faith which has been sus-
tained unbroken. In sum, it can be conceived as involv-
ing the following principles:
1. War, and its allied activities, are out of harmony
with the teachings of Jesus.
2. The Christian faith calls for constructive service to
all mankind.
3. In cases of hardship, assistance should be rendered
one to another.
^Minutes of the Annual Meetings of the Church of the Brethren, page 10.
il bid., page 14.
Brethren Peace Heritage and CPS 21
4. The threat of suffering and oppression should not
deter the doing of what is right.
5. Loyalty and service are the due of the government,
but should its demands run counter to the will of God,
they cannot be met.
6. The overruling of conscience is wrong.
Peace Beliefs During the Civil War Period
In the times following the Revolution there came a
series of statements which supplemented this doctrine,
but which did not alter it in a material manner. Thus,
in 1836, the Brethren denied the right of members to
take money earned as soldiers.8 In 1840, it was not "al-
lowable for brethren to learn war."9 In 1845 this was
recorded:
In regard to our being altogether defenseless, not to withstand
evil, but overcome evil with good, the Brethren considered, that the
nearer we follow the bright example of the lamb of God, who will-
ingly suffered the cross, and prayed for his enemies; who, though
heir of all things, had on earth not where to lay his head— the
more we shall fulfill our high calling and obtain grace to deny our-
selves for Christ and his Gospel's sake, even to the loss of our
property, our liberty, and our lives.10
In 1863, during the Civil War, it was "recommended
. . . that each member . . . contribute" in order to
"bear an equal share in paying the fines" imposed by the
government upon members subject to the draft.11
•Ibid., page 62.
•Revised Minutes of the Annual Meetings of the Church of the Brethren from
1778 to 1922 (Elgin: Brethren Publishing House, 1922), page 204.
™lbid., page 204.
^Minutes of the Annual Meetings of the Church of the Brethren, page 221.
22 Pathways of Peace
Annual Conference of 1864 exhorted the Brethren to
adhere to the nonresistant principle, and at the same
time affirmed:
And lest the position which we have taken upon political mat-
ters in general, and war matters in particular, should seem to make
us, as a body, appear to be indifferent to our government, or in op-
position thereto, in its efforts to suppress the rebellion, we hereby
declare that it has our sympathies and our prayers, and that it shall
have our aid in any way which does not conflict with the principles
of the gospel of Christ.12
Reaffirmation of Peace Stand in 1918
The period between the Civil War and the First World
War produced little that was new as far as peace doctrine
was concerned. The core of the earlier teachings was
preserved without significant change.13 In fact, the war
period itself did not occasion alteration of the old tra-
dition, but rather only amplification and restatement.
This can be seen readily by considering the statements
of the Goshen Conference of 1918.
At this special conference called to consider the prob-
lems raised by the war, the peace belief was studied care-
fully and fully. As a result a statement was adopted which
gave to it a clear expression. In part, it read:
... we earnestly and humbly pray the President ... to assign
us our noncombatant duties in agriculture and the peaceful indus-
tries, where loyal and valuable service to our country may be ren-
dered without violence to conscience ... or to do, in harmony
^Minutes of the Annual Meetings of the Brethren (Dayton: Christian Pub-
lishing Association, 1876), page 286. Insofar as this statement implies a moral
support of the effort to "suppress the rebellion," it may be regarded as inconsistent
with the basic peace doctrine.
"See especially L. W. Shultz, Minutes of the Annual Conference of the Church
of the Brethren on War and Peace (Elgin: Board of Christian Education, 1935),
page 8 ff .
Brethren Peace Heritage and CPS 23
with our nonresistant principles, relief work and reconstruction
work, here or else where, at the judgment of and, if need be, under
the control of the government.
. . . the Church of the Brethren hereby declares her continued
adherence to the principles of nonresistance, held by the church
since its organization in 1708.
I. We believe that war or any participation in war is wrong and
entirely incompatible with the spirit, example, and teachings of
Jesus Christ.
II. That we cannot conscientiously engage in any activity or per-
form any function, contributing to the destruction of human life.
We are taught that Governments are ordained of God, and that
the administrators of Government are ministers of God. As such
we are to be in subjection to them ....
The word and authority of God, however, must be final and
supreme over all. And when the demands of men and of govern-
ments conflict with the Word of God, we are then bound by the
latter, regardless of consequences.
[We urge that congregations] contribute liberally to the relief
of human suffering, both in men and money.
That they express their gratitude to God for our favored position
. . . by giving freely of our substance for constructive relief
work ....
We urge our people to put forth their utmost effort ... so that
a suffering and hungering world may be clothed, warmed and fed.
The spirit of sacrifice is with us.
The greatest service we can render humanity is the promotion of
the kingdom of God.
We . . . urge our Brethren not to enlist in any service which
would, in any way, compromise our time-honored position in rela-
tion to war; also that they refrain from wearing the military uni-
form. The tenets of the church forbid military drilling, or learning
the art or arts of war, or doing anything which contributes to the
destruction of human life or property.14
"Minutes of the special General Conference of the Church of the Brethren,
held at Goshen, Indiana, January 9, 1918, page 3 ff.
24 Pathways of Peace
Since World War I
During the era, 1919-1940, the Brethren seemed to
feel that World War I had not "ended all wars." Their
concern was expressed through strong declarations on
peace at almost every Annual Conference of this period.
In 1921, a statement in the report of the General Peace
Committee of the church revealed the trend of Brethren
thought. Their recommendations, as adopted by the con-
ference, re-emphasized the established doctrine of peace
and proposed a commitment to positive Christian meas-
ures that would alleviate suffering in war-torn countries.
The assumption of social responsibility through relief
and rehabilitation was thought of as an opportunity to
"bring the world and even our enemies to believe with
us in the superiority of Christ's method over the world's
order of war and military dominance."15
In the next decade the church continued to make its
position clear. The 1931 Annual Conference resolved
that the historic emphasis on peace and goodwill be re-
affirmed. The body refused "to sanction, or take any part
in war."16
The following year the conference declared that war
was out of harmony with the precepts of the gospel and
that all problems incident to the successful functioning
of civil government "can be settled under the banner of
the Prince of Peace."17 A note of social responsibility
was again injected as the same body pledged the church's
efforts to create a social order for the well-being of all.
In 1935 the peace belief was restated in these terms:
"Annual Conference Minutes, 1921, page 24.
"Ibid., 1931, page 45.
"Ibid., 1932, page 48.
Brethren Peace Heritage and CPS 25
As a people we have opposed war at all times throughout our
entire history of over two hundred twenty-five years and we have
stood with equal consistency for constructive peace principles in all
relationships of life.
We believe that all war is . . . incompatible with the spirit, ex-
ample and teachings of Jesus.
We believe in the only real preparedness for our nation— good-
will ... .is
The pronouncement of the Annual Conference of
1938 dwelt upon the individual's dual allegiance to the
church and the state:
We recognize that government is essential to the maintenance of
orderly living .... We ought to labor constantly to put the ideals
of Christ into our government ....
We love our country . . . [yet] our supreme allegiance is to
Christ.™
In 1940, as the nations of the world were becoming
involved in another war "to end all wars," the Brethren
announced it their conviction that "all war is sin and
... we cannot participate therein/'20
A New Concept of Church Polity
In the preceding pages the roots of the peace belief
have been traced from 1708 to 1940. Throughout this
period the Brethren received their peace heritage and
passed it on, virtually unchanged, to succeeding genera-
tions. It is significant to note, however, that although
the ideational content of Brethren thought on peace re-
»/bid., 1935, page 40.
»lbid,t 1938. page 45.
»/M<*., 1940, page 51.
26 Pathways of Peace
mained much the same from the founding of the church
down through the First World War, and even to the
present day, there was a great change in the attitude
of the church as to what modes of activity were fit and
appropriate for the application of this belief to the prob-
lems of the times. In fact, the newer concepts of action
differed so markedly from previous ways that they may
be considered as introducing a new element into the
peace heritage.
Prior to World War I, the Brethren as a body were
more or less self-contained, i.e., they had a minimum of
relations with other groups, even with those of like
mind with them on basic doctrine. They maintained
a separateness from society, feeling that the proper chan-
nel for the expression of their concern was the church.
This attitude can be illustrated by referring to the dis-
cussion, in the Annual Meeting of 1884, concerning the
propriety of co-operating actively with the peace asso-
ciation of America. The conclusion of the discussion
was that as a church there need not be co-operation,
although individual members might give their influence
in favor of peace. The basic reasons urged for this view
were:
We work for the promotion of [these principles— peace, etc.]
through the church.
. . . from our former usages, and from the way we look at things,
we have not been in the habit of entering into the organizations
formed for the promotion of these special principles of the Gospel.
We never have submitted to sending delegates outside of the
church to cooperate in disseminating . . . Bible principles.
. . . [such cooperation] is not in harmony with the manner of
proceedings among our brethren ever since they have been in Amer-
ica. It is something new.
Brethren Peace Heritage and CPS 27
. . . [the] Kingdom was initiated by the preaching of the Gospel
. . . and from that standpoint the nations outside are to be
reached.21
By the beginning of the World War era there were
signs that this feeling of separateness was giving way to
an attitude of willingness to go beyond the compact
church group to associate with others.
This can be illustrated by reference to a situation al-
most identical to that noted above. It was asked of the
1911 Annual Meeting that "a brother . . . represent
us at the next Universal Peace Conference." Although
the answer was negative, it being not thought "best to
appoint a brother," the reasons advanced for the decision
were different, in large part, from the reasons advanced
in 1884. The considerations urged in 1911 were: "the
question of expense .... things connected with [these
conferences] that we cannot endorse very well, like ban-
quets, and so on . . . . The Church of Jesus Christ
was left out. ... It was merely a movement by man
alone."22
There was not the former insistence that all such
associations were wrong in principle, and that their
own church was the sole avenue of expression for the
concerns of the Brethren. Rather, the line of reasoning
implied that had certain conditions prevailed, such an
association would have been a fit and proper undertak-
ing. It was a refusal based on the specific shortcomings
of the conference in question, not a blanket denial of
the worth of all such associations on general principles.
^Report of the Proceedings of the Brethren's Annual Meeting for 1884, page 85
ff. These reports are commonly known as "full reports."
**Full Report of the Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Church of the
Brethren (1911), page 149 ff.
28 Pathways of Peace
Since the era of the First World War the attitude of
separateness has given way more and more to co-operation
with other peace groups. The Brethren have become in-
creasingly concerned not only to abstain from war them-
selves, but to join with others in their efforts to prevent
war through social action. This is the new note in
Brethren peace history. Thus the old doctrine, basically
unchanged from its first formulation, was related to a
new concept of church polity. The old ideal was linked
to a new mode of expression.
What Is the Relation of the Peace Belief to CPS?
The relation of the Brethren ideal of peace to a plan
of alternative service to society in wartime in lieu of
service in the armed forces should be clear. An alter-
native service of some type was implicit in the peace
doctrine from the beginning. While for over two cen-
turies the Brethren had denied, on the one hand, the
authority of the state in matters of religious conscience,
they had affirmed, on the other, a loyalty in those mat-
ters not out of harmony with such conscience. If through-
out their history they had disavowed war and its related
activities as the negation of the way of Jesus, equally
they had declared allegiance to a life of service. It was
their principle " 'to feed the Hungry, and give the Thirsty
drink,' " having dedicated themselves to serving "all
men in everything that can be helpful to the preserva-
tion of men's lives."
That the alternative service assumed the form it did,
that it came to develop along one line instead of an-
other, can be traced to a series of specific events in the
formative period of the plan. These events were closely
Brethren Peace Heritage and CPS 29
linked to the personalities of all concerned— church ad-
ministrators, draftees, government officials, technical
agency representatives and others— and closely linked to
the total condition of the society of the day.
It is easily conceivable that the pattern of service could
have been markedly different, given another series of
events and personalities as the formative matrix, without
this difference indicating a major change in doctrinal
faith. But it is not conceivable that the ideal of service
itself could have been denied without the faith being
transformed rather completely. The particular form
which the service took is causally related to the times in
which it developed, but the ideal providing the basic
philosophy for the service was antecedent to the times
and independent of them.
What Events Led to This Particular Alternative
Service?
The immediate series of events culminating in the al-
ternative service program finally sponsored in 1940 can
be traced briefly, beginning with the era of the First
World War. For convenience, these events can be con-
ceived as taking place within three distinct areas of church
thought and action, namely:
1. That of association and co-operation with other
peace groups.
2. That of association and co-operation with the gov-
ernment.
3. That of the movement within the church in regard
to the peace doctrine.
These areas should not be separated too markedly,
30 Pathways of Peace
however. In their historic development they were re-
lated in an intimate and organic manner, each influenc-
ing the other. Thus, although in a sense the association
and co-operation with the other peace groups and with
the government was the outer manifestation of the Breth-
ren thought pattern of the period, these associations in
turn influenced the thought pattern in a causal way, in-
troducing into it new shades of emphasis and meaning.
Association With Other Peace Groups, 1914-1918
The events of the war period served to stimulate the
association of the Brethren with other like-minded peace
groups, notably the Friends and the Mennonites. During
this time there were frequent meetings between the
leaders of these churches, meetings in which they con-
sidered the problems confronting them as a result of
the war. The first such were informal in nature, and,
in a sense, unofficial. It was but a short time, however,
until the General Peace Committee of the Church of
the Brethren requested of the Annual Meeting authoriza-
tion to act unitedly with these others in discussing with
the government the problems affecting their nonresistant
doctrines.23 Such authorization was granted. These
meetings can be considered the forerunners of several
similar meetings in the times that followed. They cul-
minated in the formation of the semipermanent board
for joint representation to the government, the National
Service Board for Religious Objectors.
^Annual Conference Minutes, 1917. page IS. During the years 1918-1921 the
General Peace Committee was more or less supplanted by the Central Service
Committee. The latter body was created by the special Goshen Conference of
1918 to deal especially with the problems raised by the war. The Central Service
Committee was discontinued in 1921.
Brethren Peace Heritage and CPS 31
In 1918 the Brethren Central Service Committee was
formed, with definite authority to confer with and co-
operate with the representatives of other churches hold-
ing similar views of peace. This, too, was one step more
on the way to the decisions of 1940. Such actions not
only reflected the growing tendency of the church to
work in association with other groups, but in turn gave
added strength to that pattern of thought.
Negotiations With the Government
As has been indicated, the years 1914-18 were condu-
cive not only to meetings of the Brethren with other
peace groups, but also to meetings with the government.
There was during this period quite a measure of repre-
sentation and communication, particularly with the War
Department, relative to the drafting of the Brethren for
the armed services.24 Numerous problems arose where
church members were assigned full military duties rather
than the noncombatant type provided by the law. There
were also many cases of mistreatment to investigate and
carry before the government, especially in relation to
those who refused all service whatever under the military
arm of the government. All this activity provided both
a background of experience for future use and a prece-
dent for a more understanding relationship between the
church and state than had previously existed.
The Peace Doctrine in War
Meanwhile, within the church itself, the peace doctrine
came to be examined more carefully in the light of the
MIn the Brethren Historical Library see the correspondence file of W. J. Swi-
gart for the war years.
32 Pathways of Peace
exigencies of the war situation. A number of specific
questions needed answers. War in the abstract was wrong,
and that was easily understood; but did such a position
proscribe the noncombatant services offered those with
conscientious scruples against fighting and the shedding
of blood? Was the uniform to be worn if such noncom-
batant service were accepted? How was the purchase of
liberty bonds to be regarded? Were Brethren to drill?
Varying counsel in these matters was given to the mem-
bers by the local leaders, for the church as a body had
not provided answers to these questions. The General
Peace Committee summed up the situation thus:
In the experiences met with in the past three years much of di-
versity was found in the views of our own people— and, indeed,
some hardly seemed to have "views" of their own. Many brethren,
both young and old, did not have much definite, initiative idea on
the right or wrong of the principle involved. They had not thought
it through for themselves. "What is the position of our church on
going to war?" was an inquiry that came not infrequently from
members who were forced now to think of it.25
The natural result of the lack of a definite stand by
the church in regard to these specific details was con-
fusion, dissatisfaction, and a multiplying of hardships for
those immediately affected. The situation was difficult
for the men in the army camps because they often did
not present a united front in regard to the church's posi-
tion. Many Brethren leaders came to feel that the church
had not handled well a problem fundamental to Christian
thought. There grew up as a consequence the desire for
a definite and clear-cut program. It was this confused
and generally unsatisfactory situation with the questions
*Full Report . . . 1920, page 218.
Brethren Peace Heritage and CPS 33
and problems thereby raised that gave point to the later
efforts to think creatively in this area— to provide in a
more effective way for possible future emergencies.
Continuing Developments, 1918-1940
Experience within the lines indicated above continued
on in the times following 1918. As the Second World
War approached, these lines tended to draw together,
until, in 1940, under the impact of the events of that
year and especially the passage of the Selective Training
and Service Act, there evolved a program which embodied
these developments.
Between 1919 and 1940 there were several meetings of
the Brethren with other peace groups, particularly with
the Friends and the Mennonites. The Central Service
Committee recommended in 1919 "that formal over-
tures be made to the Friends and Mennonites, with the
purpose of uniting our efforts against anything looking
toward militarism . . . believing that by concerted ac-
tion greater results may be obtained. . . ."26 In 1922
a meeting of these "historic peace churches" took place.
Two years later, the Annual Conference pronounced:
Believing that our right to protest in time of actual warfare de-
pends upon our utmost activity to avert war in times of peace . . .
be it resolved:
That we cooperate with Friends, Mennonites, and other peace
bodies in working for peace along constructive educational lines.27
Further insight into this developing thought pattern
can be gained by considering the speech of M. W. Em-
mert, a member of the General Welfare Board of the
^Annual Conference Minutes, 1919, page 34.
"Ibid.t 1924. page 52.
34 Pathways of Peace
church, which at that time was responsible for matters
relating to peace. In 1925 he pointed out:
Last year at Annual Conference, the sentiment was very, very
strong in favor of the Church of the Brethren taking its place with
other peace bodies in America and helping to promote the peace
program that these peace bodies were advocating. It was recom-
mended at the Conference last year that we associate ourselves with
the Federal [National] Council for the Prevention of War.28
Of all the joint meetings held, one of the most im-
portant was that which took place in 1935. At that con-
ference the three groups drew up a statement which cov-
ered their peace positions. In that section which dealt
with the plan of unified action recommended in the
event that the United States became involved in war, it
was stated:
That each of the Historic Peace Churches shall urge its members
to observe the peace position of these churches, which means no
co-operation with war or the acceptance of any service under mili-
tary control.
That these churches provide for conscientious objectors who be-
come involved in the draft as follows: a) Furlough from army and
navy for alternative service of non-military nature and not under
military control, b) Spiritual care for those who are confined in
camp under government jurisdiction, c) Spiritual care and counsel
for those who refuse to register, d) Financial support for depend-
ents of conscientious objectors deprived of their income . . . .^
The year 1937 was marked by the visit of a joint dele-
gation to the president. Each of the three churches pre-
sented a statement for the occasion. Brethren members
of the committee were Paul H. Bowman and Rufus D.
Bowman. In 1940 another conference was held with
»Full Report . . . 1925, page 140.
•Bowman, op. cit., page 270.
Brethren Peace Heritage and CPS 35
the president, with the same Brethren representatives
participating. At this meeting (January 10) concrete pro-
posals were advanced for the handling of the conscien-
tious objector in the event of a national draft. They
included:
1. ... a civilian board ... to judge . . . conscientious objec-
tors, to assign to them a definite status, and to consider and author-
ize non-military service projects to which they might be assigned.
2. That draft boards be directed to route conscientious objectors
directly to this civilian board ....
3. That . . . the historic peace churches be permitted to set up
and administer, through their own personnel, service projects to
which conscientious objectors might be assigned. The following
forms of service might be considered as representative of the sort
of projects we might undertake:
Relief of war sufferers
Relief of refugees of evacuated civilian populations
Reconstruction of war-stricken areas
Resettlement of refugees
Reclamation or forestry services in the United States or else-
where
Relief and reconstruction work in local communities in the
United States
Medical and health services in connection with any of these
projects
Farm service30
In addition, it was asked that consideration be given
to the claims of those whose consciences forbad any type
of service under a conscription law, and to those of other
affiliations.
In June 1940 the historic peace churches agreed "that
our approach to the problem of the conscientious ob-
jector would be co-operative and by joint action so far
«>/Wd., page 278.
36 Pathways of Peace
as possible."31 Their association together was climaxed
by the formation, in November, of the board responsible
for joint action, the National Service Board for Religious
Objectors. M. R. Zigler, the Brethren representative, was
made chairman of the board.
Awareness Within the Church of Problems Ahead
During this same period, 1919-1940, thought and action
within the church were pointing to the development of
a program whereby the consciences of those opposed to
war might be respected by the government, and the peace
belief conserved and propagated in the event of a future
crisis. The trend of these events seems to have been along
the following lines.
In 1932 the congress of the Brethren Young People's
Department petitioned the Annual Conference "to in-
vestigate and provide a program of service in coopera-
tion with the Friends or otherwise in establishing special
arrangements for neutral relief work in time of war or
periods of national crises."32 This request was made
to the Board of Christian Education. In 1933 the board
reported:
The Board of Christian Education is giving earnest consideration
to the above request and is making the necessary investigations
looking toward providing a suggested program of service in co-
operation with the Friends and other pacific bodies in neutral relief
work in time of war and other periods of national crisis.
The committee has been functioning and valuable investigations
have been made.33
In referring to the same matter in 1934, the report
^Annual Conference Minutes, 1941, page 29.
**Ibid., 1932, page 47.
*Ibid., 1933, page 12.
Brethren Peace Heritage and CPS 37
of the board34 (as amended by Conference) found that be-
cause the conditions of future work could not be known
ahead of time, an adequate plan could not be outlined
in full. The emphasis was placed upon the building of
a peace conscience as a background of experience out
of which an adequate neutral relief plan could be con-
structed. The board disapproved of functioning in service
under military command.
There was sufficient concern by 1935 about the prob-
lems of conscientious objection that the Annual Confer-
ence designated a committee of the Board of Christian
Education to provide legal counsel for conscientious ob-
jectors. Rufus D. Bowman, Paul H. Bowman, F. S.
Carper, C. Ray Keim, M. R. Zigler, Dan West, and Ross
D. Murphy functioned on this committee. Among their
duties was that of studying "carefully with competent
legal counsel in cooperation with the Friends, Mennon-
ites and other peace loving bodies, the position that
our young people should take in the event of war."35
In 1936, the committee reported, listing types of service
considered consistent with the historic position of the
church. These included:
1. Constructive service under church or civilian direction, such as
housing, road making, farming, forestry, hospitalization, and recre-
ational work.
2. Relief work under the church or civilian direction in and out-
side of the war zone, or in neutral zones, either as a denomination
or in co-operation with the Friends and the Mennonites.36
By 1939, the peace conscience was sufficiently developed
in some phases of the church program that the Board of
"Ibid., 1934, page 41.
"/fcid., 1935, page 34.
»Ibid., 1936, page 15.
38 Pathways of Peace
Christian Education noted in its annual report that "an
increasing number of our youth are considering giving
at least a year of their lives toward antidoting war and
building for peace; some have asked what they can do/'37
The Brethren Service Committee Formed
In November of this same year there was formed at
Elgin, Illinois, the Brethren Service Committee, whose
areas of functioning were to be peace and relief. The
creation of this body can be understood as an indication
of an increased concern for these fields. The Brethren
who first served on the committee were L. W. Shultz,
Leland S. Brubaker, A. W. Cordier, Paul W. Kinsel, and
Nora Rhodes. After undergoing some changes in mem-
bership, this committee was later (December 1940) as-
signed the administration of Brethren Civilian Public
Service.38
In August 1940 the Brethren Service Committee, dis-
cussing the problem of alternative service, agreed that
"our Alternative Service Plan should be directed pri-
marily in the channel of community and personal
rehabilitation."39
They approved an outline presented to the meeting
by Dan West, which listed the following types of service
as suitable to Brethren.
1. Relief of war sufferers
2. Relief of refugees
3. Reconstruction of war-stricken areas
4. Resettlement of refugees
"Ibid., 1939. page 37.
"The assignment was made by a special conference of the Standing Committee
of the church, held in Chicago.
•Official minutes of the Brethren Service Committee. August 4, 1940, page 8.
Brethren Peace Heritage and CPS 39
5. Reclamation and forestry
6. Relief and reconstruction in the United States
7. Medical and health service
8. Farm service
In summing up the matter "it was felt that the alterna-
tive service program (1) must motivate youth for service,
(2) ought to be positive and so interpreted, (3) ought
to be partially international, and (4) ought to be as
largely as possible human."40
Presentation of Brethren Thought, 1940
Meanwhile, Brethren thought on peace was carried
to Congress by Paul H. Bowman. In a statement author-
ized by the Advisory Committee41 and the Brethren
Service Committee, he testified at a public hearing of
the House Military Affairs Committee, setting forth the
position of the church in clear, concise terms. Appro-
priately, his address was entitled Creative Citizenship.
The Church of the Brethren believes that the greatest redemptive
force in the world is the quality of life represented by Jesus Christ
and the teaching of the New Testament.
The Brethren . . . subscribe to the principle that love, goodwill
and brotherhood are the only bases for security and peace in human
society and that force and violence are ultimately self destructive.
They accept the task of bearing testimony to that faith against
all odds and all opposition and in contradiction to all opposing
ideologies.
The Brethren regard their supreme citizenship as being in the
commonwealth of God, to which they yield their greater loyalty, but
they do accept constructive and creative citizenship in the state.
It is the desire of the Brethren to be creative citizens and forerun-
»tbid.t page IS.
«The /
HO Anni
Objector*.
"The Advisory Committee for Conscientious Objectors was appointed by the
1940 Annual Conference to succeed the Committee on Counsel tor Conscientious
40 Pathways of Peace
ners of a better order to which they believe this government at
heart is forever committed. It is their purpose to bless and heal;
to do good to friend and foe alike; to relieve distress and suffering;
to save human life and conserve property and wealth; to help
create and maintain a spiritual emphasis in business, education and
government, and to do their full share in preserving the spiritual
foundations upon which all human civilization must finally rest.
In times of war the Brethren believe that they must still be cre-
ative and not destructive. They want to serve in those enterprises
which are removed in purpose as far as possible from war and
bloodshed, and which are calculated to help the nations more
easily forgive and forget the bitterness and hatred which war en-
genders. To these enterprises the Brethren expect to bring a spirit
of courage and self-sacrifice and a willingness to face physical haz-
ard comparable to that of the soldier .... They desire to help
keep alive in American life a spiritual glow and a sense of world
mission which shall make this nation virile and strong throughout
the world in the cause of justice, righteousness and peace.42
The Final Months
Thus, by the fall of 1940, there were present in the
experience and thought patterns of the Brethren a num-
ber of conditions favorable to the development of the
alternative service program finally undertaken:
1. The allegiance professed to a way of life which
denied war and its destructiveness and affirmed the cre-
ative aspects of living. Central to the concept of creative
living was the idea of service as revealed by the New
Testament.
2. The allegiance professed to the state in those mat-
ters which did not violate the religious conscience. The
Brethren recognized the will of the state as binding, ex-
cept where it contravened the will of God.
^Creative Citizenship (Elgin: Brethren Service Committee, 1941, a pamphlet).
Only portions of the address are quoted.
Brethren Peace Heritage and CPS 41
3. The growth of a spirit of willingness to associate
with other groups, especially with those of similar thought
patterns. In the field of peace this was especially notice-
able from the time of the First World War.
4. The growth of a spirit of willingness to negotiate
and work with the government, likewise more noticeable
in the field of peace from the time of the First World War.
5. The generally unsatisfactory experiences of World
War I, when the position of the church on the specific
issues raised by the war was not clear, and when it
seemed that the lack of a clear program minimized the
chances for an effective witness for peace, or significant
service of a positive, creative nature and multiplied the
suffering and hardships of the drafted objectors.
6. The presence within the church of a group, both
young and old, with a conscience awakened on the sub-
ject of peace, with a felt need for an alternative service
to war, and a determination to effect such a program.
The passage of the Selective Training and Service Act
in September 1940 set in motion the more immediate
series of events which led to Civilian Public Service.
Section 5 (g) of this act provided that in lieu of induction
into the land or naval forces, those conscientiously op-
posed to war and such induction should be assigned to
work of "national importance under civilian direction."
This section in the bill as finally adopted was a more
generous provision for the conscientious objector than
that which had appeared in the first writing of it. In
part, at least, this liberalization was due to the efforts
put forth by the peace groups in the period just prior
to the final passage. At that time their representatives
in Washington testified before Congressional committees,
42 Pathways of Peace
interviewed Congressmen, talked with the heads of vari-
ous government agencies, and, in short, urged upon all
concerned that the provision for the objector be on the
broadest possible basis.43 The Brethren group active in
Washington during this period was the Advisory Commit-
tee, composed of M. R. Zigler, Paul H. Bowman, and
Ross D. Murphy.
Just as the peace churches had interested themselves
in securing legal provision for the conscientious objector,
they were likewise active in investigating the procedure
by which the terms of the law were to be put into prac-
tice. Their concern arose from both a general feeling
on the matter as an issue of religious significance and the
fact that on the basis of experience they expected many
of their members of draft status to be affected by this
section of the law.
In a series of meetings among themselves and with
other interested peace groups, directly following the
passage of the act, they discussed the matter thoroughly.
They likewise discussed the matter with various govern-
ment officials involved. The result was that the govern-
ment asked the peace groups to submit a plan of pro-
cedure by which the law might be effectively carried out.
This the peace groups did. They proposed three basic
plans of service from which the men might choose.
1. Service under the direct control of the several gov-
ernment agencies involved.
2. Service in conjunction with various government
agencies, but under the administrative control of the
peace groups.
^Annual Conference Minutes, 1941, page 29 ff. Also see Paul Comly French,
Civilian Public Service (Washington: NSBRO, 1943, a pamphlet), page 4 ff.
Brethren Peace Heritage and CPS 43
3. Service under the direct control of the peace
groups.44
It was proposed that in service of the first type the
government bear the costs of the program, including
transportation, materials, maintenance, and wages at the
prevailing military rate.
It was proposed that in service of the second type the
government bear the same costs as in type one, but that
the peace groups bear the administrative costs.
It was proposed that in service of the third type the
peace groups bear the total cost of the program them-
selves. This class of project would be open only to those
men who expressed a preference for such service, and
who were individually acceptable to the agency involved.
The Brethren did not expect to furnish pay to men choos-
ing this third type.
These proposals were at first endorsed by the govern-
ment but shortly thereafter turned down.45
A meeting was then held to discuss the matter further.
It was at this meeting that Clarence A. Dykstra, director
of the Selective Service System, asked the peace groups
if they could finance and administer all projects for all
conscientious objectors.46 He indicated that if Selective
Service assumed any of the costs it would be necessary
to go to Congress for an appropriation, and that any
money so granted would likely be under such terms as
would exclude the religious groups from sharing in the
direct management of the program.
This was a situation different from what the peace
"Philip Jacob, The Origins of Civilian Public Service (Washington: NSBRO,
a pamphlet), page 16 ff.
"Ibid., page 6 ff.
mlbld.$ page 7. Also see French, op. cit., page 8 ff.
44 Pathways of Peace
groups had hoped for and expected; yet they felt that
the major values which they were seeking could be real-
ized best by their participation in directing the service.
Tentatively, then, they agreed to assume the costs and
administration of all the projects, rather than run the
risk of being excluded from a share in the program.
Meanwhile, the Brethren Advisory Committee for Con-
scientious Objectors, upon whom was falling the burden
of these negotiations, felt the need of the advice of the
church. They felt the problem to be of such large sig-
nificance that they should not act alone upon it. Upon
their request, a special meeting of the Standing Commit-
tee was called for December. At that time, the Standing
Committee recommended that the Brethren participate
in the plan unfolding, and delegated the administra-
tion of the Brethren share to the Brethren Service Com-
mittee.47 In June of 1941 the Annual Conference ap-
proved this course, thus launching the Brethren into
the venture of Civilian Public Service.
What Did the Brethren Hope to Achieve Through
Civilian Public Service?
In a general way the spirit which the Brethren brought
to this program and the values they sought have been
indicated by the preceding pages. The ideal of an alter-
native service was related by them to their basic Christian
beliefs. They entered the program because they felt it
offered the best available opportunity for the expression
of their ideals in the type of world in which they found
themselves— a world wherein patterns of action were be-
** Annual Conference Minutes, 1941, page 53 ff.
Brethren Peace Heritage and CPS 45
coming more restricted for all society. They held high
hopes for achieving within this program progress in the
building of a society more nearly approximating the way
of life indicated by the New Testament. This seems evi-
dent not only from the expressions which they gave to
their ideals prior to 1940 but also by those which fol-
lowed. An intimation of the motivating spirit urging the
Brethren on can be found in the report of the service
committee in 1942.
Two great issues emerge in this program: The first is the freedom
of religion and the second is the relation of church and state.
Through the centuries of the Christian church our best thinkers
have given much attention to the development of common under-
standing among all peoples, especially in the field of freedom of
conscience. During this year we have developed a co-operative pro-
gram with the government which is new and untried. . . . This
is a unique opportunity for the Church of the Brethren to give itself
in the interest of these great issues ... . If we meet these issues
heroically humanity may be blessed through unnumbered chan-
nels.48
The more specific aims of Brethren Civilian Public
Service were well expressed in a memorandum issued in
the same year by the office of the national director of
Brethren Civilian Public Service, W. Harold Row. It
had been compiled on the basis of statements prepared
by the camp directors, assistant directors, and some of
the camps. Thus, it had a rather broad base. The goals
were:
1) To provide for individuals and groups conscientiously opposed
to war the means of exercising their liberty of conscience and ex-
pressing their convictions through a constructive alternative to
military service.
"Ibid., 1942. page 32.
46 Pathways of Peace
2) To render service to community, nation, and world through
work which conserves and develops human and physical resources.
3) To develop and exemplify ways of cooperative, non-violent,
democratic, and serviceable community living; and in such com-
munities to test and develop by critical, study and experience the
ideals by reason of which we sought this alternative service.
4) To prepare for service of reconstruction both at home and
abroad to alleviate the ill effects of war; to make a continuing
effort to eliminate the causes of war and to build a society of mu-
tual appreciation, tolerance, and goodwill— a world of universal
brotherhood.
We envisage this program as an opportunity for personal as well
as community growth. Almost without exception we undertake it
as a demand of the Christian way of life, to which we give our al-
legiance. Some of us call Civilian Public Service a laboratory for
Christian living. Others speak of it as a means to spread the gospel
of Christ and to glorify God. Some would use it to lift up and pre-
serve the ideals of the church, to develop future leadership for the
church, and to increase the mutual appreciation among denomina-
tional groups by giving them a medium of unified action.49
Shortly after the publication of this paper the service
committee expressed its aims in almost identical terms.
Then again, in 1945, it reaffirmed them, prefacing the
declaration with recognition of the restrictive factors
operating in the program which the experience of four
years had brought to the fore:
We recognize that CPS is a limited pacifist instrument, and there-
fore is not equipped to secure all the values which pacifists hold.
We consider CPS as a working compromise between church and
state .... CPS is not a free, voluntary movement, but a restricted
community. It is restricted by the general situation involving total
war and public opinion, by pressure groups, by the Selective Service
and Training Act of 1940 ... by Selective] Sfervice] policies and
by administrative agency agreements. But within these limitations,
"Brethren Camp Directors Memorandum, December 28, 1942.
Brethren Peace Heritage and CPS 47
CPS is to be regarded as a real community, committed to the good
life and striving for the democratic participation of all its members
in the attainment of its purposes.
Early in 1943 the Committee adopted [a series of aims]. . . .
Although these aims have undergone change in expression and em-
phasis as the CPS movement has evolved, and although many of
these objectives have not yet been attained, they do generally
represent the purposes which motivate the program today.50
In 1946 the Annual Conference, considering the Civil-
ian Public Service movement, listed the objectives which
the church had sought to advance through the program.
In the main, they were the same as those which had been
announced earlier by the service committee. They were:
1. To demonstrate and extend the spirit of brotherhood and
justice as a way of life which leads to world-mindedness and to
international peace and security.
2. To offer a medium for the preservation and continued expres-
sion of the peace testimony of our own and other Christian bodies
and to provide a witness against war and violence as instruments
of national policy.
3. To assist our government in developing appropriate measures
by which religious minorities which conscientiously reject military
service may bear witness in times of war in a manner consistent
with the principles of religious liberty and the priority of funda-
mental individual rights which a democratic government must
guarantee.61
Such then, were the goals sought by the Brethren
through the venture into Civilian Public Service. The
relation of these goals to their basic Christian doctrine
seems self-evident. To the Brethren leaders an alterna-
tive service was primarily an expression of a religious
•"Official minutes of the Brethren Service Committee, November, 1945, page 108.
^Annual Conference Minutes, 1946, page 72.
48 Pathways of Peace
attitude whose roots lay in the teachings of Jesus. It was
this attitude which to them was the prize worth seeking,
preserving, and extending. Theirs was an effort to apply
this attitude to the events of a particular time and place,
and the impact of this effort upon the forces encountered
resulted in Brethren Civilian Public Service.
CHAPTER 2
The Men of Brethren CPS
The viewpoint of the Brethren leaders and the goals
which they sought through the development of an alter-
native service were very important factors in determin-
ing the course of the CPS program. Their viewpoint,
however, was but one of many which found expression
within the movement. Of equal if not greater significance
as factors conditioning the evolution of the program were
the ideals and thought patterns brought to the venture
by the men of Brethren CPS.
These men, the drafted conscientious objectors, repre-
sented a wide variety of backgrounds and beliefs. Con-
trary to first expectations, the majority of those assigned
to Brethren units were not of Brethren background.
Neither did they represent any other single, more or less
homogeneous group. Rather, their most characteristic
feature was an individual diversity. Some indication of
the great range of differences among them may be had
through a study of tables one to five. From the data
there presented it seems clear that in religious affiliation
and in educational achievement as well as in age, marital
status, occupation and geographic background, the dif-
ferences were marked. Even in regard to the funda-
mental questions of war, peace, and alternative service
there existed a decided variance of opinion among equally
50
Pathways of Peace
sincere groups. Among the men there were likewise dif-
ferences in social attitudes, in temperament, and in other
respects as well.
General Population Characteristics
One of the most readily noted points of difference
among the assignees of Brethren CPS was that of re-
Table 1
Religious Affiliations of Men in Brethren CPS1
Brethren
1,119
Pentecostal
8
Methodist
176
Baptist, Southern
8
Nonaffiliated
129
United Brethren
8
Friends
80
Episcopalian
7
Jehovah's Witness
66
Jennings Chapel
7
Congregational
Faith Tabernacle
6
Christian
48
Jewish
5
Mennonite
47
First Century Gospel
5
Church of Christ
44
Associated Bible
Christadelphian
39
Students
5
Presbyterian
38
Nazarene
5
Evangelical and
Evangelical Mission
Reformed
34
Covenant
5
Baptist, Northern
30
Church of the First Born 5
Disciples of Christ
27
Seventh Day
Lutheran
25
Adventists
5
Unitarian
14
War Resisters League
4
Church of God-
Assemblies of God
4
Independent
14
Plymouth Brethren
4
Evangelical
13
All others
51
Church of God-
Indiana
12
Total number of
Catholic
10
cases reported 2,104
1From a survey by Glen W. Crago, Background Data of Men Assigned to
Brethren Civilian Public Service, February 9, 1948, Table II. A special keysort
file of the Brethren Service Committee was used for this study.
The Men of Brethren CPS 51
ligious affiliation. A survey of two thousand one hundred
four assignees (table one) listed approximately half of the
men as Brethren (all branches), eight per cent as Metho-
dists, three per cent as Jehovah's Witnesses, and others as
members of the Friends, Mennonite, Church of Christ,
Christadelphian, Baptist, Congregational Christian, Epis-
copal, Evangelical and Reformed, Presbyterian, Disciples
of Christ, Lutheran, Catholic, and other denominations.
Nonaffiliates numbered six per cent of the group reported.
At the same time many religious attitudes were repre-
sented, including various degrees of fundamentalism,
conservatism, liberalism, and modernism, as well as the
a-religious attitude of agnosticism, and atheism. Such
differences in affiliation and interpretation represented
both an obstacle to the development of group unity and
an opportunity for the type of growth that comes to
individuals as they encounter viewpoints differing from
their own. The evidence available indicates that in a
general way the assignees felt the contact with those of
other faiths was personally enriching. In most instances
the prevailing spirit was one of appreciation. It also seems
evident that the lack of common cultural bonds and the
very diversity of beliefs diminished opportunities for
concerted group action.
In educational achievement measured in years of formal
schooling the Brethren CPS population also exhibited
a wide range of variation. Some of the assignees had little
or no formal school education. Others had as high as
twenty to twenty-four years of such study. Statistics of
one survey2 indicate that fifteen per cent of the assignees
had completed some grammar school study while an ad-
'Ibid., Table I.
52 Pathways of Peace
ditional thirty-one per cent had completed four years of
high school. Eighteen per cent had completed four or
more years of college-level study. Sixty-nine per cent had
completed four years of high school or beyond.
Table 2
Educational Levels of Men in CPS Compared With Men
in the Armed Forces3
Figures indicate percentages
Army*
e "8
« 8 .2 r-
SO wS
-t-
>-*
>
(9
Civilian
Public Sen
c
s -s
iceS
C
o
a
a
u
2
Grammar
1.5
28.6
26.3
15.7
4.4
41.2
1, 2, 3 years H. S.
12.0
32.6
38.6
14.2
7.0
13.9
H. S. graduate
22.2
27.6
28.2
31.6
20.2
23.5
1, 2, 3 years college
26.2
8.2
5.0
20.5
27.9
14.7
College graduate
21.7
2.1
1.9 J
9.0
20.3
4.1
Postgraduate
16.4
0.9
9.0
20.2
2.6
Average years
of education
14.0
9.4
9.3
• Figures from War Department. Bureau of Public Relations, as of June 30, 1944.
t Figures from Navy Department, Bureau of Naval Personnel.
X Four years of college or more.
Attitudes of the assignees toward using the period of
drafted service as a time for extending personal educa-
tional achievement differed. The goal envisioned by
the leaders of the CPS movement— that of forming the
8Data is from Adrian E. Gory and David C McClellan. "Characteristics of Con-
scientious Objectors in World War II," Journal of Consulting Psychology, XI, 5
(September-October 1947), page 248. Number of cases reported were: male officers
692,000; enlisted men 7,145,000; navy 3,017,172; BCPS 1,974; FCPS 1,711; MCPS
2,515.
'Chapter 4 discusses the educational program of the camps at some length.
The Men of Brethren CPS 53
camps and units into educational institutions of a new
order— met with hearty approval by many. A large group,
however, was neutral or apathetic toward the opportuni-
ites offered, while a small group tended to resent efforts
that seemed directed toward "educating" them. Apathy
increased especially as the term of CPS service was ex-
tended from one to four and more years.4
Figures on the age levels of the Brethren CPS men
as compiled in July 19435 indicate that approximately
half of the population was between twenty-two and twen-
Table3
Age Distribution in Brethren CPS Compared
With Armed Forces0
18-24 25-29 30-34 35 years
Age Group years years years and over
Brethren CPS 51.0% 34.2% 10.1% 4.5%
Army# (enlisted) 44.9% 30.3% 15.8% 9.0%
Navyf (enlisted
and officers) 58.7% 19.3% 11.7% 10.3%
* Estimated figures from War Department, Bureau of Public Relations, as of
September, 1945.
t Estimated figures from Navy Department, Bureau of Naval Personnel, as of
July 31, 1945.
ty-six years of age. Approximately three quarters of the
population was between twenty-one and twenty-eight
years. The extremes were represented by those of eighteen
years at one end and those of forty-five years at the other.
BFrom a compilation by Harold S. Guetzkow, Tables on Certain Characteristics
of the Civilian Public Service Population (a mimeographed report). Table III.
Number of cases reported, 1,452.
"Gory and McClelland, op. cit. Figures on Brethren CPS men are from Guetz-
kow, op. cit. Number of cases reported were: BCPS 1,452; army 7,100,000; navy
3.328,821.
54 Pathways of Peace
A comparison of age distribution in Brethren CPS
with age distribution in the armed forces is given in table
three.
All the major geographic sections of the United States
were represented in Brethren CPS. The area furnishing
the largest percentage of assignees was the east-central
group of states— Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio.
Over one third of the assignee population came from
that section (table four). The six individual states con-
tributing the greatest number of men were: Pennsylvania
(10.9%); Ohio (10.4%); Indiana (10.1%); California
(8.1%); Illinois (7.3%), and Michigan (7.2%).7 Rela-
tively few conscientious objectors were inducted into
Brethren CPS from the Rocky Mountain states or from
the New England states.
TFrom Brethren Civilian Public Service Personnel Data Summary, June 30, 194S,
pages 3 and 4. An interesting sidelight on geographic backgrounds is provided by
the following excerpt from an article discussing differences of language usage
among the assignees.
"Probably what we first noticed when arriving among men from many different
parts of the country was that some expressions worked pretty well, even though
we had not been used to hearing theml For instance, to a man from Kansas a
feeling of surprise and pleasure came from hearing Ray Sullivan of Tennessee
say, 'Along about dusky we are going to get out of here.' And to most of us
from the South and the Midwest, a certain sally flavor came from hearing Dan
Daniels of New York say, 'Why, he's a big schlemiel!' Then there are such ex-
pressions as that of Harl Tipton of North Carolina when he was asked what
he had been doing over the week-end— 'Oh, just codgerin around . . . .' Some-
times the variation in speech involves . . . the way the words are put together.
For instance: 'He was a no count man— a man bad to drink, you know.'
"Another part of the richness of speech in camp is the background of experi-
ence hinted at. Sometimes from the things said the listener can picture a whole
way of life not at all like what he has known. When Bryan Mills says, 'He was
the main singing leader around the barber shop there,' those who have not had
the chance of living where barber shops are places for singing get a sudden
realization of what they have missed. And when Jarrott Harkey says, 'We're in
the high cotton now!' those who have not lived in the cotton country get an in-
sight into the background of a new part of the world.
"And Hugh Boyd . . . with a sharp, imagination-prodding judgment of one
who has been telling about his own good deeds: 'Ah, yes/ says Hugh with a
knowing wag of his head, 'you went to church all right, but you was a thinkin
smilin' thoughts!' " (William Stafford, "How We Talk," Peace Pathways, June
10. 1942. page 6).
The Men of Brethren CPS 55
Table 4
Place of Induction of CPS Men by Regions8
Brethren
Friends
Mennonite
All
Region
CPS
CPS
CPS
CPS
East Central
35.0%
17.4%
30.6%
29.5%
South
17.6%
9.2%
7.9%
11.8%
Middle Atlantic
16.5%
39.6%
14.2%
24.0%
West Central
H.0%
9.0%
34.0%
18.3%
Pacific Coast
13.5%
13.3%
9.5%
10.9%
Rocky Mountain
2.8%
1-8%
3.8%
2.7%
New England
0.6%
9.7%
2.9%
The large majority of men assigned to Brethren units
were unmarried. A survey of 19439 lists seventy-five
per cent of the population as single and twenty-five per
cent as married. A later survey10 lists fifty-nine per cent
as single and forty-one per cent as married.
The significance of marital status as a factor condition-
ing the reactions of the individual assignee and the evolu-
tion of the CPS program is related at one point to the
no-pay feature of CPS. This arrangement made it almost
impossible for the man to assume the normal position
of wage earner for the family. Many serious problems
issued from this combination of factors. Marital status
also affected the development of group life within the
"Guetzkow, op. cit., Table V. The New England region included Maine, New
Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut; the Middle
Atlantic region, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, West
Virginia; the Rocky Mountain region, Montana, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Wy-
oming, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico; the Pacific Coast region, California, Oregon,
Washington; the east central region, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois; the west
central region, Wisconsin. Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota,
Nebraska, Kansas; the South, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Georgia,
Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Ten-
nessee, Texas. The approximate dates of survey were BCPS (7/43); FCPS (12/44);
MCPS (3/44); All CPS (12/44). The number of cases reported were: BCPS
(1.457); FCPS (1,749); MCPS (2.297); All CPS (7,777).
•Gueukow, op. cit., Table IV.
"Figure* taken from keyiort file of Brethren Service Committee. Mott of the
ditt in thii file wu compiled in 1945.
56 Pathways of Peace
CPS communities. In some instances the wives and chil-
dren participated in the unit activities and thus tended to
introduce a normal element into the group life. In other
instances family ties caused individual assignees to with-
draw from participation in the camp activities.
The major pre-induction occupations of the assignees
are listed in table five. The largest single group (twenty-
nine per cent) came from farming or other agricultural
Table 5
Pre-induction Occupations of Assignees of Brethren CPS11
Number
Percentage
of men
of total
Farming and Agricultural Work
599
29%
Farm hands, general farms
274
General farmers
186
Others
139
Professional
362
18%
Teachers, secondary
52
Teachers, college
27
Teachers, elementary
23
Social and welfare workers
31
Musicians and music teachers
28
Draftsmen
20
Others
181
Students
245
12%
Semiskilled Trades and Artisans
239
12%
Skilled Trades and Artisans
196
9%
Clerical
180
9%
Managerial
83
4%
Sales
65
3%
Others
20
1%
Unskilled
70
3%
Number of cases examined 2,059 100%
*Ibid.
The Men of Brethren CPS 57
work. Eighteen per cent of the men had been employed
in a professional capacity. Within this group the teaching
profession was most heavily represented. Clerical and
sales vocations had been followed by twelve per cent of
the population. Twelve per cent were students when
drafted. Only three per cent of the total group surveyed
were listed as engaged in unskilled work.12 In the light
of this data it seems evident that the CPS work projects
afforded only a limited opportunity for the utilization
of the occupational skills and training of the assignees.
The length of term of individual service within CPS
was also a factor of significance in the total pattern of
population characteristics. Each year the population be-
came increasingly a "veteran" group, for relatively few
discharges were issued during the main course of the
program. The significance of length of service was di-
rectly related to some of the important features of CPS
which were first planned on the basis of a year's service
(for example, the lack of pay, dependency allotments,
and compensation insurance). These features became
more and more a difficult problem as the years passed.
Table six lists the service status of the population just
prior to the beginning of systematic demobilization.
Table 6
Length of Service Terms of BCPS Assignees
October 194513
4 years of service 3 years of service 2 years of service Less than 2 years
161 men 541 men 635 men 636 men
"Data taken from Crago, op. cit., Table III.
"Statistics are from NSBRO form No. 114, October 1945, page S.
58 Pathways of Peace
Some Representative Types
Many diverse types of assignees were present in Breth-
ren CPS, ranging from those who were stable, mature
leaders and creative thinkers to those whom it became
necessary to discharge from service because of emotional
instability. Between these two extremes were others ex-
hibiting attitudes and responses of still a different quality.
So numerous were these divergent patterns of person-
ality that an adequate classification of the Brethren CPS
population in this regard is practically impossible. Yet
some distinct groupings may be recognized as occurring
rather frequently and as possessing fairly definite features.
Four such are described here.
Insight into the nature of these types may be had by
considering representative biographical sketches of in-
dividual campers.14 The first of these illustrate con-
structive, intellectually alert leaders who participated
fully in camp life. They were creative and adventurous
in spirit and sought the utmost achievement possible
within the framework of the CPS program.
Man of 28, a member of the Methodist Church with two years of
college training, belongs to Fellowship of Reconciliation (F. O. R.).
He is married and has one child. ... In camp he has shown him-
self a vigorous, fine-spirited man who enters eagerly into camp activi-
ties and wastes no time complaining.
Man of 23, member of Brethren Church, was college student; able,
willing, co-operative, active in educational and religious affairs. Has
had one of the camp's hardest jobs and has done it well.
Man of 26, a capable, hard-working person who belongs to one
of the traditional peace churches. He has a forward-looking reli-
uThese case studies are reproduced from a report of Dr. Anton T. Boisen. The
Morale of the Conscientious Objectors in Church Operated Service Units. The re-
port was based on an intensive three weeks' study of one of the Urge Brethren
base camps. The author, however, has not included the general types of classifica-
tion suggested by Dr. Boisen.
The Men of Brethren CPS 59
gious attitude. He is a college graduate and was a teacher by pro-
fession. He participates in all camp activities, both educational and
religious.
Man of 28, a graduate student in mechanical engineering who
changed over into social science; member of F. O. R. but not of
church. Married and has one child. A fine member of camp commu-
nity, intelligent, friendly, co-operative; active in educational af-
fairs but not much interested in present religious set-up.
Man of 28, a graduate of a good college and of an excellent theo-
logical school who refused to claim exemption by virtue of his min-
isterial standing. A hard, devoted worker of proven integrity.
Man of 35, of German ancestry, a very competent, hard-working
man whose motivation is deeply religious. . . . He is quiet, me-
thodical, friendly, participates in all camp activities and is liked and
respected by all.
A second group of assignees included men who, in
contrast to the first group, were primarily followers rather
than leaders. They were characteristically co-operative
in spirit and cheerful in carrying out their assigned tasks.
Within this group were many whose opposition to war
was mainly the result of the traditional religious teach-
ings of their churches. Their participation in camp ac-
tivities, especially those of an intellectual nature, was
limited. Representative of this type were the following:
Boy of 20, comes from a traditional peace church background. He
is a good dependable worker, but takes little part in camp activities.
His attitude is cheerful and co-operative.
Man of 21 who comes from a very conservative peace church. He
is a good worker and is co-operative in his attitude but participates
little in camp activities and has little intellectual outreach.
Man of 26, a farmer with two years of high school who belongs
to a peace church. A very good worker .... He accepts the situ-
ation and is co-operative in his attitude. He makes little effort to
change things.
Man of 40, belongs to a . . . sect which believes in the imminent
60 Pathways of Peace
second coming and is strongly pacifist in its teachings. A man of the
finest spirit. He does his work faithfully but takes no part in camp
activities other than those of his religious group. A very skillful
craftsman.
Man of 27, a farm-hand with 7th grade education, a member of
a Holiness sect. A very ignorant but extremely religious person.
Strongly fundamentalist in his beliefs, bases his pacifism on the Bible
teaching "Thou shalt not kill." He is cheerful, hard-working, co-op-
erative, liked by every one.
Man of 25, has a traditional peace church back-ground. He is one
of the camp's finest workers— quiet, faithful, dependable, attitude co-
operative but takes little part in camp activities.
A third group of assignees were those characterized by
personal frustrations. They resented deeply the com-
pulsory aspects of their assignment and developed various
psychological escape mechanisms, the most common of
which took the form of "going S.Q." (sick quarters).
In many instances these men became psychoneurotic with
accompanying physical disability. Typical of these were
the following:
Man of 24 . . . with high school education .... Very resent-
ful. Complained of bronchial asthma and had to sit down to breathe
several times while sawing thru a 10 inch log.
Man of 35, a college graduate, highly intelligent but moody. He
had actual physical disability . . . but was discharged chiefly be-
cause of his attitude. He was fitful in his work, in spite of light as-
signments, resentful in his attitude and had a vile temper.
Man of 26 . . . with high school education .... He was a pow-
erfully built man who complained constantly of pains in legs and
back. He was a poor worker, resentful and antagonistic in attitude.
He was unable to sleep at night.
Man of 25 . . . with two years of college. He complained of mul-
tiple allergies and stomach upsets and was on continual S. Q. His
attitude was discontented and resentful.
Man of 31 . . . with 8th grade education . . . vegetarian; morose
The Men of Brethren CPS 61
and uncooperative. He had continual quarrels with project superin-
tendent.
Man of 24, a university graduate; unable and unwilling to work
and unable to adjust to camp life. Enuresis two nights out of three.
Became more and more depressed.
Assignees of this group were often (but not always)
discharged following medical and psychiatric examina-
tions. The process of securing such a discharge, however,
was long and involved, and in the interim the man usually
suffered further personal disintegration. This class acted
as a deterrent to the development of group morale, and
presented many complex problems to the camp ad-
ministration.
Another group of assignees were those who responded
to CPS life with mixed feelings and attitudes. At various
times they exhibited elements of relationship to all three
groups which have been described. Representative of
such men were the following:
Man of 27 . . . . He has a college education and is intelligent
and friendly. His reasons for the pacifist stand seem definitely mixed.
He shows considerable resentment to authority. He participates ac-
tively in camp affairs.
Man of 26 . . . . His stand is due to the traditional teachings of
his church. He is a skilled mechanic and a conscientious worker. He
has been in camp three years. He has recently been getting in-
creasingly nervous and has developed physical symptoms. Worry
over his inability to support his wife and children seems the chief
factor. He participated in camp activities and is basically consci-
entious but there is much resentment.
Man of 25, a farmer who belongs to one of the peace churches
and took his stand on the basis of its teachings. He is a good worker
who has participated little in camp activities. There is no apparent
resentment in his attitude but he is now much depressed. He has
been sick a good deal since his arrival in camp.
62 Pathways of Peace
Man of 25, was a teaching fellow at a large university, belongs to
a liberal church and to the F. O. R.; a serious, hard-working fellow,
who participates in camp activities and is keeping up with his own
special studies. His antagonism ... is probably a symptom of in-
ward rebelliousness.
Man of 26, a graduate student in a large university, belongs to
F. O. R. but not to any church. A brilliant fellow who has been very
active in the camp's educational program. He has been very critical
of the camp administration .... He is opposed to the church's
participation in the CPS plan.
Man of 26, a high school teacher and a member of a liberal
church and of the F. O. R. He is actuated by idealistic and genuine-
ly religious motives. He is active in camp affairs, both religious and
educational. He is however, moody, gets discouraged easily and
gives evidence of much repressed hostility.
Man of 26 . . . has been in camp three years. He had previously
been a college student. He is active in the educational program. He
is at times quite resentful and says frankly that his stand as a CO.
was determined by the attempt to put pressure on him. In him and
in many others there is "a sort of anti-feeling."
Man of 29 . . . member of a liberal church. His pacifist stand
was due to his pastor's influence. Since coming to camp his zeal has
waned. He began complaining about conscription. He became bit-
ter toward the camp administration and developed a strong martyr
complex. He has been for four months on S. Q. with various
physical complaints.
Other types were present, as well, including men who
were natural leaders, and, at the same time, negative
toward many aspects of CPS. This group is described in
part in the following section.
War, Peace, and Alternative Service
Perhaps the most marked and important of the differ-
ences among the men of Brethren CPS centered around
the divergent viewpoints held by them in regard to the
The Men of Brethren CPS 63
fundamental questions of war, peace, and alternative
service. Such a divergency came as a surprise to many of
the leaders of the program who in their early planning
tended to assume that "religious objectors to war" would
hold a somewhat common point of view upon these sub-
jects. This surprise was also shared by others who had
occasion to consider the problem. One observer wrote
in the following vein:
The most shocking single observation of my whole tour was the
discovery of the unbelievably wide divergencies among the men in
even their attitude towards war and peace. Having received ad-
vanced statistics from most of the camps ... I was not too greatly
surprised by the vast divergencies due to differences of religious
denominational backgrounds, ranging all the way from Judaism,
Roman Catholicism, J.W.'ism and other extreme forms of religious
fundamentalism ... to the most extreme forms of actual agnosti-
cism, atheism, and anarchism. But the vastly divergent reactions to
even war and peace which I found in the camps were more than
just a surprise to me. I had prepared, as one of my lectures, an
address on "What the Outside World Expects of C.P.S.," only to dis-
cover—in the very first camp which I visited (and repeated in almost
every other camp later on)— that to announce this subject would
have meant to have kept many assignees from coming to hear it, be-
cause many of them, I was told in staff meeting after staff meet-
ing, "do not believe in C.P.S., so why should they come and listen
to a talk on such a subject?" When I offered to change the words
"C.P.S." in my subject to "Pacifists," I was told that this would not
do either, since quite a few of the assignees frankly state they are
not pacifists and do not wish to be called that. I finally gave the ad-
dress under the announced title: "What Does the Outside World
Expect of the Conscientious Objector?" ... ,15
Broadly viewed, most of the various beliefs held were
related to one or the other of two main centers of
"Report of Paul Arthur Schilpp to Morris T. Keeton, September 16, 1943.
page 2.
64 Pathways of Peace
thought.16 The first of these regarded Civilian Public
Service as basically evil in nature. The service was looked
upon as a phase of military conscription and as a form
of co-operation with a war-making government. As-
signees of this outlook felt that acceptance of the CPS
program was an acceptance of the right of the govern-
ment to conscript men for military work. Thus, "CPS
is too closely akin to MILITARY conscription; military
conscription is a device without which modern war as
we know it could not exist, and military conscription in
itself must be opposed equally as war."17
Others emphasized the viewpoint that, even apart
from the military aspects of the draft act, conscription
should be opposed. They felt that a free society could
neither be built nor be maintained by compulsion. For
them, even the more socially significant work in CPS was
diminished in value because "regardless of the work that
we do, we continue to substantiate the process of con-
scription .... How can we build the cooperative so-
ciety in compliance with a process that denies freedom of
choice?"18
A number of men of this viewpoint eventually "walked
out" of CPS. Their direct refusal to engage in work as
18It is very difficult, however, to characterize the Brethren CPS population ade-
quately in these regards. Brief, logical analyses do not convey the sense of the
total camp situation with all the many cross currents of thought and emotion that
were present. The discussion following is an abstraction, from the total Brethren
CPS milieu, of certain major attitudes and ways of thinking that seem important
to the author. It should be borne in mind by the reader that there were
many, many different degrees and nuances of interpretation and belief on any one
concern.
As an abstract and as an analysis the material can be helpful for purposes of
thought about and understanding of Brethren CPS. An analysis, however, is not
identical with a reportorial account of events.
"From My Viewpoint, a written statement of an assignee, October 1, 1945, page
18From Toward a Positive Affirmation, a written statement by an assignee, No-
vember 7, 1942, page 1.
The Men of Brethren CPS 65
conscripts was a protest against the draft law. They felt
the greatest service they could render society was to deny
the right of the government to conscript and to refuse
to contribute to the success of such a program. Thus,
"leaving Civilian Public Service, in a protest against con-
scription, is as I see it, one of the greatest contributions
toward future freedom that ... I can make."19
On the other hand a number of men who felt the
program to be wrong remained but refused to co-operate
with the work project of the government or the ad-
ministration of the units. In some instances they sought,
through active opposition, to have CPS displaced. To
many of this group CPS represented a kind of "lesser
jail" or "trusty farm." They felt, however, that it of-
fered greater freedom and opportunity for the promo-
tion of their goals of peaceful living than its alternative,
imprisonment.
In contrast to this interpretation, a second center of
thought viewed Civilian Public Service as a legitimate
function of the state. Assignees of this outlook felt that
as long as there were no violations of individual con-
science the government might lawfully demand their
services. To them Civilian Public Service was an alter-
native to military conscription, rather than a phase of
it. They recognized specific injustices as existent within
the plan but felt that these might be eliminated without
denying the validity of the total program. Many men
of this belief found much in common with the goals of
the church sponsor.
wFrora Why I Left C.P.S., a written statement of an assignee, September 28,
1943, page 1 ff. Men who walked out of CPS were usually prosecuted in the
Federal courts for violation of the draft act and were subject to imprisonment in
the Federal prisons.
66 Pathways of Peace
In more positive terms, many assignees of this persua-
sion hoped, through the work projects, to contribute ma-
terially to the conservation of both the human and the
natural resources of the world. Service in mental hospitals
and training schools, in scientific experiments, in pub-
lic health and rehabilitation projects, on farms and
agricultural experiment stations, in relief units, and in
other areas was looked upon as leading to this goal. At
a time when all the world seemed engaged in a work of
destruction they sought to render a positive service of
peace. To some of this group such a service was regarded
as an opportunity to "witness" for peace, to demon-
strate to the world a way superior to that of war. Others
felt that, apart from an extension of the peace witness,
Civilian Public Service was a practical means of conserv-
ing the peace belief among pacifists themselves. They
interpreted experience in Germany and Russia as indi-
cating the value of such a program, for in the latter
country, with a comparable alternative service, the paci-
fist belief had been maintained. In Germany, on the
other hand, where no alternative was available, the
pacifist witness had diminished greatly.
CPS was also looked upon as an opportunity for paci-
fists to meet others of like belief and through study
and association together to work toward a common plan
of action for building a peaceful world. A number of
assignees emphasized the opportunities for growth in
education that Civilian Public Service offered. Many
programs of study in fields of direct concern to these men,
such as relief and rehabilitation, pacifism, co-operatives,
Bible, community living, and others, were available in
the units. CPS was likewise thought of as an expression
The Men of Brethren CPS 67
of a religious attitude— a predication of a willingness to
serve and of the sacredness of life.
Through all these many value affirmations there ran
currents of dissatisfaction with what seemed to be specific
injustices within the plan of operation. Conceding the
right of the state to draft them to service, many assignees
sought to improve the terms under which they worked.
The lack of pay, dependency allotments, or compensation
insurance was a problem of vital concern. The seeming
unimportance of some of the base-camp work was also a
point of friction. Other issues to which the assignees
gave much thought were democratic procedures in CPS
administration, the relationship of the church agencies
to the state, and the expansion of the program to include
more work of direct and immediate benefit to persons.20
Such issues brought to the fore at least two divergent
patterns of response. One observer posed the question
in this light: "Does a man seek to conquer injustice by
love— i.e., demonstrate the sincerity of his purpose by pro-
ducing all that is required of him and even more, or
. . . does he boldly challenge injustice and set about to
dethrone it— i.e., resort to 'social action* . . . ."21
Adherents of the former view thought mainly in terms
of effecting change through loving service and personal
sacrifice. Their ideas and objectives were closely related
to a religious philosophy of service. To some of them
the "second-mile" attitude was the natural one to adopt.
They were among the campers who volunteered in re-
""These topics arc considered in some detail in other chapters in the book. The
relationship of the church agencies to the state and the question of whether or not
the church should co-operate with the state as an administrative agency in CPS
were closely associated with the whole problem of alternative service in the
minds of most assignees.
"Glenn L. Evans, Educational report, W aid port, June- July 1944, page 6.
68 Pathways of Peace
sponse to special emergencies, and who cheerfully as-
sumed duties far beyond the required stint of labor.
They were leaders and faithful participants in the re-
ligious life program. Their actions seemed to be predi-
cated on the assumption that the CPS experience was
worth while. Even as the tone of morale lowered in
the units, these assignees were very mild critics of church
administration, feeling appreciative of the support of the
church groups. To them CPS represented a vast im-
provement over the treatment of conscientious objectors
in World War I. Although considerable in numbers,
this type of camper was by nature quiet and to some ex-
tent self-effacing so that a casual observer of Brethren CPS
seldom sensed the total weight of such a group. Likewise,
they tended to produce few written documents, such as
open letters to friends, tracts, mimeographed "viewpoints/'
or critiques of CPS. They performed a full day's work,
assumed additional duties when necessary and made a
quiet witness for the ideals which they held.
The second group sought to effect change through more
direct means of action. Through protest and through non-
co-operation at the points of concern they hoped to re-
move undesirable features from the program. Some of
the techniques employed were the petition, fasting, the
use of political action, the work slowdown, and the strike.
These assignees supplemented such techniques by of-
fering positive suggestions and plans. Generally they were
forceful in the presentation of their ideas. In discussion
and in written summaries they presented their point of
view clearly and logically. On the whole, this group
was quite critical of church administration and of the
CPS experiment.
The Men of Brethren CPS 69
Within the CPS program each pattern of response
tended, to some extent, to reduce the effectiveness of the
other. Thus, equally sincere groups often found them-
selves seeking a common goal along widely divergent
paths.
In the light of the foregoing chapters, it seems evident
that Brethren CPS contained within itself many diverse
value systems. At some points the several ideologies and
modes of action came together in mutual accord, while
at others they diverged sharply. All in turn interacted
with other factors in the total milieu as well as with
one another. The program which emerged, described in
the following chapters, reflected this diversity and inter-
play of ideas.
Part II
The Brethren CPS Units: Base Camps
and Special Projects
In the beginning of CPS the organization of the as*
signees into working units centered around a pattern
known as the "base camp!* For several months follow-
ing the opening of their first camp at Lagro, Indiana, in
May 1941, this was the only type of unit sponsored by
the Brethren. As the program progressed, however, and
experience was gained, another type of organization came
to receive favorable attention, and to be developed, until
by the middle of the year 1943 there was well established
a second pattern, the "special project" Although the
number of working units increased year by year, and
the field of work broadened to include a wider range of
activities, these two patterns— the base camp and the
special project, each with its unique characteristics, and
yet each related to the other at many points— were the
basic modes of organization to which all units more or
less conformed.
CHAPTER 3
Base Camps: The Work Projects and the
Camp Organization
During the years 1941-1946 the Brethren administered
a total of fourteen base camps. Although each of these
units varied in some aspects from every other, each also
was marked by qualities held in common with all. It
is these common qualities which, taken together, afford
a picture of the typical base camp.
The Work Projects
The work to which the men of the base camps were
assigned was, on the whole, of a manual, outdoor, un-
skilled or semiskilled type. Very little previous training
was needed for the performance of an acceptable day's
labor. In each camp the project was carried on in co-
operation with one of three Federal agencies: the Forest
Service of the Department of Agriculture, the National
Park Service of the Department of Interior, or the Soil
Conservation Service of the Department of Agriculture.
The choice fell upon these agencies for several reasons.
In the first place, such work was then looked upon as
of greater significance than in the later years of the pro-
gram. In the second place, these agencies "were chosen
because these departments had a trained personnel in
the camps system and because the public was thought
74 Pathways of Peace
to be in a better mood to accept something that was al-
ready in operation rather than to start something new."1
In the third place, they were apparently one of the few
acceptable groups willing to use conscientious objectors
in those first months.
The testimony of General Lewis B. Hershey before
Congress is enlightening in this regard:
We went begging to find places to put them [conscientious objec-
tors], and the Department of Interior and the Department of Agri-
culture were good enough to promise to take over certain projects
for them. ... at the present time there is a great demand for
them, but we have certain commitments that we gave . . . ,2
Forest Service Camps
By far the largest number of the Brethren base camps
were operated in conjunction with the Forest Service.
There were ten such units established in all: four in
Michigan, two in Pennsylvania, two in California, and
two in Oregon. The first camp in Michigan was Cope-
mish,3 located at the site of the Brethren work camp on
the Joseph farm. This unit was very short-lived, opening
in June 1941 and closing in July of the same year, when
it was moved to a new site, Camp Manistee.4 Here there
was a longer stay until in July 1942 the camp was again
moved, this time to Wellston. Meanwhile another Michi-
gan unit, Camp Walhalla, had been established. Wal-
halla was opened in May 1942 and remained in opera-
tion until November 1943, at which time its campers
dispersed to a number of different units, although Wells-
*"Paul French Visits 21. Analyzes. Prophesies," The Columbian, I, 15, (Aug.
15, 1942). page 1.
'Congress Looks At The Conscientious Objector (Washington: NSBRO), page 64.
•CPS No. 1, also known as Marilla and Manistee.
♦CPS No. 17, also known as Stronach.
Base Camps: Projects and Organization 75
ton was the direction taken by many. Camp Wellston
proved more long-lived than its predecessors, not closing
until September 1946.
In Pennsylvania, Kane was the first camp established,
opening in July 1941 and closing in November 1944.
The second camp in this state, Marienville, was an off-
shoot of Kane, drawing its personnel from this parent
camp in September 1942 and returning there in large
part upon closing in November 1943.
Of the two California camps, Santa Barbara was the
first established, opening in June 1942 and remaining
until April 1944, when it was moved to a new location,
Belden. Camp Belden closed in May 1946.
Cascade Locks, Oregon, with the longest service record
of all Brethren camps, opened in November 1941 and
did not close until July 1946. Waldport, the second
Oregon camp, opened in October 1942, and closed in
April 1946.
Project Work: Fire Fighting
Common to all of the base camps, but of especial sig-
nificance to those of the Forest Service, was the duty of
fighting fire. Although the total days spent in this man-
ner were relatively low in proportion to the time devoted
to other types of work, they were among the most valu-
able in point of service to the nation. On the west coast
especially, where the summers are very dry, this was
the major occupation in terms of the significance of the
work.
Men chosen for the "first action" fire crew generally
performed minor chores in the immediate vicinity of
the pumper truck; and when a call came it was not
76
Pathways of Peace
Ca»ada
NORTH DAKOTA
SOUTH DAKOTA
NEBRASKA
KANSAS
Base Camps: Projects and Organization
77
78 Pathways of Peace
unusual for them to be loaded and away within two or
three minutes. Often they were able to hold the acreage
burned to a small area. In some cases, however, when
the circumstances were unfavorable, hundreds and even
thousands of acres were burned. Where man power was
short and the fire prolonged, the men were gone from
camp for several days. In such instances emergency fire
camps were set up immediately adjacent to the burn,
and here the men were fed and took what sleep they
could in bed rolls.
Fire fighting offered a dramatic contrast to the day-by-
day routine of camp life.5 The morale of the men was
always high as they responded to an emergency call and
prepared to spend days and nights in intense discomfort
and exhausting, often dangerous work. When the fire
siren blew, men ran from all directions to the truck,
seizing on the way army overcoats, gloves and socks, "K
rations," and sometimes complete outfits of old, warm
clothes. Dressing on the run they shouted in anticipa-
tion of the hours or days ahead of them in the smoke- and
flame-filled forests. The following account of a C. O.
crew on a fire in the lava country of northern California
aptly describes a typical fire-fighting experience:
The things we have seen on fires! They were the big adventures
... of West Coast CPS. We tore along the highway, the wind
buffeting us while we peeled oranges and squirmed down among the
duffel bags for shelter.
Twenty miles from camp we turned into the sawmill road and
picked up the rest of our men— about fifteen of them, where they
The most dramatic fire -fighting unit in CPS was that of the "smoke jumpers"
in Montana. There the men parachuted from planes to the site of the fire. This
unit was administered primarily by the Mennonites, with the Friends and the
Brethren co-operating. An account of this project may be found in the history
of Mennonite Civilian Public Service by Dr. Melvin Gingerich (in preparation).
Base Camps: Projects and Organization 79
had been piling brush all day. . . . We all transferred to the big
crew truck, with plank benches across the back, all open to the
scenery. We distributed to the brush crew the overcoats we had
brought them from camp, and some put the coats on at once, for
we were going to cross high country, and even in the late afternoon
the air from the snow near the road gets bitter.
[When the crew arrived] we set up tables, and a generator and
light circuit, and a telephone. Then we began the institution of
feeding— a tremendous institution on a fire.
Night closed in on us as we ate— steak, potatoes, peas, tomatoes,
lettuce, bread, butter, jam, raspberries, oranges, coffee, and a second
helping all around. . . . After supper we each took five blankets
from the supply truck and hunted for a smooth place on the ground.
[The next morning] each man was issued a backpack pump,
weighing about forty pounds or so, and a shovel or an axe. Five
CO's were issued to each Forest Service man; and, to the grumbling
accompaniment of sounds the cooks were making in protest of their
dishwashing, we filed away into the brush. . . . Volcanic dust
swirled about our boots, and we began to climb a jagged lava slope,
in an area sparsely overgrown with brush and some big pines. We
began to build a "fire line," or cleared space, downhill, about fifty
feet from the fire, which was still just a ground blaze and quiet from
the night coolness and humidity. We built about three fourths of
a mile of line, working farther and farther from the fire as the
day's heat allowed the flames to rise; and then we backfired into the
burn. It was a beautiful sight. I could look up now and then and
see, framed through a tangle of boughs, a chopper, his arms raised,
his axe swinging; or a tired packer, the curve of his back a picture
of weariness, bringing in water. Along part of our line the cover
was fir, incense cedar, and ponderosa pine, with underbrush of nut-
meg and madrone.
Our line held. By noon we were patrolling, now and then at-
tacking spot fires that sprang up from sparks alighting beyond the
lines; and as the midday wind came up we sometimes had the
breathtaking experience of seeing the fire crown in places within the
burn and go roaring like a waterfall, and spreading at runaway
speed through the tops of snags and live fir and pine.
80 Pathways of Peace
After noon we were sent to a new section of the fire, leaving a
few men to patrol where we had been. Our task was to dig and chop
out any hot tree, and to feel with our bare hands amidst the duff of
the forest floor to find hot places; for the fire would eat along under
the surface of the punky needles and bark. Whenever we uncovered
a hot place, we squirted water on it from our heavy backpacks. Ev-
ery half-hour or so we had to hike back to the pumper truck to get
a refill.
By midafternoon the fire was under control. We cleared off a
place and sat down for sandwiches one of the packers had brought.
Then we got up and patrolled, sighting along the ground for the
tiniest smokes; for the afternoon wind would be dangerous. When
the wind increased, about four, it raised three smokes in our area.
We put them out.6
Project Work: Other Activities
Closely related to fire fighting was a class of duties con-
cerned largely with preventative or preparatory measures
for fire control. Thus, some of the men were instructed
and then assigned to the maintenance and operation of the
portable, two-way radio sets used at the fires. Others were
trained in telephone repair work and detailed to this field
of activity. Meanwhile, during the dry season, it wras cus-
tomary for small groups of assignees to pack off to remote
side camps, where they served chiefly as fire crews, con-
stantly on the alert for an alarm. At the various ware-
houses much of the work was directly or indirectly allied
to fire operations. Here the campers repaired and cleaned
tools and equipment, loaded trucks, handled supplies, and
performed a multitude of other jobs which bore upon
this very important function.
When the dry season had passed and the fire hazard
•William E. Stafford, Down in My Heart (Elgin: Brethren Publishing House,
1947). page 54 if.
Base Camps: Projects and Organization 81
was thereby reduced, many days were spent in building
roads and trails into the back country, and the way was
thus prepared for speedier transportation in the event
of need. In some areas the assignees felled hundreds of
the dead trees of the forest, since it was these "snags"
that burned so furiously when once ignited, and scattered
sparks over dozens of acres.
Conscientious objectors were used also to build and
maintain the forest lookout systems. These consisted of
a series of towers placed on high mountains, command-
ing a clear view of the surrounding area. From these
lookouts it was possible with the aid of field glasses, charts,
maps, and instruments to detect and locate a fire almost
as soon as it started. By radio or telephone the alarm
was then given to the central crew dispatcher. An assignee
stationed in a lookout tower in the Blue Ridge Mountain
section of Virginia writes an interesting description of
his "cabin in the sky'*:
. . . twenty-four hours a day. . . . I'm sitting on top of the
world. . . . The only thing above me is the blue sky.
This is "Sharp Top"— on the Peaks of Otter, one of the highest
points in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The cabin is actually an ob-
servation tower for fire detection. It overlooks the Jefferson Na-
tional Forest and thousands of miles of surrounding territory.
I came up Saturday afternoon with Ranger Luck. We drove
for miles, zigzagging our way up the mountainside. We would
sometimes drive almost halfway around the mountain and back to
find that we were only a few feet higher than when we started.
We finally reached the end of the road, but our journey was only
begun. We had to carry the supplies the remaining distance, up a
trail hewn out of almost solid stone.
Eventually we arrived at the crest of the peak and the foot of
. . . the boulder heap.
Four sets of stairs lead up over the rocks and on to the tower
82 Pathways of Peace
itself, which is a structure fourteen feet square, erected on a frame
sixty-five feet high which is set in concrete blocks, which in turn are
embedded in the crevices of the rocks. The cabin is all windows
except one corner which is a door. It is very homelike inside with
tables, chairs, bed, stove, dresser, and two telephones. Electricity
is not available, so a kerosene lamp is used for light. In the center
of the room is a large table on which is located a map of the sur-
rounding territory. There are instruments for reckoning the loca-
tion of a fire by miles and degrees.
The most disagreeable factor is the wind. It is terrific at times.
It usually blows all nite with a tremendous velocity.
The one thing I dislike most is that I have to do my own cook-
ing. I am still living on hickory nuts, and yesterday I found a nice
persimmon tree, so I'll get by even if they don't send me any sup-
plies. I'll get used to the cooking, however— as hunger demands.
I'll get used to a lot of other things, also, that I'm not accustomed
to. But I intend to make the best of it and when I go down, about
Christmas time, I hope to be able to say that these two months I
spent close to nature were not entirely in vain.7
Important as it was, fire control was not the only large
service rendered. Many weeks and months were given
over to the program of reforestation designed to replant
the logged-out and burned-over areas of the national
domain. To this end crews of assignees labored in Forest
Service nurseries caring for the seedlings cultivated there.
At planting time these were delivered in great numbers
to the planting crews. The following account is descrip-
tive of this phase of Forest Service work:
Three hundred thousand trees were planted in five weeks of
typical Oregon rain, hail, and a minimum of sunshine.
Rousing cheers rose as weary Larch Mountain men finished the
last of the "little fir trees."
Swarming over a country left desolate by logging operations and
^Aubrey Garber. "Cabin In The Sky/' This Is Our Story, II, 2 (Nov. 1943).
page 12 ff.
Base Camps: Projects and Organization 83
forest fires, the mountaineers sunk their planting hoes in what dirt
they could find, reached into their canvas "shopping bags" for the
last of the future giants to be, tamped the trees in, and then left
them very much alone among the fallen logs.8
In the forests of Michigan, the men of Camp Wellston
were engaged in a similar task. There, in two years they
set out over 1,566,000 red and white pine trees, covering
approximately 1,426 acres.9 This work restored many
tracts of land to a fuller usefulness, and increased the
wealth of the nation.
There were, in addition, a multitude of other jobs
performed by the assignees. Many of them were trained
to be "timber cruisers." As such they "cruised" large
blocks of land with their chains and rods, estimating the
diameters of the trees and the number of logs therein
suitable for sawing. This survey work was used as a basis
for planning the cutting operations of the future. In
grazing country the men installed cattle guards and erect-
ed miles of fence. To develop further the recreational
facilities of the forest, crews were detailed to build and
maintain public campgrounds. Here they installed bench-
es, tables, fireplaces, and all the usual conveniences. In
some areas where insect infestation was proving more
damaging than fire, groups of men were sent to cut and
burn the infested trees as the only means of controlling
the pest. The men also assisted in controlling the spread
of tree diseases. This work was often directed against the
"blister rust," and took the form of rooting out and de-
stroying the gooseberry shrub which is the germinating
ground of the deadly fungus. Throughout the forests
•"Tree Planting Ends," The Columbian, I, 9 (May 23, 1942), page 3.
•These figures were furnished by P. S. Newcomb, Forest Supervisor, Lower Mich-
igan National Forests, upon request of the author. Letter of June 30, 1947.
84 Pathways of Peace
there was a good deal of maintenance and construction
work completed on the various buildings, ranging from
minor repairs to major alterations. Old structures were
moved, set on new foundations, repaired, reroofed, paint-
ed, and generally improved. Many were completely re-
designed by the addition or shifting of partitions, doors,
and windows. In some instances new buildings were con-
structed with assignee labor. Where needed, water and
waste disposal systems were installed.
There were also many other tasks for the conscientious
objector, a few of which were specialized assignments
calling for trained and skilled men. The bulk of the
work in the Forest Service camps, however, lay in the
areas indicated above.
Side Camps
The base of operations for the work assignments was
not always in the main camp. It often came about, in
the Forest Service units, that the work which needed to
be done was located several miles distant. To meet this
situation smaller outposts called side camps (sometimes
referred to as spike or stub camps) were established at
or near sites of need. Each was manned by a group
numbering from two to thirty or more assignees, plus
a Forest Service foreman. Sometimes permanent or semi-
permanent buildings were available for these units; but
it was not at all unusual for the accommodations to con-
sist wholly of tents. Communication was maintained by
the supply truck, which carried food, laundry, visitors,
replacements, and mail, as well as the latest rumors and
news, to these outposts.
Side camps were especially prevalent in the Pacific
Base Camps: Projects and Organization 85
coast area. There, during the season of high fire hazard,
it was customary to scatter several such groups throughout
the forest. In some instances, where duties other than
fire fighting formed the basic work program, side camps
were operated on a year-round basis.
National Park Service Camps
The Brethren were responsible for the administration
of two National Park Service camps, both of which
were located in Virginia. Lyndhurst, the first, opened in
May 1942 and continued until January 1944, at which
time it was moved to a new site, Bedford. Camp Bedford
was not closed until June 1946.
The main work of these camps centered around the
improvement of portions of the Blue Ridge Parkway, an
elongated strip of land stretching between the Great
Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee and the
Shenandoah National Park in Virginia, and designed
primarily as a scenic highway. This project involved
various duties, one of the most important of which,
especially at Lyndhurst, was the grading and seeding of
the roadbanks to prevent erosion and deterioration. A
good description of this is found in the camp newspaper,
This Is Our Story.
For the past several weeks work on the Parkway Project has con-
sisted largely of establishing protective plant growth on roadbanks
and narrow fields within the right-of-way.
This coat of grasses and clovers is calculated to prevent deterio-
ration of banks and fields and loss of soil by erosion.
. . . lime, and fertilizer, and seed are spread. . . . After the seed
has been raked in, straw or some similar material is strewn as a
mulch. This is held on the steep banks by brush and poles. In
86 Pathways of Peace
some cases provision is made to carry rain water from the road by
ditches or wooden chutes.10
In addition to the care of the roadbanks, time was
spent in enhancing the great natural beauties of the park-
way. Brush was cleared and, in some instances, trees were
removed to open to better view the valleys below. The
men constructed rail and stone fences, some of which were
utilized to enclose pasture land.
The removal of dead timber from the parkway was
a major activity, particularly at Bedford. Throughout
the area along the highway many trees previously killed
by blight were felled, cut into portable lengths, hauled
away, and finally sold. Brush and trimmings from such
operations were burned during safe periods when control
of such fire was a relatively easy matter, thus eliminating
a fire hazard during the dry season.
A typical day in this type of work is described in the
following camp newspaper article, Out on the Mountain:
. . . thus the morning dawns on Joe Camper .... About the
time he finishes gulping down his food, the morning watch begins—
a few minutes of devotional reading to start the day oft right.
The few minutes between breakfast and the work bells are spent
in preparation for project.
The first work bell rings at 7:50 during the winter, and last min-
ute items are hurriedly donned before the ringing of the last bell at
7:55. ... By 8:00 a. m. the first crew truck has started out with
the other two in close pursuit.
Joe sits in the rear of his crew truck with 28 others. Joe dozes
while others talk, argue, sing, or sleep as they go along or perhaps
his mind goes back to the week-end just past, or to the one just
ahead.
Joe's crew unloads. Teams of three men work together, and there
"Bob Coolidge, "On The Parkway," This Is Our Story, I, 5 (July 1943), page 6.
Base Camps: Projects and Organization 87
is quite a scramble for tools. Eventually each team acquires a cross-
cut saw, one or two axes, a sledge hammer, and 2 or 3 wedges.
"Let's get that big tree up there .... Mr. Moomaw, is that tree
too far back? O.K., gang, let's get it."
Joe cuts a five-foot measure stick while one of his teammates
clears from around the tree.
"Which way we gonna fall it?"
"It leans up hill quite a bit— maybe we can throw it at an angle
down this way. Let's try it."
A notch is cut in the direction which the tree is supposed to fall,
and two men use the saw while the other watches for falling limbs
and relieves one of the men occasionally. The dead chestnuts which
they are cutting down were killed about 25 years ago by the blight;
some of the trees are small . . . some of them measure as much as
five feet in diameter at the base; some are still very solid . . . others
are pretty rotten and soggy except for a shell of the outside. . . .
The trees are sawed into five-foot lengths, split into convenient
sizes, and stacked along the road where trucks can haul the wood
off by cords to tannic acid extraction plants.
"Timber! CRASH!!!"
With the tree down, Joe takes the measure stick and marks off
the 5-foot cuts, and uses the axe to remove limbs. As soon as the
first mark is made, the other two men begin work with the saw, so
that a block will be ready for splitting as soon as possible. Joe
finishes trimming the tree, then rolls the first block down to the
Parkway ....
All morning long the sounds of saws, axes, and hammers are inter-
rupted by the frequent fall of another tree ....
Right at 12:00, Mr. Moomaw yells, "Let's eat!" And he doesn't
have to say it twice! Fellows flock into line from all directions;
when all are present, grace is said. Each boy goes by the lunch box
and gets a spoon, an aluminum plate and a cup, two sandwiches, a
generous serving of beans or soup, crackers, milk, and dessert. Din-
ner is consumed while Joe sits on the ground, on a rock, or on a
pile of cord wood.
"That's all there is" says Mr. Moomaw— the SO minutes are
over and Joe goes back to work.
88 Pathways of Peace
The afternoon drags away; Joe either saws or splits wood until
that tree is all on the pile. Then another tree is attacked and the
process is begun again. As they saw and work together, Joe's team
may talk or sing, or exchange remarks with a nearby team.
Sometimes, Joe spends most of the day thinking ... he may go
into some of the reasons for his being in CPS— for his opposition to
war ... he may do some deep thinking on future plans ... or
again, he may not think at all, depending upon how the work affects
him that day. Occasionally there are beautiful views of the valley
below or of distant peaks . . . this may stimulate a few thoughts in
adoration of The Maker.
Four o'clock comes, and eventually 4:30 drags along with [the]
call, "Let's go!" Tools are checked in, and the crew climbs into the
truck with weary legs and tired muscles from the day's work.
At five, Joe descends from the truck in camp and rushes to his
cabin for mail— that letter from home or from her. . . . Supper is
followed by a short visit to the Co-op, and then Joe probably has
one or two classes to be met, letters to write, a book to read, or shop
work to do. The evening is gone only too soon, and Joe may be
in bed by 10:30 ... «
As in the Forest Service camps, fire fighting and its
many related activities were very important. The men
were instructed in the techniques of fire suppression,
divided into crews and, during marked dry seasons when
the hazard was high, were held in readiness to assist in
the event of need. Fire lookout towers were maintained,
and equipment kept in repair. Roads and trails were
built and many of the same routines followed as in Forest
Service camps.
Soil Conservation Camps
There were two soil conservation base camps under
Brethren administration: that at Lagro, Indiana, and
""Out On The Mountain." This Is Our Story, III, 3 (April 1944), page 10 ff.
Base Camps: Projects and Organization 89
that at Magnolia, Arkansas.12 Lagro, the first Brethren
unit to receive campers, was opened in May 1941 and
closed in November 1944. Magnolia opened in June 1941
and closed in November 1944.
At Lagro the work project was twofold: the major
efforts of the men were centered around soil conserva-
tion; but considerable time was spent developing the
Salamonie River and Francis Slocum state forests.
In general, the soil conservation work was carried out
on the near-by farms whose owners were co-operating
with the government program. These farmers supplied
the materials necessary for the job, and agreed to under-
take certain recommended conservation measures. In
return the government provided supervision by techni-
cally trained men and the labor of the campers. The
assignments included a variety of tasks. Among the most
important were: fence construction, gully-control work,
including sloping, seeding, and sodding of banks; ter-
racing; ditching and tiling; construction of stock water-
ing troughs; spring development; timber-stand improve-
ment; and tree planting.
The assignments in the state forest included: main-
tenance of picnic areas; maintenance of roads and trails;
painting and creosoting of buildings; tree planting; tim-
ber-stand improvement; and some minor forest chores.
At Magnolia, Arkansas, the project was almost entirely
soil conservation. The daily round of assignments here
included: terracing, channel construction and sodding,
meadow clearing, stock-pond construction, spring de-
velopment, fence building, road construction and im-
MIt should be noted that there were two units in Maryland whose work was
soil conservation. Since they did not have the characteristic features of a base
camp, however, they are not discussed here. See Chapter 7.
90 Pathways of Peace
provement, sodding of gullies, tree planting, contour cul-
tivation, controlled grazing, cover-crop planting, land
clearing and grubbing, and a few additional related tasks.
Some insight is given into what actually made up a
day on project in a soil conservation unit by the following
excerpt from the journal of a camper:
"There goes the work bell! So long, Ed. Have enough clothes on,
it's cold when you are out all day?"
"Well, how does this sound, Harry? I've two pair of pants, a wool
shirt, a sweater, and a jacket. Yes, and two pairs of socks too. See
you tonight, Doc." And I was off to the truck.
The trucks were lined up outside the garage with the foreman of
each crew at the tail-board. You checked which crew you were on,
sometime before the bell rang, at the work sheet posted in the din-
ing hall.
There were twelve in our crew, and almost a complete silence as
we rode off from camp. It's difficult to feel cheerful about a day's
work which has no remuneration, and is not of one's own choosing.
Then, too, the dust curling in from the back of the truck pro-
hibits any conversation that isn't gritty.
Arriving at the Turner farm Bill made assignments. Some to
clear brush, others to grub stumps, and Woody and I were assigned
to a large gum tree. It was about two and a half feet in diameter
and we were to dig it out. We took shovels and picks and be-
gan .... You dig around the tree, chop off large roots under
the soil as you go down, and eventually the weight of the top un-
balances the root and it falls, bringing the stump out too.
We worked steadily and by noon our "moat," as I called it, was
about five feet deep, but the tree was not showing any inclination
to lie down.
The truck driver stopped working about ten minutes before the
rest of us, and he had the water keg open, the stew and sandwiches
spread out and our metal dishes and spoons too. He had also built
a small fire, and some of us toasted our sandwiches.
There wasn't much conversation as we ate. One by one as they
Base Camps: Projects and Organization 91
finished eating, each man found some favored spot where he could
lie down and rest for a few minutes.
When the horn sounded we went back to our tree. About two-
thirty we were both grubbing at the roots when Woody noticed the
tree was slowly leaning [in] his direction. With a shout he scram-
bled out and I followed him. Gradually the tree leaned, then with a
sudden rending of the remaining roots it crashed to the ground.
Bill and Francis now joined us . . . [bringing] with them a large
saw. While Woody and I whacked the smaller limbs off with axes
they started to saw the trunk. By 4:30 the tree was finished . . . .
Then it was time to leave. We loaded the tools on the truck,
parked our weary frames on the benches and the trip back began.
This time there was more animation. There was some joking, a
little conversation and looks of anticipation on the majority of the
faces. The day's work was done, the required stipend met, and now
each would have a few hours to use as he wanted.
As the truck rolled into the garage those on the tail-board leaped
to the road and streaked toward the post office. The possibility of
letters was part of the cause for the smiles of anticipation on the
trip home.
Supper in half an hour made a grand rush on the showers. I ran
to my bunk, unbuttoning the outer layers as I ran. Down to the
last pair of pants and shoes, I grabbed a towel and soap, joined
the crowd in the shower room. The coming and going ones were
hopelessly mixed. A scramble of hot, tired, sweating bodies and clean,
fresh, slightly damp ones. . . . the bell rang while I was tying my
shoes.
Grace, good food, the latest news from Floyd and I'm in the office
by six signing liberty slips.
... [a] meeting ... a class in Psychology ... a half hour in
the library reading my letters and the newspapers.
It was dark in the cabins now, the lights were put out at ten.
I felt my way cautiously and quietly to the spot between the stove
and the sweet potatoes where my clothes go into the locker and my
body into the bed.13
"Edgar H. Grater, CO., an unpublished journal of one of the Magnolia
campers, page 28 ff.
92 Pathways of Peace
In both these camps, the men were called upon for
fire fighting duties, but not in as large a degree as in
the Forest Service or Park Service units. Moreover, the
fire fighting was on a much smaller scale in such projects
than in the Forest Service camps in the West.
Emergency Farm Labor and Issues of Conscience
In addition to the duties outlined above, the men of
the base camps were assigned, as part of their project
work, to emergency farm labor. This was a program
worked out through the co-operation of the Department
of Agriculture, the United States Employment Service,
and Selective Service, whereby in the seasons of critical
need for farm help the men of the base camps were re-
leased from their regular duties by the project superin-
tendent to work on the near-by farms. The farmer paid
for this help the prevailing wage of the region, which was
then forwarded to the United States treasury and im-
pounded there to await disposition by Congress. Through
this plan a great many days of labor went to assist the
farmers of the nation, and much food was saved from
spoiling. At times of pressing need all available men
in any one unit might be found so engaged.
This plan, however, raised serious problems for many
conscientious objectors. They felt there was no assurance
whatsoever that the wages earned would not be used to
purchase materials of war, or that the harvests of the field
would not be converted to serve military ends. For many
of them such a use of the product of their labor was as
much a matter of conscientious concern as was service
within the armed forces. A fair summary of the situation
can be found in a memorandum written in 1943:
Base Camps: Projects and Organization 93
The solution is not simple because various values are involved.
As pacifists we certainly are in favor of producing food and saving
it from spoiling; and then, too, many of our assignees are farmers
and are interested in farm work. . . . many farmers are facing
emergency situations. We believe in giving a helping hand.
On the other hand, certain aspects of this problem disturb us. It
is said that Selective Service should meet the situation by deferring
or reclassifying sufficient men to take care of farm needs. Many feel
bad because the wages of the men are turned over to the public
treasury which, though frozen for the duration, might eventually be
used for war purposes. Also in some instances the food harvested
is used directly or indirectly for military purposes.14
In addition there were brought to the fore other as-
pects of this dilemma such as replacing drafted farmers
and thereby making them available for the military serv-
ices, working for private instead of public employers,
receiving no pay although the money was earned, the
resemblance of such a system to the forced labor battal-
ions of the totalitarian nations, and the compulsive fea-
ture of the order establishing the farm labor work.
In the face of all these doubts many of the men came
to feel they could not conscientiously participate in this
work and so felt obliged to refuse such assignments and
ask for alternatives.
The Brethren Service Committee took the position
that the conscientious beliefs of the men should be re-
spected and that refusals to work based on conscience
should not be penalized. To achieve this end the men
were assigned to other jobs in the camp or were trans-
ferred to other Brethren units not likely to become en-
gaged in the farm work. Selective Service, although un-
14W. Harold Row, Brethren Camp Directors Memorandum No. 209, July 3,
1943.
94 Pathways of Peace
willing to withdraw the official directive which made such
work mandatory when requested by the farmers through
the prescribed channels, was willing for the problem to
be worked out locally on a voluntary basis when possible,
or to transfer the men to other Brethren units.15 In
1945 the service committee expressed itself on this issue:
[BSC] is deeply concerned that the consciences of C.P.S. men be
respected in all assignments, including those of emergency farm
labor. It cannot agree to "Absent without Leave" or "Refuse to
Work" records nor to involuntary transfer or disqualification for de-
sired transfer, nor the imposition of penalties or the denial of priv-
ileges for conscientious refusal to do such work. Also, it is opposed
to the establishment of new projects involving emergency farm
labor.16
Until the close of this program the dilemma was not
solved to the satisfaction of all concerned.
It was not alone in emergency farm labor that issues
of conscience were raised. It sometimes came about that
in the course of their daily assignments the men were
detailed to work projects which seemed to them to be
quite closely related to the military effort. Among such
assignments were the collection of scrap paper, metal
and rubber, the building of access roads to timber
needed for war industries, the cutting of wood eventu-
ally used by chemical industries, the construction of
roads used by the army, activities related to the mainte-
nance of aircraft warning towers, and other similar work.
In such instances, as in the farm program, the concerned
assignees felt obliged to refuse such projects and to re-
quest other assignments. Situations of this type pre-
cipitated very serious crises, and, at times, threatened to
Wbid.
"Official Minutes of the Brethren Service Committee, May 1945, page 97.
Base Camps: Projects and Organization 95
cause a complete breakdown of the CPS program. To the
campers, and to the Brethren Service Committee, the
problem was extremely critical, for the fundamental is-
sue of individual conscience seemed at stake. To the
government officials— Selective Service and the technical
agency— the problem was equally serious, for they felt
that the program of approved work should be carried
through, and that they were within the law in their
demands.
One of the major difficulties in these crises was that
varying opinions were held as to what constituted war
work. Practically all the concerned parties differed on
this point, and assignments that seemed reasonable to
some seemed unreasonable to others. Even among the
assignees, viewpoints differed, and some men felt able to
accept assignments that others felt conscientiously bound
to reject. The law providing the alternative service con-
tained only the phrase "work of national importance
under civilian direction."
A second difficulty centered around the problem as to
what constituted a recognition of conscience. Some felt
that if the men were provided with alternative tasks, the
issue was solved. Others felt that in addition to this step,
a full recognition of conscience implied that the indi-
vidual's opportunities and privileges within camp, or
for transfer to other desired projects, would not be di-
minished because of his conscientious objection.
In the first months of the program, the brunt of the
encounters with the government officials was borne by
the assignees, with the assistance given by local camp
directors varying from unit to unit. By 1942, however,
the national Brethren administration was following a
96 Pathways of Peace
policy of intervention with the government on such mat-
ters. Perhaps the most crucial issue of this type in the
program arose at Cascade Locks in that year. There the
Forest Service was undertaking to open to production a
new area of the forest in what was apparently an effort
to supply critical materials to the war industries of the
Pacific Northwest. Assignments to this project were
protested by the men and the issue was brought before
the Brethren Service Committee. Several critical confer-
ences were held between church and state officials, with
the Brethren administrators taking the position that "no
man under any circumstances is to be forced to accept
a work assignment in violation of his conscience."17 This
stiffened attitude was further evidenced by the apparent
viewpoint of the Brethren officials, that, if necessary, they
would withdraw from the administration of the CPS
program over this issue. As a result, the Forest Service
abandoned the idea of using CPS men on this project.
In the years following, other issues involving war-
related work arose, with the men and the Brethren ad-
ministration resisting the pressures to accept such assign-
ments. While, in the face of such protests, other assign-
ments were usually provided, there remained a tendency
on the part of the government officials to restrict the
privileges of the objectors in various ways, including the
denial of desired transfers, and in a few instances, the
forced transfer of such men to government units.
A second example of a project involving war-related
work may be cited from the history of Kane. At that
camp, the assignments included the cutting of many
"Letter of an Elgin staff member to A. J. Muste, June 18, 1943. explaining
the position of the service committee in this regard.
Base-camp Sites. Above: Lagro, Indiana, fairly typical in its arrangement
and buildings
Below: Cascade Locks, Oregon, in the scenic Columbia River gorge. West-
ern camps had especially beautiful surroundings
Religious Life
Cascade Locks, Ore-
gon, chapel ready
for a wedding
Dormitory devotions
Walhalla, Michigan
chapel
Eating and Sleeping. These scenes could have been duplicated at practical-
ly any base camp, but dormitories were rarely as roomy as the picture below
suggests
The Work
All aboard for the
project
Sighting a fire from
a lookout tower
i>-
K
Tree planting, Mag-
nolia, Arkansas
Base Camps: Projects and Organization 97
trees in the more densely wooded areas in order that the
remaining timber stand might be improved through this
thinning operation. But, since it was impractical to
let such wood remain in the forest where it constituted
a fire hazard, and since there were companies eager to
purchase this vital raw material, much of it was sold to
these firms, where it came to be used in the production
of items directly related to the war effort. Although the
sale of the wood was later restricted to one of the firms
not directly engaged in producing items of war, dis-
satisfaction still remained. Transfer to other Brethren
units or assignment to different tasks within the camp
seemed the only possibilities to relieve the situation. Two
of the men refusing such work were transferred to a
government camp by Selective Service although the trans-
fer order was protested by the men and the service
committee.
In considering the history of the several projects in-
volving objection to war-related work, some points may
be noted. Those men for whom the assignments were an
issue of conscience seemed willing to stand by their be-
liefs in disregard of personal consequences. The Brethren
administration early moved to the support of such in-
dividuals. The government agencies generally provided
alternative assignments in the face of the protests, and
thus, in effect, recognized conscience, but, at the same
time, they tended to place restrictions on such men in
various ways, thus limiting the recognition.
Other Concerns
In addition to the problems indicated above, there
arose within the work program another dilemma of im-
98 Pathways of Peace
portance. This question centered around the nature of
the work being approved for the base camps. As has been
indicated, this work was largely of an unskilled or semi-
skilled nature and was concerned primarily with the
conservation of the great natural resources of the nation.
Within a short time following the establishment of the
camps a number of men came to criticize such work.
They voiced their concern from several standpoints. The
chief criticism, perhaps, was that although such work was
important, other work of still greater significance to the
welfare of the nation was being left undone. They point-
ed out great areas of need lying in the realm of the con-
servation of human resources, and indicated their desire
to serve directly the more immediate needs of human
beings in such fields as hospitals, public health, slum
clearance, juvenile delinquency, work with underprivi-
leged groups, and similar projects. Approval for such
assignments was sought by the conscientious objectors
and the Brethren Service Committee through the Na-
tional Service Board, and by March 1942 the combined
efforts secured some results. At that time Selective Serv-
ice approved the establishment of a special public health
project in the State of Florida (Crestview). In the
months and years following, special projects were con-
tinually sought, and although many proposals were dis-
approved, several were accepted. In almost every instance
one of the goals sought in the establishment of special
projects was work of more direct and immediate bene-
fit to human beings.
A second concern voiced by those associated in the
work program of the base camps centered around the
lack of opportunity for using the special skills and train-
Base Camps: Projects and Organization 99
ing of the assignees.18 Many of the drafted men pos-
sessed a proficiency acquired only after years of study
and practical experience. To a number of this group it
seemed a waste of talents to work in an unskilled capacity
when their skilled services seemed so vitally needed in
a nation short of labor. The development of special
projects provided a partial answer to the difficulty, yet
even this program was limited in the number of posi-
tions requiring the particular qualifications possessed by
individual conscientious objectors. Individual assign-
ments, a proposal offered in answer to the problem, were
not favored by Selective Service, for they felt the diffi-
culties of administering such a program and maintaining
control over the assignees would offset the advantages
to be gained. Selective Service also felt doubtful that
public opinion would support a plan of individual as-
signments. Effective utilization of assignee skills was one
of the unsolved problems of Civilian Public Service.
Table 7
Work Accomplishment Record
Base Camps
Unit of Amount Man Days
Type of Work Measure of Work. Used
Truck trails Miles 3,828 76,443
Forest stand improvement Acres 13,706 73,804
Fire presuppression Man days 51,247 5 1 .247
Tree planting Acres 13,172 36,978
Camp repair, buildings Man days 32,547 32,547
Nursery Man days 26,407 26,407
Buildings, miscellaneous Number 432 25,619
Emergency farm labor Man days 24,740 24,740
"See chapter 2.
100 Pathways of Peace
Equipment repair Man days
Fighting forest fires Man days
General cleanup Acres
Fire hazard reduction Acres
Fence Man days
Timber estimating Acres
Foot trails Miles
Telephone lines Miles
Surveys Man days
Camp ground cleanup Acres
Bank sloping Man days
Seed sodding Man days
Ditch cleaning Square yards
Dwellings Man days
Preparing transportation Man days
Stock trails Miles
Signs Number
Water supply systems Number
Reservoirs Number
Channel construction Man days
Razing undesirable structures ..Man days
Marking boundary Miles
Vehicle bridges Number
Landscaping Man days
Soil preparation Acres
Buildings Number
Emergency Man days
Fire hazard reduction roads . . . Miles
Tree insect control Acres
Lookout towers Number
Equipment buildings Number
Springs developed Number
Warehousing Man days
Wildlife work Man days
Pest control Acres
Sewage disposal Number
Fire breaks Miles
21,936
21,936
21,063
21,063
1,243
1 7,963
2,663
15,740
15,210
15,210
98,784
14,948
1,693
14,179
2,288
13,557
11,663
11,663
736
11,586
10,991
10,991
10,911
10,911
,009,984
9,071
8,076
8,076
7,395
7,395
278
7,300
8,632
6,369
45
4,833
46
4,166
4,003
4,003
3,839
3,839
791
3,730
153
3,707
3,397
3,397
487
3,160
10
2,403
2,230
2,230
34
2,169
14,497
1,969
31
1,956
17
1,955
41
1.792
1,791
1,791
1,757
1,757
8,816
1,702
18
1,692
98
1,622
Base Camps: Projects and Organization 101
Cabins Man days
Seed collection Bushels
Foot bridges Number
Channels Cubic yards
Clearing Acres
Power lines Man days
Fire prevention Man days
Experimental plots Man days
Terracing Miles
Maps-models Man days
Lookout tower houses Number
Limestone hauled Tons
Outlet structures Number
Insect pest control Acres
Eradicating exotic plants Acres
Garages Number
Pasture sodding Acres
Range revegetation Acres
Diversion ditches Lineal feet
Seed collection Pounds
Pipe lines Lineal feet
Latrines Number
Stream bank protection Square yards
Rodent control Man days
Road erosion control Miles
Cattle guards Number
Parking area Square yards
Water control structures Number
Contour furrows Miles
Temporary dams Number
Concrete walks Lineal feet
Rip rap rock Square yards
Cribbing-filling Cubic yards
Dams Number
Gully tree planting Square yards
Wells Number
Tree moving-planting Man days
1,433
1,433
1,899
1,308
16
1,204
2,746
1,187
20
1,055
930
930
921
921
850
850
57
729
605
605
6
515
411
499
563
497
2,988
484
329
465
7
375
79
267
127
225
6,650
178
1,676
170
1,055
158
7
143
2,500
142
141
141
.2
134
3
119
1,150
78
2
75
3
70
75
65
296
62
14
62
241
60
1
49
54,600
32
2
22
18
18
102 Pathways of Peace
Permanent dams Number 4 18
Tables-benches Number 32 17
Levees Man days 14 14
Other work Man days 8,277 8,277
Total man days 643,269
Table seven is compiled from Selective Service Form DSS52, a
quarterly work accomplishment report submitted by the using agen-
cies. The figures are for the "field work" only, and do not include the
camp overhead (cooks, laundrymen, CPS clerks, barber, educational
secretary, etc.), nor do they include sick quarters, furlough, transfer
travel time, etc. Totals are for both new work and maintenance.
The Camp Organization
For the most part the housing facilities of the base
camps were old, abandoned Civilian Conservation Corps
structures in various stages of disrepair. Sleeping quar-
ters were provided in long wooden buildings, approxi-
mately twenty by one hundred feet, capable of accommo-
dating forty or more men. Each occupant had space for
a single iron cot, a clothes wardrobe, and a small writing
shelf. Although custom varied from camp to camp, and
even within any one camp, the usual practice was for
the entire building to have no partitions, thus making of
it one huge sleeping room. In each camp there were
four or five such barracks.
The other buildings were of the same general nature
as these quarters—long, wooden, bare of any beauty— only
with appropriate partitions to separate the various sec-
tions, perhaps into a barber shop, a library, a social room,
a chapel, a craft shop, or a small camp store. The ware-
houses, the garages, the camp offices, the bathhouse, the
kitchen and dining room, and the quarters for the camp
Base Camps: Projects and Organization 103
director and the project superintendent usually com-
pleted the available facilities. Although the buildings
lacked grace of line, they were often situated in surround-
ings of great natural beauty, especially in the camp sites
of the far West.
A Dual Administration
Within the base camp organization there was a divided
responsibility for the program. The camp director, repre-
senting the Brethren Service Committee as the "admin-
istrative" or "sponsoring" agency, was responsible for the
total operation of the camp, excepting the work project.19
This latter was under the direction of the project super-
intendent, representing the co-operating technical agency,
either the Forest Service, Soil Conservation Service, or
National Park Service. He was an experienced and
trained man in the line of work being carried on, and was
usually assisted by several foremen who, like him, were
paid employees of the technical agency.
Each morning the available men were turned over to
the project superintendent for the day's work. He then
assigned them to the various tasks at hand, sometimes
under the direction of a foreman, but often wTith only a
few verbal instructions. At the end of the work day the
men were returned to the jurisdiction of the camp
director. In actual practice the process was very informal,
the men simply appearing in the morning at a designated
place to hear their assignments for the day, and, upon
return to camp or at quitting time, dispersing to the
""Total operation" included responsibility for meeting the expenses of food,
laundry, office supplies, clothing (where needed), educational, religious, and recre-
ational programs, and many other items. Chapter 14 describes these matters in
detail
104
Pathways of Pence
TYPICAL WORK ASSIGNMENTS AT
STAFF
Sollenberger-Asst. Dir.
Maiden— Ed. Director
Sargent— Recreational
Johnson— Infirmarian
Myers. D.-Businca Mgr.
FOREST SERVICE OVERHEAD
Adams— Watchman
Meuinger- Tool house
Conner-Camp Mice.
Hamer
Lehman— Radio Mtce.
CLERKS
Al Miller
Stafford
Higgins
KITCHEN
LAUNDRY
Klaus Brown. M.
Myers. M.
Herbst Mason
Schmucker
Plocher Jarboe
Snyder
Ganger Hamm
Seps
Root
RANGER STATION
Weybright Bcrnhart
Green. Elmore
WAREHOUSE
Guengerich Downing
Ward, J. Westwick
Keith, F. Whitmer
McCoy Sharp
WOOD CREW
Stocksdale
dark
Myers. W.
Summers
Markley
Barnard
Nelson
Wesner
Kester
Force
Hood
Berg
Hale
Fee
Rossi ter
ALAMAR TRAIL MTCE.
Herrera, R. Crist
Balster
Ziegler
Wekh
KobzeS
CONDITIONING
Daniel, G.
FIGUEROA ROAD
Garman Wik
Bannister Kinzie
FURLOUGH
Shellabarger
Brumbaugh
Winters
Bowers
Santos
DiUex
Base Camps: Projects and Organization
105
CAMP SANTA BARBARA
ADDITIONAL C.P.S. OVERHEAD
OTHERS
MT. PINOS (EMERGENCY WORK)
Summers, R.
Thomas
Myers, R.
Carlylc
Short
Miller. M.
Dubois
Nora
Minntch
Burritt
Good
Heck man-Secretary
Schubert— Inventory
Custer— Farmer
Ward. W.
BUCKHORN TRAIL MTCE.
Williams Pritchard
Woodard dine
Bye
COAST RIDGE CREW
(RINGON TRAIL)
Hoiking McKinney
Stuart Menke
Nunn
GRIDLEY TRAIL MTCK.
Daniel, L. Ikenberry
Sides Lewis
'George
OJAI DISTRICT TRAIL
Bollinger Noffstnger
Geyer
SESAR CANYON TRAIL
Hoffman Shively
CottreU Briggs
Weldy
S.Q.
Morrison
Faukooer
Walters
Keith, G.
Fisbback
PINE CANYON RD. MTCE.
Tremblay Herrera, E.
Bockman Mallott
Robucka
PINE CANYON DWELLING CONST.
Brown, H. Anderson
106 Pathways of Peace
bunkhouses, showers, mailbox, or wherever their fancy
might direct them within the bounds of the camp.
At the side camps a similar plan was followed, the
director and the project superintendent being represented
by designated responsible persons.
Although authority within the camp was thus divided,
the power of discipline was vested at all times in the of-
fice of the camp director, even for the work hours. The
project superintendent could not take direct action but
rather had to report his concerns to the director, and in
the event of dissatisfaction with the steps taken, had re-
course to an appeal to Selective Service.
Director and Staff
The camp director, as has been said, was responsible
for the total routine of camp other than the work project.
In actual practice he found it necessary to delegate some
of his responsibilities to his staff. Usually the staff con-
sisted of assistant director, business manager, kitchen
manager, infirmary attendant, educational secretary, re-
ligious-life secretary, and personnel secretary. In the first
months of the program the business manager and the
kitchen manager (often the director's wife), as well as the
director, were chosen from outside the ranks of the
drafted campers. Within a relatively short time, however,
it became the accepted practice to draw all the staff mem-
bers from among the assignees, and by late 1943 it was
not uncommon for the directors to be chosen from the
same source.
The duties of the director were quite varied. His was
the responsibility for co-ordinating all the various phases
of the camp into a harmonious working unit— of trying
Base Camps: Projects and Organization 107
to provide for all the different elements of camp life in
a way which did violence to neither the individual groups
nor to the larger camp society. The official relationships
and contacts with the technical agency were usually estab-
lished by him. In matters of public relations he often
served as the interpreter of the camp to the near-by com-
munities, meeting with public officials, service clubs,
churches, and similar groups. He likewise was often the
interpreter of the camps to the near-by Brethren churches
and the district. In some instances, he served as a coun-
selor to the men, and was one of the leading influences in
developing the religious-life program of the unit.
Those men who served as directors in the Brethren
camps were: Lewis Beckford (Bedford), Lloyd C. Blick-
enstaff (Copemish, Manistee, Wellston), Paul Bowman,
Jr. (Lagro), S. Loren Bowman (Marienville), Robert Case
(Cascade Locks), Harold Cessna (Waldport), D. K. Chris-
tenberry (Belden), William Cline (Wellston), Enoch
Crumpton (Waldport), Charles Davis (Cascade Locks),
Clyde Forney (Lagro), Earl Garver (Bedford, Lyndhurst,
Wellston), D. C. Gnagy (Santa Barbara, Belden), Samuel
Harley (Lyndhurst), Graham Hodges (Wellston), Q. A.
Holsopple (Kane), Ora Huston (Magnolia), C. E. Kim-
mel (Waldport), Mark King (Marienville), Ercell Lynn
(Marienville), J. H. Mathis (Magnolia, Lagro), Omer
Maphis (Walhalla), Richard Mills (Waldport), Vernon
Nichols (Kane), Eugene Palsgrove (Wellston), Mark
Schrock (Cascade Locks), Wesley Smith (Cascade Locks),
Robert Sollenberger (Bedford), Galen Stinebaugh (La-
gro), Carl Throop (Magnolia), William Tittle (Wells-
ton), O. P. Williams (Belden), Milo Yoder (Walhalla),
and Levi Ziegler (Kane).
10$ Pathways of Peace
The duties of the various staff members were much
the same in all the base camps. Thus the assistant direc-
tor relieved the director of many routine administrative
duties, and in the absence of the latter assumed his of-
fice. The business manager kept the financial records,
received and disbursed the funds, and often arranged for
the purchase of needed materials. The kitchen manager
prepared the menus, was responsible for the ordering and
care of the food, and supervised the kitchen. The in-
firmary attendant rendered first aid and minor nursing
services, arranged for medical and dental treatment, main-
tained the records of the ill and injured, and was in
charge of the camp infirmary. The personnel secretary
acted as a counselor to the men, kept their records, ad-
ministered tests, and arranged for furloughs, transfers,
and discharges. The secretary of education, often under
the guidance of a camp committee, arranged for classes
in various subjects, visiting speakers, forums, institutes,
panels, informal discussions, and other related activities.
The religious-life secretary, likewise often assisted by
a camp committee, was responsible for such functions as
the Sunday worship services, the morning devotions, the
scheduling of visiting pastors, Bible study, and other de-
velopments of a similar nature.
The Overhead
Since the staff members were assignees and their duties
were such as to require full-time service, each camp was
allotted a specific quota of men who could be retained
from assignment to project work. This quota, known
as the "overhead," varied in proportion to the number
of men in camp, reaching, for example, twenty-three in
Base Camps: Projects and Organization 109
a unit of one hundred twenty-five and twenty-seven in
a unit of one hundred seventy-five.20 In addition to
the staff members noted above, the overhead usually car-
ried the cooks, dishwashers, bakers, barber, librarian,
laundry workers, office secretaries, and farmer.21
The larger housekeeping duties, such as the hauling of
wood, garbage disposal, bathhouse maintenance, scrub-
bing of buildings, care of such livestock as was on the
premises, maintenance of the equipment, and innumer-
able other services, were assigned to the "special detail/'22
a quota in addition to the overhead, released from the
project for these tasks.
Camper Organization
Within the camp organization the assignees attained
to some share in forming policy and determining the
direction and emphases of the unit program. This was
especially true of those aspects of camp life which the
original understanding between Selective Service and
the National Service Board had left under the supervision
of the church. Included here were such activities as edu-
cation, recreation, religious life, and other leisure-time
enterprises, and such relationships as developed among the
campers, one with another, and between the director and
the campers as a body. This sharing in the government
of the camp developed as a mutual understanding be-
tween the director and the men. The formal organiza-
*°Selective Service Administrative Directive No. 4, Jan. 15, 1943, page 1.
^Although not located within the camp boundaries, the camp farm was an
integral part of the unit. In most instances it was rented from nearby land own-
ers, and worked by one or two assignees carried, as indicated, on the overhead
quota. In this way much food was raised at a considerable saving over market
cost.
MAlso known as the Saturday Turnback.
110 Pathways of Peace
tion through which the men expressed themselves and
decided those issues before them was the camp meeting.
This was a simple assembly of all the campers, whose
decision was taken as the highest expression of their will.
To carry out such decisions there was usually an ex-
ecutive group or council, appointed by and responsible
to the camp meeting. In addition to the council, a series
of committees, as a recreation committee, a religious
life committee, a work committee, and others, was ap-
pointed to care for specific concerns.
Though the camp meeting was an important factor in
providing the assignees with a share in the government
of the camp, it was not the only significant channel
through which they were able to express their will. In
many units the practice of filling some staff positions
through a camp election developed early in the program.
As the months and years passed the practice became more
widespread until, in the latter days, most of the staff
offices were so filled. Meanwhile the mode of selecting the
director had become increasingly democratic. In the
first years the directors were appointed by the service
committee. By the beginning of 1944, however, this
method of direct appointment was being abandoned in
favor of appointment through the "conference method."
This was a plan designed to give a voice to all concerned
parties.23
Further, the fact that the staff (and often even the di-
rector) were themselves assignees provided for an ad-
ditional injection of the assignee viewpoint into the camp
government. Sharing as they did the same pattern of
life as the rest of the camper body, excepting in work
»Sce page 412.
Base Camps: Projects and Organization 111
assignment, they could not fail to bring to their decisions
all the subtle influences that were common to them and
their fellows by virtue of their conscientious objector
position.
It is important to note, however, that although in
many ways the campers had a large voice in determining
the course of camp life, in two very significant areas they
had no direct control. These were: (1) in the official re-
lationships established between the technical agency and
the camp; (2) in the official relationships established be-
tween Selective Service and the camp.
In addition to the activities directly related to the work
projects were the many other aspects of camp life. It is
with these developments that the following chapter is
concerned.
CHAPTER 4
Base Camps: Camp Life
Beyond the work-project duties to which the men of
the base camps were assigned lay another program of
activities aimed to make more meaningful and vital the
off-duty hours of the campers. Work under the super-
vision of the Forest Service or other agencies accounted
for approximately one third of the day's routine, leaving
to the assignees some six or eight hours to spend in other
pursuits. To many of the participants and leaders of
the CPS venture these leisure-time hours appeared as a
unique opportunity for achieving progress in the pro-
motion of the way of peace. They envisioned the period
of camp life as a time during which conscientious ob-
jectors could, through a program of study and community
living, grow individually and as a group toward a realiza-
tion of the major goals of pacifism. To them camp pre-
sented an opportunity to "prepare a large number of
young men for creative leadership in building brother-
hood and international goodwill," to "prepare for service
of reconstruction," to "develop future leadership for the
church," and in other ways to become trained for living
and serving in the kind of world which was emerging.
Basically the realization of these goals was sought through
the development of a camp community exemplifying
ideals of "cooperative, non-violent, and serviceable com-
Base Camps: Camp Life 113
munity living." It was thought that within such a com-
munity emphasis upon educational and religious devel-
opments, especially, would lead to the goals sought.
That the program undertaken achieved only a partial
success is easily discovered. At no point did the camps
reach the high levels of attainment hoped for by the par-
ticipants in the movement. Militating against the growth
in camp of an ideal community were a number of factors
not to be lightly put aside. Yet there was much excellent
growth. It is to this story of camp life and the successes
and failures found there that this chapter is devoted.
By way of explanation it should be noted that the
descriptive materials refer primarily to the main base
camps rather than to their small offshoots known as
"side camps." However, the over-all objectives of the
leisure-time program were much the same for both
groups; and thus many base-camp activities and develop-
ments were duplicated in the smaller units. Side camps,
though, as compared to the main body, were usually
more limited in both facilities and interests, and so did
not present the variety of activities found in the latter
group. The main camp did endeavor to share with the
side camps such resources as were portable, including
books, films, recreation equipment, visiting speakers, and
members of the camp staff; but it seemed rather natural
to concentrate the principal developments of the leisure-
time program at the main base. Perhaps the chief dif-
ference between the main camp and the side camp lay
in the fact that a stronger sense of group solidarity was
present in the latter-type unit. In part, this strength of
community spirit can be attributed to the fact that side
camps were often made up of a group of volunteers with
114 Pathways of Peace
similar interests and temperaments— friends, perhaps, who
had decided among themselves to serve in these outposts.
Also contributory was the fact that the group was numer-
ically smaller than the main camp, and the men were
thrown thereby into a more intimate relationship to each
other. Further, because of their isolation and comparative
lack of facilities the side camps did not offer as attractive
a situation as the main camp, and as a consequence many
of those volunteering for such assignments were those
most willing to forego conveniences to serve in the work
program. And finally the isolation of these units bred a
natural cohesiveness among the members of the group,
for more than ever they were forced back upon their own
resources to provide an adequate and satisfactory life.
Side camps presented a difficult obstacle to the de-
velopment of a total unit program. In the first place they
caused a dispersal of facilities and leadership personnel
with a resultant weakening of the camp program for
both groups. In the second place, since they were tran-
sient in nature, they interrupted the camp program both
as they were formed and as they were disbanded, until
it became quite difficult to maintain a continuous de-
velopment at either location.1
Introduction to Camp Life
Introducing the assignee to camp life was an informal
*At Belden. in May-June 1944, two thirds of the camp personnel left for six
side camps. A year later eight camps were spread over three hundred miles in
a north-south direction (educational report, Belden, May-June 1944, page 1; and
May-June 1945, page 1). At Cascade Locks in the summer of 1944 "division of
about two thirds of the camp among four side camps . . . does not improve the
possibilities for corporate worship" (letter of Robert E. Case, director, to W.
Harold Row, August 26, 1944, page 1). Over half the men at Cascade Locks
were in side camps a year later (educational report, Cascade Locks, July-August
1945. page 1).
K
nirtwn TM* Plutli^ Wnnarr
<K l^*^ *F&
Cuxrd ft n™
Coolrol
UpkMp
FS 1 Guda
cps i r
> Slam Ou*l<W Work
TYPICAL DAILY ACTTVinES AT CAMP WELLSTON
116 Pathways of Peace
and comparatively brief procedure in the early days of
Brethren CPS. Then the process consisted largely of a
tour of inspection and a series of interviews with the
camp staff. Through the national offices at Elgin, how-
ever, administrators urged Selective Service to allot more
time for the orienting of the new camper, while, locally,
educational secretaries likewise urged project superin-
tendents to approve an expanded program. Eventually
approval was secured from Selective Service. Thus, the
period of orientation was extended theoretically over
ninety days, but lack of personnel limited this span to
the first month; and intensive efforts were usually con-
fined to a week or twelve days. Though the period of
conditioning varied among the several units, the expand-
ed program included most of the following procedures.
On the man's first day in camp he was taken on a tour
of inspection, established in a dormitory, and introduced
to various staff members and campers. Some time was
spent explaining the local camp government and customs
and the Selective Service regulations. Interviews with the
education, recreation, and religious-life secretaries af-
forded the new inductee a chance to learn of the oppor-
tunities present for enriching his off-duty hours. In some
instances a discussion was arranged whereby he could be
assisted in gaining perspective on his position as a con-
scientious objector. Explanations of the service opportu-
nities in CPS, both in camp and on special projects, were
given also. To acquaint the man with the work project,
and to instruct him in safety, fire control, and the use of
tools, a conference was usually held with one of the tech-
nical agency representatives. In some units instruction
was offered in standard Red Cross first aid as part of this
Base Camps: Camp Life 117
initial period. Meanwhile, various forms were com-
pleted, and a medical examination and immunization
shots were given.
Different methods were used to present these aspects
of orientation. Sometimes the program was followed out
on successive days; a preferable plan seemed to be to
alternate the conditioning with days on project work.
Thus the assignee could make better use of discussion
periods and conferences after a wider contact with the
total camp environment.
Of the many areas of camp experience confronting the
new assignee, some of the most important were those con-
cerned with the educational, recreational, and religious
activities of the conscientious objector community. To
each of these fields the administrators and men of Breth-
ren CPS had given much time and effort. As a conse-
quence the camps all had some type of organized program
in these interests. However, it must be borne in mind
continuously that the individual camper was confronted
by each aspect of his environment in all its interrelation-
ships with every other. No one phase of the camp pro-
gram impinged upon his field of action alone, but rather
brought with it implications of and for the many other
phases of the total camp life.
Education in the Brethren Camps
The educational program of the base camps was a
venture into an area where little or no precedent had
been set. The experience was unique in that it was
one of the few times in history that a group of men,
drawn together by a common allegiance to peace and
the impact of a draft law, lived together in a restricted
118 Pathways of Peace
community. Minority groups with pacifist convictions
had been isolated heretofore, but usually they had with-
drawn from society voluntarily. Moreover, such groups
possessed a cultural unity. In Brethren CPS, on the other
hand, there was a great range in the abilities and back-
grounds of the assignees,2 and the men in camp were
ever conscious of the restrictive features of their status.
The education program which evolved under these cir-
cumstances was experimental in nature and subject to
constant change through the years of its development.
Generalizations about success or failure in education
have doubtful meaning. It is possible to describe a pro-
gram and to indicate that some methods seem to obtain
better results than others,3 but the learning experience
itself is not easily measured. A discussion of the Breth-
ren CPS education program which tabulated only courses
presented and the number of men participating would
overlook the creative, purpose-forming aspects of the total
experience in the camps, besides being fraught with the
dangers of implying that a man is educated because he
submits himself to a specified number of lectures and
writes a required number of words summarizing the
knowledge he has gained. Attempts to evaluate informal
educative experiences are equally open to misinterpreta-
tion. The spark that means that an idea has caught and
has become part of the life tissue of a man was sometimes
present in an educational activity, sometimes not, and
the man himself often remained unconscious of these
formative impulses. To measure adequately the educa-
tional experiences of Brethren CPS would require time
"See chapter 2.
"See page 163 for a listing of obstacles and success factors in BCPS education.
Base Camps: Camp Life 119
and a study of decisions as yet unmade by the same
pacifists.
With a recognition, then, of the elusive nature of the
learning process, a description of the common features
of the base-camp education programs may be undertaken.
Fundamental to such a description is a consideration of
the basic assumptions of both the sponsoring agencies
and the men.
What objectives were foremost in the minds of those
who guided the initial formation of the educational pro-
gram? In December 1940, a conference of peace groups
involved in the NSBRO thought in terms of the physical
health of assignees, training in the technical work assign-
ment, training in line with the interests, aptitudes and
previous experiences of the conscientious objectors, and
the encouragement of a wholesome attitude toward demo-
cratic government and the fundamental teachings and
philosophy of Jesus and the Hebrew prophets.4
From the comprehensive statement of CPS aims pre-
viously noted, the portions which apply most directly to
the education program may be reconsidered:
We envisage this program as an opportunity for personal as well
as community growth. . . . [We seek] to develop and exemplify
ways of co-operative, non-violent, democratic, and serviceable com-
munity living; and in such communities to test and develop by
critical study and experience the ideals by reason of which we sought
this alternative service. To prepare for service of reconstruction both
at home and abroad to alleviate the ill effects of war, to make a con-
tinuing effort to eliminate the causes of war . . . .5
Assignee educational directors, at a meeting in Elgin,
May 1943, thought in terms of broad social purpose when
♦Report of an NSBRO conference, December 26, 1940.
BSee page 46.
120 Pathways of Peace
they proposed the following aims for the education
program:
. . . our presence in C.P.S. should grow into a more positive com-
mitment to a philosophy and program designed to make future war
improbable through developing a harmonious world society.
1. There should develop in each unit a serious concern that this
period of assignment be one of study and preparation for sharing
the challenge of building a saner world— a world in which we may
implant our ideals of cooperation, democracy, and pacifism— a world
to be built without recourse to war and without the seeds of war
in it.
2. Each educational enterprise should be consciously evaluated in
regard to its probable constructive value in achieving this [kind of
a] world.
3. The educational program should be centered about each indi-
vidual's interest and potential achievement in relation to ultimate
social harmony.
4. Educational methods used should be consistent with our ideals
of the "good society." This means discarding competitive stimulus
toward conformity and respecting individual growth and creativity.
It means an obligation to seek in every area of life the objective
evidence which we may use in building the world we describe and
the constant willingness to revise our views in regard to such
evidence.0
In 1945, Morris T. Keeton, national education secre-
tary, indicated that two primary aims of BCPS educa-
tion were: "1) growth of each individual in development
and application of his life plans and 2) peaceful change of
our culture and its institutions in the direction of our
ideals."7
Divergence between the aims of BCPS education and
the program as it actually developed in the base-camp
M Bulletin on Aims, August 5. 1943, page 3.
'Morris T. Keeton, Report to Regional Men on Current Status and Emphases
in BCPS Education, May 8, 1945, page 2.
Base Camps: Camp Life 121
situation was to be expected. Before examining the lat-
ter, however, the organization and functions of the edu-
cation offices should be considered.
The program developed under the dual administration
of the national education secretary at Elgin and the local
camp education secretary and/or education committee.
While a detailed account of the function of the national
office is given in chapter 13, it may be noted here
that the educational services extended by them included
provision of faculty, financial aids and grants, providing
aid to the educational atmosphere (audio-visual aids,
necessary equipment, library facilities), fostering of spe-
cialized schools and institutes, preparation of bulletins
and a manual of educational helps, accrediting, distribu-
tion of materials, issuing memorandums, supplying in-
dividual counseling service, publicity on news of educa-
tional activities, and other related services. These were
developed through correspondence between Elgin and
the local units, through visits to the base camps by mem-
bers of the Elgin staff, through periodic assignee confer-
ences, and by work with area supervisors who kept in
close touch with the projects.
Primary responsibility for the development of the pro-
gram rested, however, with the local educational secretary
in each camp, and with the assignees themselves. This
was in harmony with the Brethren CPS policy of local-
unit autonomy in educational matters.
Generally, the base-camp educational secretary, assisted
by a volunteer or elected committee, worked in the fol-
lowing areas: discovery of individual needs and provision
of help in individual adjustment and growth; aid in de-
velopment of a program working toward basic institution-
122 Pathways of Peace
al change (improvement in the field of mental hygiene,
effectiveness in the struggle against war, constructive
channels for erasing the causes of war, etc.); orientation
of new members (in co-operation with the personnel
staff); supervision of all training activities; co-operation
with the religious-life staff and the recreational commit-
tee; educational counseling; arranging for visiting speak-
ers; vocational guidance; and the preparation of reports
on these activities.
Educational Emphases and Trends
As the several years of Brethren base camps are sur-
veyed, certain trends and emphases seem apparent in the
education program. Those most noticeable developed
around subject-matter interests, methods of teaching and
learning, and camper participation in the program.
Of the many subject-matter interests in the camps the
most widespread and enduring included reconstruction
and relief, pacifism, Bible study, acquisition of skills, and
co-operative living. Reconstruction and relief, and pac-
ifism were especially emphasized during the first years
of CPS; thereafter, although they continued to draw in-
terest, they were not the center of as much individual
and group study as formerly.
In 1942 the education program was clearly pointed
toward training in reconstruction. In a Brethren Service
Committee report to the Council of Boards, this em-
phasis was strong.
The Brethren Service Committee is very anxious to use the camps
as training grounds for post-war reconstruction projects. At a recent
meeting of the educational directors at Elgin it was agreed that the
Base Camps: Camp Life 123
entire camp experience should rightly be regarded as a training
program for reconstruction.8
Thus, with reconstruction, in a broad sense, as one
of the major goals of the camp training program, courses
were set up to deal with specific aspects of the task of
remaking world society in the postwar era. A survey of
classes offered in February, March, and April of 1943
in the camps indicated the extent and range of instruction
bearing on reconstruction and relief training. During
this three-month period, seven of the ten camps reporting
offered standard first aid, and over half of them offered
advanced courses in first aid. Some camps had classes
in infirmary training and home nursing. The survey re-
vealed considerable activity in language study, with seven
camps reporting classes in Spanish, four reporting classes
in German, one in French, and one in Chinese. Special
training in mobile disaster unit operations was available
in six camps, often in conjunction with fire training
schools in forestry and park service camps. Special courses
in the general problems of relief and reconstruction were
offered in six camps, while two had courses in postwar
planning. Over a third of the camps had courses in com-
munity living and in agricultural problems. The most
active promotional effort in formal camp education dur-
ing this period of Brethren CPS was in reconstruction
training. The project at Crestview, Florida, and the
Castafier unit in Puerto Rico were, in effect, laboratories
for this type of work.9
Special training units at Manchester College and Co-
•A Brethren Service Committee report to the Council of Boards. April 15, 1942,
page 5.
•Keeton, Report of Educational Activities in Brethren Civilian Public Service,
May 31, 1943, page 5 ff.
124 Pathways of Peace
lumbia University were projected into this area of inter-
est, also.10 However, when Congressional restrictions pro-
hibited conscientious objectors from working in rehabil-
itation areas abroad, and as the years of BCPS lengthened,
specific classes in this type of training declined, though
general interest in rehabilitation and relief work
persisted.
Pacifism was also a major emphasis in the BCPS cur-
riculum. The classes varied in content, including a his-
torical approach to the subject, studies of nonviolent
techniques of action, and discussions of personal pacifist
disciplines and the pacifist's role in world affairs. Nine
of the ten camps which reported in the 1943 survey pre-
viously mentioned had courses specifically devoted to
training in pacifism. At that time, the national survey
noted:
Aside from religious education, this is the strongest single empha-
sis in our camps in terms of formal classes. Our most pervasive and
effective education in pacifism, however, has come in community
meetings and other gatherings discussing issues of conscience arising
in Civilian Public Service.11
Six months later it could no longer be said that paci-
fism was as strong an emphasis in base-camp education,
though pacifist ideals and techniques were still the center
of study and discussion. Here, as with reconstruction
and relief, the interest of the later years was shown not
in organized "formal" classes but through other channels.
Bible study classes were well sustained throughout the
entire period of BCPS education. They attracted a small
group, however. In the camps with a large percentage
10The Manchester and Columbia units are described on pages 317 and 315 re-
spectively.
uKeeton, Report of Educational Activities . . . May 31, 1943, page 6.
Base Camps: Camp Life 125
of the conservative religious element, such courses were
more frequently scheduled and better attended than in
the camps with a large "liberal" group.
Training in practical manual arts appeared often in
the curriculum of base camps during the total period of
BCPS education. Shop skills were available in some de-
gree in all camps, especially carpentry and elementary
woodworking. Other classes such as auto mechanics,
welding, radio, photography, home electricity, and similar
studies were frequently offered.
Interest in co-operatives was present in the initial
stage of BCPS education and grew until in 1945 a visitor
of base camps characterized the growth of interest in con-
sumer co-operatives on the part of assignees as "truly
phenomenal."12 The presence of a co-op store in most
base camps provided an opportunity for valuable practical
experience and was the means of teaching functional eco-
nomics and democracy. Further encouragement to study
in this field can be attributed to the special School of
Co-operative Living at Walhalla and Wellston, whose in-
fluence "ran . . . throughout the camps."13
Educational reports from base camps indicate that in
several other subject-matter areas there was sufficient
activity to be significant. The curriculum included fairly
frequent classes, panels, and discussion groups on agri-
culture and rural living. To a lesser extent, yet suffi-
ciently frequent to point to a definite assignee interest,
activities were developed in fine arts, music, speech,
classical literature, poetry, and drama. In the last years
of the program increasing interest was focused on ma-
"Lettcr of Morris Mitchell, July 9, 1945.
*Ibid.
126 Pathways of Peace
terials which concerned the men in a personal sense, such
as vocational information, psychology, psychiatry, and
preparation for demobilization.
These major emphases were found in many of the
experiences of camp life other than in education courses.
A study of the topics of visiting speakers reveals that many
presented material on spiritual growth; community liv-
ing; pacifism; personal problems such as courtship, mar-
riage, and family; and co-operatives. Educational movies
were concerned generally with similar subject matter.
The choices of library materials often followed the same
lines, and camp newspapers also devoted much of their
space to these emphases. Informal discussions, where
education through association and assimilation took place,
were frequently centered about these concerns of the
assignees.
Though the education program focused on the primary
interests of the men in base camps, there was provision
for individual preferences, as illustrated in the following
report:
Something of the variety of interests and emphases which per-
vades our camps can be seen from the following listing of other
classes offered between February 1 and April 30 [1943]: Speech (5
camps); Radio (3 camps); Forestry (1); Nature Study (2); Electricity
(3); Meteorology (1); Shorthand (3); Typing (4); Sociology (1);
Cooperatives (1); Interracial Understanding (2); Sex, Marriage, and
Family (5); Socialist Discussion Group (1); Abnormal Psychology
(preparatory to mental hospital service) (1); Sewing (1); Current
Events (1); Statistics (1); Elementary Mathematics (1); Junior Busi-
ness Training (1); College Algebra (1); Differential Equations (1);
Trigonometry (1); Bookkeeping (1); Mechanical Drawing (1); Ele-
mentary English (3). Throughout our camps there are to be found
Base Camps: Camp Life 127
safety meetings, moving pictures, camp newspapers, darkrooms, and
other aids to special educational emphases.14
This broad range of courses, offered in addition to the
primary emphases of the program, is typical of the years
1942 and 1943. It should be noted, however, that a sur-
vey of the later years of BCPS education discloses a greatly
reduced program in the more formal, class-type activities.
These interests of the men— reconstruction and relief,
pacifism, Bible study, training in skills, co-operative liv-
ing, and the many other concerns which have been noted
—were developed in the base camps through a large vari-
ety of methods. In the early years the emphasis was on
classes which followed the traditional patterns of public
school education, with qualified assignee teachers, texts,
and examinations. Classes of this type were part of the
program through the entire period of BCPS education;
by 1943, however, it became apparent that the men in
base camp responded with more enthusiasm to flexibility
in programming and so emphasis was shifted to other
methods of learning. Experience was indicating that
interest groups were more effective means of stimulating
educational growth than conventional classes. Such
groups were very much like classes except that there was
no definite requirement of attendance or participation,
talent was often pooled, so that the teaching responsi-
bility was divided, and the group functioned only so
long as a sustained interest justified its continuance.
Supplementing these methods was the development
of an extensive program whereby prominent leaders from
various fields— religion, education, co-operatives, com-
munity living, psychology and psychiatry, pacifism, rural
14Kecton, Report of Educational Activities . . . May 31, 1943, page 7.
128 Pathways of Peace
life, and others— visited the camps to speak and counsel
with the men. Some of the speakers who visited the camps
most frequently were Paul Schilpp, D. W. Bittinger, C.
Ray Keim, Morris Mitchell, A. J. Muste, M. N. Chatter-
jee, Dan West, Ferner Nuhn, Kirby Page, James Myers,
Katherine W. Taylor, Roland Bainton, Frank Olmstead,
George A. Buttrick, and Kermit Eby. Although the
reception accorded the visitors varied in proportion to
their individual talents, they were rather generally
well appreciated. The effectiveness of their efforts was
increased when they were able to stay in the camps long
enough to know some of the men personally and to share
with them a common camp life.
Other successful types of educational activity that came
to be emphasized more and more in the middle and later
periods of CPS were panel discussions, forums, individu-
alized activities and study, educational films, personal
counseling and guidance, and the specialized schools.
One of the major factors leading to the shift from the
classroom-type activities was the declining interest of the
assignees in the education program of the camps, notice-
ably evident about midway in 1943. Prior to that time
interest and participation in educational activities seemed
high, as camps such as Magnolia in 1942 and 1943 car-
ried on a program which was dynamic, broad in em-
phasis, and aimed at meeting all camper needs. In the
same period, education reports and camp newssheets re-
flected an optimistic, outgoing spirit. However, participa-
tion began to decline, the tone changed, and those in-
terested in BCPS education in base camps became con-
cerned. Statistics on the extent of participation are in-
adequate for any generalizations. The following com-
Base Camps: Camp Life 129
merits, however, by assignees working directly with the
educational program, are typical of the information which
is available on participation in the later years.
In November-December 1943 at Camp Lyndhurst there
were nine formal classes with an active participation of
sixty men, plus the eight teachers. The rather impressive
weekly attendance of the classes, which met at least once
a week, was eighty-three. In interpreting these statistics,
however, the local educational secretary pointed out: "A
listing of the active members revealed that there were
39 different men taking part in the classes. This repre-
sents a little over 1/3 of the camp population . . . ,"15
The education committee was concerned about the
small number of men participating.10 They recommended
a more adequate orientation program, a study of rural life
techniques,17 and something to interest men who "aren't
interested in anything." Earlier, at Lyndhurst, the edu-
cational secretary had described the excellent attendance
at a current discussion group, then added:
In the remainder of the program, it is the same old story. Initi-
ation and motivation of the activities continues to come from the
half dozen men who teach the courses. The classes are all small,
ranging from two up to twelve. Once again, the largest group of
non-participants is among those who have felt that 1) there are
better ways of spending your time than going to classes, and 2)
those "educated guys" will run it, anyway.18
Concerning participation in the educational activities
at Camp Wellston, in January-February 1945 the edu-
cational secretary reported:
MPaul Keller, educational report, Lyndhurst, November- December 1943, page 3.
16A larger percentage, undoubtedly, than in later years, though a lack of sta-
tistics makes a comparison very difficult.
"The camp had many men of agricultural background.
^Educational report, Lyndhurst, November 1, 1943, page 3.
130 Pathways of Peace
Our educational program is contributing quite definitely to the
individual growth of the campers. As is always true, however, there
are some who are not reached by an educational program such as we
have here. We have the good interest of at least 1/3 of the camp
who show an active interest in an educational program and take
definite advantage of all opportunities our program presents. There
are less than a third who are not too much concerned with their in-
dividual participation in the program we provide. These campers
are occupied with their own interests (family, wives, hobbies, etc.)
and so it is safe to assume that our educational program is not reach-
ing them as much as it might. Probably there is not too much of a
need as far as this group is concerned. The other 1/3 show little
interest in the educational program proper and hence they are not
being reached as they should be. Probably many of this group are
carrying on with hobbies and interests of their own; no survey has
made any conclusive observations. This constitutes a problem which
we will have to work with, in some measure, to help those who are
not taking advantage of the educational opportunities afforded
them through the educational budget.19
In the development of new educational methods in
the camps, emphasis was placed on encouraging camper
participation in the planning of all proposed educational
projects. Attempts were made to respond to any interest
shown by the campers. Morris Keeton, in a discussion
of problems of the BCPS educational program, noted in
this regard: "Our [assignees'] almost universal desire that
educational activities be of men's own choices has re-
quired that we evolve our educational philosophy to-
gether. That process of maturing agreement on methods
consistent with democratic education has taken us a long
time."20
The attempt to "be consistent with democratic meth-
"Alfred E. Hollenberg, educational report, Wellston, January-February 1945,
page 1.
"Keeton, a newsletter to education secretaries, November 16, 1945.
Base Camps: Camp Life 131
ods" meant that constant adjustment had to be made to
meet the men's interests. Some of the techniques involved
in this type of education are illustrated in the following
excerpt from a base-camp education report of November
1943. The material has significance also in that it indi-
cates interests of the assignees at this stage and touches
on the intangible educational experiences which come
from a mutual sharing of problems.
EVOLUTION OF A DISCUSSION GROUP: In the last general
report it was noted that we were attempting to build our new edu-
cational program around a discussion group. Four general topics
were offered the community group from which they could choose
one which they would like to work for the next few weeks. The
topic finally chosen was, "What Do We Want From Life?"21 A
group of about thirty turned out to help choose the topic, and went
on to select a steering committee of five men. This steering commit-
tee has been maintained, in spite of the fact that some of the men
on it originally have been transferred. The function of the steering
committee is to organize the form and subject matter of each discus-
sion, and be responsible for seeing that adequate preparation is made
for each meeting.
In comparison with the fine attendance at the first meeting, the
second meeting was very poorly attended— around twenty being
present. More important, the largest part of the group that turned
up the second time was the group that was considered to be the lib-
eral and intellectual element in the camp. The subject matter of
the second session had to do with "Techniques of Discussion." A
poster was made to represent graphically the various discussion tech-
niques, and two men were responsible for elaborating on them for
the group. Following the regular meeting a rump session developed,
with the "liberals" asking themselves why so few of the other fellows
in camp had come, and why those who did come had not taken part
in the discussion. Several additional sessions grew out of this meet-
nThis was chosen in preference to three other topics, "Where Does the Lynd-
hurst Camper Fit Into CPS"; "What After CPS"; and "Religion in the Commu-
nity" (educational report, Lyndhurst, September 1, 1943, page 1).
132 Pathways of Peace
ing— that is, informal meetings to which everyone interested was in-
vited. These meetings were not scheduled. They were simply op-
portunities for talking over this concern as to why a more repre-
sentative group could not be attracted to the discussion of common
problems and ideas. Barriers were recognized between the "edu-
cated" and "non-educated," and between the religious "fundamental-
ists" and the religious "liberals." But the group felt that even with
these differences it should be possible for men in CPS to exchange
views on important topics.
Out of these extra sessions, then, grew the suggestion that, in
each of the discussions, an attempt should be made to have each
important point-of-view in camp represented. A subject allowing of
expression of different viewpoints was chosen. Three men were
asked to talk for five minutes (not a moment longer) on the topic,
"What I would like to see by 1953." They were agreed beforehand
to discuss the topic in terms of religious and social change. One of
the men was a leader in the "fundamentalist" group, another was
a "liberal," and the third was a representative of the middle ground.
At the conclusion of the three five-minute talks a general closely-
chairmanned discussion was held. The meeting had been given
good publicity and over thirty were present. The spirit of the dis-
cussion was good and developed into the issue between the social
gospel and individual evangelism. The group wanted to continue
along that line, so the next meeting, it decided, was to [be] spent
. . . [discussing] the topic, "What Should Be the Message of the
Church? To Whom Should it be Delivered, and in What Manner?"
The same pattern was used as had been used in the previous dis-
cussion, and once again the attendance was over thirty. The meet-
ing developed several direct clashes in religious point-of-view, but a
tolerant spirit was maintained, and, at the close of the session, the
group decided it would like to spend still another meeting on the
same topic.22
Further efforts to develop techniques that would stimu-
late assignees whose interest in classes had dropped to
the "vanishing point"23 are described in the following
-Educational report. Lyndhurst, November 1, 1943, page 1 ff.
^Educational report, Bedford, July 1944, page 2.
Base Camps: Camp Life 133
report of education at Camp Bedford in September-De-
cember 1944.
During the four months covered by this report we tried ... a
number of educational projects which were new in form and con-
tent to this camp.
The first of these was a series of panel discussions which took place
on three nights . . . with three participants: Milbrun Diller, from
the Sykesville unit; Elmer Shaw, from the Lynchburg colony; and
Bill Ackerman, representing the home team. The general subject
was: "Has Christianity Meaning for Today?" and this was broken
down into the components of "Meaning for the Individual in His
Personal Problems," "Meaning to the Individual in His Relation to
Others," and " Meaning as Expressed Through the Church." The
method followed was to have each member of the panel speak for a
few minutes then to question each other and discuss briefly among
themselves and then to throw the meeting open for questions from
and discussion with the floor.
Each meeting was preceded by a brief worship service. The panels
attracted a pretty good number of campers for each night. The
members of the panel . . . handled the somewhat generalized sub-
jects pretty well, raised some good leading questions, and on the
whole provoked interest and sometimes quite lively discussion ....
One thing . . . accomplished was that it managed to put CPS men
in a position where they were able to swap punches with other
campers and yet maintain some of the detachment that accrues to
visiting speakers. Inasmuch as campers generally have a tendency
to pull every CPS man down to a general camp norm and thus to
deprive themselves of any special knowledge or usefulness that he
may possess, this type of activity was valuable in restoring CPS men
to respectability and dignity in the eyes of the campers .... We
feel that the degree of formality involved in a panel discussion was
useful in raising the general plane of discussion to a level above a
general melee where the devil takes the hindmost and foremost.24
Illustrative of base-camp education in the last years of
*Branford Millar, educational report, Bedford, September-December 1944, page
1 ff.
134 Pathways of Peace
CPS is the program of Wellston in early 1945. Their
report for January-February of that year described the
newer techniques that had come to the fore by that time.
Because it affords an excellent picture of a total camp
program, it is reproduced at some length.
II. The Program:
A. Orientation interviews: . . .
B. Discussions: (1) Round Table: These discussions or forums are
being held every two weeks or so. We have three speakers usually
for each round table. The subjects include topics of current interest
(Dumbarton Oaks, Propaganda), a session lasting about an hour.
Interest is fairly high in this type of forum. Camper reaction is
good.
(2) The Fellowship Forum: The F. F. continues to hold the inter-
est of a good number of campers. The reactions to this sort of dis-
cussion (more properly, forum) indicate that it is well taken. Many
of the campers are reluctant to participate because of their lack of
self-confidence. But it's one good way to get them on the way to de-
veloping speaker's poise.
(3) Co-op School Discussion on "What Makes The Wheels Go
'Round?" is progressing with the steady interest of about 15 people.
They have finished the first phase of their efforts to get a picture of
the contemporary general economic scene and its problems.
(4) The Pacifist Workshop is preparing for their second session
of meetings this week. This group has the problem that is always
present at any meeting where "they want to do something concrete."
Interest is good, though not as general as it was hoped.
(5) The History and Theory of Socialist Thought discussion hit
off one particularly interesting session that they are going to con-
tinue. It was a bull session of such a nature that "questions about
Socialism" were asked and answered in a systematic order.
(6) Dan West sent his pamphlet on "What Ought a Conscript
Do?" to our camp. Dan is planning to re- write this pamphlet and
asked for the suggestions [and] opinions of the campers here before
he put the article in its final form. Those who came to the meeting,
however, were not the "old timers" whom Dan probably wanted to
Base Camps: Camp Life 135
give their opinions, but were of the younger, more idealistic group.
So probably he didn't get exactly what he wanted, though it was
good thought stimulator for the group that participated. Some old
campers were there to inject a few "radical" thoughts.
C. Classes: (1) Typing: This class is continuing although many of
the members have dropped out because of the impending transfers.
About 10 members are continuing. The class will continue until
Hollenberg leaves camp. Textbooks were purchased from a nearby
school at 64 cents apiece. Some of the campers are buying a book
and hope to continue "on their own." . . .
(2) Algebra Class: Class has dropped; there is only one member
continuing the course.
(3) Chess Class: This class hopes to terminate its efforts in a
tournament.
(4) Bible Study:
a) Bible History Course
(C. Conrad Browne)— twice weekly 15*
b) Chicago Bible Students— once weekly 9
c) Jehovah's Witnesses— five times weekly 15
d) Christian Fellowship (John Reiley)— four times weekly . 4
The star (•) indicates approximate average attendance.
(5) Shorthand: Charles Davidson is teaching a couple of fellows
shorthand. They meet at their convenience. . . .
D. Special Programs:
(1) [Five speakers visited during the two months; one discussed
consumer cooperatives, one the Fellowship of Reconciliation, and
three spoke on topics of religious interest.]
(2) Informal parties: These small parties involving on the average
about 25 fellows arose from campers themselves who wished to give
a farewell to fellows going on detached service [special projects]. We
haven't encouraged these parties since they do not include all those
who are going on detached service.
(3) Movies:2*
a) Regular:
1. "No Time For Love" 14-45
"The four full-length features are not typical movie-fare for base camps.
Usually serious pictures were shown in about the same proportion as "escape"
entertainment. The "special features" were approximately one-half -hour films.
136 Pathways of Peace
2. "A Ventures of Sherlock Holmes" 1-18-45
3. "Cbudia" 2-15-45
4. "Cleopatra" 2-1-45
b) Special Features:
1. Service Command
(a) Kill or be Killed
(b) The Bayonet Fighter
(c) Modern Weather Theory and Structure of Storms
Primary Circulation 1-25-45
(d) Modern Weather Theory and Structure of Storms
Development . . . 1-25-45
2. Co-op:
(e) "Mexico Builds a Democracy" 2-26-45
(f) "Children Must Learn" 2-26-45
(g) "Machine, Master or Slave?" 3-1-45
(h) "Construction of a Light Airplane" 3-1-45
(4) Camp Paper: John Baker is taking over very active interest in
publishing a monthly camp paper. . . . calling it "The Acu-
men." . . .
(5) All Camp Birthday Parties: Every month we are having one of
these parties, which are short after-dinner affairs. . . .
(6) The U. S. Forest Service sponsored a Field Day on February
13
(7) Music:
Lytell Barrett, a former camper and colored fellow, gave a voice
recital February 20. ...
(8) Recreation Tournaments: Pool and ping-pong tournaments
are now in progress. A third, chess, is to be started after the chess
class has produced some potent competitors. . . .
(11) Coop industry or Producers Assoc. . . . Organization meet-
ings of the group have been held. A draft of by-laws . . . [was] dis-
cussed, and approved. Two basic points I mention: (1) membership
is open to everyone (within the limits of the kind of work that is
to be done); (2) no non-members are to be employed. The manage-
ment committee consists of: Rudy Potochnik, Chr., Charles Chris-
tiansen, Manager, Art Danforth, Treasurer, Gordon Nutson, Sales
Representative, Bill Kenner, Ed. Dir.
Base Camps: Camp Life 137
The present plan is that all jobs will have an hourly compensation
except [that of] the chairman, which is voluntary. Time study on
production work is being made as a basis for apportioning net earn-
ings. Materials are being ordered for production of 500 wagons.
Membership is being solicited among those who have attended any
of the organization meetings. Basic danger confronting the group:
having their funds invested in goods in process and have . . .
[most] of the members transferred out of camp by SSS or BSC, which
makes all business calculations quite uncertain. This fact keeps cer-
tain interested parties from becoming a member.
(13) Job Relations Training Course: This is a course under the
sponsorship of the U. S. Civil Service in an effort to train super-
visors to handle job relations problems more intelligently. . . .
This course was placed here through the instrument of the Techni-
cal Agency (U.S.F.S.). . . . Ten men took the course. Those . . .
felt it was profitable to a good extent. The course extended over a
period of two days or ten hours (five 2-hour sessions).
E. Looking Forward
(i) . . .
(2) . . .
(3) Chorus: Juvinall is planning to start chorus again (provided
he isn't transferred west. . . . (Music is one place our program is
deficient .... Quartets have been unsuccessful, due to being
broken up by transfers. . . .
(4) Crafts: Now that we have a full time man in the craft shop,
we will be able to put across a more concerted emphasis on crafts.
New campers are being oriented a short while in the craft shop to
encourage their use of it.
(5) Class in Speech: This remains where it was last time— still not
able to find a speaker or leader for the group. Quite a few campers
have expressed a definite interest in such a class.
(6) Piano Lessons: Few campers are interested in taking piano
lessons. Mrs. Howard Ten Brink (wife of camper) has volunteered
to teach them free of charge.
(7) The Library: We are in the process of making a title file
index of our books. At the present only an author index is existing.
138 Pathways of Peace
F. Problems:
(1) Fit educational program so as to encourage wider participa-
tion.
(2) Wider reading on "Pacifism and related subjects."
(3) Try to work in individual progress checks.26
The above report, chosen because it presents a good
picture of the camp activities as a whole, was typical of
many reports from many camps. Among the insights
which it affords into the group life are: the main sub-
ject matter emphases (with the addition of interest in
socialism, which was stronger at Wellston than at other
units); the wide use of forum and discussion techniques;
the interest in crafts; the assumption that the experienced
campers were likely to be cynical; the participation of
wives in camp activities; the visiting speakers following
the main lines of emphases; the feeling of uncertainty
which pervaded many undertakings, due in part to the
transiency of the camp group; and the sense that the goals
were adequate but that lack of personnel curtailed the
program.
Meanwhile, in considering camp developments of the
later years of Brethren CPS, the increased emphasis on
personal counseling and guidance should be noted. A
pressing need was felt to supplement the educational
program with a procedure which would reach each camp-
er as an individual, considering specifically his problems,
needs, and interests. As the time of systematic discharge
drew near, a special attempt was made to use demobiliza-
tion as a focus for stimulating educational growth. These
efforts centered in vocational guidance, exploration of
employment possibilities, and encouragement of camper
"Hollenberg, educational report, Wellston, January-February 1945, page 2 ff.
Base Camps: Camp Life 139
interest in formal education by assistance through accred-
iting and financial aid. This trend toward personalized
service is illustrated by the following excerpts.
In January 1945 Cascade Locks reported:
The policy of the program remains essentially the same. Specifical-
ly, it is to work with the men individually, to aid them in planning
their vocation, securing work, or making educational plans. Further,
it is to attempt to draw out men's talents, to encourage cultural and
recreational activities ... . In a word, our efforts are directed to
helping the individual adjust to his world ... .27
In October 1945 the late emphasis of the Bedford
program is described thus:
Since demobilization is making its way into the front lines, I [the
education secretary] have been devoting more of my time toward
personnel work. ... I am directing less and less effort into the
educational lines as such except that which concerns the individual's
plans after CPS.28
Special Schools
Paralleling the educational developments noted in
the preceding pages, which were more or less character-
istics of all the Brethren base camps, was a series of spe-
cialized schools. These schools may be understood as an
effort to provide interested camper groups an opportunity
for intensive training in a specific field of study. Al-
though they were operated within the confines of the
regular base camps, they were not meant to supplant or
diminish the other educational developments current in
the unit. Rather, they were planned as an additional
feature of the total program; offering facilities and means
of learning not otherwise available, including a special
''Educational report, Cascade Locks, November- December 1945, page 3.
•Hollenberg, educational report, Bedford, September-October 1945, page 4.
140 Pathways of Peace
budget, professional or semiprofessional leadership, spe-
cial equipment and library resources, and other similar
advantages.
Five schools were organized within the base-camp sys-
tem: the School of Co-operative Living, located first at
Walhalla, and then at Wellston; the Foods Management
School, located first at Lyndhurst, with a second session
at Magnolia (and a third session at the special project,
New Windsor); the School of Pacifist Living, at Cascade
Locks; the School of Race Relations at Kane; and the
Fine Arts Group at Waldport. Because it was possible for
assignees to transfer (within limits) from other units to
the specialized schools, these experiments belonged, in a
sense, to the total educational program of Brethren CPS
rather than to their particular home camps.
Participants in the schools were responsible for a full
day's work on project in the same manner as were other
assignees, except at the Schools of Foods Management.
School of Co-operative Living
The establishment of the School of Co-operative Living
at Camp Walhalla, Michigan, was the result of extensive
correspondence among CPS men who were interested in
co-operatives, of quick response with financial aid and
interest by the Brethren Service Committee, and substan-
tial encouragement by national leaders of the co-opera-
tive movement.
April of 1943 saw the arrival of a full-time director
for the school, Morris Mitchell, educator and founder of
the Macedonia Co-operative Community; and some sixty
men, eager to study and share the adventures of co-opera-
tive living in a CPS camp. The transferees to the school
Base Camps: Camp Life 141
varied in background. Most of them possessed the skills
and insights of a good academic education; some were
men experienced in co-operative endeavors, while others
were acquainted with co-operatives only through the
local stores in the camps from which they came.
The program of the school was a refreshing departure
from traditional classroom-lecture methods. Mitchell, an
advocate of functional education, approached the prob-
lems of school organization by a period of counseling,
guidance, examination of individual and group interests,
and the working out of analyses wherein each man
thought in terms of his long- and short-time interests
and objectives, and the immediate steps which should be
taken to achieve these goals.
In addition to the individual guidance of the director,
counsel was given to the men by experienced assignees
within the school group. This procedure functioned mo**e
adequately in the first weeks of the program than later.
School members discovered similar interests and gradu-
ally organized themselves into study groups (numbering
between five and fifteen men) in co-operative education,
co-operative rural community, and co-operative business.
Other activities centered about the compilation of a man-
ager's workbook, the model community, the co-operative
community, and the recreation groups. Individual in-
vestigations into specific fields such as co-operative law,
co-operative medicine, and problems of particular areas
were carried out by students in these fields.
Each week several general meetings were held. At
these meetings members presented progress reports, shar-
ing the results of their work and reading. Much of the
creative work brought to these sessions was done in small
142 Pathways of Peace
discussion groups, held frequently though irregularly
through the week. School policy and business were also
handled in the group meetings.
Laboratory projects developed in evenings and on
furloughs included a successful apiary which furnished
several hundred pounds of honey, distributed by the
Jack Pines Co-operative Store at Walhalla; the construc-
tion of a rammed-earth chicken house for the camp; the
visiting of co-operative societies in Detroit, Chicago, and
Georgia; and some one hundred seventy days spent visit-
ing and working in co-operatives.
Other projects completed during the period of the
school were a co-operative and folk-school recreational
program which provided the camp with regular parties;
a questionnaire for the use of all men in CPS who de-
sired employment in co-operatives after the war; a study
of methods of surveying reader interest in co-operative
papers; a bibliography on various phases of the co-opera-
tive movement; and the writing and illustration of a
child's fairy tale on the theme of co-operation.
Visiting speakers, many from co-operative circles, a
library of literature on co-operatives, and other education-
al aids, including movies, were used in the work of the
school.
Some insight into the spirit of the venture may be
gained from the following letter, sent by a member of
the school to his former camp friends:
Camp Walhalla
Walhalla, Mich.
April 11, 1943
Dear Lyndhursters,
Well, here I am studying Co-ops— and what an interesting study
Base Camps: Camp Life 143
it promises to be! At a preliminary meeting ... it was decided to
run the school on modern, progressive lines with . . . formal classes
and lectures only when we have a visitor from time to time. Interest
groups will meet as the need arises with or without an adviser for
reading, discussions, etc. . . . There ... is a fair collection of
books, pamphlets, etc. here in the library and we tackle them indi-
vidually or as groups as we like. While I am not completely sold on
that method of education, it does have its points and should be an
interesting experience.
The director is Dr. Morris Mitchell .... He is a very inter-
esting person with a humility and simplicity which make him unique.
He goes by "Morris"— not "Dr. Mitchell" (though 48 years old) as
he says that a feeling of comradeship is essential. . . . He has un-
limited faith in people which seems to have been proven by experi-
ence. He seems to date most of the worthwhile things of his life
to the time when he became a pacifist some years ago.
Morris is assisted by Hank Dyer, former educational director of
Central States Co-op in Chicago, and by Horace Reed, manager of
Hyde Park Co-op near U. of Chicago before he was drafted. Both
are fine fellows .... Another helper will be here soon who is an
expert in economics and accounting. So we are blessed with an ex-
cellent and well-balanced staff.
The fellows in the institute have come here from camps all over
the nation. They are high caliber, socially-minded, educated, and
energetic. It is stimulating to be with them.
As far as authorities here are concerned new men may enter this
institute at any time. I am sure that there are other CPSers who
failed to sign up for this school because they did not understand its
broad scope and therefore will wish to do so now that they know that
it deals with co-operative living rather than with any one type of
co-ops such as grocery stores. . . . The individual nature of the
work makes it relatively easy for one to fit into the course at any
time.
When it became apparent that I could not count on any more
socially useful work in the near future for sure and this school gave
promise of being really helpful in preparing me for relief work in
CPS and for a better way of life from now on I decided it would be
144 Pathways of Peace
best to come here though I hated to leave Lyndhurst . . . when
there were so many things of interest there.
Best wishes to all.
Sincerely,
Mac (G. McNeil).29
School members met in June 1943 for a series of
evaluation meetings. In their analysis of the achieve-
ments of the school, the men expressed enthusiasm for
several aspects of the program. They felt that the common
sense of group interest and group unity formed a stimu-
lating environment for study and thought. Contact with
national leaders of the co-operative movement, as well as
growth through individual study, led to an increased
sense of direction. The group also felt that participation
in a program of functional education helped develop an
understanding of the way in which co-operative prin-
ciples can be applied to many areas of living, as well as
the field of business. Several concerns were expressed by
the school. Some of the members felt that a portion of
the material should have been presented by the lecture
method, because of time lost searching for material.
School members agreed that fatigue at the end of a day
of physical labor handicapped them considerably. The
men also felt that there had not been enough time for
leadership planning and that the most serious and in-
escapable problem of the school was that their work was
not related to their study program.
In the fall of 1943, with the closing of Camp Walhalla,
the school moved to Wellston. At that time many of the
seasoned co-op men transferred to other projects, where
they were active in forming study groups in their new
•Letter of G. McNeil to campers at Lyndhurst, April 11, 1943.
Base Camps: Camp Life 145
locations. The remaining nucleus of a half dozen ex-
perienced students with new draftees and transfers, mostly
men with limited backgrounds in co-ops, made up the
group of around twenty men who comprised the school
during the second and third terms. At Wellston, there
was no full-time director, and less overhead was granted
for necessary school activities than at Walhalla. The di-
vergence between the advanced students and the begin-
ners made the organization of the school program difficult.
As described in the Wellston orientation outline, the
approach remained much the same as at Walhalla— in-
formal discussions, formation of interest groups, and one
all-school meeting weekly, where the discussion was led
by a member, or a panel of members, on planned topics.
Outside speakers were frequent in the early weeks at
Wellston but later the lack of visiting speakers became a
problem. In the absence of a full-time director, the pro-
gram depended on the few assignees who assumed chair-
manships and acted as counselors for the new school
members.
Emphases at Wellston were on the following types of
activities; producers' co-op in the woodshop; active par-
ticipation in the Jack Pines Co-op Store in camp; a
recreational program; a rural life program for Brethren
churches (co-op teams visited churches presenting aspects
of co-ops particularly applicable to rural communities);
individual projects; and a popular discussion group in
economics which attracted nonco-op men in camp, as
well as school members. After two terms at Wellston,
the school was officially closed in 1945.
The influence of the School of Co-operative Living,
especially of the Walhalla term, spread throughout Breth-
146 Pathways of Peace
ren CPS. Its members maintained a wide fellowship with
co-op ventures in many CPS camps, offering aid in pro-
cedures for camp stores, and encouraging CPS men to
enroll in correspondence courses at special rates, which
had been secured by members of the school for all CPS
men. Books and pamphlets were shared with other
camps. A great deal of effort was expended to contact
leaders of co-operatives to explore possibilities for post-
war employment of interested CPS men. As a result of
these system-wide activities, many men became acquainted
with the ideals of co-operative living who perhaps would
otherwise have missed this opportunity.
The School of Pacifist Living
The second specialized school developed in Brethren
CPS was the School of Pacifist Living which began in
late November 1943 at Cascade Locks, Oregon, and con-
tinued for six months. It was planned to meet a need
expressed by assignees who felt that the courses in base
camps on pacifist living were handicapped by lack of
trained leadership and adequate resource materials. Mark
Schrock, then director of Cascade Locks, was eager to
see such a school materialize, and, with W. Harold Row,
Morris Keeton, and Dan West (who became director of
the school), made plans for its development. Negotiations
with Selective Service on the problem of transferring ap-
plicants to the school were successful, and eventually as-
signees, Mennonites and Friends as well as Brethren,
arrived from camps throughout CPS. From a beginning
enrollment of twenty-four the number soon grew to
forty members. The enrollees made a commitment of at
least eight hours of their time per week above their
Base Camps: Camp Life 147
fifty-one hours on the work project. In common with
other specialized schools, the School of Pacifist Living
was financed by the Brethren Service Committee.
The school members began with a frame of reference
which assumed that pacifist living means more than con-
scientious objection to war— that it can solve world prob-
lems. After the first weeks of discussion and exploration
into the many ramifications of the subject of pacifist
living, the group expressed their purposes in terms of
searching for the fundamental bases of pacifism and the
implications of pacifism as a way of life in all the differ-
ent aspects of modern society.
Dan West was the resident director the first months of
the school. During the last few weeks he returned to lead
the final activities. In the early period, under West's
leadership, the group searched for ways to approach the
study and agreed to divide into twelve units, each con-
cerned with a specific phase of pacifist living. Within
each unit there was to be freedom for the student to fol-
low his particular concerns. The plan provided that after
research and discussion within the groups, reports would
be read, or, in some cases, presented as panel discussions
before the larger school group, where all would share
in the combined efforts of the units. Semiweekly meet-
ings of the total groups were clearing houses for school
concerns and occasions of fellowship, mutual aid and en-
couragement. The director counseled individual mem-
bers and participated in one unit, partially in others.
Interim reports of the twelve units varied in content
and excellence but in general they included data on the
area under study, plan for further research, and bibli-
ographies. The scope of the units is indicated by a list
148 Pathways of Peace
of the twelve study groups: (1) pacifist living in the
home; (2) pacifist living outside the home in face-to-face
groups; (3) pacifist living in group activities in the com-
munity; (4) economic implications of pacifist living; (5)
pacifism and world problems; (6) pacifist living and edu-
cation; (7) pacifist living, nonresistance, "second mile/'
nonviolence; (8) philosophical bases of pacifism; (9) dis-
ciplines necessary for pacifist living; (10) pacifist lessons
from history; (11) relation of pacifism to government and
functional democracy; (12) pacifist living and the class
struggle.30
Some emphasis was placed on individual projects to
balance the academic flavor of the unit work. School
members converted waste fats into several hundred
pounds of soap, some volunteered for work in the camp
co-op store, one made trips to study conditions in prisons
in the area, while others promoted a heifers-for-relief
project.
The members' evaluation of the school at the close sug-
gested that the scope of the study had perhaps been too
broad— that more might have been achieved if efforts
had been concentrated on a specific phase of pacifism.
Dan West was convinced that "the results would have
been greater if we would have taken on pacifist living
in CPS as our main project and specialized on disciplines.
The study of these would have developed exemplars of
pacifist living."31
Projects initiated earlier in the school were continued
after it was officially closed. To some extent, the Insti-
tute of Pacifist Disciplines at Wellston in December 1944
^Newsletter, No. I, the School of Pacifist Living. Cascade Locks, January 1
1944, page 2 ff.
^Members' Evaluation of the School of Pacifist Living, April 13, 1944, page 3.
Base Camps: Camp Life 149
was based on the experience of the School of Pacifist
Living.
The Fine Arts Group at Waldport
An interesting venture into informal education was
launched when the decision was made to locate the long-
discussed fine arts school at Camp Waldport, Oregon.
Waldport possessed certain advantages for such a school
—an active group of participants, some physical facilities,
and a liberal, nonrigid, "democratic" spirit in the camp
as a whole. The opening date for the experiment was
February 1944. Transfers came slowly, however, and
not until May was the program well underway. The
school, subject to periodical renewals as to its continu-
ance, was not formally closed until December 1945. The
Brethren Service Committee contributed materially to
the budget, although several undertakings were financed
from other sources.
The Fine Arts Group, actually an association of artists
interested in individual and group productions in the
field of literature, music, speech, dramatic arts, and re-
lated crafts, based the need for such a venture on the
following premise: "It [pacifism] should prove itself not
only ideologically sound, but creatively potent."32 They
held:
... we are not propagandists. We have publicly inveighed
against the concept of art-as-propaganda within the pacifist move-
ment.33
[We] . . . need to demonstrate the particular function, and con-
sequently the worth, of the artist to the community, to awaken the
community's understanding and support.34
**The Fine Arts at Waldport— A Venture in Creation, June 1944, page 1.
uIbid., page 2.
"Ibid.
150 Pathways of Peace
Though it was not officially stated by the group, cor-
respondence by members of the school reveals that the
men opposed any encroachment on individual genius for
commercial or utilitarian purposes.
The organization of the school was informal. William
Everson, poet, was member-director. In his comments he
characterized the methods pursued as "no-method."
". . . the very nature of the venture makes it hard to
detail. We pursue no formalized schedule. We do not
ask any given number of work hours per week of par-
ticipants."35 The criterion of success was to "be measured
in the minds of the men who came, and perhaps in their
notebooks, their sketch books, their manuscripts."36
Early activities of the group were largely in the field
of literary efforts and dramatics. They dramatized sec-
tions of Wolfe's Look Homeward Angel, Dos Passos'
USA, and an original full-length dramatic poem, The
Masculine Dead; performed A Morality Play for the
Leisured Class, Tennessee Justice (compiled from various
sources by Martin Ponch of the Fine Arts Group), and
Millay's Aria Da Capo. Later productions were Ibsen's
Ghosts, Shaw's Candida, and Chekhov's The Sea Gull.
The group experimented in stage sets with considerable
success. In details of production, such as examination of
translations of plays, and costuming, the Fine Arts Group
were meticulously careful to attain to the best produc-
tion possible within the imposed limitations.
The theatre group presented fifteen weekly programs
of play readings, using fine arts members and volunteer
campers. The reading series included: selections of
"William Everson, The Fine Arts at Waldport, May 4, 1944, page 2 (a report).
mlbid., page 3.
Base Camps: Camp Life 151
Thornton Wilder, Shaw, Shakespeare, Maxwell Ander-
son; and a group of Greek plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles,
Euripides, and Aristophanes. The program folders for
this series, as well as for the full-length plays, were
especially attractive. The quality of the printing and
mimeographing was in itself an artistic achievement.
The literary productions of the group included sev-
eral collections of poems, essays, and short stories. Wil-
liam Everson's War Elegies and Waldport Poems, as well
as Glen Coffield's Horned Moon, and a number of other
publications were printed at Waldport and widely read
by CPS men. Considerable work was done on a proposed
CPS anthology, but the project was later abandoned.
As the school developed, emphasis was also placed on
music. A concert series of recorded classical music, ac-
companied sometimes by attractive programs and com-
prehensive program notes, was well-received by the camp.
Several violin and piano concerts by fine arts members
were also presented to appreciative audiences.
Painting and sketching were likewise represented
among the arts.
Throughout the period of the school several individual
crafts flourished. Drawing, clay sculpture, weaving, and
printing were emphasized especially. The purchase of a
press by three of the members furnished a means whereby
the productions of the Fine Arts Group could be printed.
This venture became the Untide Press. Their artistry
and craftsmanship were exceptional.
School of Race Relations
To meet the expressed concern of men in CPS who
shared a community of interest in one of the major prob-
152 Pathways of Peace
lems of society— interracial relations— the Brethren Serv-
ice Committee approved a budget for a School of Race
Relations. The school, which opened in May of 1944
and closed in September, was located at Camp Kane,
Pennsylvania.
The endeavor aimed to provide men with a broad
background and an adequate understanding of the his-
torical, sociological, economic, and additional factors in-
volved in race relations. Long-term goals were centered
on helping the men use effectively the knowledge gained
in the communities to which they would go after CPS.
The primary qualification for entrance into the school
was the willingness to give approximately eight or more
hours per week to its work. Though memorandums
from Elgin publicizing the school welcomed all interested
men who could arrange for transportation expenses, few
men transferred from other camps. This was due, in part,
to the nature of some of the project work of the Forest
Service at Kane. The work involved was felt by many
to be closely related to war production (page 96), hence
they were unwilling to accept such assignments. Most of
the school group, therefore, came from assignees already
at Kane, where, interestingly, Negro assignees made up
about twelve per cent of the camp strength.
Dr. George R. Haynes, race relations secretary of the
Federal Council of Churches, was the over-all director
and consultant of the school. Cecil and Frances Thomas
served as resident directors.
The school centered around weekly forum-lectures by
guest speakers, often authorities in their fields. Dr. Haynes
secured the lecturers. In addition to the weekly forums
and the discussion sessions which followed them, small
Base Camps: Camp Life 153
seminar groups met to pursue special interests. Taking
advantage of the library on race relations which had been
assembled at Kane, men undertook individual reading
programs.
The approach to organizing the school was rather
formal, with the subject matter well outlined in advance
by Dr. Haynes, who described the content of the seminars
as follows:
Scope of Work for Seminar I: This group will study the anthro-
pological, sociological and psychological facts about race and race
groupings and the theories and myths about race that have grown
up in modern times. . . . Attitudes, folkways and mores as they
affect relations of racial and cultural groups will be studied.
Scope of Work for Seminar II: This study group will deal with
the specific racial problems in the United States of America: in par-
ticular, Negro-white relations, American Indian-white relations, Ori-
ental-white relations, Mexican American-white relations. The com-
mon social factors will be sought in attempts to understand the basic
difficulties. Factors of land tenure and agricultural conditions, in-
dustrial employment, health and housing, education, civic and po-
litical opportunities, artistic, musical, literary and dramatic contribu-
tions, family organization and religion will be explored. The role of
government in race adjustment . . . .37
The specific topics were handled by resource people
who spoke at the weekly forums. These were attended by
an average of about thirty men. A group of fifteen men
put in more than eight hours per week of additional
study while others participated in varying degrees.
One evidence of a desire to implement knowledge
gained in the school was the three weeks' interracial camp
sponsored by men of the school and other campers. Eight-
een boys were given the opportunity to gain experience
"Letter of Dr. George E. Haynes, April 19, 1944.
154 Pathways of Peace
in interracial group living at the camp, and to receive
counsel there.
The general director and the resident directors rec-
ommended at the close of the school that future schools
in race relations in CPS feature the "forum type of pro-
gram and a few projects running for four to six weeks'
periods with sessions about three nights a week . . . ,"38
However, the question was raised by Morris Keeton, na-
tional education secretary, in some observations based on
the Kane race relations school, as to whether the forum-
centered school was the most desirable approach for CPS
men. Keeton pointed out: "Other specialized schools
in which counseling has preceded both action and study,
and in which concern was centered not on subject matter
but on individual desires and needs, have created more
dynamic and sustained development of personality."39
School of Foods Management
The School of Foods Management was established in
April 1943 at Camp Lyndhurst. It occupied the full time
of twenty trainees, from camps throughout the United
States, for three months.
A description of the aims of the school states:
The . . . Cooking School has a five-fold purpose. It is set up to
prepare enrollees to serve more efficiently in managerial and skilled
assignments in C.P.S. camp kitchens. . . . the school will fit en-
rollees to be of more service as dieticians' assistants and cooks in hos-
pitals and institutions. ... A third aim is to give enrollees some
training in establishing and operating mobile disaster unit feeding
•Dr. George E. Haynes. Cecil Thomas, and Frances Thomas, Recommendations
Based Upon the Experience in Conducting the School of Race Relations, Kane,
page 2. (Undated.)
•Observations by Keeton, attached to the Recommendation Based Upon . . .
School of Race Relations, page 2.
Base Camps: Camp Life 155
stations. The school will give the enrollees opportunity to learn the
philosophy and historical experience of reconstruction feeding and
seek to prepare them to be of value in this field. Finally it will pre-
pare enrollees to be of more service . . . wherever the post-war
world may find them.40
Mrs. J. L. Spaulding, a graduate of the Iowa State Col-
lege and an experienced worker in the Iowa Extension
Service, was the director. Mrs. Bertha Frantz Kimmel
assisted.
The "course of study was worked out cooperatively by
the enrollees of the Cooking School. They first listed
problems which they had met and topics about which
they wanted to learn. Then as a group they organized
the material . . . ."41 The curriculum planning re-
sulted in a course which combined practical experience
and theoretical instruction. The course included: funda-
mentals of nutrition; cookery principles and techniques;
large-quantity cookery and its problems; care and preser-
vation of food; food purchasing, procurement, and cost
control; cost accounting and kitchen records; kitchen and
dining room management; special problems; and orienta-
tion to problems of reconstruction.
There were opportunities for learning through regular
classes (fifty-eight sessions), laboratory experience (the
school served the Lyndhurst assignees), a special library,
pooling of enrollee experience, visual aids (seven films,
posters, charts), outside speakers and demonstrators, in-
dividual and group projects, and exhibits and illustrative
material.
After the success of the first cooking school, similar
projects were held at Magnolia in late 1943 and at New
*°Rcport of Mrs. J. L. Spaulding. July 1, 1943, page 6.
nIbid., page 2.
156 Pathways of Peace
Windsor in 1945. The same directors supervised all
three schools.
Observations on Special Schools
The most common charges voiced against the special
schools by nonschool groups in the same camps were that
the members did not always devote the required eight
hours per week to their study program, that they took
undue overhead, and that the regular education program
of the camp suffered when energies were centered on the
specialized training.
The School of Co-operative Living antagonized some
nonschool campers because of their identification with
"socialist" thought.
At Waldport, as at Wellston, some cleavages between
the groups— school and nonschool— occurred. With the
Fine Arts Group much of the trouble involved a situation
where the artists worked on overhead jobs, particularly
in the camp kitchen, for the sake of convenience, rather
than because of any personal interest in the assignment.
Their indifference in the fulfillment of these functions
was resented by other campers. However, in September
1944, the educational secretary at Waldport wrote of this
situation: "So far as I know, there is no Fine Arts bloc,
altho various individuals are particularly articulate, and
no doubt get thot of as representing 'the artist's' point
of view."42
There is no evidence of any appreciable criticism of
the other specialized schools.
**Letter of Robert Stevens, educational secretary, to Keeton, September 27. 1944.
The fine arts members, as well as those of the co-operative school, were some-
times designated as a rather powerful minority "pressuring" for their particular
interests.
Base Camps: Camp Life 157
The achievements of the specialized schools were out-
standing in Brethren base-camp education. They were
marked by well-defined goals, sustained interest, integra-
tion of purpose, and growth in knowledge and skills.
Informal Activity
Many experiences in camp life were educative and of
significance in the development of the individual as-
signees, and yet were of such an informal nature that
there is danger of overlooking their contribution to the
total experience of the men. Among these were the use
of the library and movies, individual or group projects
related to social action, and the impact of the total base-
camp experience on the individual camper.
In each camp there was a rather well-stocked library
through which the conscientious objectors could pursue
diverse programs of reading and study. While exact sta-
tistics are not available, an offhand summary of the base-
camp library holdings in May 1944 listed three thousand
volumes at Cascade Locks, one thousand seven hundred
thirty-six at Belden, one thousand seven hundred at Kane,
one thousand eight hundred to two thousand at Bedford,
and over two thousand at Wellston.43 Although there was
variation among the several camps, good reports of library
use were noted from most, except those with a large per-
centage of very conservative groups. Creative use of dis-
play materials such as art exhibits, posters, campers' pho-
tography, project information, and craft products often
added to the attractiveness of the libraries. Some indica-
tion of reading interests is included in the following libra-
ry reports of Waldport, Santa Barbara and Walhalla:
♦•"'Notes on the educational secretaries' conference, May 8-13, 1944, page 8.
158 Pathways of Peace
There seems to be a more active interest in reading at Waldport
than at the typical CPS camp. We have a very live account with the
Oregon State Library, usually borrowing about 15 or so books a
month, conservatively estimated, and it has been much higher dur-
ing the past two months. . . . We have the following Modern Li-
brary editions on order: Yutang, Wisdom of Confucius; Dostoyevski,
Crime and Punishment; Hemingway, Short Stories of; Faulkner,
Sanctuary; Gide, Counterfeiters; Lawrence, Women in Love;
Maugham, Of Human Bondage. We have also ordered the follow-
ing books: Ballou, World Bible; Howard, America's Role in Asia;
Lewis, Screwtape Letters; Lee, Language Habits in Human Affairs;
Korzybski, Science and Sanity; Hayakawa, Language in Action; Kal-
len, Art and Freedom; Kagawa, Brotherhood Economics; Myrdal,
American Dilemma; Mumford, The Condition of Man; Voorhis, Be-
yond Victory; McWilliams, Brothers Under the Skin; Goodspeed and
Smith, The Holy Bible; Moffatt, The New Testament; Pacifica As-
sociates; Pacifica Studies, I and II. ... We list these, because
there was considerable discussion of these purchases when they were
made, and the results provide an index of campers' reading
interests.44
The recorded circulation of books from the Los Prietos [Santa
Barbara] Camp Library was 86 in August as compared with 52 in
July. This figure includes those books borrowed from the library
during the stated circulation hours (which, we hope, includes all the
books borrowed from the library). The total is composed of books
placed in the library by campers, books in the Santa Barbara loan
collection, and special loans from the Santa Barbara Library. A
breakdown of the circulation shows that the following types of
books were withdrawn: 28 books of fiction, 8 works on philosophy, 12
books of a religious nature, 1 1 treatises on social problems, 2 volumes
about natural science, 5 books on useful arts, 17 books on painting
and the fine arts, and 3 magazines on special loan.45
The camp library has grown slowly but surely since the initial
opening of the camp last May. There were scarcely a dozen books
"Educational report, Waldport, June-July 1944, page 4.
"J. Nathan Gilbert, Report on Camp Activities, Santa Barbara, August 1942,
page 2.
Base Camps: Camp Life 159
to start with, but now our library has grown to over 1,500 volumes.
Many of the books have been loaned to us by the Mason County
Library and the Michigan State Library. Likewise many campers
have loaned their books for use during their stay in camp. For these
loans we are grateful, since our funds for the purchase of new books
are limited.
The magazines that are offered for the reader's consumption in
our library are: Gospel Messenger, Christian Century, Christian
Herald, Fellowship, The American Friend, Gospel Banner, Motive,
Bible Advocate, The Michigan Christian Advocate, The Sunday
School Times, Our Young People, Catholic Worker, The Gospel
Way, The Conscientious Objector, The Call, Time, Common Sense,
Survey Graphic, Nation, United States News, Reader's Digest, Negro
Digest, Life, National Geographic, Harpers, Hygeia, Current His-
tory, and Popular Mechanics.40
Moving pictures as an educational aid proved to be
quite successful. They were shown twice a month in some
camps; less often in others. Movie fare included: regu-
lar feature films, either of the entertainment type or of
social-moralistic drama; educational shorts (vocational,
industrial, war propaganda, travelogues), and purely re-
ligious pictures such as The Great Commandment and
Journey to Jerusalem. Film evaluations from the camps
indicate that the men responded enthusiastically to dra-
mas depicting social problems, such as Grapes of Wrath.
On the whole they also liked "escape" entertainment,
though some units criticized extreme slapstick comedy.
Religious pictures and educational films, if of high cal-
ibre, were favorably received.
Late in base-camp life there was considerable educa-
tion through individual and group action on projects of
social significance. Relief for war-stricken peoples and
*Vernon H. Stinebaugh, A Report of the Educational Program and Various
Interest Groups, Walhalla, January 1943. page 1.
160 Pathways of Peace
anticonscription activity occupied the time and interest
of many of the assignees. The following description of
this kind of educational endeavor is typical of similar ac-
tivities in most of the base camps (and special projects)
in 1945-1946, although in this instance the promotion and
the program were better organized than in most other
units.
1. Relief to Europe
Getting more relief supplies to Europe has been one of the prin-
cipal group concerns at Cascade Locks during the November-Decem-
ber period. James Winker, Dick Tuttle, and Arthur Danforth have
been especially active in planning a campaign to get more people to
help in the relief work. A comprehensive four page folder describing
relief needs and opportunities for helping . . . illustrated by Bill
Phillips is now on the presses. Five thousand copies will be made
on the first run. Previous to this, about 300 copies of a mimeo-
graphed letter urging food and clothing contributions for relief had
been distributed by men in camp. Money for the printing is being
raised from friends in the Northwest and by a contribution from the
recently closed Cooperative store.
Meanwhile Lyle Jones and Don Smith organized a campaign
within the camp to raise money to send individual food packages
to Europe. Men are contributing from their monthly allowances.
Additional money was raised through the sale of Christmas cards.
Two packages are being sent to families in France each week.47
2. Opposition to Conscription
Leaflets, flyers, posters, and assorted literature continue to pour
forth from the efforts of a group opposing conscription. Since the
beginning of the present campaign 10,000 flyers have been printed,
8,500 of which have been distributed. . . . Nearly 300 letters and
over 200 post cards have been written to congressmen, public figures
and friends. The quantity of other small leaflets sent out is not
known. The distribution of the large poster has now begun. 1500
of the first 3000 are already out. The special campaign bulletin
47The number of packages was increased later.
Base Camps: Camp Life 161
board has been well kept. Especially readable and motivating is a
short summary of the latest developments that is posted three times
a week.48
There was also great opportunity for growth in many
of the day-to-day experiences which came from living
together in camp. After several years of CPS life, as-
signees tended to develop powers of critical analysis, and
to look beyond superficialities. This intellectual prob-
ing was a significant aspect of growth. Likewise the op-
portunity for learning that comes from close observation
of the inevitable conflicts of personalities in such intimate
contact was part of the assignee's environment; as was the
sharing, through the camp government, of the problems
of the community.
Opportunities for mutual interstimulation were pro-
vided by the mixing together of diverse types in the daily
routine of camp life. Even when the assignee only listened
to discussions, he could not avoid a learning experience.
All sorts of discussions, many quite weighty, were carried
on while the men were shoveling dirt, planting trees, or
traveling the miles to and from work. Geology, the
nature of God, academic freedom, the stroke of pistons
in Farmall tractors, how Standard Oil advertises in local
papers, and many more subjects were likely to be covered
in a week.
An observer who visited the camps in 1944 and again
in the fall of 1945 commented on the kind of education
that came through participation in the total camp life.
. . . stereotypes of all sorts had worn thin .... Much vague
idealism and romanticism, I felt, has been cut away by the two or
three years' experience in C.P.S.'s hard school. . . . One has to take
"Educational report, Cascade Locks, November-December 1945, page 2 ff.
162 Pathways of Peace
a little something of what the men have taken to come into touch
with the stuff underneath. I had no doubt of its good quality.49
Through many channels of camp life came occasions
for growth in social awareness and an increased sensitivity
to social and economic problems. Examples of these in-
numerable and often subconscious perceptions are re-
ported from Camp Kane.
There was a ripple of excitement when we first received Negro en-
rollees. But the fact that these Negroes have won their way into the
hearts of all is worth more than hours and hours of formal discussion
and bull sessions about how to overcome the evils of race
discrimination.
Similarly with the presence of parolees in camp. In this case
they were of different convictions from the rank and file of the
camp; had different views about government, religion, and the like.
Living together has been of great educational value.50
Although the opportunities present for growth through
the simple processes of daily living were many, they were
also hard to grasp. Side by side with the many advantages
offered by the unique environment of the conscientious
objector communities were a series of concomitant dis-
advantages. Isolated, laboring without pay, desiring a
more significant human service, and witnessing the aban-
donment of humane concepts by the nations at war, many
assignees became depressed in spirit to the point where
they were unable to utilize to the full their possibilities
for growth. For those able to overcome such obstacles, the
period in camp was more full and rich. For those who
were not, the experience was comparatively empty.
^Letter of Dr. Ferner Nuhn to A. J. Muste, Ercell Lynn and Ken Morgan,
November 14, 1945, page 4.
"From a BCPS education bulletin. Bulletin on Non-Formal Education, May 25.
1943, page 6.
Base Camps: Camp Life 163
Table 8A
An Analysis of Obstacles and Success Factors in
Brethren CPS Education51
Obstacles
A) Lack of time (long work hours, pressure of other responsibilities)
B) Exhaustion, tiredness (different forms from manual labor, guinea
pig service, mental hospital assignments, etc.)
C) Interruptions by transfers, shifts to side camps, fire fighting calls,
etc.
D) Differences of work shift, different days off, related schedule fac-
tors
E) Lack of, or unavailability of, needed physical facilities
F) Limitation of funds
G) Administrative obstacles (delays and indecision in policy forma-
tion, in coordination among units and agencies, in arrange-
ments with Selective Service and the like)
H) Limitations on leadership and administrative personnel per-
mitted and on time allotted for their work
I) Psychological conditions unfitting men for desired educational
activities: sense of frustration (lack of use of abilities, inadequate
service of ideals, dissatisfaction with immediately evident results,
lack of understanding of the value of work done, interruption of
conventional living patterns, apparent hopelessness of cause
against overwhelming odds, etc.); apathy; inability to get per-
spective on personal relation to events of the contemporary
world; oversensitivity to weaknesses in self and group (desire
to show courage, good sense, and social adjustment in the face of
social pressure); related psychological conditions
J) Distractions through less important interests in surrounding com-
munities (especially after transfer from an isolated camp)
K) Distractions through other educational, recreational, or adminis-
trative activities in camp, notably preoccupation with adminis-
trative policies and practices
L) Need to use leisure to make money for necessities
"From a BCPS education bulletin, Morris Keeton. BCPS Education: Formal or
Informal, August 15, 1944. page 2 ff.
164 Pathways of Peace
M) Preoccupation with dependency problems, family troubles, and
the like
N) Preoccupation with indecision about whether to go to army,
prison, or other CPS work
O) Differences in ability among us
P) Differences in our educational background
Q) Differences in our ethical, religious, social, economic heritages
R) Differences in interest (sometimes called "lack of interest")
S) Lack of satisfactory goals held in common with others; or lack
of clear personal goals
T) Isolation from, or lack of, library, resource leaders, and similar
helps
U) Lack of privacy, quiet, and related conditions for study and
thinking
Table 8B
An Analysis of Obstacles and Success Factors in
Brethren CPS Education
Success Factors
The factors which appear to have contributed the measure of suc-
cess realized in these experiments are here listed, with references to
the obstacles which they most directly met. None of the experiments
embodied all of these provisions in the optimum measure.
1) Special leadership (director, visiting speakers, artists, practition-
ers, demonstrators, enrol lee leaders) (H,T)
2) Special budget for audio-visual materials, speakers, director, field
trips, working materials or tools, library (E,F,T)
3) Overhead time for learners' use or assignment to full-time train-
ing for a specified period (A,B,C,D,H)
4) Encouragement for each individual to define long-run purposes
which he aims to serve in this educational opportunity; help for
men to discover their own lasting interests rather than effort to
"create" or "produce" interest (0,P,Q,R,S)
5) Help in defining more immediate goals as individual feels need
and in such form as to help him help himself (goals for duration
of a training period, for next month, for next two weeks); help
in planning these immediate goals to serve the long-run pur-
Base Camps: Camp Life 165
poses already mentioned; help in defining one's aims tangibly
(IJ,K,R,S)
6) Relevance of these long and short-run purposes, both in group
and individual plans, to felt problems of the men (whether
shortsighted, visionary, or wise), problems big enough for a man
to lose himself in a greater work than mere preparations to earn
a living. Contrast with the aim regrettably expressed by some
educational directors a year ago; "to keep the men busy, occu-
pied," "to keep their minds off of other things," "to pass the
time more pleasantly," "to divert them" (S)
7) Assistance in self-discipline to integrate all of individual's activ-
ities (including project work where possible) around these
goals, thus putting first things first in everyday decisions as to
use of time, energy, money, talent (J,K,N)
8) Sharing of work and purposes with like-minded friends; enrich-
ment of achievement with diversity of contributions and the
feeling of being part of a larger supporting group (achieved in
part by transfers) (D,C,N,O.P,R,S)
9) Provision of means to measure accomplishment, thus helping
individuals who progress actually to feel it (I)
10) Provision for growth or change in both basic and immediate
ideals and plans (I,S)
11) Provision for action upon ideas as a part of the process of
learning (projects, living together in an intimate community)
(IJ,N,S,U)
12) Provision for artistic and religious expression (dramatization,
recreation, worship) of dedication of purpose, achievement in it,
and resolve in the face of obstacles (IJ,K,N,0,P,Q,R,S)
Recreation in the Base Camps
The hours in camp that were not absorbed by daily
manual labor, and the offerings of the educational pro-
gram were often expended in camp recreational activi-
ties. Group £lan was strengthened by experiences which
grew out of the need of the men to relax and to enjoy
fellowship with each other.
166 Pathways of Peace
The initiative in planning recreation was usually taken
by a camper committee, which at times worked with the
educational director in co-ordinating the total leisure-
time program. In response to the interests of the men,
in the summer months, it was common for the educa-
tional program to give way to a stronger emphasis on
recreation.
Outdoor sports such as basketball, softball, football,
volleyball and tennis were popular ways of using leisure
time. Competitive contests featuring a series of games
among teams—overhead vs. project, barrack vs. barrack,
camp vs. visitors— offered healthful outdoor exercise and
opportunities for the sublimation of frustrations. Swim-
ming in the summer months was frequently available, for
the camps were usually located near rivers, lakes, or the
ocean. Ping-pong, billiards, chess, checkers, and table
games were favorite indoor recreation.
Music played a vital role in the lives of some of the
men in base camp. Often the musical activities included
such groups as the camp chorus, quartets, an orchestra,
and hymn-singing groups in addition to classes in music
appreciation. Records, classical and popular, were played
in a record concert series with interpolations by assignees
or were enjoyed informally when groups met in dormi-
tories or in the camp lounge. Concerts and musical pro-
grams of merit were given in various camps by both tal-
ented assignees and visiting artists.
Play readings were enjoyed by small groups rather
regularly. Typical selections were from Shaw, Shake-
speare, and Wilder. The usual procedure was to post
an announcement inviting all to participate. The half
dozen or dozen interested campers met in a dormitory
Base Camps: Camp Life 167
or out of doors near a river or a lake and read there.
Original plays were sometimes enacted at camp programs,
but not frequently.
The craft program, which included woodwork, rug
making, ceramics, loom weaving, leatherwork, block
printing, photography, and similar handwork, was an
important part of the recreation of many campers. Pro-
duction of gifts for families or friends, or work on other
projects provided an outlet for the creativity of the men.
Sometimes, however, as at Wellston in 1944, the crafts
were a commercial group venture.
The shop is in night and day production of toys. Several projects
are under way. The largest order has been for . . . 2400 toy trac-
tors. Salt shakers, doll buggies, toy wagons, and breadboards are
under construction. . . . The problems of setting up a production
line, of engaging the proper number of producers, of setting their
hours, and arranging for the equipment have been interesting.52
In addition to the entrepreneurs, the "social philoso-
phers" of CPS could often be found near the molds and
lathes.
Our crafts room has been the birthplace of various activities such
as modeling (clay, plaster), wood carving, silk screen work, molding
and casting. It has become a social rendezvous as well. The Royal
Order of the Descendants of The Mole, The Midnight Coffee
Club, The Ultra-Liberals . . . alias as you please, group meets
there ... .53
Many leisure-time hours in camp were also spent in
informal and unorganized recreational activities. Ses-
sions of this type at Wellston were described in a recre-
ation report. "Three of the four dorms are now provided
nJim Carlson, educational report, Wellston, September-October 1944, page 2.
"Educational report, Waldport, July-August 1945, page 3.
168 Pathways of Peace
with pop corn poppers and all have coffee making equip-
ment. Good or bad, coffee and pop corn parties are in
progress almost every night in at least one of the dorms."54
The barracks were usually heated in the winter months
by old-fashioned round cast-iron stoves which glowed
when they were stuffed full of lengths of pine. This was
a favorite gathering place for the "bull sessions." A pot
of black coffee simmering near the stove chimney helped
melt the barriers that often prevented free discussion in
the more formal groups. Sometimes the repast was aug-
mented by boxes of cookies from home or from women's
church groups, or from illicit gleaning from the camp
kitchen and bakery.
Routine in base camp was enlivened from time to
time by parties, stunt nights, folk dancing, silent comedy
movies, "amateur hours," evenings of Paul Bunyan tales,
holiday festivities and celebrations of special events, such
as the opening and closing of camps, anniversaries, and
monthly birthday dinners for campers. Sometimes the
events were planned in detail by the camp recreation com-
mittee and interested helpers; at other times the pres-
ence of a visiting speaker, particularly well received, might
be the motivation for a spontaneous party. Such diver-
sions were not frequent, however.
Participation by the assignees in the recreational life
of camp varied. Generally a small group made full use
of the various facilities and opportunities present. On
the other hand, another group, likewise small, abstained
from such activities. In between was the larger number
whose thoughts and energies turned to recreation from
time to time in somewhat irregular fashion— now enthusi-
M£ducational report, Wellston, July-August, 1943, page 10.
Base Camps: Camp Life 169
astically engaged in some activity, and again preoccupied
with the duties and problems of life in CPS.
Religious Emphases in the Camps
Since one of the strongest motivations for peace-church
sponsorship of CPS was the opportunity afforded to aid
men dedicated to a positive Christian life, a vital concern
of the program was the spiritual emphasis within camp.
The Elgin administration, the local directors, and com-
petent visiting counselors, as well as many campers de-
voted much time and energy to the program. They hoped
to develop a unique and exemplary religious life within
the conscientious objector communities. However, the
obstacles to such an undertaking were formidable. They
included the fact of conscription itself, the variety of
religious affiliations, the complete divergence of ideol-
ogies, and the transfer from base camps to special projects
of many of the ablest leaders. These and other factors
confronted those who sought to nurture a religious
viewpoint. The program of activities emerging from this
situation reflected both positive and negative aspects.
Observers frequently pointed out the differences in
ideologies among campers. In 1943, after traveling seven
thousand miles to visit Brethren CPS camps, C. Ray
Keim wrote:
The religious situation is hard to gauge. In some camps there are
very devout men who take little interest in a camp religious pro-
gram. Some of the men are not interested in any religious activity.
. . . There is a decided lack of religious unity in the camps. It is
difficult to maintain a Brethren philosophy, atmosphere, and pro-
gram with the personnel of the campers as it is.
These men lack unity, furthermore, because of a divergence of
social, educational, and philosophical background. . . . Many men
170 Pathways of Peace
are essentially philosophical objectors rather than religious. This is
true of many who belong to a church and are classed as religious.
I met several exceedingly fine men— men who are getting a dis-
cipline which will make leaders of them after the war is over. Some
are having a great religious experience and will be transformed into
dynamic Christian men.55
The differences in background and belief, although
obstacles to group unity, also presented opportunities for
enriching camp experience. Some of these advantages
were pointed out by one of the Marienville campers,
Ercell Lynn.
The pooling of religious thought has caused men to rethink their
beliefs and church teachings, see them in . . . perspective, sift, re-
adjust, and emerge with convictions which contribute to more ef-
fective living both personally and for the community. Whether or
not we feel that CPS is a step in the direction of an ecumenical
church, or whether such is even desirable, it remains that when a
score of different denominations are represented in any given camp,
the men representing these groups cannot live, work, and play to-
gether without having a greater appreciation of the other's view,
greater understanding, and added tolerance. Bull sessions— while at
work on the project or in camp— class discussion, and personal study
regarding differences of belief and teaching have caused many a
camper to rethink what has been accepted heretofore by him without
much question as to its truth or personal application to his life.
This rethinking either has strengthened him in his position or caused
him to seek one which can more adequately serve him as a way of
life.1*
The core of the organized camp program included
Sunday services, Sunday school, midweek services, daily
devotions, grace at meals, and vespers. Courses in Bible
were offered in every camp, as well as other types of re-
ligious education classes, such as church history, religious
"Letter of C. Ray Keira to W. Harold Row, August 25, 1943, page 2.
"Ercell V. Lynn, The Part Religion Plays in CPS Life (a ihort e»ay), page 2.
Base Camps: Camp Life 171
beliefs, study courses in worship, Christian education,
Christian community, and similar subjects. Leadership
in the program was usually shared by the campers and
the staff, with a religious-life or worship committee active
as the co-ordinating body.
The Sunday morning services, usually an hour in
length, with hymn singing, Scripture reading, and ser-
mon, were conducted by the camp director, campers, or
visiting ministers. They were formal and traditional in
pattern. Parallel with the all-camp service, small groups
of men worshiped separately. These usually were of the
Jehovah's Witness, Christadelphian, and similar sects.
The Sunday evening services varied considerably.
Sometimes the service would be an informal evening of
hymn singing, vespers held out of doors by a river or on
a hillside, a panel discussion by campers on the role of
the church and the individual's responsibility, or short
talks by campers. As the need for reaching the group to
whom the formal Sunday services did not appeal became
evident, a Sunday service of a more informal type was
tried by some camps. In these experiments, records of
religious and classical music often provided the back-
ground for readings from the scriptures of many faiths,
and also for nonscriptural religious readings. Visual aids
were utilized, though not frequently, with large reli-
gious pictures, slides, and movies.
Other types of activities contributed to the spiritual
atmosphere. In camps which were composed largely of
the conservative religious element, well-attended and
frequent prayer meetings were held. Some camps had
daily Scripture readings before breakfast, "quiet times"
of meditation and silence in the barracks (in the early
172 Pathways of Peace
days of BCPS), but, later, usually in the chapel room
where men could enter and worship, and leave at will.
When the camp had a strong "liberal" element, the re-
ligious activities tended to be intellectual in character,
with emphasis on panels and the comparative study of
religious beliefs.
Tangent to the organized religious services, but sig-
nificant, were the small cell groups who met for medita-
tion and prayer, sometimes for discussion, in the early
morning or late evening. The relatively few participants
in these less orthodox forms of worship seemed unusual-
ly faithful in attendance. The time span of such groups
was usually short, but they appeared at intervals in base
camps.
At many locations the campers were able to attend
services in the churches of near-by communities. In the
more cordial congregations they found opportunity to
participate in several different activities, such as assist-
ing in the Sunday-school classes, joining the choirs or
other musical groups, and helping with recreational pro-
grams as well as other church functions.
Camp groups also participated in a variety of com-
munity service projects. Many units sent deputation
teams to churches where campers discussed Christian paci-
fism and participated in musical programs. Sporadic ef-
forts were made to promote better conditions in the com-
munities near the camps, by assisting with recreational
programs, by helping in church buildings, or by aiding vic-
tims of misfortune. Camp Lagro presented the Wabash
County Hospital with a combined resuscitator and in-
halator. The money for the purchase, $260.00, was taken
from a fund earned by assignees who had worked on
Base Camps: Camp Life 173
neighboring farms during their off-duty hours. Some
camps stressed relief projects such as raising heifers, as
at Marienville, sending packages of food and clothing
abroad, as at Cascade Locks, or giving money for relief.
At Wellston, where subsistence meals or fasts were held
each week over a period of several months, "the proceeds
. . . [went] to War Prisoners, Refugee Aid, The Tornado
Victims at Magnolia . . . the National Sharecropper
Fund . . . ,"57
Attempts were also made by religious-life interest
groups to work with the personnel directors in some
camps to seek out and to offer counsel and guidance to
the men who had religious or personal problems.
One of the outstanding features of the BCPS religious-
life program was planning which stressed interdenomina-
tional understanding. Base camps frequently reported a
series of "My Credo" programs, or similar discussions,
wherein various groups presented their faiths. The Sun-
day services were often planned to recognize several types
of religious affiliation, with different groups in charge of
the several phases of the worship. Panel discussions were
held in which an effort was made to invite the exchange
of various points of view. Educational and religious di-
rectors in base camps reported a favorable response to
this type of approach.
Visiting speakers frequently remarked on the religious
tolerance of the men. Typical of reports was the fol-
lowing comment: "There is much difference of opinion
regarding theological and philosophical ideologies, open-
ly and freely expressed on all occasions. Some of the
"Jim Carlson, educational report, Wellston, March-April 1944, page S.
174 Pathways of Peace
spokesmen are long-winded, too. But a rare spirit of
tolerance prevails."58
Another analysis is enlightening.
Every denomination conceivable is represented in these camps,
and even some of which many people probably never have con-
ceived at all. The general tendency has been for those of more
conservative statements of faith to frequent the religious services and
for those of more modernistic conception of religion to congregate
at the discussion groups. Various attempts have been made and
are being made to bridge this gulf, without asking any man to "soft
pedal" his particular articles of faith. Several times I heard the re-
mark that on the whole the conservatives have been more successful
in becoming tolerant toward and understanding of those convictions
differing widely from their own, than the modernists. Some in both
groups are becoming truly liberal. Where every one, of any shade
of theology, has consented to take his turn in asking a blessing at
meal time, or conducting the "quiet hour," this has aided in drawing
the group together in mutual appreciation and respect.59
The degree of camper participation in developing the
religious life of the group and the status of the program
at any one time is somewhat obscure. The successes and
failures of the religious programs were affected by the
complex interrelations involved in the state of morale,
the general camp atmosphere, the duration of Brethren
CPS, individual psychological conflicts, and other factors.
Moreover, the nature of religious experiences makes their
measurement difficult. Sources indicate only that, in
general, attendance seemed to diminish as the years passed;
and unless the camp happened to have a very conserva-
tive religious group in the majority, the percentage of
men actively participating was low. As the men became
increasingly disaffected with the CPS experience, their
"Report of Theodore D. Walser, a camp visitor. June 28. 1943, page 4.
"Report of Alexander D. Dodd, a camp visitor, March 15, 1944, page 4.
Base Camps: Camp Life 175
allegiance to the religious program lessened noticeably.
Brethren leaders initiated several measures to encour-
age the development of a stronger religious spirit as the
decline in interest became more apparent. Efforts were
made to secure part-time pastors for the camps, and sev-
eral church leaders were asked to visit the units and to
live with the men for extended periods of time. These
efforts, however, were only partially successful. In ad-
dition, religious-life secretaries in camp were allotted
more time to work on their programs and Selective Serv-
ice approval was secured for the transfer to the national
office of an assignee whose full time might be spent in
promoting religious growth.
In considering the religious developments in the
Brethren base camps, it is clear that the aims of the pro-
gram were not attained to the degree which the leaders
had hoped. This seemed especially true in regard to
participation in group services of a more conventional
type. Some visitors to camps during the later years of
Brethren CPS reported that they were disillusioned and
discouraged by evidence that a number of the assignees
had deteriorated under the compulsive features of the
CPS experience. They felt that the spiritual resources
of the men and the program were proving inadequate to
overcome the obstacles encountered. On the other hand,
there were many positive developments within the camp
communities. The very presence of the men in camp was
(with some exceptions) indicative of moral resolution.
Other observers of BCPS camp life spoke of a significant
type of growth on the part of the men. Dr. Ferner Nuhn,
in November 1945, after visiting several base camps and
spending an average of five days in each camp, reported:
176 Pathways of Peace
... I found no lack of interest really in social and intellectual
and religious matters. Rather it seemed to me that there was a deep-
er interest than ever [Dr. Nuhn had visited camps previously in
1944] in getting at the heart of personal and social questions facing
people in the present world. Once external trappings had been cut
away, the men showed how much thinking they had been doing
about the most basic things— frequently about inner religion, and
about what they wanted to do after release.60
Morris Keeton, in 1945, in a similar vein expressed the
belief that "in CPS we have a general decline of faith
and interest in the kind of services in which churches
often center their efforts, but at the same time we have
a profound upsurge of respect for earnest, consistent
living in devotion to high ideals.*'61
Camp Atmosphere
Informality was the keynote of Brethren CPS camp
life. The lack of convention was evident particularly in
manners and dress. Since many of the men found it dif-
ficult to make the $2.50 monthly allowance cover pur-
chases of clothing, some assignees wore garments which
were sent to the camps by church groups. Almost all
campers continued to wear clothing which ordinarily
would have been discarded. The weekday dress often
included a faded shirt, worn trousers and a sweater, heavy
work shoes or battered moccasins, and in the winter a
bulky coat or jacket. On Sundays, however, the men often
appeared in suits, white shirts, and ties.
Project work took its toll of socks; so it was not un-
common to see men at lectures or camp community meet-
ings laboriously darning, or mending other clothing.
•°Lctter of Nuhn to A. J. Muste, November 14, 1945, page 4.
"Report of Keeton, July 6, 1945, page 11.
Base Camps: Camp Life 177
Sometimes this work was done by Brethren women from
near-by churches on visits to camps.
The geographic isolation of the camps lent an im-
portance to visits from the outside world. Parents, wives
and children, and friends came at intervals, bringing
with them the home atmosphere which the assignees
missed. On these occasions there was an added stir in the
dining hall, where interest would be centered on the
visitors. The guests sometimes brought gifts of food such
as ice cream for the entire camp or a bushel of fresh
sweet corn, which added a welcome touch to the menus.
In some instances, the wives and children of married
assignees lived in tents, cabins, or houses adjacent to the
camps. The wives often participated in the group activi-
ties, particularly recreational events and religious serv-
ices. At times, such family groups took some of their
meals in the camp dining hall.
Food in the Brethren CPS camps was plentiful and
tasteful. It was not unusual for visitors to report the food
as better than they themselves could afford. At times,
however, as inexperienced or disinterested campers worked
in the kitchen, the best use was not always made of the
available foodstuffs. The meals were served on wooden
tables with planks for seats. The dining hall was usually
a long room with exposed rafters overhead, and rough
pine walls. A large stove in one end of the room heated
the dining area. Frequently the campers came to the
dining hall early and talked as they stood near the stove
or close by the serving table. Education directors who
observed the men lingering after the meals also, placed
books and magazines near the dining tables to encourage
reading. Another time at which groups of campers could
178 Pathways of Peace
be found in the dining hall was the hour of 10:00 or
10:30 p.m. After a period of writing letters, reading, at-
tending classes, or talking, the men would drift toward the
kitchen, where they would find cereal bowls and pitchers
of milk set out, and sometimes fruit or left-over pastries
and breads. Here the men would speculate on the next
day's weather (if it rained, the men did not go out on
the project, though exceptions were Camps Waldport and
Cascade Locks, where rain was so frequent that project
work continued in spite of it), talk over books, speakers,
or the latest news of the "CPS grapevine."
On holidays or birthday nights at camp, the dining hall
underwent a transformation. The rough tables were cov-
ered with white sheets, the woodshop supplied hand-
made candle holders, and flowers and greenery were ar-
ranged on the tables and at other places. On these occa-
sions, more formality was in evidence. The usual metal-
lic clatter of businesslike eating was softened and social
conversation prolonged the meal. The cooks could be
seen surveying with pride the well-set tables. After the
dinner was served, a program with the director or an
assignee as master of ceremonies would introduce camper
talent, or the group would enjoy singing together. If
the holiday were Christmas, there were often gifts for
the men from church groups, with the usual careful trad-
ing following the distribution.
During project hours, there were few men about the
camp grounds. Overhead men, however, could be seen
at their chores, working about the kitchen preparing
food or washing dishes, piling wood outside the laundry
doors, whence steam issued steadily, loading the truck with
debris and garbage to be hauled away, caring for the
Base Camps: Camp Life 179
lawns, repairing wiring or roofs, or painting buildings.
In the camp offices, typewriters were busy. The men
worked on records, reports, and correspondence. Calls to
the technical agency were made and work lists were
checked. The complications of transfer, furlough, and
release had to be cleared.
In the midst of this activity, there were also the idle.
The chronic "S.Q." (sick quarters) loafed in the bar-
racks or around the grounds. Sometimes they sat and
watched the nondescript dogs which had strayed to the
camps and had found good food and companions.
After the trucks had come in from the project and
showers were over and the mail read, the campers walked
toward the dining hall. In the warmer months, they sat in
groups on the steps of the near-by dormitories or stood
around the bulletin board.
The bulletin board was a link with the world outside.
There were tacked the memorandums, multicolored,
lengthy, and frequent, from the Elgin office. Those bul-
letins discussed the most recent developments throughout
Brethren CPS, problems of project work, educational ac-
tivities, national legislation affecting C.O.'s and innumer-
able other items. Clippings from local or city news-
papers concerning public relations were often on the
board. Announcements of coming events, such as lectures,
a religious institute, a round-table discussion, the Sunday
morning church service, a build-up for a visiting speaker,
the scheduling of classes, jackets and reviews of new books
in the library— these could all be found. Sometimes there
was a card from a fellow camper on furlough or on a new
assignment. These items and the comments written on
them by camp wits were a source of much "fellowshiping."
180 Pathways of Peace
During the summer months, the camp grounds in the
evenings and on Sunday afternoons were full of the
laughter and shouts of campers engaged in outdoor games,
football, volleyball, or softball. Sometimes the campers,
particularly on winter nights, would spend the evening
in the dormitory, around the stove, or on the bunks,
where they worked on leather craft, wove small rugs on
hand frames, or talked with friends.
The appearance of the dormitories reflected the tastes
of the campers living in them. Some were neat, while
others were in habitual disorder. It was not uncommon
in the earlier period of Brethren CPS for men to meet
together informally to decide that they would order
cabin life on a voluntary spirit of helpfulness and thought-
fulness. Though there were men who retained this spirit
throughout their camp experience, many others became
disinterested and extremely careless about dormitory
maintenance. The living quarters were given colorful
names by the occupants, such as Tolstoy, Kagawa, Satya-
graha, and Thoreau. In one of the later camps, the no-
menclature was of a different tone, including such titles
as Hollywood and Vine, The Tool House, Sleepy Hollow
and 4-F Dorm.
The fellowship which grew out of the intimate camp
life is well illustrated in the description of the rendezvous
of some of the Camp Kane assignees.
Tipplers in Pennsylvania mountains knock heads and ideas to-
gether nightly at the Kane Koffee Klutch, a gathering which assem-
bles just before lights out to klutch koffee kups, write letters, and
read while they discuss whatever is on the minds of all comers. The
only organization evident is in the responsibility for regular prepara-
tion of the koffee konsumed. No holds are barred, except for a com-
mon understanding as to taking turns and as to rising temperatures
Base Camps: Camp Life 181
outside the koffee kup. It has been possible to have all elements of
camp represented, and it has been a good clearing house for ideas
that have eventually been put into practice in the camp, while for
even occasional klutchers, it has been a good place to learn to under-
stand the other fellow, besides being good fellowship.02
Alongside this spirit of fraternity and geniality, the
camp atmosphere was also marked by a pessimism on the
part of some campers which ranged from chronic de-
jection to hypochondria. Assignees in the latter group
were frequently vitriolic in attack of all groups con-
nected with the administration of the camps.
Compared with life outside CPS, the tempo of days in
camp was leisurely. There was time to read, to discuss,
and to think. With their food and lodging provided and
no opportunity to enter into the competitive struggle
in the world outside, the assignees were free to turn their
energies into creative self-expression. Some took full
advantage of this opportunity, while others were prodi-
gal with the possibilities which camp life offered.
It is important to note, however, that though material
necessities were provided, the campers were still subject
to many pressures. For all the men it was a period of
uncertainty; for some with responsibilities which they
could not meet, it was a time of great anxiety. It was
natural that those who were troubled about personal
problems involving family difficulties and similar mat-
ters tended to overlook the values implicit in their situ-
ation and thus were unable to participate fully in the
fellowship of the camp community. When this group
was numerically large, it sometimes tended to set the
tone of camp life.
MFrom a BCPS education bulletin, Bulletin II on Non-Formal Education, Oc-
tober 1, 1943. page 1.
182 Pathways of Peace
Camp Morale and Problems
Morale in the Brethren base camps reached its highest
peak during the first months of CPS. At that time most
of the campers were inclined to emphasize the values
which they felt were being achieved or could be achieved
through the alternative service program. To their daily
project work and to their leisure-time pursuits they
brought a spirit of optimism and adventure which was
notably missing in later years. The several problems
which were then current in camp life were looked upon
as subject to solution through pacifist techniques, and
not as insurmountable obstacles inherent in the frame-
work of the draft law. CPS at that time was generally
held to be an opportunity for conscientious objectors to
make a significant witness against war and to render a
service of peace to society, in addition to providing an
enriching personal experience for each assignee. This
point of view did not endure long, however, as the pre-
vailing climate of opinion. As months slipped into years,
and especially as the peacetime "training" program of
the nation became wartime conscription, a change began
to take place in the manner of viewing CPS. The entry
of the United States into the war marked a critical point
in the development of camp morale, for this event altered
the service status of the conscientious objectors from a
twelve months' "training" period to an indefinite term
of several years. Following that time, morale began a
rather steady decline. Camp Director Jeff Mathis noted
the effect of this shift upon the program as, in speaking
of his experiences at Magnolia and Lagro, he said:
Magnolia opened June 10, 1941. Here we started from scratch
with equipment, program, plans, and patterns. These were the
Base Camps: Camp Life 183
"pollyanna" days of C.P.S. We thought then it would be only a
year, and at the end of that time each man would be free to go back
to his job, his family, and his friends. In those days, there was much
laughter and optimism among the men.
After 10 months at Magnolia, we went to Lagro. It was soon
after the war had been declared and the realization had fully dawned
that the period of camp would be long and tedious. In the face of
this new realization, all became restless. Dispositions changed so
that men and administrators became altogether unpredictable in
their reactions to situations both new and old.63
With each succeeding year morale continued to de-
cline, until, in the later days of CPS, the prevailing atti-
tude seemed to be one of pessimism and cynicism— a feel-
ing that the base-camp program could not be made work-
able in the sense of achieving the original high goals en-
visioned for the venture. CPS was no longer viewed as
a challenging situation to be met and turned to good
account, but as an ad interim experience, a "lost" period
which could only be waited out. In the last years the
prevailing climate of opinion tended to view many of
the problems of the times as beyond solution within the
existing camp framework, with a resulting growth of
personal frustration and despair. Into the foreground of
their thinking many of the men projected the failures
and disappointments of camp life until its successes and
achievements were rather generally overlooked.
Although some groups within the camp did not share
this viewpoint they were characteristically rather inef-
fective in modifying or changing the existing outer atti-
tudes that pervaded the camp atmosphere during the
latter years. At least two factors contributed to such in-
MFrom a statement of J. H. Mathis, in an unpublished manuscript, History of
CPS Camp No. 6, Lagro, Indiana, by W. Earl Griffin. September 23, 1945. page 4.
184 Pathways of Peace
effectiveness. Many of the group more hopeful in outlook
soon transferred to special projects. Of those remain-
ing a number tended to be inarticulate in forming public
opinion, or took little initiative in creating a different
group spirit.
Basically, the decline in group morale was closely re-
lated to the large number of problems present within the
camps for which no answer satisfactory to the campers
seemed forthcoming. These problems were all interre-
lated, each with the other, and presented an extremely
formidable and complex aspect to those who were forced
to deal with them.
The feeling on the part of many that the work of the
base camps was not the most important they could be
doing, and that their skills and training were not being
utilized,64 bore heavily on the group spirit. It was diffi-
cult for such men to become enthusiastic over a service
which they felt to be relatively insignificant.
Closely related to this dilemma was the rather large-
scale exodus of the greater part of the natural leader-
ship talent from the camps to the special projects. Men
of this type were usually among those seeking more chal-
lenging and stimulating project work. They were also the
very ones most likely to be accepted by the special-project
superintendents. As a result each passing year the base
camps lost their most talented groups. At the same time
they accumulated an increasing number whom the spe-
cial projects would not accept.
Side camps also drained the base camps of an able por-
tion of their population. These outposts generally had a
more important work project than the main camp; and
MSee page 98.
Base Camps: Camp Life 185
the men selected to go were usually among the best
workers. Since side-camp facilities for the development
of a leisure-time program were less than at the main base,
the smaller units also tended to draw those most willing to
contribute to the success of the work program.
Meanwhile, the transiency of the base-camp popula-
tion was a problem in itself. Successful operation of a
complete community of from one hundred fifty to two
hundred campers required planning, organization and
training. Yet it was not uncommon for men vital to the
smooth functioning of camp to become involved in a
move to another location, perhaps to a side camp or a
special project, or from an eastern camp to a western in
the months immediately preceding fire season. The dif-
ficulties which this flux in population raised in the edu-
cation program have been noted already. Comparable
difficulties were raised in other areas of camp living.
Although the problems of pay and dependency were
not peculiar to the base camps alone but extended to the
special projects as well, they were probably more acute
in the former-type unit. The financial insecurity of the
conscientious objectors, which arose from the fact that
they received no pay for their work, hindered the de-
velopment of a high morale, especially as the period in
camp lengthened from the originally proposed tenure of
twelve months to four and more years. Although some
assignees viewed the payless feature in a spirit of sacri-
ficial service, others viewed it as an injustice, and a denial
of a basic human right. Regardless of either viewpoint,
the financial obligations of the men to their dependents
or creditors were a pressing reality and inevitably con
ditioned their mental outlook.
186 Pathways of Peace
Another factor which raised serious problems within
the camps was the fundamental disagreement between
the two major interpretations of CPS,65 and the divergent
lines of action to which each in turn pointed. Men who
viewed the existing CPS structure as unwise, or as a basic
moral wrong, could hardly be expected to contribute to
the development of a successful pattern of camp living.
In fact, their logic and conscience led them in quite the
other direction. The camps, then, were confronted by the
anomalous situation of supporting two groups working
to achieve opposite goals, with a net result that the ef-
forts of one tended to offset the efforts of the other. This
dichotomy was often reflected in the relationships de-
veloped between the local staff and individual campers.
Thus the former, as they sought to maintain certain camp
standards, were often accused by the latter of aiding the
government in its conscription and war program. Yet
the staff felt such standards necessary to the achievement
of a successful CPS experience, to which they gave more
or less allegiance.
Meanwhile a multitude of other factors also were in-
volved in the total camp situation. The uncertain dura-
tion of the term of CPS service led to an unsettled feel-
ing among many, and for them it became difficult to
plan specific objectives for the future. A number felt
their witness against war and their constructive achieve-
ment for peace to be less than they wished, yet considered
the existing alternatives to CPS as affording an even
smaller opportunity for action. Some became discouraged
with the personal conduct of fellow campers, as they
seemed all too human in their habits and reactions. And
"See page 63.
Base Camps: Camp Life' 187
still other problems might be listed, which seemingly had
no universally satisfactory answer.
Balanced against the shortcomings and problems of base-
camp life were its achievements and accomplishments-
growth in education and religious living, the preservation
of valuable natural resources, and other positive develop-
ments. Through the years the program appears as a
mixed series of failures and successes. Because in some
areas of experience the base camps early showed signs of
inability to meet the highest aspirations of the partici-
pants—assignees and administrators alike— attention was
turned to alternative forms of working units, with the re-
sulting emergence of the special-projects program. It is
to this development that the following pages are devoted.
CHAPTER 5
Changing Emphases: Special Projects
Base camps were the characteristic form of work-
project organization for the first two years of Brethren
Civilian Public Service. During that time the number
of conscientious objectors assigned to other types of
working units was small. As late as April 1943 the popu-
lation of the camps was one thousand, two hundred sev-
enty-five as compared to two hundred seventy-four for
all other classes of assignment.1 From that time on, how-
ever, the population of the base camps declined steadily,
while that of other types of units— namely, special projects
—grew. By July the number in camp had dropped to one
thousand forty-one while special projects had increased
to six hundred fourteen.2 By the end of January 1944
the population of the special projects was greater than
that of the camps, and continued so for the remaining
years of the program.3 Graph one illustrates the relative
population growth and decline in both types of
assignment.
Special projects as a parallel program to base camps
emerged and were developed primarily as a result of
initiative on the part of interested assignees and the
church-agency administrators of CPS. Both groups, while
*Form No. 114, NSBRO, April 8. 1943.
»Ibid., July 15, 1943.
*lbid., Jan. 31, 1944.
Changing Emphases: Special Projects 189
recognizing the values inherent in the camp pattern, were
eager to develop a type of project which would render
a more immediate service to people in need. Faced with
a world engaged in widespread destruction, they sought
an employment which would minister directly to human
beings in privation and misfortune. A discussion of hos-
pital projects in the Gospel Messenger illustrates this
motivation:
Hospital service for Civilian Public Service men had its beginning
through the desire of the men and of the administrative agencies to
find a type of service where men could deal first hand with some of
the needs of suffering humanity. Early C.P.S. projects such as for-
estry and soil conservation certainly will yield beneficial results in
the generations to come, but many men wanted a type of service
which met more immediate needs— something more in the stream of
the humanitarian movements.4
Assignees and administrators were also looking for a
type of assignment which would better utilize the train-
ing and skills of the men. And both were seeking projects
which would be financially self-supporting, for many
campers felt keenly that they were a burden on the peace
churches. The early efforts to establish special projects
are well described by the national director of Brethren
CPS, W. Harold Row, in a report to the Brethren Service
Committee in January 1943:
. . . [special] projects were very slow in developing. For a year
the NSBRO and service agencies have been attempting to open up
such channels, pushed by those in and out of camps who felt that
the assignees should be doing "more socially significant work," and
work which better utilized their special abilities. Added to this
was the feeling on the part of many men that they couldn't happily
accept "charity from the Historic Peace Churches." For these rea-
*Gospel Messenger, October 16, 1943, page 18.
190 Pathways of Peace
sons, coupled with the natural desire to render immediate service
to the needy in our midst, we have exerted considerable effort in
providing . . . [special project] opportunities. Three factors made
this a difficult task:
1. The reluctance of Selective Service to place men in immediate
social contact with the public.
2. The hesitancy of those needing help to risk having CO's in
their institutions.
3. The endless red-tape involved in any new semi-government
setup.
Three factors have proved favorable to . . . [special projects]:
1. The desperate need for help on the part of hospitals, farms, etc.
2. The efforts of many key people in government agencies.
3. The favorable reports of those hospital superintendents and
others using CPS men . . . .5
As the special-projects program was established and
grew, it came to include working units in several fields
of activity. Through it men were assigned to duty in
mental hospitals and training schools for mentally re-
tarded children, to dairy farms, to agricultural colleges
and experiment stations, to dairy testing associations, to
administrative positions in the church-agency offices, to
"guinea pig" experiments, to relief and rehabilitation
units, to public health services, and to other assignments.
Generally these newer-type units provided some of the
opportunities sought by the men and the church in their
establishment. Characteristically the work was more di-
rectly and immediately related to the welfare of persons
than that of the base camps; it likewise called for more
skill and training; and in most instances the basic ex-
penses of the projects were borne by the institutions
using the men.
■W. Harold Row, Report of the Director of Civilian Public Service to the
Brethren Service Committee, January 15, 1943. page 2.
t4<Wfc
Graph 1
Population Trends of Base Camps
and Special Projects
MOT VCIHpS — ^ ^^ BfMRCKB ITOyVCW ™»«»^
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1941
1943
1943
1944
1945
1946
1947
Data in graph 1 is compiled from NSBRO form No. 114.
192 Pathways of Peace
Although each type of special unit varied from every
other, all exhibited some common features. Generally
several men were detailed to a single project as a group.
In most cases the number ranged from twenty to thirty
or more, with some units smaller, and others considerably
larger. To the majority of the participants the special
projects offered a more "normal" situation than the
camps, for there the men were not so isolated from the
type of environment in which they had lived and worked
in pre-draft days. Furthermore, since many of the new
assignments were in well-established institutions with
regularly employed personnel, the conscientious objectors
did not feel so keenly that they were segregated from
society.
In terms of fiscal policy, special projects also differed
markedly from the camps. With few exceptions, the
agencies using the men in the newer-type program pro-
vided at least room, board, laundry, and a small monthly
allowance to cover items of personal expense. This type
of arrangement relieved the Brethren Service Commit-
tee of a large financial responsibility, for in the base camps
they bore these expenses or their equivalent.
Most of the special projects were developed under a
common plan of organization. Generally, each assignee
group had a leader, the assistant director, who functioned
in a manner comparable to that of the director of the
base camp. He was responsible for the preparation of
official forms and reports. He likewise had a responsi-
bility in developing a constructive program for the off-
duty hours of the assignees. In this latter task he usually
worked with an individual or committee of the group
especially delegated to care for the leisure-time activities.
Special Projecli. Above: Dan West leading a foreign relief unit class, Man-
chester College campus
Below: Florida hookworm-control project involved construction and distribu-
tion of sanitary privies
Mental Hospital Service
Giving patient an injection
Bed bath
Photos by
Henry Blocker.
Fort Stcilacoorn, Washington
Blood transfusion A little outpatient
Photos by J. Henry Dastrnbrork
Puerto Rican
children at com-
munity Christ-
mas party
Castaner, Puerto
Rico, Hospital
and Community
Service Project
Minnesota Experiment. A volunteer after six months of semistarvation
Changing Emphases: Special Projects 193
He also represented the interests of the men and the
Brethren Service Committee to the officials of the using
institution, and to others with whom the unit had busi-
ness. His influence in determining the course of unit
life was not so great, however, as that of the base-camp
director. This was particularly true in mental hospitals,
where the authority of the superintendent seemed espe-
cially dominant.
Supplementing the assistant directors in their work
were the area supervisors— one in the western region of
the United States, one in the central region, and two in
the eastern region. These men, all nonassignees, visited
the various projects in their districts, counseling and
advising, and participating in decisions involving major
CPS policy. The persons filling these positions were
Mark Schrock and Ora Huston in the West; Drue Fun-
derburg in the Midwest; and Samuel Harley, Levi Ziegler
(area farm supervisor), and Wilbur Bantz in the East.
The daily work of the assignees was performed under
the supervision of the using agency, whose head was gen-
erally designated as director of the project. His duties
were comparable to those of the project superintendent
in the base camps. In addition, however, he exercised
some powers of discipline, especially through his privilege
of sending men back to camp.0 He also influenced unit
developments through the type of living facilities which
he made available to the group, and through other
means. Thus, in the special projects, the using agency
proved a more potent factor in determining the total
unit life than in the base camps.
•This was a marked change from the base-camp plan. There discipline was
vested not in the using agency, but in the church agency.
uoo
1000
800
700
800
500
300
800
100
Graph 2
Population Trends of Forest Service Camps,
Mental Hospitals and Training Schools,
and Agricultural Units (including Soil
Conservation Camps)
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| 1
IS.l*j?t*l*J?5J4J81*£8-l*£l8J
1841
1842
1843
1844
1845
1846
1847
Data in graph 2 is compiled from NSBRO form No. 114.
Changing Emphases: Special Projects 195
Special projects were operated as a parallel program
to the camps. Transfer to and from one to the other
was possible within certain general limits. Men who had
spent at least ninety days in camp were eligible to vol-
unteer for whatever openings existed in the special units.
Several steps were involved in completing a transfer.
First, the approval of the camp director and the project
superintendent was needed to release the man from his
then-current assignment if he was serving in a key posi-
tion, or if he was needed for fire-fighting duties. All ap-
plications were next forwarded to Elgin. There the most
likely candidates were nominated to the agency needing
the men. The selections of the using agency were then
forwarded by the Elgin office to the NSBRO, which in
turn took them to Selective Service for final approval.
The procedure for transfer from one special unit to an-
other, or from one camp to another, was similar.
The emergence and expansion of the special-projects
program was a very significant development in Brethren
CPS. Its early rise and subsequent emphasis in the mid-
dle and later years brought far-reaching changes in all
phases of the alternative-service system. In itself, of
course, it was markedly different from the base-camp plan.
Beyond providing a parallel mode of service, however,
special projects also reached back into the camps to alter
profoundly some of their basic working concepts. In
three ways, especially, the newer units influenced the
course of camp developments. In the first place, the ad-
vent of special projects emphasized and reinforced the
nascent point of view that a more important and signifi-
cant alternative service could be rendered outside the
base-camp pattern. The possibility of transfer to the
196 Pathways of Peace
special units contributed greatly to the feeling that the
base-camp assignment was a residual type of service— that
the camp was not the primary unit of organization, but
rather a type of induction center which it would be
well to leave as soon as placement in a special project
should be effected. C. Ray Keim noted the growth of this
attitude in 1943, following visits to six Brethren units:
The Conservation and Forest work has come to be a residual
task, for those who cannot go into what many think are more sig-
nificant projects. This is a serious problem. ... Of all things, I
feel this has reduced camp morale the most. How can men develop
a good attitude toward this work as long as such a situation remains?
. . . This constant depletion of the camps for . . . [special projects]
is enough to demoralize the projects in the camps.7
In the second place, with the advent of special projects,
camp life became much less permanent in nature. Camp-
ers were eager to take advantage of the opportunities
offered by the special units, and constantly sought such
assignments. As they were accepted and transferred to
their new duties the change was reflected in the makeup
of the camp body. More and more the population came
to manifest features of transiency. Planning educational
programs or long-range goals of any kind became difficult,
for none could be sure how long the participants would
remain. Group activities were often interrupted and
seriously crippled by the transfer of leaders and key per-
sonnel. Thus an air of uncertainty came to mark almost
all activities undertaken. Early in the program W. Harold
Row noted the effect of a changing population upon the
educational plans of the Brethren base camps, and pointed
out the significance of the development.
7Lcttcr of C. Ray Kcim to W. Harold Row, August 25, 1943, page 4.
Changing Emphases: Special Projects 197
The coming of ... [special projects] has forced us to rebuild
our whole education program. Formerly we timed our program on
"the duration." We kept planning for those things which should
happen to men between assignment to camp and ultimate discharge
at the end of the war. But with the development of . . . [special
projects] we found that men might remain in regular camps only 90
days before leaving on special assignment. Returns from a recent
questionnaire sent the camps by the NSBRO indicate that 92% of
the first 2000 assignees voting seemed to favor . . . [special proj-
ects] in some form.8
Despite our satisfaction at this significant development . . . [spe-
cial projects], we recognize a severe handicap to our CPS training
opportunities. Our regular camps, in my judgment, offer the finest
chance Christian Pacifism has ever had to prepare a large number
of young men for creative leadership in building brotherhood and
international goodwill. We had 50 or more communities of young
men living, working, eating, sleeping, studying, planning and wor-
shipping together with a common purpose to end wars and build
goodwill. The task was not easy. The men represented a wide va-
riety of viewpoints in religion, morals, economics and social action.
We didn't accomplish all we planned, but when . . . [special proj-
ects] came to rob us of the concept, "in camp for the duration," we
felt a significant door of opportunity had been partly closed.9
Base camps were also profoundly affected by the special
projects in that the latter tended to attract many of the
most talented men. A conference of regional representa-
tives noted this trend in 1943.
A relatively high percentage of the most creative and constructive
men . . . have moved on to special projects. This has resulted in
the lowering of the camps' education, social interest and religious
attitude level. ... it seems that the least creative persons elect
to stay in camp.10
•W. Harold Row, Report . . . to the Brethren Service Committee, January 15,
1943, page 3.
9Ibid., page 2.
"Brethren Camp Directors Memorandum No. 432, December 13, 1943, page 1.
198 Pathways of Peace
At the same time that many of the natural leaders were
transferring, a growing residue of men whose applica-
tions for special projects had not been accepted, or who
had been returned to camp as unsatisfactory, was accumu-
lating. Thus, the camps tended to reflect progressively
less creativity and leadership ability.
The growth of the special projects program and the
relative decline of the base-camp pattern also had im-
portant implications for the development of a group
consciousness and solidarity within the pacifist ranks. To
a much larger extent than the units, the camps offered
individual conscientious objectors opportunity to be-
come acquainted with many other persons of like mind,
and thus to develop some sense of a common cause. There
was also more time to think and plan for peace action
and for participation in a leisure-time program. In ad-
dition, intercommunication was more easily established
and maintained among the larger base-type groups.
Special projects, on the other hand, split the larger
groups into smaller units. Furthermore, their conditions
of work and living were generally unfavorable to a growth
of group unity, for the men were often assigned to dif-
ferent details and shifts, and sometimes lodged in separate
sleeping quarters. The work week was also longer, rang-
ing to sixty or more hours, especially in the mental hos-
pitals and training schools. As a consequence, the as-
signees had less time and energy to devote to group activi-
ties, and the achievement of a united front for the estab-
lishment of patterns of peaceful living. While it is
problematical as to how far a group consciousness and
organization among the IV-E's could have been developed
under either type of program, especially in view of the
Changing Emphases: Special Projects 199
great diversity of background and thought patterns repre-
sented, it seems evident that special projects offered less
opportunity in this regard than the base camps.
The procedure for the establishment of the newer- type
units involved several steps. Suggestions and plans from
various sources— mainly assignees, the Brethren Service
Committee, and the National Service Board for Religious
Objectors— were investigated by the special projects sec-
tion of the National Service Board. Following prelimi-
nary explorations and planning, the National Service
Board opened negotiations with Selective Service, for all
projects needed the final approval of this government
agency. After Selective Service had authorized the unit,
there remained the details of securing applicants for the
work, selecting those desired, and arranging for their
transfer.
In authorizing the establishment of CPS projects, Se-
lective Service headquarters considered several factors.
In their words:
The following factors were judged to be the most important in
the selecting of projects:
1. Was the project important to the government in the emergency
considering the manpower available, and was the project the most
important thing that could be done at the time? Would it continue
to be important with the probable changes in the situation?
2. Would the conscientious objectors do it? It would have been
useless to select projects which the conscientious objectors would
not do wholeheartedly, because filling the jails does not solve such
a problem.
3. Would the public tolerate the objector in the community
where the project was to be located? It would be useless to attempt
a project in a community where the local population so threatened
or harassed the objector that he could not do a creditable job.
In many cases, the cooperation of the citizens of the community was
200 Pathways of Peace
necessary. Veterans' organizations were usually the leaders in oppo-
sition to attempted projects.
4. Would other employable labor be displaced? No projects were
attempted which would have displaced labor already employed, or
where funds and labor were available for the project.
5. Would it raise political controversy? An attempt was made to
keep the conscientious objectors out of any community where their
presence might have become a political issue.11
Selective Service felt that some areas of work— especially
education and social welfare— were particularly inappro-
priate for conscientious objectors. They felt that "public
opinion and the necessity of maintaining the war effort
prevented the use of conscientious objectors in the fields
of education and social welfare work where there was
a possibility that they might spread their philosophies and
thus hamper the war effort."12
As indicated previously, the initiative in the drive for
newer units stemmed mainly from the assignees and
church-agency administrators of CPS. In May 1945 W.
Harold Row reported that "almost every advance into
new types of project has been pressed by Administrative
Agencies and only very reluctantly agreed to by SSS" [Se-
lective Service].13 On their part, Selective Service officials
were inclined to favor the use of the conscientious ob-
jectors within relatively few types of projects. They
felt an expanded program would demand a larger ad-
ministrative staff, and that the number of men in CPS
would not justify such an increase. This viewpoint was
expressed in a letter of Paul V. McNutt, chairman of the
War Manpower Commission. Although written in 1943,
"From an unpublished monograph of Selective Service, Conscientious Objection,
Neal M. Wherry, editor, page 18 of section VIII.
**Ibid., page 23.
"A report of W. Harold Row to the Brethren Service Committee, May 1945.
Changing Emphases: Special Projects 201
the letter illustrates a point of view emphasized through-
out the program.
. . . since at the present time the number of theses men is less
than 7000, it is felt that from an administrative standpoint it is de-
sirable to utilize their services among as few types of projects as
possible .... While it is realized that there are individuals who
have special skills to perform certain individual types of work, it is
felt best to utilize these skills within the projects now in operation
rather than scatter them as individuals out over the country where
keeping track of them and checking on their efforts would become
almost an unsurmountable job without setting up a very large ad-
ministrative organization.14
Because the special projects seemed to offer certain
large advantages not obtainable within the base camps,
and because so many of the assignees within Brethren
CPS favored that type of assignment, the Brethren Serv-
ice Committee came to emphasize the newer program
more and more with the passing years. This trend is
well indicated by the relative decline in number of base
camps and growth in number of special projects spon-
sored by the Brethren following the initial period of
CPS operation. In April 1943, when the base-camp popu-
lation reached its peak (one thousand, two hundred sev-
enty-five), the Brethren were administering ten camps and
ten special units.15 Within three months, however, the
special units had been increased to twenty.16 By January
31, 1944, there were eight camps and twenty-three special
units.17 In October 1945 just as systematic demobiliza-
tion was beginning, there were twenty-seven special units
uAs quoted in Memorandum No. 114 to board of directors (NSBRO), February
5, 1943, by Paul Comly French.
**Form No. 114, NSBRO, April 8, 1943.
"/bid., July 15, 1943.
"Ibid., January 31, 1944.
202 Pathways of Peace
as compared to five camps.18 The population of both
types of units is given in graph one.
Official statements of the service committee also illus-
trate the changing sentiment toward an emphasis on the
newer program of special units. In October 1943 the
Brethren proposed:
That we enrich the program of . . . special projects by providing
a large selection ... to utilize more effectively the varied skills of
men ....
That we be granted the privilege to direct men into projects as
soon as it is clear what their skills and interests are.19
At the same time the National Service Board wrote
to Selective Service that "we are desirous of broadening
the type of service available because we believe that more
effective national use of the abilities and training of the
men . . . can be made by developing further projects in
areas of human need."20
In March 1945 the service committee approved the fol-
lowing policy statement relative to special projects:
The Brethren Service Committee would like to reduce materially
its expenditures of funds for the maintenance of C.P.S. camps in
order that it might minister more adequately to (1) the educational,
religious and personnel needs of men in C.P.S. ... (2) the needs
of the dependents of C.P.S. men and (3) the increasing demands of
relief .... To this end the Committee instructs its staff to at-
tempt to reduce the number of base camps, and to urge the men in
base camps to consider seriously transferring as opportunity affords
to available openings in special projects.21
By November 1945 the service committee voted that
"the number of base camps be reduced to a minimum
™Ibid., October 15, 1945.
"Official Minutes of the Brethren Service Committee, October 1943, page 34.
KIbid., page 35.
*Ibid.t March 1945, page 91.
Changing Emphases: Special Projects 203
so that by early spring . . . [they] would be operating
no more than one or two ... ." At the same time,
they proposed that an increased number of men be as-
signed to relief and rehabilitation work, and to "research,
planning service with scientific and social agencies."22
Thus a survey of Brethren CPS reveals that two pat-
terns of working units operated simultaneously. The
first to emerge, the base camp, was the dominant mode
of organization during the initial period of the program.
Within a relatively short time, however, the special proj-
ect was developed as an alternative type of service. Be-
cause the new plan seemed more feasible than the old,
it was emphasized increasingly with each succeeding
month, until it, in turn, became the dominant pattern of
work-project organization.
Special projects may be classified in several ways.
Three general categories used in the following pages are:
mental hospital and training school units; agricultural
units; and relief units. These three types accounted for
the greater part of the special-project population, and to
each of them a separate chapter has been devoted. In
addition, the Brethren Service Committee administered
several units in which the assignees served as subjects (and
sometimes technicians) in scientific experiments— the so-
called "guinea pig" projects. The outstanding unit of
this type— the starvation and rehabilitation experiment
at the University of Minnesota— is described at some
length in chapter 9. Brief paragraph descriptions of each
of the others may be found in the appendix. Finally,
several individual projects were sponsored, including a
*lbid., November 1945, page 105.
204 Pathways of Peace
Forest Service research unit at Olustee, Florida; a Weather
Bureau unit at Mt. Weather, Virginia; and a unit under
the technical direction of the Fish and Wildlife Service
of the Department of Interior at Bowie, Maryland. These,
too, are described in the appendix. Two other special
projects, the Crestview-Tallahassee unit and the Castaner
unit, seemed to merit special consideration because of
the high level of achievement to which they attained.
Accordingly, they have been described in chapters 8 and
11, respectively. The work of the administrative unit
at Elgin is outlined in chapter 13.
CHAPTER 6
Mental Hospital and Training School Units
With the passage of the National Selective Service Act
in the fall of 1940 and the consequent withdrawal of
men from their peacetime occupations, and with the
great expansion of industry and agriculture that came
as the demands for the materials and implements of war
reached new peaks, there developed in the United States
an ever-increasing shortage of labor in many of the less
remunerative and less war-related occupations. Among
the institutions adversely affected by the labor shortage
were the mental hospitals and training schools of the
nation. These groups, unable to compete with the high
standards of employment offered by the war industries,
and without a deferred status under the law, were faced
with an extremely critical man-power situation. The ex-
tent of their labor crisis is revealed by the following ex-
cerpts from letters to the National Service Board from
hospitals requesting conscientious objector help:
Our personnel needs are acute and growing worse daily. We are
short today 165 attendants out of a normal complement of 225.
We are working with less than half our proper force and are
definitely below the level of safe coverage.
At present the demand for admission is so great, and the avail-
able help so short that the pressure upon us is severe.
We are 150 attendants short out of 256. The situation is dan-
gerous.
206 Pathways of Peace
Our institution has become severely affected by the war effort and
the selective service, so much so that we have already thought of
the possibility of having to close up half of our main build-
ing. . . .*
In the face of this great need for help, the concerned
parties opened negotiations for the assignment of con-
scientious objectors to service in mental hospitals and
training schools. Added impetus to the establishment
of such special projects came from the desire of many of
the men, and the service committees, to engage in work
ministering directly to immediate human needs. As a
result a program was developed whereby the Brethren
Service Committee accepted responsibility for the ad-
ministration of thirteen such units. Ten of these were
mental hospitals, located respectively at Sykesville, Mary-
land; Cambridge,2 Maryland; Marion, Virginia; New-
town, Connecticut; Norwich, Connecticut; Augusta,
Maine; Lyons, New Jersey; Columbus, Ohio; Dayton,
Ohio; and Fort Steilacoom, Washington. Three were
training schools for the mentally deficient.3 They were
located at Colony, Virginia; Mansfield, Connecticut; and
Buckley, Washington. By April 1945 the conscientious
objectors working in these Brethren-administered proj-
ects numbered five hundred sixty, or approximately twen-
ty-eight per cent of the total BCPS population, which
at that time was one thousand, nine hundred ninety-one.4
^Civilian Public Service Units in Mental Hospitals (Washington: NSBRO. a
four-page leaflet), page 2.
aFor an interim period— November 15, 1944, to March 1, 1946— the American
Baptist Home Mission Society administered the Cambridge unit.
8The chief difference between a mental hospital and a training school lies in
the type of patient admitted. Training schools are devoted primarily to the care
of those whose mental deficiency results chiefly from hereditary factors, and for
whom there is little or no hope of cure. Mental hospitals are devoted to the
care of patients who have become unbalanced from environmental factors and
for whom there is a hope of cure.
'Figures taken from NSBRO form No. 114, April 16, 1945.
Mental Hospital and Training School Units 207
Although the several Brethren-sponsored hospital and
training school units varied one from the other, each
representing a unique grouping of persons and events, it
is possible to characterize many features and develop-
ments as common to them all. The work assignments of
each type of unit and the administrative arrangements,
especially, were similar in kind and, to a somewhat lesser
extent, so were the problems faced by all. The greatest
differences arose in the activities developed during the
off-duty hours of the men, although even in this regard
certain parallelisms are evident.
Work Assignments: Hospitals
The large majority of the conscientious objectors in
the mental hospital units worked as ward attendants, car-
ing directly for the needs of the patients, although a num-
ber were assigned to other duties, including food prepara-
tion, office work, truck driving, building maintenance and
repair, landscaping, work on the hospital farms and
dairies, occupational therapy, social work, laboratory as-
sistance, and similar tasks.5 The working day was gen-
erally quite long, especially for the attendants, many of
whom worked shifts of sixty or more hours per week.
Coupled with the long days on the wards were the trying
conditions of handling patients unable to care for them-
selves in any way and the seeming lack of hope for their
restoration to full health. The daily routine of the ward
attendant is well described in the following accounts,
"Tabic 9 lists the number of man-days devoted to the various types of assign-
ment at each institution. Next to ward attendance (272,610 man-days), the most
man-days were spent in food preparation in the hospital kitchens (29,944).
Work on the hospital farms and dairies producing food ranked next (22.687 man-
days), followed by clerical assignments (19,856 man-days), technical and profes-
sional assignments (18,793), and building maintenance and repair (16,330).
208 Pathways of Peace
which portray in detail the specific tasks and conditions
of work in typical ward situations. From a Maryland
hospital a report lists the duties of the attendant thus:
The work of a ward attendant varies. Generally speaking his job
involves: complete ward housekeeping— sweeping, mopping, waxing
and polishing floors, bed making and taking care of patients' clothes.
He supervises and assists the patients in eating, bathing, dressing,
and undressing. He might be an aide in giving various treatments
such as dressings, injections, electric shock and hydrotherapy. He
may accompany patients on walks outdoors, to the weekly movie,
or monthly patients' dance. Attendants work with patients of the
same sex.
The first few days on the wards are the most difficult. The work
becomes easier after one gains self-confidence and clears his mind of
any misapprehensions he may have had concerning the work and
behavior of patients and learns to know that their behavior can be
anticipated.6
A more graphic account of mental hospital life is
unfolded in the following report from a Virginia hospital:
I wish you might spend some days on various wards as I am to be
able to. Monday morning I worked . . . where most of the senile
sick patients are. The odors of a hospital ward are usually thought
of as rank with antiseptic, but this ward has an ineradicable pungent
smell of ancient B.O., food-stained gowns, and fecal matter com-
bined, too strong for the antiseptic to cut through except perhaps
momentarily. There is a day room in which the patients not bed-fast
sit, all day long, on benches against the wall. They wear denims for
the most part. Some are responsive, and some have only an idle
stare as one walks about or through the room. A few are able to
work, and help a great deal with the cleaning, the care of laundry,
the feeding of bed-fast patients, etc.
Across the hall is a room with twelve to fourteen white-covered
beds in it. All these patients require more or less constant observa-
•"Civilian Public Service Unit No. 47," Brethren Sennce Committee-CPS Unit
Descriptions, page 2.
Mental Hospital and Training School Units 209
tion and care, some of them being "soil patients" . . . and others
requiring special feeding or special dressings ... . In an L to the
left of this room is a straight corridor with six rooms leading from it
on each side. The doors to these rooms are locked and have small
squares of glass about three inches square in them. Behind these
doors are patients of varying degrees of untrustworthiness; men
whose illness is very grave, or who become disturbed with other
patients around them .... These patients require rather con-
stant care . . . and to their care especially the requirements of
limitless patience and a strong stomach apply for the attendants.7
From a hospital in Washington comes a full account
of the custodial aspects of work on the wards, with
glimpses into the more human elements of the service:
Custodial care is the main job of the average attendant in a
mental hospital. With the exception of those persons who adminis-
ter medications or who do work of a specialized nature, the prin-
ciple requirement for a good attendant is one that includes a gen-
uine underlying concern for the people with whom he will spend
the day. Some patients can, within the routine of the hospital,
pretty well take care of themselves. A few are able to give excellent
assistance in taking care of the more helpless. But it is the attend-
ant's responsibility to see that things run smoothly. The "up-pa-
tients" must be gotten out of bed and dressed. All must be washed
and combed, and fed. They must be kept warm and have exercise.
They should be kept from feeling locked up. They must feel that
there are friendly people around them. They should be kept happy,
but they must not be pampered.
One of the major and most distasteful parts of custodial care
comes under the heading of bed-changing. Bed-patients abound in
hospitals for mental care. Many of them are incontinent and must
be changed often. The proverbial "patience of Job" and a firm de-
termination are valuable assets to the attendant assigned to the
sickening odor and picturesque unpleasantries of an incontinent
ward. Patients must be changed regularly for more than humani-
tarian reasons, as any attendant who has dealt with bed or pressure
^Report of Lowell Wright to W. Harold Row, June 23, 1943. page 3.
210 Pathways of Peace
sores should be willing to agree. Pressure sores are among the most
difficult to heal, and since they are most common among patients
who have little resistance to tissue breakdown left, they are a con-
stant source of irritation to the attendant as well as the patient.
To the layman the assignment sounds and seems to be simply one
of "being around," for there are always a few patients to aid with
the "dirty work." It must appear to be very easy, but picture in your
mind the immense amount of patience that a mother exerts caring
for her child, and then multiply that patience many times and apply
it to the hospital situation where suspicions and false notions run
rampant and you have a small idea of what the mental hospital at-
tendant is facing every day on his job.
Custodial care includes everything. It is not the glamorous or ex-
citing part of an attendant's job. Events do occur, however, to lend
interest to the regular routine. Sometimes a patient must be
prompted and urged to eat in spite of the fact that he is firmly con-
vinced that he has no stomach. The job is a little more difficult if
he thinks you are trying to poison him. He must be bathed even
during the times when he is sure that the attendant is set on drown-
ing him, or that the tub is full of crocodiles. When he is in the
most disturbed condition the patient will continue to grow whiskers
and when he eyes you from the bathroom wielding a gleaming
straight-edge razor it may be fairly difficult to convince him that the
razor is to cut the beard and not his throat. But even more trying
on the nerves of the average attendant than the patient with delu-
sions and hallucinations which are fairly pronounced, is the one
with whom and about whom you seem to be able to do nothing.
One can only suppose his trouble and be even more patient than
usual. Perhaps he is senile, or getting that way. He can't remember
that an hour ago you told him where he is, and why you can't call
his wife, so he will ask you again and again at regular or . . . [irreg-
ular] intervals. Perhaps he is suffering from the effects of a stroke and
is constantly irritable. Nothing you can do will make him happy or
put him at ease. Or perhaps he is of the persistent type that insists
on telling you his story over and over again, making you wonder
more and more why he is in the hospital at all, but on the other
hand making you very certain that he is in the right place. The con-
stant small irritation of never knowing what your patients will do
Mental Hospital and Training School Units 211
next manages to set many an attendant on edge to the extent that
civil response to the patient becomes very difficult. Routine be-
comes set and patterns to keep patients in order rather than to keep
them happy become the line of least resistance and the accepted
custom. To the pacifist the situation offers a challenge . . . .8
Work Assignments: Training Schools
The work assignments of the conscientious objectors
at the training schools can be best indicated by consider-
ing each project separately. At Colony, Virginia, a num-
ber of the men served as ward attendants, with others
detailed to duties in the kitchen and the office, and on the
farm and grounds. In many respects these assignments
were very much like those of a mental hospital unit.
At Buckley, Washington, the work was more varied.
One description lists the men as working in the following
manner:
. . . five work on the farm and dairy, three in the garden, two
are teachers, two are on recreation, one is in the social worker's of-
fice, and one each is on the lawns and attendant at the [farm] cot-
tage .... None of us have worked as regular attendants in the
halls. We are in complete charge of the school and recreation pro-
gram.9
At Mansfield, Connecticut, the men were assigned
principally as ward attendants, teachers, clerical workers,
and farmers, with one assignee, at least, serving as an in-
dustrial room manager.
The teaching at Mansfield and Buckley stressed train-
ing in handwork, crafts, and physical education, although
some academic work of a very elementary nature was in-
cluded in the curriculum.
SA1 Benglen, "Custodial Care," Viewpoint, I, 3 (December 1, 1943) page 8 ff.
•CPS Unit No. 95," Brethren Service Committee— CPS Unit Description, page I.
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Mental Hospital and Training School Units 213
A partial insight into the nature of the work at the
training schools is offered by the reflections of a Mansfield
assignee about the patients, and their relation to the
attendant.
An alert and observing attendant will discover these low grades
resemble a normal person, living in slow-motion fashion. Not-
withstanding this constitutional make-up, these "little thinkers" are
careful to preserve a spark of life. They seem far more humane
than many "normal" people. They seek satisfaction and content-
ment in "being a part of" and "belonging to" a group similar to
their own understanding. They seek encouragement in their abil-
ities and like attention. They seek consolation in their frustrated
moments. Again, they seek security from the inconsistencies of their
fellow playmates.
Understanding the low grade patient to be mentally dormant but
highly . . . [sensitive] the attendant must be very tactful in making
impressions. Scores of glancing eyes are watching most unassumingly
every movement he makes. Carefully they tabulate the difference it
makes to you if "Popeye's" left shoe is on his right foot, or if
"Woodchuck's" clothes are soiled. They tabulate your reaction to
Mickey's cut or bruise or, better yet, his toothache. Eddie may be
homesick; Mike may have had a tough day; they all try to express
their feelings. Caution is in order when they are thus measuring
your disposition. They are concerned about how quickly you check
the unhealthy aversions of certain members.
The patients "Oh!" and "Ah!" when Bobbie throws an aimless fist
while cursing you up and down. You might demoralize yourself by
responding with a quick uppercut; you should demoralize the pa-
tient with a gradual pressure hold. Their attitudes come to total
those of the attendant's response pattern. If an attendant is earnest
and sincere, he will be concerned about the welfare of his "boys."
In like manner, the patients have confidence in and hold respect
for such a superior. To gain this quality of respect, the guardian
must mold a pattern of society comparable only to that found in a
father-son relationship.11
"Kenneth Hetrick, Training Schools, mental hygiene program of CPS exchange
service, camp series (February 10, 1945, a mimeographed bulletin), page 6.
214 Pathways of Peace
Work and Conscience
As the assignees took up their new duties they were
confronted by a problem directly related to their pacifist
views. The difficulty centered around the extent to which
nonviolent techniques could be used in handling men-
tally unbalanced patients, and as to how far the use of
physical force could be reconciled with a thoroughgoing
pacifist philosophy. Among the conscientious objectors
there were varying shades of opinion. One point of
view was that the use of physical force was not necessary
and was, in fact, psychologically harmful to the patient.
Another point of view, and one that seemed most widely
held, was that in some instances the use of force was
necessary in restraining patients, but that the use of such
restraint should be kept to a minimum. A distinction
was made between the use of force to maintain control
of the ward situation, and the use of force as a measure of
punishment or as a means of creating fear within the
patients. Adherents of this view varied as to the amount
and degree of force necessary.12
In the actual ward situation the problem was twofold
in nature. In their own relationship to the patient the
assignees desired to establish a sympathetic and kind ap-
proach, and to abstain from the use of physical force or
reduce such use to a minimum. Yet they daily faced the
human tendency to slip into a routine whereby it seemed
easier to maintain order and discipline through punish-
ment and fear rather than through understanding and
kindness.
"One attendant analyzed the viewpoints thus: "There seemed to be a distinction
between force and violence, the latter involving activity designed to express the
emotional needs of the attendant . . . while the former was directed to main-
taining control . . . with a minimum amount of restraint on the patient." (Letter
of Gerard V. Haigh to the author, February 2, 1948.)
Mental Hospital and Training School Units 215
At the same time many of the regularly employed at-
tendants with whom they worked used physical punish-
ment quite freely, at times extending beyond corrective
measures to abuse. In some instances the conscientious
objectors were under the supervision of attendants of
this type.
The extent of the contribution of the conscientious
objectors toward the establishment of more humane care
for mental patients is very difficult to determine. In the
first place it should be noted that their viewpoint toward
the patient was one which had been advocated by leading
authorities on mental health many years before the advent
of CPS. As was pointed out in one article, "However
hospital authorities may disagree with our position on
war they are fully agreed that our philosophy towards
our fellow men is completely compatible with the proper
treatment of mental patients."13 The assignees, then,
were not responsible for developing a new theory of
treatment. It does seem evident, however, that they tried
to put such humane principles into practice in a more
thoroughgoing manner than was being done by other
groups of workers. Insofar as they achieved this, many
patients received better care for the time at least. Like-
wise the assignees undoubtedly influenced other attend-
ants to some degree, although most of the evidence in
this regard is pessimistic. Perhaps the greatest contribu-
tion is yet to come, through a carrying of the concern back
into their local communities by the conscientious ob-
jectors, and through the CPS-born National Mental
Health Foundation.
^Gospel Messenger, October 16, 1943. page 19.
216 Pathways of Peace
Administrative Responsibilities
The responsibilities for the administration of each
unit were divided between the superintendent of the in-
stitution and an assignee representative known as the
assistant director. In general the division of duties pro-
vided that the assistant director represent the interests
of the men as well as those of the Brethren Service Com-
mittee to the institution, to Selective Service, and to
other concerned agencies. The assistant director also
represented the interests of the assignees to the service
committee. In addition he assumed responsibility and
leadership for developing such activities as seemed ap-
propriate for the off-duty hours of the men. The superin-
tendent, on the other hand, was officially designated by
Selective Service to serve as the director of the unit with
the broad responsibility of directing the work assign-
ments and of providing for the maintenance of the as-
signees. The superintendents generally felt a closer re-
sponsibility to Selective Service, for legal reasons, than
to either the National Service Board or the Brethren
Service Committee.
In more specific terms the superintendent, as the head
of the hospital or school, was ultimately responsible for
determining the number of men to be allocated to the
various ward details and other services within the in-
stitution, and for determining the individual assignment
of each conscientious objector. Through the facilities of
the institution, he provided the members of the unit
with living quarters, food, and laundry. Special clothing
or uniforms (or a cash allotment in lieu thereof) and a
maintenance allowance for the purchase of minor per-
sonal items were also furnished the assignees by the hos-
Mental Hospital and Training School Units 217
pital or training school. Medical and dental care, com-
pensation insurance, and the transportation expenses for
transfer of the unit members were other financial ob-
ligations of the using institution.14 Within this type of
special project the superintendent was also responsible
for the "discipline" of the group, which marked a modi-
fication of the base-camp procedure in which such a
function was the responsibility of the church agency.15
It should also be noted that the superintendent was re-
sponsible for the preparation of certain official reports.
In actual practice the superintendent delegated some
of his duties to other members of the hospital staff, or to
the assistant director, and yet at the same time maintained
a rather close surveillance of unit affairs. The amount
of such delegation varied, of course, in each project ac-
cording to the customs of the institution, and the tem-
peraments of the superintendent and the assistant di-
rector. In spite of individual variations, however, it seems
accurate to characterize the control exercised by the
superintendent over the activities of the group as very
strong and influential. Through his regulation of work
assignments and transfers of personnel to and from the
institution, and through the living quarters and other
facilities of the hospital which he made available to the
group, he proved a potent factor in determining the
course of unit life.
The specific duties of the assistant director involved
a number of different activities. In the first place, he
14The obligation of compensation insurance was not fulfilled in some instances.
Illustrative of this failure is the case of one assignee who contracted tuberculosis
during his hospital work, but who received no adjustment for his disability. At
some institutions the men felt the medical and dental care to be inadequate.
"The responsibilities of the several parties are outlined in Administrative In-
structions 1, 3, and 4, issued by Selective Service.
218 Pathways of Peace
performed a large amount of the office work necessary to
the administration of the unit. Generally, he kept the
records needed for the several official reports which went
to Selective Service, the National Service Board, and the
Brethren Service Committee, and submitted these pe-
riodically. He also gathered data on the assignees re-
questing transfer to hospital or training school service,
and worked in close relation with the superintendent in
the selection of new personnel. As a representative of the
conscientious objectors, he was responsible for placing
many of their concerns before the superintendent and
thus was in a position to influence working relations
greatly. In fact, much of the progress of the unit de-
pended on how well the assistant director could negotiate
with the head of the institution. In developing a program
of activities for the off-duty hours of the men the assistant
director relied heavily on leadership from within the
group. Rather than dominating such events, he served
chiefly to stimulate interest and to provide such facilities
as he could muster by virtue of his position. As the units
increased in size it became necessary to place some of his
responsibilities with others. Usually this came about with
selection of an educational secretary, whose primary re-
sponsibilities were to the off-duty program. Since the as-
sistant director and the educational secretary were as-
signees, they were granted time for their work through
an overhead system comparable in kind to that used in
the base camps. Few units were large enough to allow
more than two men for such work, however, in contrast
to the larger overhead quotas in the camps.
Assignees who served as assistant directors in the mental
hospitals and training schools were: Joseph Ablett (Co-
Mental Hospital and Training School Units 219
lumbus), Raymond Bebee (Mansfield), John Bowman
(Newtown), Channing Briggs (Norwich), D. K. Chris-
tenberry (Colony), Charles Davis (Ft. Steilacoom), Ralph
Delk (Mansfield), Stanley Dotterer (Newtown), Robert
Elliott (Sykesville), Lloyd Hall (Ft. Steilacoom), Marvin
Hanson (Newtown), Jarrott Harkey (Norwich), Dean
Hoefle (Norwich), Evan Hollingsworth (Marion), Murl
Huffman (Norwich), Donald Hursh (Cambridge), Al-
fred Johnson (Buckley), Edwin Keller (Sykesville), Mar-
vin Kline (Cambridge), William Lowden (Marion), Ray
Mahaffey (Sykesville), Allan Neubauer (Lyons), Vernon
Nichols (Marion), Roland Ortmayer (Buckley), Charles
Pieh (Sykesville), Dr. Charles Pyke (Cambridge), Alfred
Rath (Lyons), Lowell Rife (Cambridge), Forest Shively
(Columbus), Loren Simpson (Colony), Paul Sollenberger
(Dayton), Vernon Stinebaugh (Dayton), Richard Tuttle
(Buckley), F. Nelson Underwood (Augusta), George
Vician (Sykesville), Lewis Watkins (Norwich), Clyde
Weaver (Augusta), and Lowell Wright (Marion).
The Brethren Service Committee was also represented
in the administration of the units through its area super-
visors. These men, as salaried agents of the church group,
counseled and aided the assistant director in his duties,
and when particularly difficult problems arose, took an
active part in helping solve them. Because some of the
superintendents seemed more willing to negotiate with
them than with the assistant directors, the area super-
visors played an important part in the administration of
the projects. Characteristically, however, their role was
confined to helping with larger issues of policy rather
than with day-to-day supervision.
In considering the dual administration of these proj-
220 Pathways of Peace
ects, with its division of responsibilities between the
using institutions and the service committee, there is
noticeable a gradual change in the relationships devel-
oped between the two through the years of operation.
During the first several months there seemed to be a lack
of willingness on the part of several superintendents to
recognize the place of the service committee in the pro-
gram. They tended to ignore the church agencies and
to deal directly with Selective Service, and with the men
as individuals rather than as members of a CPS group.
Assistant directors were given little or no time to care
for the concerns of the men or the service committee.
In time, however, this situation changed until the re-
spective fields of function as outlined above came to be
accepted as the usual division of responsibilities. In fact,
in the later years some of the superintendents delegated
many of their duties to the assistant director. There is
no doubt, however, that the control and influence of
the superintendent over the hospital units was very large,
even to the end of the program. Compared to the project
superintendents of the base camp, the hospital and train-
ing school superintendents played a much more signifi-
cant part in determining the total experience of the con-
scientious objectors under their supervision.
Beyond the problems already mentioned as present in
the administration of the hospital and training school
units were several others of importance, especially to the
assignees involved. Among them were those related to
transfer, outside work, and living outside of institutional
quarters.
Transfer to other CPS projects from these units was
often difficult because many of the superintendents would
Mental Hospital and Training School Units 221
not release men until they were assured of adequate re-
placements. On the other hand, the supply of such re-
placements was often very low, especially as additional
projects were established and old quotas were raised, for
under such conditions practically all the men interested in
and capable of hospital or training school service were so
placed, and consequently few applicants were left on a
"waiting list." At the same time many of those re-
maining in base camps felt themselves unsuited to work
on wards with mentally unbalanced patients. This factor
of unsuitability was also recognized by the using agencies,
who were unwilling to accept applicants without care-
fully examining their records and backgrounds, and
estimating the chances for a successful adjustment to
the difficult conditions of the wards. Finally, at various
times, Selective Service withheld approval upon transfers
to hospitals (and other projects). This was especially true
during the months of high fire hazard in the national
parks and forests, at which time base-camp members were
"frozen" in their assignments. The particular problem
presented by the inability of the men to transfer from
the hospitals and training schools arose mainly from the
trying conditions of ward work, and the long working
days. After several months of such service some of the
men felt exhausted and desired other assignments in
order to recuperate. Some also wished to apply for special
openings which would use more profitably their tr lining
and abilities, or which would allow them opportunities
for personal advantages.
A second difficult problem for the assignees stemmed
from the restrictions placed on "outside work" by Se-
lective Service. Since most of the hospitals were located
222 Pathways of Peace
in areas where part-time work was frequently available,
many of the conscientious objectors sought employment
during their off-duty hours. For a number of them such
work was their only source of income beyond the small
monthly allowance (ten to fifteen dollars) provided by
the hospital. The financial problem was particularly
acute for those men with families to support, for although
the service committee offered some assistance in the form
of dependency grants,16 such resources were limited, and
many of the men were unwilling to ask the church for
help. When in February 1945 Selective Service issued
a ban on such outside work as was not approved by their
national headquarters, the assignees faced a difficult situ-
ation. In order to comply with the regulation it was nec-
essary for them to leave their jobs and await approval
by Selective Service, an approval which was sometimes
not forthcoming, or which came only after a consider-
able length of time.
A third problem faced by the assignees was related
to the practice, initiated by some, of living off the
grounds of the institution. Generally these men rented
rooms or suitable dwellings near the hospital, and brought
their families to live with them. When the day's work
was finished they returned to their homes instead of
using the quarters provided by the hospital. Although
the practice was contrary to a strict interpretation of a
long-standing regulation,17 it was not until February
1945 that a sweeping change was made in the application
of the rule. At that time the regulation was reiterated
and a concerted effort made to secure compliance. As a
"See page 399.
"Sec Administrative Instructions 1, 3, and 4.
Mental Hospital and Training School Units 223
result many of the arrangements for maintaining family
units together were broken. Although the new instruc-
tions extended some hope that outside living arrange-
ments might be approved, such approval was difficult or
impossible to secure.
The living quarters provided the assignees by a hos-
pital were much the same as those provided the regular
employees who lived within the institution. Perhaps the
most significant difference was that some effort was made
to locate the conscientious objector group together, in
adjacent rooms or a single building, rather than dispers-
ing them to widely separate areas. In general the sleep-
ing rooms had beds for two or more persons and the usual
furniture and closets. The quality of the rooms varied
greatly from hospital to hospital; in some instances the
quarters were clean, light and spacious, and in others
quite small and dingy. In addition to the sleeping rooms
there was usually a room for the use of the CPS group
that combined the functions of a library, lounge, and
recreation and meeting hall. Such other resources as the
hospital possessed — auditoriums, tennis courts, shops,
gymnasiums, libraries, and similar facilities — were usu-
ally available to the assignees on the same basis as to
other employees. It should be noted that many of the
wives of the men were able to secure employment at the
hospital as regular workers, and so were permitted to
live within the institution. In such cases the man and
his wife were able to live together in a room in the section
reserved by the hospital for employed couples.
Meals were provided for the conscientious objectors
in the same manner as for the regular employees doing
similar work. A large dining room was used in common.
224 Pathways of Peace
The organization of the members of the projects into
functioning units was established along relatively simple
lines, and did not involve as complex procedures as in
the base camps. The head of the assignee group was the
assistant director, who, in the first months of the program,
was appointed by the Brethren Service Committee, sub-
ject more or less to the approval of the hospital superin-
tendent. In the later years, the office was filled through
the conference method of selection.18 Working closely
with the assistant director was the education secretary,
elected by the members of the unit, and usually the only
other member of the "overhead," or CPS staff. Together
these two, each in his special field, represented the unit
in the official relationships developed with the Elgin of-
fice, Selective Service, the superintendents, and the Na-
tional Service Board.
Supplementing the work of the assistant director and
the education secretary were such interest groups or
committees as were formed to care for special phases of
unit life. These functioned especially in those activities
that were developed within the CPS unit and which
bore little or no relation to others than the assignees
themselves. Thus most of the hospital projects had the
equivalent of a recreation committee, an education com-
mittee, and a religious-life committee as well as a steer-
ing committee or council to co-ordinate the unit pro-
gram. A simple meeting together of all the assignees-
including, usually, the wives— was held from time to time
to consider various matters, and the decision of this
meeting were regarded as the expression of the will of
the group.
MPagc 412 describes the "conference method" of selection.
Mental Hospital and Training School Units 225
Among the members of each unit there was apparent
a fairly close-knit community of interests. Group spirit
was especially strong as the unit faced various problems
related to their opposition to war and to the conditions
of their service in mental hospitals. There were not,
however, as many opportunities for unit activities as in
the base camps or some of the other special projects.
Among the chief factors hindering such developments
were the long working days, separate living quarters, the
opportunities for outside work, the different hours of
work,19 and the competition offered by the recreational,
educational, and religious facilities available in the near-
by urban centers.
There were relatively few educational activities of a
formal nature conducted by the hospital CPS units. From
time to time, it is true, there were formed among the
assignees various classes or groups that met regularly to
pursue definite courses of study, and that persevered in
carrying the work through to completion. Such efforts
were sporadic, however, and represented exceptions to
the general course of unit affairs. In most instances the
desires of the men for the formal routines of study seemed
best met in ways other than intra-unit endeavors.
Perhaps the most effective of the efforts of the men
to secure a formal type of education came through their
contacts with the established institutions of the cities
and towns adjacent to their place of work. Several in-
dividual members of the various projects were able to
enroll in near-by schools and colleges for regularly ac-
credited classwork, and in this way achieved significant
"Although most of the men worked a day shift, some were assigned to night
duty.
226 Pathways of Peace
results. The numbers desiring and able to participate in
such activities were never very large, however, and in-
cluded only a small percentage of the total group. Of
the several Brethren units, that at Dayton, Ohio, seemed
particularly eager to work in this manner. During the fall
of 1945, for example, five members of that unit were
enrolled at institutions within the city— two at the Uni-
versity of Dayton, two at the YMCA College, and one
at the Miami-Jacobs College.20
Formal education was also developed by a few assignees
through work with correspondence schools.
Supplementing the more formal educational endeavors
described, which in the final analysis affected but a small
portion of the assignee population, were a series of activi-
ties that reached more of the group and contributed ef-
fectively to educational growth. Chief among these was
the practice developed of inviting various leaders to visit
the projects and speak on subjects of special interest.
Through the resources of the local communities, and
through the help of the Elgin office, each unit was able
to enjoy many such visitors.
Also contributory to the educational program were
the courses offered by some of the hospitals for the pur-
pose of introducing their personnel to the various prac-
tices and problems of institutional routine. Although the
merit of these training courses varied from place to
place, and although they were ineffective at some insti-
tutions, at others they were most worth while. The value
of the best of these courses was further enhanced by the
opportunities present for supplementing such study with
the practical experiences offered by the daily work.
"Educational report, Dayton, September-October 1945, page 1.
Mental Hospital and Training School Units 227
Meanwhile, perhaps the most widespread educational
efforts were carried forward by small groups of assignees
who met together in an informal way to study and discuss
topics of particular interest to them. Generally such
groups formed around one member with some back-
ground in the subject, and under his leadership under-
took to increase their knowledge. Reading and group
discussion were the usual methods of procedure in such
instances. Although meetings of this sort often suffered
heavily through irregular attendance, and through failure
to carry the study through to a conclusion, a great deal
of effective educational growth undoubtedly resulted.
The natural interest of the participants in their subject
provided a most favorable environment for the learning
process. Practically all the hospital projects developed
several such interest groups over their periods of opera-
tion. Topics studied included co-operatives, abnormal
psychology, psychiatry, peace planning, conscription,
radio, Bible, pacifism, and many others.
Finally, it should be noted that a number of conscien-
tious objectors maintained individual study programs
with more or less regularity, relying mainly on the libra-
ries and other facilities near by.
Recreational events were undoubtedly the most popu-
lar and well attended of all the various unit activities.
Because so much of the hospital work involved mental
strain, and because the work days were long, most of the
assignees favored this type of program rather than the
more demanding educational pursuits. Especially at-
tractive to the hospital workers after a long day on the
ward were outdoor activities such as picnics or various
games and sports, including volleyball, football, tennis,
228 Pathways of Peace
swimming, hiking, cycling, basketball, skating, and many
others. Indoor activities included movies, photography,
bowling, table tennis, crafts, and music in all forms.
Sooner or later most of the hospital units established
contacts with near-by church groups or pacifist friends
and organizations and enjoyed many hours of friendship
in their company. The Fellowship of Reconciliation and
the young people's groups from the churches especially
provided opportunities for recreation and fellowship, as
well as a sense of union with the larger world beyond the
confines of the hospital or training school.
Most of the hospital projects utilized the churches of
the near-by communities for the development of religious
services, rather than initiating extensive programs within
the unit. Generally the assignees were well received by
the local groups and were able to find adequate expression
of their religious interests. Beyond simple attendance at
the Sunday or midweek services, some of the men as-
sisted in the choirs and Sunday schools and assumed other
similar responsibilities.
Although attendance at the established churches was
the main point of emphasis for the hospital assignees,
there were developed from time to time some excellent
unit-sponsored activities. These were characteristically
sporadic in growth and attendance, however, at one pe-
riod springing up and finding enthusiastic support, and
at another being abandoned. (Some units, of course,
were able to maintain a more constant development.)
Usually such activities centered around a small group
interested in Bible study, or a period of meditation and
worship, or an evening service of an informal nature. In
a few instances assignees functioned as hospital chaplains.
Mental Hospital and Training School Units 229
Since there were many different denominations repre-
sented among the assignees of Brethren CPS, and since
the variety of backgrounds presented some difficulties in
arranging meetings of value for all participants, the ef-
forts of the Augusta hospital unit to meet this perplexing
situation seem worth noting. The problem as they saw it,
and the attempted solution, are well stated in the religious
activity report of this unit.
Our . . . problem was, How shall we arrange meetings that will
be of value to all the unit members, with the various kinds of re-
ligious affiliation and background represented? (When our tenth
man arrived, we had men from ten different states, ranging from
seventh grade in school to four years of graduate schooling; and
there were nearly ten different denominations represented.)
Our solution to the problem . . . was that we should not only
try to get around our differences but to capitalize on them. That is,
we would try to share with each other what we found in our re-
ligious experience. Thus, we set up a plan whereby we would take
turns in being responsible for an evening's service; and we stressed
the fact that no matter who was in charge, it was his meeting ....
It would not be accurate to say that this plan has been 100% suc-
cessful. There has not been the richness or the variety that might
have been hoped for .... But many of us feel that we get a
great deal from this kind of worshipful sharing.21
Special Activities
Each CPS unit, in addition to developing a common
series of activities along the general lines indicated in
the preceding paragraphs, also developed individual proj-
ects which distinguished them from the other assignee
groups. Without attempting an exhaustive listing of
such distinctive features, some that seem particularly
outstanding and that offer insight into the activities and
"Religious activity report, Augusta, May-June 1944, page 1.
230 Pathways of Peace
interests of the World War II conscientious objectors can
be indicated briefly. Among these are: (1) the jaundice
experiment at Norwich; (2) the pacifist information cen-
ter at Fort Steilacoom; and (3) the relief drives at Lyons.
The jaundice experiment at Norwich was undertaken
in the summer of 1944, and involved eleven men assigned
to that hospital. This group of volunteers submitted to
infection with the disease in order that it might be studied
in all its manifestations, and with the hope that they might
contribute to the discovery of its cure or control. The
experiment is described by two of the subjects in the
following words:
Within two weeks after receiving our second inoculation I came
down with fever and chills .... After six days I was transferred
for special isolation care .... Here, because I had lost my appe-
tite and could eat very little, I was given my first infusion, an intra-
venous feeding ....
All told I stayed in bed forty days.22
The first two weeks with Infectious Hepatitis were the hardest.
. . . The uncomfortable moments consisted of headaches, sore eyes,
fever, tender abdomens, sore chests and all-around discomforts, to
say nothing of the fact that we were too nauseated to eat much of
the time. All of this came in the first two weeks, generally speaking.
After that it was a matter of gaining back our strength and losing
our infectiousness and "yellow" color.
We certainly got good care . . . and could not complain of lack
of attention.
After we became stronger through rest and good hospital food we
were better able to enjoy our days of leisure.
One of the major satisfactions we got out of submitting to this
experiment is knowing that what we were going through was to
mean that perhaps a great many other people would be spared the
same thing as a result ... . If our efforts have accomplished some-
MF. Kuszmaul, "Concerning Some Bile and a Rubber Tube," This Issue, De-
cember 1944, page 11. This Issue was the unit newssheet.
Mental Hospital and Training School Units 231
thing in this direction we may be pardoned for feeling that at last
we have done something of international importance.23
In the following spring a somewhat similar experiment
was undertaken for research with the disease, infectious
mononucleosis. Four Norwich assignees participated in
this experiment.
The pacifist information center was organized in Feb-
ruary 1944 by a group seeking to achieve through such
a project two distinct goals. These were: (1) the develop-
ment of "unity in pacifist ranks so that the full impact
of the pacifist movement can be brought to bear on the
public in those areas and at those times when public
opinion is most receptive . . ."; and (2) "acquainting
the public with pacifist principles, methods, and accom-
plishments by . . . effective means of information and
education . . . ,"24 Although the center was initiated
and sustained chiefly by the conscientious objectors of
the Fort Steilacoom, Washington, hospital, it was their
hope that ultimately the active co-operation and support
of pacifists from all walks of life might be secured.
Four separate, though related, areas of activity were
projected by the group as the core of their program. Two
of these were developed in rather complete fashion,
while two remained unfinished in spite of many weeks
and months of effort. The first of the four concerned
the development of a library section at the center. As a
result of activity in this field there was established at
the Fort Steilacoom unit an excellent research collection
of pacifist books, pamphlets, and periodicals. At the same
time this section maintained a "reader's guide" service
"Asa Mundell, "On Being a Real Guinea Pig." ibid., page 10.
*Victor Langford, "Pacifist Information Center." Viewpoint, II, 1 (April 12,
1945), page 7.
232 Pathways of Peace
for those desiring references from pacifist periodicals on
any subject, or seeking to locate a particular article of
interest. A further service was established with the de-
velopment of a plan by which the center undertook to
locate for prospective purchasers pacifist books which
were out of print.
A second area of activity concerned Viewpoint, a mim-
eographed publication, edited and produced by the pac-
ifist information center. The aim of this paper was to
present articles of general interest to pacifist readers. At
least twelve issues were published between the adoption
of the project by the center and the close of unit opera-
tions. Viewpoint was consistently one of the best of the
Brethren CPS publications, presenting as it did a mature
outlook, and well-written articles of immediate concern
to its readers.
The two ventures which failed to come to a final
fruition were the publication of a quarterly magazine,
Trend Today, and the publication of a booklet designed
to explain pacifism. Trend Today was planned to pro-
vide up-to-date information on all fields in which pacifists
were active, and thus to serve as an organ for presenting
the pacifist movement in its entirety. The booklet was
intended to explain pacifism with reference to its imme-
diate past, present, and future.
Two relief drives were conducted by the assignees sta-
tioned at the Lyons, New Jersey, hospital. In each case the
group contribution reached a significant sum, significant
especially in view of the fact that the men received no
pay for their daily hospital work. The first campaign was
undertaken to raise money to buy heifers for the heifers-
for-relief program of the Church of the Brethren. Ap-
Mental Hospital and Training School Units 233
proximately $178.00 was collected for this purpose in the
summer of 1945.25 The second campaign was undertaken
to raise money to purchase dried milk for European re-
lief. In December 1945 the unit sent approximately
$276.00 to the service committee to be used in this
manner.26
Community Relations and Achievements
The relations of the conscientious objectors to the oth-
er institutional workers and to the citizens of the near-by
communities ranged from fair to good. Usually, after a
somewhat unsettled first period, the assignees were ac-
cepted by the majority of the regular employees in a
tolerant manner, with perhaps a few exceptions among
the more active supporters of the war. Within the com-
munities the men established many friendly contacts,
particularly with church groups and pacifist sympathizers.
From time to time, it is true, there were occasional in-
cidents or outbursts against individuals or a group, but
such represented exceptions to the normal course of
events.
Perhaps the best estimates of the worth of the CPS
projects from the point of view of work performance can
be had from the reports of the hospital and training
school officials. In general these sources indicate that the
units filled a great need and that the quality of the work
was good. Some problems of administration and person-
nel were pointed out by various superintendents, but the
dominant theme of their evaluations was that the units
served in an extremely helpful manner. A letter from
"Figures taken from the Lyons newssheet, This Week, August 12, 1945.
"Figures taken from This Week, December 29, 1945.
234 Pathways of Peace
the manager of the Lyons hospital describes the relation
of the conscientious objector group to that institution and
their work with the war veteran patients.
At the time of my advent here as manager, June 1, 1945, much
of the early misunderstanding and friction had been ironed out and
my relations with both Mr. Rath and his successor, Mr. Allan Neu-
bauer have been most pleasant and satisfactory. The unit has per-
formed a most valuable function to this Hospital and, undoubtedly,
has saved many veterans' lives . . . ,27
The superintendent of the Columbus hospital analyzed
CPS experience there in the following terms:
In any group of forty-five men you will find a certain percentage
of excellent workers, a percentage of fair workers and a certain num-
ber of no good. We had a few of the . . . [latter] type in this unit
. . . you had to keep prodding them along.
In regard to the work performed, I wish to say that I do not
know how on earth we would have operated without their assistance.
The employment situation here had gone beyond the stage of being
critical. Week in and week out we had many wards, particularly at
night, without service of an attendant. I think it was miraculous
that we came through without any major tragedy.
A great many of the men in the unit were most faithful and loyal
to their work. They took their work seriously. They made many
contributions to the humanistic side of attendant care. Their kind
and sympathetic approach to the patients set a very good example
to a number of the old line attendants who felt their duty more in
the sense of a guard than in the sense of a helper. A few of these
men after discharge remained here in the service and are doing
very good work.28
The Mental Hygiene Program of CPS
One of the most lasting and significant of develop-
ments among the hospital and training school units was
^Letter from H. E. Foster to Lewis F. Kosch, June 12. 1946.
"Letter from J. F. Bateman to Lewis F. Kosch, June 5. 1946.
Mental Hospital and Training School Units 235
the mental hygiene program of CPS. Essentially this
program was a nation-wide voluntary association of CPS
men assigned to mental hospitals and training schools
for the general purpose of improving patient care. Their
organizational structure was quite simple. A small central
committee located in Philadelphia served to co-ordinate
and direct over-all efforts and planning. Through them
the contributions of each local unit were adapted to
the larger national effort. Within each co-operating CPS
project the assignees interested in the program usually
met together as a group to discuss and plan their activ-
ities, maintaining contact with the central committee
through a secretary or co-ordinator of their own choosing.
All assignees of the local units were invited to participate
in the venture. Originally the four members of the cen-
tral group had been able to devote only their off-duty
hours to the program, but in November 1944 Selective
Service approved their transfer from regular hospital as-
signments to a special status whereby they were able to
spend full time on the work.29
The mental hygiene program of CPS was open to men
from all units— Brethren, Friend, Mennonite, and others—
and found support from all alike. The major expenses of
the program were borne by the three peace churches, al-
though other individuals and groups contributed from
time to time.
The aims of the mental hygiene program were broad
in outlook. As expressed in one of the many publications
of the group, the men associated with the endeavor strove
for three interrelated goals:
"Selective Service approved assignment of seven additional men to the central
committee in the latter part of 1945, and one additional in the spring of 1946.
236 Pathways of Peace
We seek to improve the quality of our own work.
We seek to help public institutions ....
We seek to promote a deeper public understanding of institu-
tional needs and problems.
In an attempt to make a contribution ... we have united our ef-
forts in the Mental Hygiene Program of Civilian Public Service.30
To reach these goals the leaders of the program devel-
oped projects in several fields of concern, including an
exchange service, publication of The Attendant, re-
search into institutional practices and conditions, legal
research, publication of a series of handbooks, and a
program of general public education.
The exchange service consisted of a series of papers
contributed by individual workers and circulated to all
units through the facilities of the central office. In this
way techniques and ideas developed by any one associate
could be shared with all others. Generally the materials
were such as would be helpful to the CPS men in their
daily work. Topics discussed in the series included sug-
gestions for recreational programs, methods of handling
patients, techniques proved useful in meeting typical
ward problems, bibliographies, research results, and many
other similar items. A special series was prepared to help
interpret the problems of institutional work to men in
base camps.
The Attendant was "a monthly publication concerned
with ideas, attitudes and methods which are directly re-
lated to work in mental hospitals and training schools."31
It strove to "relate the knowledge and experience of
professionals to concrete problems of institutional work,
**The Mental Hygiene Program of Civilian Public Service (a four-page leaflet),
page 1.
nIbid., page 2. In January 1946, The Attendant became The Psychiatric Aid,
and is now published under this title.
Mental Hospital and Training School Units 237
to serve as a medium through which attendants may
share with one another the results of their experiences
. . . ,"32 By February of 1946, this periodical was being
circulated far beyond the confines of the CPS system to
include every Federal, state, and local institution in the
United States and its territories, and several private men-
tal institutions.
Research into prevailing conditions and practices of
mental hospitals and training schools was developed
chiefly through local unit members. In response to spe-
cific questions from the central committee these men
prepared descriptions of the facilities and routines of
the institutions in which they worked. The materials
thus collected— over one thousand, two hundred reports-
constituted a very reliable and comprehensive source of
information. From a study and analysis of this data the
associates felt they could achieve a more understanding
and basic approach to their goal of better patient care.
The reports also were looked upon as valuable for use
in acquainting the public with problems of mental health.
Legal research developed by the mental hygiene pro-
gram of CPS consisted primarily of surveys of Federal
and state laws governing the commitment and care of
individuals to mental institutions. Briefs of the laws
of several states were compiled and made available to
legislatures, administrators, social workers, and other
concerned parties. A preliminary draft of a model mental
health law was also compiled.
For institutional workers and students a series of hand-
books were begun including an orientation Handbook
for Psychiatric Aids, a Handbook on Restraint, a Hand-
"Ibid.
238 Pathways of Peace
book of Activity Therapy, a Handbook for Training
School Attendants and a Recreation Handbook for
Training Schools.
The program of public education was carried forward
chiefly through the publication of pamphlets designed
to explain in simple language some of the basic facts of
mental health and institutional care. Among these were
George Thorman's Public Affairs Pamphlet, Toward
Mental Health, and Forgotten Children— the story of
mental deficiency.
The work begun by the mental hygiene program of
CPS was not discontinued with demobilization, but has
been carried on with sustained vigor by the leaders of
the movement. The organization now includes many
citizens of national prominence among its sponsors-
Harry Emerson Fosdick, Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt,
Rufus M. Jones, Reinhold Niebuhr and others. M. R.
Zigler, of the Brethren Service Committee, is a member of
the board of directors.
Although the organizational structure was necessarily
changed as the CPS units were closed, the motivating
spirit has remained the same. Under the name of the
National Mental Health Foundation the central leaders
are continuing their efforts to provide better for the
mental health of the nation. The efforts give promise
of achieving far-reaching results.
CHAPTER 7
Agricultural Units
The Brethren Service Committee administered several
special projects whose work was primarily agricultural
in nature. These can be classified by type as:
1. Dairy farm assignments
2. Dairy testing assignments
3. Agricultural college and experiment station units
4. Soil conservation units (other than base camps)
In terms of numbers of assignees engaged, these proj-
ects represented a significant portion of the total Brethren
CPS program. At their peak of development, in October
1945, they employed four hundred seventy men, a num-
ber equal to twenty-four per cent of the total BCPS popu-
lation, which at that time was one thousand, nine hun-
dred seventy-three.1 Among the several factors contrib-
uting to the emphasis upon agricultural work in Brethren
CPS, two seemed particularly significant. First, the need
for labor to assist in food production was very great
during the war years; and second, the Brethren as a group
were primarily rural in their backgrounds and felt such
projects particularly appropriate to their administration.
'Figures taken from NSBRO form No. 114, October 1, 1945. If all agricultural
service in Brethren CPS is to be considered, it is necessary to take into account
the Soil Conservation Service base camps of Lagro and Magnolia; and the
emergency farm labor program (page 92 above) as well as these special projects.
240 Pathways of Peace
Dairy Farm Assignments
One of the first special agricultural projects developed
under Brethren administration was the dairy farm as-
signment. This was an arrangement whereby individual
men were detailed to work on privately owned dairy
farms on a year-round basis to assist in milk production
in areas of critical labor shortage. The program began
with a small group of nine men assigned to one New
York county in May 1942, and grew until in August
1945 it employed two hundred six men in a total of
twelve counties scattered throughout the states of Ore-
gon, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and
Pennsylvania.2 In a number of ways the dairy farm pro-
gram differed from other Brethren CPS units. Most im-
portant, perhaps, of all the points of difference was the
provision whereby the men were assigned to the various
farms singly, rather than in larger groups, for from this
mode of assignment there developed other differences in
regard to the administration and supervision of the pro-
gram, the living arrangements of the assignees, and the
number of activities that could be undertaken as a group
with a common allegiance to the way of peace.
Assignment and Administration
The counties to which the assignees were sent were
those approved by Selective Service and certified by the
War Food Administration as important in milk produc-
tion and as lacking in an adequate supply of dairy farm
labor.3 Usually a quota of twenty assignees were set for
■Figures taken from NSBRO form No. 114, August 15, 1945. The Brethren also
administered the King County, Washington, dairy farm project for approximately
two years, before transferring it to the Mennonitcs in May 1945.
"Prior to July 1943, the United States Department of Agriculture certified the
counties. See SSS Administrative Directives Nos. 6, 16, 16 revised, and 20.
Agricultural Units 241
each county participating in the dairy farm plan. Fol-
lowing final approval, the general procedure was for
the service committee to fill the opening with applicants
from the base camps.4 The responsibility for the selec-
tion of the individual farm on which the conscientious
objector was to work was that of the county agent,5 al-
though the conditions of employment and living were
usually inspected by a representative of the service com-
mittee to insure the maintenance of at least minimum
standards of health and safety. The county agent like-
wise had the authority to transfer men to different farms
within the same county without prior approval from
Selective Service. Such transfers were usually made with
the knowledge of the service committee representative.
The responsibilities of the Brethren Service Committee
were cared for through the office of their agent, the area
supervisor, and were mainly those of ministering to the
welfare of the men, acting as their representative in the
adjustment of grievances, securing applicants for the
farms, and caring for certain financial arrangements and
official records. Because of the large number of con-
scientious objectors assigned to farms in the eastern re-
gion, a special assistant to the area supervisor there was
appointed as a director of the dairy farm units. Alfred
Chamberlin and William Z. Cline both assisted in this
capacity.
The financial arrangements of the dairy farm projects
provided for the farmer-employer of the conscientious
objector to furnish him with room, board, and laundry,
'Men in other special projects were eligible for dairy farm assignments, but the
base camps were the main source of applicants.
•Prior to July 1943. this was the responsibility of the United States Employ-
ment Service working in conjunction with the county war board.
242 Pathways of Peace
or their equivalent, and to pay to the National Service
Board an amount equal to the prevailing wage of the
county for the class of help received. From this sum
the NSBRO then paid, subject to the approval of Select-
ive Service, certain other expenses of the program, in-
cluding a fifteen-dollar monthly allowance to the as-
signee to cover the costs of clothing and minor personal
items, medical and dental care, insurance, the transfer
cost of bringing the assignee to the county (or if such
were necessary, returning him to camp), and an allotment
to the service committee of one dollar fifty cents per man
per month to help defray the cost of administering the
program. The remainder of the money was then turned
over to the United States treasury for deposit in the
special "frozen fund."6 Because of these arrangements,
the dairy farm program was practically self-supporting.
The principal expenditures not covered from the sum
paid by the farmer were such medical and dental bills
as were disapproved by Selective Service, such administra-
tive costs as exceeded the monthly allotment mentioned,
and such grants as were allocated for the dependency
needs of the men.
Farm Work
Although the hours and conditions of work and the
specific tasks of the men varied from place to place,
there was a general similarity in the daily routine of the
dairy farmers. They were set to many of the same jobs
as would fall to the lot of the hired man on most small
dairy farms. Milking, haying, filling silos, doing chores,
cleaning barns, hauling manure, feeding cows— these and
8The same fund in which the wages from emergency farm labor were impounded.
Agricultural Units 243
the many other duties necessary to the operation of a
dairy farm were performed by the conscientious objec-
tors as their assigned work. The hours were long— often
twelve to fourteen a day— and the work heavy. Since a
number of the assignees were experienced farmers, they
were able, from a technical standpoint, to do the work
effectively.
Some insight into the work on the farms can be gained
by considering the following extracts, gathered from a
variety of sources. The first is from a letter written by
the wife of an assignee, located on a farm in the Pacific
Northwest:
Well, now for Jack's work. He is running two double unit milk-
ing machines. The boss strips the cows. At present there are fifty-
six cows in the herd. In between milkings, they do maintenance
work and field work. Next week they will start putting up silage.
The milk goes to the cheese factory at Arago. Jack works usually
about thirteen hours a day. The schedule goes something like this:
Rising— 4:15
Milking, etc.-4:30-9:00
Breakfast-9:00-9:30
Maintenance, etc.— 9:30-12:00
Lunch- 1 2:00- 1:00
Work- 1:00-3: 30
Milk-3:30-7:30
Supper-7:45-8:15
Reading, writing, etc.— 8:15-9:15 and then to bed.
The work hasn't seemed to bother him, but he is asleep on his
feet half of the time. He is certainly hoping he will have a little
more time when the fall rains begin. On Saturdays and Sundays he
gets from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. off, but of course he still puts in an
eight or eight and a half hour day. However, in spite of the hours
we are more than pleased.7
'Letter to the secretary of Area Supervisor Huston from an assignee wife, June
11. 1945.
244 Pathways of Peace
A letter from the area supervisor concerning the same
general region gives further insight into the work.
The King County Dairy Farm Unit is located in the Seattle Milk
Shed. The men are scattered over the county with a distance of thir-
ty-five miles being the widest separation. Wages range from $100.00
to §135.00 per month.
The work is primarily with the dairy cows and the milk. In the
summer, all of the farms have hay to care for but most of them do
not have any row or grain crops. Practically all of the feed, with
the exception of the hay, is purchased. The men handle the feed
from the car to the cattle.
Bangs Disease is prevalent in almost every herd; therefore all
milk must be pasteurized. In general the men deliver the milk to
the pasteurizing plant and have little or nothing to do with the
bottling or delivery of the milk.8
Other letters, written by assignee farmers to their
friends in camp, indicate the nature of the work in the
midwestern and eastern regions. The following extracts
are from the Lyndhurst camp newssheet, Line-O-Type:
... a good letter from Luther Ott and his wife gives some infor-
mation on their setup . . . "We are working for a man 71 years
of age, and he is the only one living here in the house with us . . .
The farm here is composed of 409 acres, but a lot of that is pas-
ture and woodland . . . We have about 60 cows, but are only milk-
ing 42 just now ... So far I think it (dairy farming) is pretty
good."
. . . from way up in New York another good letter comes from
Brodie Crouch . . . Says he, "I know what the fellows mean when
they say there is lots to be done on a dairy farm. We have just
finished getting in over eighty big loads of hay, and are in the midst
of threshing nearly forty acres of oats . . . When weather permits
I usually go to the Christian Church at Monroe, four miles distant,
each Sunday night. It is the friendliest place I've attended . . . ."9
"It's not too hard work, but long hours . . . This is a $15,000
8Letter, Ora Huston to Carl S. Miller. November 11, 1944.
9Line-OType, September 10, 1943.
Agricultural Units 245
house I sleep in . . . Some of these farms produce a ton of milk a
day, and some two tons. I never saw so much milk in my life"
(Dude Green from N. Y.).
The owner of the farm is no farmer, but we are trying to get
things done. By the way, he is a returned Army Major. He told
me the other day what he thought about the C. O. It wasn't bad at
all" (Blough from N. Y.).™
An article written by Levi Ziegler, area supervisor in
the eastern region, also describes the dairy farm assign-
ment.
The work of the C.P.S. men on dairy farms consists of milking
by hand or machine, cattle feeding, and the other usual dairy barn
chores. In the summer time they also plow, plant, and harvest.
Crops on dairy farms vary. Hay making and growing corn for silage
are important jobs. In the winter dairy barn work is heavier be-
cause the cattle are in the barns most of the time.
The dairy farm job is a seven-day-a-week job. Barns need to be
cleaned every day, and in winter the stable cleanings are hauled to
the field even on Sundays in some sections. By putting forth an
extra strong effort the C.P.S. men can get chores done on Sunday in
time to go to church. Some difficulty in this regard arises in cases
where the employer's family is not interested in church.11
Living arrangements for the conscientious objectors on
dairy farms were comparable to those usually provided
a hired man. For those who were married and who ar-
ranged with their employers for permission to bring their
wives to the farms, a variety of practices was developed.
Sometimes the couple lived in rooms in the farmhouse,
and ate with the farmer. In other instances separate
apartments or tenant houses were available for the as-
signee and his family, in which case they usually pre-
pared their own meals. When such an arrangement pre-
"LineO-Typc, July 29. 1943.
"Levi K. Ziegler. July 26, 1944 (a short essay).
246 Pathways of Peace
vailed, the employer, in lieu of furnishing board, gen-
erally furnished an equivalent value in food or cash.
Quite often the wife as well as the husband was em-
ployed in the work about the farm, but this did not
change the legal relationship of the drafted man to his
job. Such employment represented a separate agree-
ment between the farmer and the wife upon such terms
as were agreeable to both.
For single men, board was usually provided at the
employer's table, and lodging at the farmhouse or other
suitable quarters.
Because many of the married men were able to secure
living quarters for their families at the farm, and be-
cause the wives were often able to secure work there, or
near by, the dependency needs of these assignees were
more largely met from their own resources than would
have been possible otherwise. The farm assignment was
only a partial solution to the problem of dependency,
however, for the struggles of the men to provide food
and shelter for their wives and children were generally
severe, and at times the assignees were forced to seek
supplemental help from others.
There were relatively few possibilities for the men
located on the dairy farms to participate in group ac-
tivities with other conscientious objectors. Located as
they were on separate and widely distant farms, with
long hours of work and little chance for free-time activi-
ties, the assignee-farmers lacked such favorable oppor-
tunities for developing a sense of solidarity and a feeling
of community as were present in projects where men
lived and worked together in close association. The
Brethren CPS offices, in an effort to overcome the isolated
Agricultural Units 247
position of the men, established a periodic mailing
service to each dairy farm worker. The literature in-
cluded a special publication, The Dairy Diary, to which
the dairy workers contributed articles; the Gospel Mes-
senger; devotional materials; and abstracts of important
CPS events. A limited personal visitation program was
instituted as well.
Occasional gatherings or picnics were held in the
various counties and were well attended and enjoyed,
but these were hardly adequate for the development of
a deep sense of a common cause.
Some of the problems which arose in the course of
the dairy farm program can be mentioned briefly. It
should be noted at the outset, however, that because each
farm differed from all the others in living conditions,
working conditions, and assignee-employer relationships,
it is difficult to characterize the program as a whole.
Practices and arrangements that became troublesome in
one situation were often, at a different farm, a source of
satisfaction to all concerned.
Of such problems as arose in the program, the most
persistent and widespread seemed to center around the
matters of: (1) assignment to and transfer from the
various farms within a county, (2) medical care, and (3)
working conditions.
The assignment of the men to the individual farms
in the county raised two different classes of problems.
One centered around the very difficult situation developed
in those instances (relatively few) where the farmer-
employer, or his family, was actively hostile to the ideal
of conscientious objection. Under such circumstances,
it was hard to build a workable relationship. The other
248 Pathways of Peace
problem concerned the placement of men on farms that
seemed to be already adequately supplied with labor,
or not to have as great a need as others in the district.
Some difficulty was also experienced in securing transfers
from the farm units to other CPS projects. Because such
transfers were usually contingent upon the securance of
replacements, and because such replacements were not
always readily available, some of the men felt that they
were "frozen" in their assignments. This in turn de-
terred prospective applicants in the base camps from re-
questing farm work.
The provision of medical care for the assignees like-
wise raised points of concern among those involved in
the program. Where farms were located at some distance
from a medical center, and where the transportation fa-
cilities were poor, or where only limited time-off was
granted for visits to the doctor, it became difficult for
the men to obtain prompt and adequate treatment for
their ills. A further complication developed in the
method adopted for meeting the costs of such treatments.
The schedule of fees set by Selective Service as payable
from the fund contributed by the farmer was sometimes
not sufficient to cover the charges made by the local
doctors.
Although the working conditions on the farms varied
greatly, most had in common a very long work day rang-
ing to twelve or more hours, and a routine involving at
least chores on Sunday. In such arrangements there was
little time left for study, recreation, or participation in
family and community activities. This was in marked
contrast to the base camps and many of the special proj-
ects. On some of the farms the employers attempted to
Agricultural Units 249
>
compensate the men for their services by presenting them
with gifts of money or goods periodically, since the gov-
ernment officials had ruled that all wages paid for the
work of the conscientious objectors belonged to the gov-
ernment. In other instances, some farmers complained
that the assignees demanded such extra rewards.
From the standpoint of the government officials and
the using employers, the work accomplished by the as-
signees in the dairy farm program was generally regarded
as a valuable service to the nation and to the individual
farmer, in spite of the problems which did occur. Per-
haps the most conclusive evidence of the worth of the
work rendered is furnished by the expansion of the pro-
gram from its first trial beginning involving only nine
men, to its later large-scale organization when the dairy
workers numbered over two hundred.12
Dairy Testing Assignments
Dairy testing as a special CPS project administered by
the Brethren Service Committee was a plan by which
conscientious objectors were assigned to local dairy herd
improvement associations to serve as cow testers. These
associations, and the work of the tester, have been de-
scribed by the United States Department of Agriculture:
A typical dairy herd-improvement association is an organization
of about 26 dairy farmers who cooperatively employ a man, usually
called the tester, to determine the quantity of milk and butterfat
produced by each cow in each herd, the cost of feed used in its
production, and the income returned per cow; and also to keep a
record of the information obtained.
"The dairy farm assignment is suggestive of the "farm furlough" of the First
World War. There are, however, some very basic differences. In 1917-18 the men
were under the direct control of the army, and they were allowed to keep a
portion of the wages which they earned. Furthermore, the "farm furlough" wai
not developed primarily for conscientious objectors.
250 Pathways of Peace
The primary purpose of an association is to afford the members
an economical method of obtaining information they can use in
improving the efficiency of their herds. The records of production,
feed, cost, and income enable the herd owner to cull out the un-
profitable cows, to feed the rest according to their production re-
quirements, and to select individual animals in the herd that are
the most suitable for breeding up the inherent producing ability of
the herd.
Dairy herd-improvement associations are organized and operated
as agricultural extension projects under the supervision of State
extension dairymen and county agricultural agents in cooperation
with the Bureau of Dairy Industry.13
Dairy testing under Brethren administration was first
undertaken in the spring of 1943, in the state of New
Jersey, with nine testers participating. From this begin-
ning the work was expanded until in August 1945 a total
of one hundred twelve men were engaged in such activity
in the states of Illinois, Maryland, Virginia, West Vir-
ginia, New Jersey, and New York.14
In the operation of this project the men selected were
given special training for the work. Generally such in-
struction was under the direction of the official in charge
of dairy testing for the state involved.15 Following the
completion of the training period, each man was assigned
to one of the individual associations in need of his
services.
The Dairy Tester's Routine
The daily routine of the dairy tester has been well
described in the Dairy Diary.
"J. F. Kendrick, The Cow Tester's Manual (Washington: United States Gov-
ernment Printing Office, 1940), page 1.
"Figures taken from NSBRO form No. 114, August 15, 1945.
1BAt one time Camp Lagro conducted a course in dairy testing which was suc-
cessfully completed by several campers, and which was officially approved by the
extension dairyman of Purdue University.
Agricultural Units 251
In the typical D.H.I. A. [dairy herd improvement association] the
tester visits each farmer once a month and under Selective Service
a month means 26 days of work. The testing of a herd of 30 cows is
considered a day's work although this varies. ... As a rule he ar-
rives at the farm early in the afternoon and remains until about the
same time the following day unless he has ... [a larger herd] and
must remain another day or two.
Following is a brief description of one day's schedule for a
. . . [tester] and also some of the work involved:
(1) The tester plans to arrive at the farm early enough so as not
to cause any delay in the evening milking.
(2) He . . . [carries] with him many items of equipment such as a
milk-scale, a 24-bottle Babcock tester or centrifuge ....
(3) ... [He weighs or measures] the grain fed each cow. Also
. . . [weighs or estimates] the roughage fed each. These weights
are immediately recorded ....
(4) By this time the farmer is probably ready to start his milking
procedure proper. As each cow is milked, her milk is weighed [and
sampled] and the weight recorded.
(5) The grain mixture being fed is recorded. Also . . . the prices
of ingredients and of the various roughages fed.
(6) The tester obtains and records the dates when any cows were
turned dry or when any freshened since the last visit. [He also re-
cords data on any sale or purchase of cows.]
(7) Then he goes with the farmer to the house for the evening
meal. Afterwards he obtains the price being paid this farmer for
his milk. He also discusses herd problems with him. If there is
more time left he may work on back work, identification reports or
records before he . . . [retires] for the night in a bed assigned him
usually at the farm home.
(8) In the morning he arises early enough to be at the barn
again in time for the milking. This varies from 4:00 a.m. to 6:00
a.m. He again weighs each cow's milk, records that weight and
takes a sample to add to the one taken in the evening before to
make a composite sample.
(9) Usually then he eats breakfast, after which he tests these
samples for their butterfat content.
252 Pathways of Peace
(10) He fills out the barn sheet which is usually the longest part
of the work. The night and morning milk weights are added for
each cow. . . . Then the value of this milk is computed and com-
pared with the cost computed of feed to find the value of the pro-
duce above or below feed costs.
(11) All this data is then copied into the herd-record book which
is left with the farmer for his study and dairy management.
(12) By the time all the above work is completed, it is about
mid-afternoon and time to pack and leave this farm for the next. Of
course, there are identification and production reports to fill out and
send occasionally to the State Dairymen. These records are sent on
to the Bureau of Dairy Industry at Washington, D.C., and recorded
for use in proving sires and finding sources of good breeding
stock.16
Administration and Supervision
The work of the assignees was supervised by the of-
ficials of each dairy herd improvement association, the
county agricultural agent, and the state extension dairy-
man in charge of the dairy herd improvement association
program. For the services rendered, each association paid
to the National Service Board a sum equal to the pre-
vailing wage of the area and provided to the conscientious
objector room, board, and transportation from herd to
herd, or an equivalent value. The National Service
Board in turn paid, subject to Selective Service approval,
certain expenses of the program from the money remitted
by the associations, including the costs of transportation
to and from the dairy herd improvement association
project, insurance, medical care and hospitalization, ad-
ministrative expenses of $1.50 per man per month, and
an allowance of $15.00 monthly to each assignee to pro-
"Eldon Strausbaugh, "The D.H.I.A. Supervisor," The Dairy Diary, II, 1. (Jan-
uary 1944), page 5 ff.
Agricultural Units 253
vide clothing and personal needs. The balance remaining
was deposited in the frozen fund.
The responsibilities of the Brethren Service Committee
in this project were cared for in much the same manner
as in the dairy farm project. Their chief representative
in each region was the area supervisor, assisted in the
eastern states by the director of farm units. The area
supervisor was mainly responsible for ministering to the
welfare of the men, acting as their representative in the
adjustment of grievances, preparing many official reports
and accounts, and establishing a working relationship
with the dairy herd improvement association officials.
Although the living arrangements of the assignees
varied in detail from place to place, they had in common
some general features. Basically the men secured for
themselves such lodgings as fitted their needs, and used
these as their headquarters. When the distance from the
farm to their establishment was not excessive, they often
returned there at the end of the day's work. In other
instances they remained overnight on the farm.
Since, in dairy testing, the men were assigned to their
work singly, as in the dairy farm program, the major
opportunities for them to participate in group activities
with others of like mind were limited to the occasional
gatherings or picnics sponsored by the testers and the
farmers of the district. As a result, in this project also
there was a lack of a group community of interests.
The Brethren CPS dairy testing program was generally
well received by those with whom the projects were
established. The correspondence of the area supervisors'
offices indicates a sense of satisfaction with the quality and
worth of the testing performed. Illustrative of this esti-
254 Pathways of Peace
mate is the evaluation of J. G. Cash, state official in
charge of the Illinois dairy testers. Writing to Selective
Service, he reported:
The Conscientious Objectors that are being used as Dairy Herd
Improvement Association testers in the state of Illinois have been
well received by the dairymen and are doing satisfactory work.
The records made available to dairy farmers through the services
of these men are being used in a program for maximum milk pro-
duction ... .17
In a similar vein, Franklin A. McLean, a Selective Serv-
ice officer, had characterized the job performance of the
assignees in New Jersey as "good work" and "entirely
satisfactory/'18
Agricultural College and Experiment Station Units
Four special projects were administered by the Breth-
ren Service Committee in co-operation with agricultural
colleges and universities. These were: CPS No. 112 of
Michigan State College; CPS No. 113 of the University
of Minnesota; CPS No. 1 16 of the University of Maryland;
and CPS No. 146 of Cornell University. All four were
developed upon a common plan of organization by which
the responsibilities for the direction of the unit were
shared between the college and the Brethren Service
Committee.
The college, as the using agency, was primarily re-
sponsible for the supervision and development of the
work project, and was represented by a faculty member,
who, as director, held a position analagous to that of the
project superintendent of the base camp. Through him
"Letter of J. G. Cash to Lewis F. Kosch of Selective Service, December 29, 1944.
"Report of F. A. McLean, of Selective Service, of his visit to New Jersey, Oc-
tober 25. 1943, page 2.
Agricultural Units 255
the college outlined the plan of work, and co-ordinated
the various aspects of the program. He in turn delegated
the daily supervision of the assignees to the heads of the
departments and stations using the men.
In addition to assuming the supervision of the daily
work of the men, the college further assumed the basic
financial responsibilities for the program. Each month
they appropriated an amount equal to the prevailing
wage of the area for the type of job filled and disbursed
it in the following manner. The expenses of room, board,
and laundry were paid to the parties concerned. The
remainder was then forwarded to the NSBRO, which in
turn, subject to Selective Service approval, paid from
this fund certain other project expenses. Among these
were: a monthly allowance of fifteen dollars to each man
to cover the cost of clothing and miscellaneous personal
expenses; accident insurance; medical care; dental treat-
ment; transportation for transfer to and/or from the
project; and other minor items. The balance was then
sent to the United States Treasury, where it was im-
pounded in the frozen fund.
In the assignment of the men to their individual tasks
no attempt was made to keep the group together as a
working unit. Rather, they were dispersed to the sev-
eral departments and stations to take their places along-
side the regularly employed personnel. This arrange-
ment meant that the working conditions of the assignees,
apart from pay and the freedom to leave the job, were
much the same as those of the other employees. At least
two developments of significance resulted in large part
from this manner of procedure. First, the assignees, being
in a much more nearly "normal" situation than the men
256 Pathways of Peace
in other units, had fewer adjustments to make in taking
up their CPS work; and second, as has been noted under
similar circumstances in other projects, a strong com-
munity of interest or bond of group unity was not de-
veloped among the members of the project.
Although many of the daily tasks called for only sim-
ple manual skills, a number of them required men of
advanced training and ability. This was particularly true
of some of the laboratory assignments involving back-
ground in one or more of the natural sciences. While
many of the men were chosen for these projects because
they possessed the necessary qualifications beforehand, al-
most all were able to profit from their work in the sense
of developing a fuller knowledge of some phase or phases
of modern agricultural methods through their daily
assignments.
For the most part the men assigned to the college and
experiment station units helped to maintain projects al-
ready well developed rather than to initiate new under-
takings. In many cases their assistance made it possible
for experiments involving observations over a period of
Table 10
Agricultural College and Experiment Station Units
Man-days of Project Work19
Michigan State College 11,516
University of Minnesota 9,832
University of Maryland 22,136
Cornell University 812
"Statistics are taken from Selective Service Form DSS 52.
Agricultural Units 257
several years to be continued without interruption. Re-
ports from the colleges to Selective Service indicate that
the conscientious objectors were able to render a service
of considerable value and that the presence of the unit
meant the colleges could continue essential operations
on a scale larger than otherwise possible.
The Brethren Service Committee, as the CPS admin-
istrative agency, was primarily responsible for those as-
pects of unit development other than the work project.
Their official representative was an assistant director,
whose duties corresponded to those of the camp director
in the base camp. His responsibilities included the prep-
aration of official reports; representation of the men and
the service committee in business transactions; provision
for such recreational, educational, and religious programs
as seemed fitting; counseling; and the co-ordination of all
the other varied aspects of unit life. As in the base camps,
some of his responsibilities, but not all, came to be shared
by the other members of the unit as the work program
progressed.
In contrast with many other Brethren projects, the
agricultural college units did not develop an extensive
program of educational, religious, and recreational activi-
ties as a CPS group. Instead, the individual members
sought expressions of these interests outside the unit,
and in the already-established organizations of the com-
munities wherein they were located. Religious services in
town, use of the educational facilities of the colleges and
stations, and recreation through resources of the area
served the men in most of their needs of this nature,
rather than programs initiated and developed within the
units.
258 Pathways of Peace
Michigan State College
In July 1943 the first Brethren project of this type was
established on the campus of Michigan State College,
East Lansing. There the men assisted primarily in the
dairy and soils science departments. Daily assignments
covered a wide range of activities including, in the dairy
department, work in the college barns milking and tend-
ing the dairy herd; work in the college creamery making
butter, ice cream, and cheese, pasteurizing and bottling
milk, and delivering these products; and work in the
dairy manufacturing laboratory. In the soils science de-
partment, the assignments included experimentation in
the soil-testing laboratory; work in an experimental
greenhouse; work on the muck soils experimental farm,
where the men cared for small plots and checked the
results obtained; and extension field work over the state.
There were no central living quarters provided for
the members of this unit, but rather a series of widely
separated lodgings. For the single men, rooms were se-
cured in various sections of town, often in dwellings
housing students of the college; and meals were supplied
through the College Union cafeteria. To such married
men as wished it, the college paid a cash sum in lieu
of furnishing room and board, leaving them to arrange
their own accommodations. These arrangements, some-
what closely approximating "normal" living conditions,
made the adjustment to the CPS regimen more simple
for the East Lansing assignees. At the same time, the
lack of central living quarters as well as the individualized
work assignments made it difficult to conduct activities as
a group, and. consequently, very few unit meetings or
projects were planned.
Agricultural Units 259
University of Minnesota
The second special project established by the Brethren
Service Committee in co-operation with agricultural
schools was with the University of Minnesota in August
1943. This project consisted of four widely separated
subunits, located adjacent to or within the cities of Grand
Rapids, Waseca, Duluth, and St. Paul.
The Grand Rapids station of the university consisted
of an agricultural experiment farm, and a school, located
a few miles beyond the town. The farm was approxi-
mately four hundred acres in extent, two hundred of
which were under cultivation, and was well furnished
with modern buildings and equipment. Livestock raised
included dairy cattle, horses, hogs, sheep, and poultry.
The school was small with an average attendance of
around fifty students. It was open during the winter for
a five-month term and served primarily boys of high
school age interested in the study of agriculture.
The assignments of the CPS men included a wide range
of tasks, although the number of assignees did not ex-
tend beyond five. One description lists the jobs as:
. . . some carpentry, digging experimental varieties of potatoes,
silo filling and hay making, sowing numerous varieties of winter
wheat and rye. One man is at present working in the dairy depart-
ment, one as general farm laborer, and the third teaching com-
merce in the school, working in the office, and taking care of a
small flock of chickens.20
Living quarters were provided in a dormitory which
housed other employees of the station as well as the con-
scientious objectors. At the same time many of the fa-
""University of Minnesota," Brethren Service Committee— CPS Unit Descrip-
tions, page 1.
260 Pathways of Peace
cilities of the station, including the library, gymnasium,
and shop were available for use by the men during their
off-duty time.
The Waseca experiment station comprised a total of
approximately six hundred acres bordering on the town
and was devoted to livestock and crops study. A number
of the experiments were conducted in co-operation with
the United States Department of Agriculture.
The work of the men included most of the usual farm
tasks as well as those peculiar to an experiment station.
Making hay, threshing grain, building fence, driving
tractors and teams, feeding stock, picking, shelling, and
sorting corn, treating seed— these and related tasks were
performed by the CPS men and other employees of the
station. At one period, the assignees were detailed to
work in the following capacities:
. . . two are field laborers, working with the various crops, in
pollination of plants, etc. One is an agronomist, selected to make
tests related to crop yields, keeping records for the small plots ex-
periments as well as [performing] some labor involved in their care.
One is a horticulturist, selected for a gardener's job. . . . [one] is
a dairy herdsman.21
Instead of furnishing room and board, the station pro-
vided the men with an allowance.
The assignments of the CPS men at the Duluth experi-
ment farm consisted largely of work with the dairy herd
and general farm operations including teamwork, plant-
ing, cultivation, haying, and harvesting. Living quarters
and meals were provided by the university at the farm
house, which also lodged some of the other employees.
At the St. Paul campus of the University of Minne-
™lbid., page 2.
Agricultural Units 261
sota the CPS assignments consisted of work with small
grains and corn, including planting, cultivating, harvest-
ing and threshing. The men also helped with weighing
samples and with the necessary work tor the yearly com-
parison of results in seed testing and crop breeding. An
average of four to five assignees were stationed at St. Paul
to carry out these duties. As at Waseca an allowance was
furnished the men in lieu of room and board.
University of Maryland
A third CPS project was established in September
1943 with the University of Maryland, located at College
Park, eight miles from Washington, D. C. There the
men were
. . . employed in Dairy Barn, . . . [Milk Plant], Dairy [Nutrition]
Laboratory, Livestock, Laboratory, Agronomy, Soils Laboratory,
Botany, [Agricultural Engineering, Animal Husbandry], Horticul-
ture, Entomology, Poultry, and [General] Agriculture. Most of the
work is physical labor, although most . . . [is] also technical in
scope.
Dairy Barn—. . . These men take care of feeding and milking
100 cows, which are all on various experiments for food and pro-
duction.
[Milk Plant]— . . . Milk is pasteurized and bottled and ice cream
and cheese made.
Dairy Laboratory— These men work on tests of effect of certain
foods or food deficiencies on dairy animals. Most . . . [of] their
work is chemical analysis.
Livestock Laboratory— . . . cleaning laboratory equipment which
is used in tests and assisting in rabies tests and experiments.
Agronomy— All corn grading for the state of Maryland is done
here by one of our men. Also assists in experiments with soils and
the presence or productivity of certain elements.
Botany— Greenhouse work mostly ....
262 Pathways of Peace
Horticulture— Work with dehydration of foods, and analysis of
foods.
Entomology— Mechanical work with sprayers ....
Poultry—. . . [Work] with experimental pens of chickens ....
Agriculture— Mechanical work with sorting of grains and seeds.22
At College Park a large house was rented to provide
living quarters for the assignees. One of the men was
in charge of cooking, while others shared the remaining
household tasks. Since this arrangement brought the
men into close contact with each other after working
hours, there were more group activities and programs
developed by them than by the other agricultural college
and experiment station projects. The number of activi-
ties undertaken as a unit, however, were far outweighed
by those undertaken on an individual basis, in spite of
the opportunities for the development of group programs
which the common living quarters afforded. This was
due in large part to the many resources available to the
men for leisure-time pursuits apart from the group, by
reason of their location at College Park. They found
within the university, and in the near-by city of Washing-
ton, a great number of opportunities to participate in
religious, educational, and recreational activities which
were already well established, and so did not feel the need
to turn to themselves as a group to provide such interests.
Cornell University
The Brethren Service Committee administered a fourth
special agricultural project in co-operation with the New
York State College of Agriculture at Cornell University,
""University of Maryland," Brethren Service Committee-CPS Unit Descrip-
tions, page 1.
Agricultural Units 263
Ithaca. This was a small unit of only four men, and was
established primarily to help alleviate labor shortages in
the departments of animal husbandry and poultry hus-
bandry. The project opened in July 1945.
Three of the men were assigned to the experimental
dairy farm and assisted with the routine farm work in-
volved in growing hay, silage and grain crops for the
dairy herd. Part of the time some of the men worked
in the dairy barn assisting with the feeding, milking and
management of dairy cows.
One man was employed in the poultry department and
did the routine work involved in caring for a flock of
chickens. All of the poultry and other livestock were
used for teaching and research purposes.
The single men lived in a boarding house located on
the university farm, with other single employees. Mar-
ried men were allowed to live elsewhere if they wished to
provide their own living quarters.
In surveying the several agricultural college projects
some general trends seem clear. The daily arrangements
of work and living more nearly approximated "normal"
civilian standards than those of most other Brethren proj-
ects. As a consequence, the assignees in this group had
fewer adjustments to make in adapting themselves to their
drafted status. Many of their activities were carried on
in an environment distinguished from their pre-draft
life mainly by the lack of pay and freedom to leave the
job, and their increased awareness of their position as a
minority group, in contrast to many of the other CPS
projects which necessitated a much more abrupt break
with previous ways. Concurrent with this approximation
to normal living was the situation noted wherein the units
264 Pathways of Peace
did not develop a strong common community of interests
as a conscientious objector group.
Special Soil Conservation Projects
Williamsport
Williamsport, CPS 24-2, was established in Washington
County, Maryland, in April 1942, and was a special
project sponsored by the Brethren in co-operation with
the Soil Conservation Service of the United States De-
partment of Agriculture and the Washington County
soil conservation district. As such it was planned that
the work day of the assignees would be given over to the
development of soil conservation measures on the various
co-operating farms of the district. Beyond this routine
manner of serving, however, the sponsors of the venture
looked to an additional series of developments to be
carried forward during the off-duty hours of the men and
to be aimed at making the project more vital and mean-
ingful to all associated with it.
Basically the plans of the supplementary program were
directed toward the creation of a Brethren center for
the practice and study of effective rural living. Here the
men were expected to gain practical experience through
the development of modern, approved agricultural meth-
ods in the operation of the Brethren-owned Hopewell
farm; and through their conservation work on the neigh-
boring farms. They were to supplement such experience
with a course of study concerned not only with various
technical aspects of farming, but also with the total im-
plications of a rural way of life.
In the actual development of the conservation work
on the near-by farms the major task assigned the men
Agricultural Units 265
was the building of fences designed to take from culti-
vation land that could be better used as pasture. Few
assignments concerned such other projects as contour
plowing, ditching, tiling, soil analysis, and related tech-
nical procedures. During the harvest season the emer-
gency farm labor program took precedence over the con-
servation work, and most of the men were assigned to
help in gathering the crops of the area, particularly the
corn, apples, hay, wheat, and tomatoes. Assignees also
assisted in checking weather gauges as part of an intensive
study of rainfall.
The development of the Williamsport project into a
unit for the practice and study of rural living centered
around the Hopewell farm and its many activities. Hope-
well, "an ordinary Maryland farm of 180 acres," had been
purchased by the Brethren to serve as a base of operations
for the enterprise. There the assignees were provided
with living quarters in the farmhouse and adjacent build-
ings, and with such other facilities as were needed. There
also the men assisted in raising a large portion of the
food consumed by the group. Probably the most im-
portant function of the farm was its use as a center for
the demonstration of modern, scientific techniques of
agriculture, with special emphasis upon approved prac-
tices of soil conservation.
In addition to the operation of the farm, the men took
part in many other activities. Classes, speakers, field
trips; the School of Rural Life; participation in the re-
ligious services of near-by communities; employment in
town or at the neighboring farms during off-duty hours;
recreational events— these and other related activities were
all part of unit life at Hopewell. While some such activi-
266 Pathways of Peace
ties bore no relation to the central theme of rural living,
most of them contributed in some degree, either directly
or indirectly, to a fuller knowledge of this way of life.
The farm at Hopewell was operated by the assignees
stationed there. Usually two men, one of whom was the
farm manager, were placed on the "overhead" quota in
order that they might give full time to the work. They,
in turn, were assisted by such help as the other men
could give during off-duty hours in the early morning or
evening. Such assistance was known as "plus" work and
represented a contribution of the men to the success of
the project. Since the farm was in a run-down condi-
tion at the time of purchase, a great deal of time and
energy was needed to restore it to a state of full produc-
tivity and to make of it a model center for demonstrating
the rehabilitation of worn land and its subsequent best
use. Through hard work and persistent effort, however,
the program of improvement gradually was accomplished.
By 1944 enough progress had been made that one of the
men was able to discuss the farm plans in these terms:
. . . farm demonstrations being carried on here at Hopewell are:
contour farming, pasture improvement, dairy testing, breeding of
pure-bred stock (hogs and dairy cattle), bee keeping, poultry-raising,
poultry-culling, egg production, butchering, carpentry, masonry, and
electrical wiring ... as well as soil conservation methods . . . ,23
For most of the men participation in and contact with
the farming operations developed at Hopewell was a valu-
able educational experience. From such activity they
learned at first hand many of the techniques of approved
agricultural methods.
"Carl Beadles and R. Gordlcy, Prospectus for Rural Life School, May 1944,
page 3.
Agricultural Units 267
The more formal educational activities at Hopewell in-
cluded study groups in pacifism and reconstruction, the
teachings of Jesus, farm accounting, spelling, farm man-
agement, Bible, and first aid. Supplementing such classes
were talks and lectures by visiting speakers, and field
trips to near-by farms demonstrating the successful man-
agement of some type of agricultural venture. These
various educational endeavors culminated, in 1944, in
a special School of Rural Life held at the Hopewell proj-
ect for the men in the unit.
The school represented, in the main, an effort to pro-
vide a rather thorough study of rural life from both the
standpoint of practical farming methods and the problems
and values inherent to rural community living. Lectures,
by both visiting speakers and project members, discus-
sions, demonstrations, field trips, and classes were means
utilized to achieve the desired goals. One such field trip,
or tour, included visits to five separate farms, and a
dairy, for the purpose of learning through observation.
Portions of the school program at Hopewell were co-
ordinated with a similar undertaking of the near-by Men-
nonite CPS project at Hagerstown. Speakers and leaders
from both groups were exchanged, and other resources
were shared. Each school retained, however, a separate
identity.
One of the chief difficulties encountered in develop-
ing the educational program at Hopewell lay in the lack
of time available for participation by the men in such
activities. At the close of a full day's work for the Soil
Conservation Service there still remained a number of
tasks and chores to be performed about the farm. Be-
yond this, many of the men felt pressed to use such free
268 Pathways of Peace
time as they had to earn some income by working for
the neighboring farmers or in the near-by town. There
were also some (as in all BCPS projects) who were not
interested in education. This situation led those assist-
ing in the educational activities to feel that the program,
although valuable, was less effective than it otherwise
would have been.
The religious interests of the Hopewell group found
a rather full expression through participation in the
various activities of the Hagerstown Church of the Breth-
ren, which was only six miles distant from the farm.
Sunday services were well attended as were the many
activities of the youth fellowship group. Because this
church met the interests and needs of the unit in a very
complete manner there were relatively few services at
the farm.
There was also some participation by the assignees in
the activities of other denominational groups, and numer-
ous visits were made to the smaller rural churches of
the area.
The administration of the local Williamsport project
was the responsibility of the Brethren Service Commit-
tee. Since, however, Williamsport was but one of five
similar CPS units engaged in soil conservation work in
the area it was necessary to provide an over-all super-
vision of the total program. Such supervision was fur-
nished through the Mennonite Central Committee. Un-
der this arrangement each unit retained local autonomy
and in matters that concerned only them were free to
proceed on their own initiative. Such concerns as af-
fected all five units, however, were the responsibility of
the Mennonite general director. Quincy A. Holsopple,
Agricultural Units 269
Ora DeLauter, Lawrence Fitzwater, and Myron Miller
served as directors of the Williamsport project for the
Brethren.
The New Windsor Soil Conservation Unit
In September 1944, at New Windsor, Maryland, some
fifty miles from the Hopewell farm, the Brethren estab-
lished a second special project in co-operation with the
Soil Conservation Service, comparable in many respects
to the Williamsport project. Like Williamsport, the New
Windsor unit was assigned to the development of soil
conservation measures on the co-operating farms of the
district. Beyond the work project, New Windsor also
developed an educational program emphasizing rural in-
terests, especially those related to soil conservation and
rural rehabilitation. Unlike its companion project, how-
ever, New Windsor did not operate a large Brethren-
owned farm as part of its basic program of work.24
Neither were the living quarters of the men located on
a farm, but rather on the campus formerly occupied by
Blue Ridge College, a school of the Church of the
Brethren (now the Brethren Service Center).
The work with the Soil Conservation Service was
"largely fencing off pasture land that was too far eroded
to be of any use under cultivation. Occasionally there
. . . [were] jobs such as fencing off woodland to keep
cattle out; relining fences on the contour; and construct-
ing contour pasture furrows and terraces."25 Tree plant-
ing and timber-stand improvement in the woodlots of
**The New Windsor project, however, did farm two fields of Brethren Church
property. Some garden produce was grown. The land was also used as a demon-
stration plot in contour planting and in contour strip cropping.
^Letter of Director Ernest G. Barr to Maryland War Records Division. July 3.
1946, page 1.
270 Pathways of Peace
the farms were also tasks to which the men were some-
times detailed.
Since a Brethren relief center, as well as the Soil Con-
servation project, was located on the grounds of the
former college there soon grew a strong community of
interests between the separate groups. In fact, as time
went on, the interrelationships became so well co-ordi-
nated that, aside from the daily work assignments, it
was rather difficult to distinguish clearly the lines of
demarcation between the two. The dormitory facilities
and dining hall were shared. Recreational events, educa-
tional programs, religious services— these and other ac-
tivities tended to become joint enterprises, with the re-
sult that a rather unitary pattern of life emerged at the
center.
The central theme of the various educational activities
sponsored by the CPS group was rural rehabilitation,
with particular emphasis upon related aspects of soil
conservation. The first several months were spent in a
study centering around rehabilitation through soil con-
servation. Formal classes of a lecture and discussion type
were held in different phases of this subject, namely:
1. Land use: the economic aspects of soil erosion and
soil conservation
2. Soils, water, engineering structures and practices
3. Agronomy and horticulture
4. Forestry and wildlife, also animal husbandry
5. International aspects of soil erosion, relief service,
and rehabilitation
6. Rural ministry, the social aspects of soil erosion, and
conservation
After the formal classes were completed, the program
Agricultural Units 271
developed through a series of interest-group meetings of
a more informal nature. For a time, the study of soil
conservation was carried forward through one-hour dis-
cussions held each week on the project. On such occa-
sions a study was made of the conservation plan of the
particular farm on which the men were working.
Several of the group at New Windsor related soil con-
servation to a religious concept of a stewardship of the
land. This theme was dramatized at the Richland, Penn-
sylvania, church through a program of readings presented
against a choral background. Plans were made to visit
other churches as well. In addition, a newssheet, Steward-
ship, was issued to carry this message.
The religious interests of the group at New Windsor
often found expression through the several small churches
of the area. There the men were extended a cordial wel-
come and an opportunity to participate in the various
services held. Because such relationships seemed very
satisfactory, there was correspondingly less provision made
for such developments within the relief center. Beyond
general attendance at the local churches, groups or in-
dividuals from the project were invited to participate
actively in the services, as speakers, or to furnish music, or
to assist in other ways.
Other free-time activities also found a place in the
daily routine of New Windsor. One description sum-
marized these in the following manner:
We are enjoying excellent relations with the New Windsor and
surrounding communities. We have organized a male chorus from
the combined units and sing occasionally in neighborhood churches.
. . . The former College library and [the] city library are available
for our use and we are obtaining new books . . . for our educa-
272 Pathways of Peace
tional program. The gymnasium floor is available and we have
formed several basketball and volleyball teams. We play against
outside teams occasionally.20
Several musical groups were organized at the relief
center in addition to the male chorus, including a choir,
a trio, a mixed quartet, and a male quartet. Deputations
were sent to churches both locally and in the surround-
ing states. An effort was made to present a picture of the
New Windsor center and the Brethren relief program.
The administration of the New Windsor soil conserva-
tion unit was the primary responsibility of the Brethren
Service Committee, although the project was related to
the Mennonite Central Committee in exactly the same
manner as was Williamsport. At New Windsor four as-
signees served as directors during the history of the
project. They were Harold Cessna, Ervin Block, Russell
Fisher, and Ernest Barr.
Within the unit many of the details of the program were
carried forward by special committeeis, subject to the
approval of the larger "camp" community, and the staff.
Because of the close relation of the CPS unit to the relief
center many of the concerns of each were cared for by
co-operative action.
The work accomplished by the several Brethren agri-
cultural units was undoubtedly a significant contribution
to food production. In a time of labor shortage these
CPS projects— dairy farming, dairy testing, agricultural
college and experiment station units, and the special soil
conservation groups at Williamsport and New Windsor
—rendered a valuable service to the nation.
*H. M. Cessna and E. F. Block, of the New Windsor unit, to John Bowman.
Letter of January 18, 1945, page 3. Later the gymnasium was converted to use
for processing relief goods.
CHAPTER 8
Crestview and Tallahassee
Camp Crestview, Florida, was established as a special
project in March 1942, and was the first Civilian Public
Service unit to be assigned to public health service. The
creation of the unit came largely as a result of the desire
of many of the assignees and of the service committee for
work serving immediate human needs. At that time,
one of the areas of the nation in greatest need of health
service was the "hookworm belt" of the South. Because
hookworm can be controlled and eliminated through the
initiation of simple medical and sanitary measures and
effective education which will insure their use, and be-
cause such efforts have a direct effect in raising not only
the health standards of the inhabitants, but the economic
and social standards as well, those interested in sponsoring
such a project felt the work would prove of great value.
M. R. Zigler, W. Harold Row, and Dan West carried
through for the Brethren the preliminary negotiations
with the various concerned parties—the National Service
Board, Selective Service, the Florida State Board of
Health, and the local county officials in whose districts
the work was to be done. As the final details were ar-
ranged, Ralph Townsend, then assistant director at Camp
Lagro, was chosen director of the new unit. He arrived
in Crestview in March 1942 and began immediately the
274 Pathways of Peace
work of establishing the camp. Later he was joined by
his wife, Mrs. Mildred Townsend, who served as a reg-
istered nurse and camp dietitian.
The first task at hand was to provide facilities for
housing the men, and for establishing the work project.
A small plot of approximately six acres, located a mile
and a half from the town of Crestview, was bought as
a camp site, and tents were erected. The camp was
opened with the arrival of a group of four men on March
21. Their first efforts were directed toward constructing
needed buildings and work sheds. As more men arrived,
the work progressed until, by July, most of the basic camp
construction was completed, and a start had been made
on the hookworm project. At that time the enrollment
had increased to sixteen.
Work in the "Hookworm Belt"
The primary work of the camp centered in the control
and elimination of hookworm disease through the con-
struction and installation of sanitary privies for the peo-
ple of the area. The main source of hookworm infection
is soil contaminated with eggs carried in the excreta from
infected persons. In such soil the eggs mature into nearly
microscopic larva which, upon contact, penetrate the
skin, find their way into the bloodstream and lodge in the
intestines. To prevent soil contamination, it is necessary
to provide for the sanitary disposal of human waste. In
the Crestview area the most practical means at hand was
the program undertaken of providing sanitary privies
for those who had no facilities or whose facilities were
such as contaminated the surrounding area.
The construction of the privies called for simple skills
Crestview and Tallahassee 275
in carpentry, cement work, and painting. Wood portions
were cut on a power saw from a standard pattern, and
then assembled in quantity. The cement parts were cast
in standard-size forms. Practice varied between assem-
bling the units at the camp and at the site of installation.
The plans and specifications followed were those supplied
by the Florida State Board of Health.
Although privy construction and installation was the
main work of the campers, the assignees did render other
significant services aimed at bettering the health condi-
tions of the region. One of these was well digging for
clients of the Farm Security Administration. The usual
practice was for a crew of two men to take their equip-
ment from the camp for a week at a time, returning on
week ends. This work was well described by one of the
assignees:
Another sanitation project which quite regularly employs two of
our men is well digging. Because of the sandy soil in the region, it
is possible to dig these wells by "pumping" the sand with a two-
inch pipe. By means of a rope run over a pulley supported by a
tri-pod, the pipe is dropped a few times, and then raised and
cleaned. When the moisture level is reached where the sand or clay
no longer clings to the pipe, the casing is put down and a smaller
wet bucket is used inside the casing to complete the hole. A cement
slab around the top is the standard safety measure which completes
the well. These closed wells keep the water supply free from con-
tamination by Hies, mosquitoes, or surface water.
The life of the well diggers is in many respects very interesting
and enlightening because through the week they board and room
with their clients. Of all our contacts with these people, theirs are
the most intimate. They often form lasting friendships with various
families.1
1 Roland Bartel, Health and Sanitation Work in Crestview, Florida (a short
essay), page 3.
276 Pathways of Peace
Another health service rendered by the assignees was
the construction of several septic tanks. Here again two
men worked together on the job, occasionally living at
the place of installation until the task was completed.
Generally these tanks were "built of brick laid up from
a concrete floor six feet below the ground level. Lids of
reinforced concrete are set in mortar to make the tank
air tight for the benefit of anerobic bacteria which pro-
duce the septic action. The drain field is made by lay-
ing 4 inch drain tile in a 12 . . . [to] 18 inch bed of
cinders at a depth of ... [18 inches]."2
Two other assignments of significance were: (1) the
screening of houses as a malaria-control measure, and
(2) the construction of special one-room isolation cabins
for families with members infected with tuberculosis.
Some time was also given to public health surveys, the
construction of dish-sterilizing equipment for restau-
rants, and the testing of cattle for Bang's disease.
Table 11
Public Health Work of Camp Crestriew^
Privy construction and installation 577
Wells 57
Septic tanks ." 38
Screening jobs (malaria control) 31
Tuberculosis cabins 3
Organization of the Work
The project at Camp Crestview was carried on in co-
operation with the Florida State Board of Health and
2Crestviews, I, 8 (October, 1942), page 5. Crestviews was the newssheet issued
by the camp.
sRalph Townsend, special report of C.P.S. Camp No. 27, Crestview, Florida,
November 8. 1943, page 1.
Crestview and Tallahassee 277
the local county health departments. The state board
furnished such technical information as was necessary to
the job, including surveys of the area; plans of approved-
type privies, septic tanks, and wells; and other relevant
public health data. They also served as a liaison for the
camp to the local groups with whom the project was to
develop, especially in the initial stages of negotiations.
The state officials most closely associated with the work
of the camp were J. B. Miller, chief sanitary engineer of
Florida, and R. C. Carter, technical sanitarian. The coun-
ty health departments were usually represented by a
sanitarian of their employ, who assumed the initiative in
contacting the people in need of the services of the unit
and passed on to the camp such requests as he secured.
The relationship developed between the unit and these
agencies was almost wholly one of friendly co-operation.
This was especially true of the work with the state board.
Each group looked upon the other as a partner in a
mutual enterprise — improving public health — and con-
ducted their work on that basis. Between them was a feel-
ing of mutual confidence and respect for technical work
ability.
The actual work at the camp and at the site of in-
stallation was supervised by the assignees themselves. The
various crews (construction, installation, well digging,
etc.) were composed of volunteers, with such adjustments
as were needed made by an assignee work committee and
the director. Each crew elected one of its members to
serve as a foreman. To provide an opportunity for all
the campers to acquire the skills involved in the various
assignments, each job was rotated every four months.
This organization of the work, coupled with the con-
278 Pathways of Peace
viction of the men in the worth of the venture, con-
tributed in a large way to the growth of a feeling of
loyalty to the project, a feeling on the part of the campers
that it was their project. One of the men expressed it
thus:
When materials become scarce or other problems arise, everybody
is affected because this is everybody's project. Practically our whole
family has contributed in some way toward increasing the efficiency
of our work so that the number of man-days required to build and
install a complete unit has been reduced from eight to less than
five.4
Another camper represented the matter in this light:
An item high in the scale of values here is mechanical ingenuity
and inventiveness. If one can contrive an alteration in forms or
method that will contribute to the efficiency of privy production,
he is really "in." Of course, hard working is considerably prized in
this situation, as one would expect.5
The main problems faced by the unit in their efforts
to develop the work were:
1. The lack of adequate transportation facilities to
carry the men and materials to the job and to haul sup-
plies. The lack was especially felt in the first several
months of the program, prior to the allocation of a govern-
ment truck to the camp.
2. A scarcity of materials, especially lumber, used in
the work.
3. The uncertain tenure of the local county health
department, traceable to lack of adequate financial sup-
port.
*Bartel, op. cit., page 3.
cCamp Crcstview diary, October 31, 1943. Written by assignees, the diary
covers the daily events of unit life for the period 10-7-42 — 1 1-2-44. This excerpt is
from a section recorded by Robert Rohwer.
Crestview and Tallahassee 279
4. The campaign waged to remove the camp from the
county by a group who felt there was no place for con-
scientious objection in that region.
Community Life at Camp Crestview
The days were full of activity for the men at Camp
Crestview. Project work, classes and meetings in the
evening, recreation, formal and informal religious serv-
ices, helping the neighboring families— these and other
concerns were part of the daily round of events. Through
this whole pattern of living there grew up a feeling of
unity among the group and a common loyalty to the
success of the venture that integrated the activities and
interests of the men around the camp community. In
such an atmosphere personal differences were held to a
minimum and where present were more easily reconciled
than in many other Civilian Public Service units. Un-
doubtedly there were many reasons for the development
of this spirit of community— among them, perhaps, the
type of men selected for the camp, the leadership of the
Townsends, the large degree of camper participation in
the management of the project, the smallness of the group,
their relative isolation from other interests, and the na-
ture of the project. Whatever its origins, however, this
spirit did run through the current of camp life.
A glimpse into the typical routine of the camp and the
environment in which the work was carried forward is
afforded by the following accounts, the first of which is
in the form of an intimate letter:
Tartt and I still get up at 5:30 for our quiet time before breakfast
and Orville has joined us now. As the days are getting much
shorter, we have to use a lantern and meet in the tool tent; but I
280 Pathways of Peace
still take a few minutes to enjoy the beautiful sunrise. At 6:00 we
join the others in the dining room for breakfast. . . . "Moon" is
leading morning devotions this week and gave us real food for
thought ....
After breakfast, we have a few minutes to get our beds made and
personal things done; but I had to get right to work on the laundry
so I could get it through by 1 1:30— lunch time.6
At seven o'clock a crew of four men take the stake truck, load it
with cinders at the railroad track, and drive fifteen miles north to
the nearest farming community where they install a septic tank for
a school. During the noon hour they have a brief basketball scrim-
mage with the high school team .... On the return trip they are
especially aware of the diversified crops, increased numbers of live-
stock, and other good farming practises ... in this community.
Three other men take the panel truck and drive down to the bay
area to complete the installation of several privies which were de-
livered earlier. All the way down they see nothing but the unpro-
ductive sandy soil covered with measly scrub oaks, a few pine, pecan,
and tung oil trees, and some blueberry bushes. These marginal
farmers cannot raise crops, have only meagre gardens, and keep
only one or two cows. Along the bay and near the Gulf, the men
see quite a few fishermen's cottages.
The same morning two men pack some extra clothes, load the
home-made tripod and other tools, start the model T Ford by push-
ing it, and leave for the week to dig wells for F.S.A. [Farm Security
Administration] clients. The three or four men who remain in
camp and are not . . . [on] overhead, swing their hammers all day
or pour some concrete forms to keep ahead of the installation crew.7
The rest of our gang are still in the side camp near Milton ....
After supper 3 or 4 of us went over to a neighbor's to help a
little .... Right now, most . . . are out playing volleyball
. . . . As soon as they have finished we plan a meeting . . . .8
A portion of the education program of Crestview was
devoted to classes in first aid, Spanish, co-operatives, epi-
*Crcstviews, I, 7 (September 1942), page 1.
7Bartel, op. cit., page 4.
Krestviews, I, 7 (September 1942). page 1.
Crestview and Tallahassee 281
demiology, environmental sanitation, community study,
and house wiring. While these achieved some degree of
success, a variety of factors vitiated the efficiency of this
method of learning. The greatest, possibly, was the fact
that some of the crews were out of camp for several days
and nights at a time because of the nature and location
of their work. This same work, on the other hand, was
the means whereby many of the men developed the
manual skills of carpentry, masonry, well drilling, plumb-
ing, and tool care. On the whole, the most effective
growth at Crestview seemed to come, not through the
more formal efforts at education, but through the de-
velopment of the work at hand, the contacts of the as-
signees, one with another, their efforts to build a com-
munity, and their relations with the people of the region.
Along with the days of hard labor on the project were
those hours in which the men sought rest and relaxation.
There were frequent picnics and hikes to near-by areas,
and sometimes a trip to the Gulf of Mexico. Volleyball,
Softball, basketball, tennis and horseshoes were popular
leisure-time games.
One of the assignees in answering a question as to the
leisure-time activities replied, in part: "Well, I believe
there is more than the average amount of reading going
on here. . . . But otherwise they do the usual thing,
sew rugs, write letters, participate in church activities
. . . and keep alive some bull sessions."9
The campers of Crestview participated in a variety of
religious services during the history of the unit, the em-
phasis shifting from one type to another at different
periods of time. Some that seemed most significant were
•Roland Bartel, letter to Snowden, December 2, 1942. page 2.
282 Pathways of Peace
the morning devotions, the Saturday evening vespers, the
Sunday morning meetings at camp, and the Sunday serv-
ices in the town churches.
Unit members very frequently attended services in the
small local churches. In the Crestview Baptist church,
which extended a cordial welcome to the CPS men and at-
tracted about one third of the camp group, the assignees
served as janitors, choristers, Sunday-school teachers, and
church committee members.10 The camp was sometimes
host to social events which were planned as part of a
church program. Many different denominations were
represented by the campers.
An Unusual Unit Organization
Brethren, Friends, and Mennonites
The over-all administration of the Crestview camp was
cared for by the Brethren Service Committee, although
the Mennonites and the Friends shared in the project.
Men from these groups as well as several other denomina-
tions lived and worked together in a very cordial and
friendly spirit of fellowship. In September of 1943, as
the work program was expanded beyond Crestview to
include new counties, the Mennonites assumed responsi-
bility for a unit at Mulberry, Florida, and the Friends for
one at Orlando. With this expansion there developed
a new division of responsibilities among the service com-
mittees. Co-ordination of those aspects of the Florida
program which concerned all three groups was cared for
by the Brethren through Director Townsend. He was
particularly responsible for the official relationships with
the Florida State Board of Health, and Selective Service,
10The reception was not always friendly in some of the other denominations.
Crestview and Tallahassee 283
and for the preparation of official reports. Beyond this
loose control organization, however, each local unit was
practically autonomous in its development. Matters that
concerned them only were not referred to the central
administration.
In November 1945, the unit at Orlando moved to
Gainesville. Later, in February 1946, as the Friends were
preparing to withdraw from the administration of Civil-
ian Public Service, Gainesville became a Brethren-spon-
sored unit.11
Crestview Administration
The Crestview unit was notable for the degree to which
the campers participated in giving direction to the proj-
ect, and for the bond of unity which developed among the
participants— assignees and staff alike. There were, of
course, differences in point of view among the diverse
group assembled there, but the characteristic spirit de-
veloped was one of group concern and decision in those
matters which affected all. Much the same attitude that
has been described in connection with the organization
of the daily work was present in all phases of camp life.
A feeling of community and a sense that the venture was
a co-operative undertaking to which all were contributing
and to which all had a responsibility led naturally to a
type of camp organization wherein all had a voice in
policy.
The formal organization of the camp was quite simple.
A number of interest groups or committees — worship,
work, education, community service, social, and recre-
ation—were responsible for developing the several phases
UA description of the Gainesville unit can be found in the Appendix.
284 Pathways of Peace
of unit life. A representative from each committee meet-
ing with the staff formed the council which served to con-
sider matters beyond the scope of any one committee and
yet not of such a nature as to require a decision by the
whole community. A meeting of the total camp con-
sidered those matters of importance which affected the
group as a whole.
The Move to Tallahassee
In November 1943 the camp was moved to Tallahassee,
approximately one hundred fifty miles to the east of
Crestview. A large factor behind the relocation was the
campaign waged by a group in the town of Crestview,
associated with one of the local newspapers, to remove the
camp from the area. The attitude expressed was that
there was no place for conscientious objection in that
region.12 A careful reading of the published articles leaves
the feeling that the dominant motive of the newspaper
was to criticize and discredit those local government of-
ficials who had consented to the establishment of the unit
in Crestview and who were the political opponents of the
group represented by the newspaper.
Apart from the attacks of this group, the campers were
accorded a mixed reception by the populace. Some of the
townspeople were cordial and friendly, many were in-
different, and others were hostile. One camper discussed
public relations in these terms:
The process of selling ourselves has been slow and beset with
some difficulties. . . . However, what progress has been made has
iaSee especially, The Okaloosa Messenger for June 17, 1943, column 1, page 1;
June 10, 1943, column 1, page 1; May 20, 1943, column 1, page 1; May 6, 1943.
column 1, page 1; November 18, 1943, column 1, page 1; October 7, 1943, column
2, page 4; September 23, 1943, column 1, page 1.
Crestview and Tallahassee 285
been the result of concrete work done for various people as an ex-
pression of our goodwill. . . . Our immediate neighbors have
called on us for help with farm and garden work, and the town has
used us for some of their emergency jobs. In the churches we have
finally been accepted after a period of mistrust. . . . We feel much
more welcome now than at first as we go to town, and especially to
the small churches.13
Particularly in the final months, the campers were
conscious of the appreciation of the many people whom
they had helped with sanitation problems. This clientele
group, however, was comparatively inarticulate and in-
effective in forming public opinion. It seems evident that
the newspaper sentiments reflected the opinion of only
a minority and that, as the time of departure drew near,
the community appeared to regret the move of the unit.
It is worth mentioning that even the most bitter op-
ponents of the camp had no criticism to offer of the
personal conduct of the assignees.
In some respects the relocation of the project was
viewed as desirable by the campers. Other regions in
Florida were in even greater need of help in combating
hookworm, and there were indications that the work
begun in the Crestview area would be continued by the
local county officials.
At the same time there was developing a consciousness
that hookworm incidence was directly related to low
economic standards of living and that these standards
would need to be raised before a health campaign could
be permanently successful. As a consequence a decision
was reached that in establishing a new project a portion
of the group effort should be devoted to bettering the
economic opportunities of the population. Since the
"Battel, letter to Snowden, December 2, 1942, page 3.
286 Pathways of Peace
program of the United States Forest Service seemed to
offer opportunity for a sound regional economy, the
camp sought an agreement with that agency as part of
its new plan. Negotiations were successful, and a program
was outlined whereby the assignees could assist not only
in the establishment of better sanitation facilities, but
also in the establishment of a more stable economy for
the people of the area.
As the camp was closing, and the men were preparing to
take up the work anew in a different county, the unit
newspaper offered a thoughtful summary of Camp Crest-
view life:
C.O.'s at Crestvicw have found enrichments not generally charac-
teristic of CPS life: greater incentive to do one's best on a project
immediately important to the very life of the community; broader
scope for the individual in a small camp whose director, identifying
himself with the group, relies on group decision and responsibility;
closer communication with the people of the area, at whose homes
CO's have worked, sometimes lodging for a week or more. If camp-
ers have failed to overcome, through the means at hand, the human
tendency in a few of their neighbors to use for personal advantage
the latent popular fear of minority groups, and the human inertia of
the many in the face of such tactics, they have at least learned a
lesson for pacifists: that greater effort than mere social service to
those closest at hand is necessary if the pacifist witness is to maintain
an environment congenial to its own continuing.14
New Developments at Tallahassee
The unit moved from its location at Crestview to its
new site near Tallahassee in November 1943. Although
this relocation brought with it certain changes in the
routine conduct of the project— especially changes re-
uCrestviews, II, 8 (November, 1943), page 4.
Crestview and Tallahassee 287
la ted to the mechanical aspects of the work— most of the
patterns of thought and action developed at Crestview
were carried over and extended into the new environ-
ment. Camp life was still marked by a spirit of service
and unity; and the basic aim of the work project con-
tinued to be community betterment through the elimina-
tion of hookworm although that aim had been supple-
mented with the additional aim of contributing to a sound
regional economy. As at Crestview, the direction of the
project was shared by all participants, staff and assignees
alike.15 The co-operative arrangements with the Florida
State Board of Health, meanwhile, remained much as
before, with the same spirit of mutual appreciation and
confidence present. Along with all these basic elements
of similarity, however, there were developed at Talla-
hassee certain distinctive features which differentiated it
from Crestview. The most significant of these are dis-
cussed in the following sections.
Co-operation With the Forest Service
The most noticeable developments accompanying the
relocation of the camp were the extension of the project
to include regular assignments with the United States
Forest Service and the logging and milling of the lumber
necessary for the construction of privies. This was made
possible through a triparty agreement among the camp,
the Florida State Board of Health, and the United States
Forest Service. The basic terms of this agreement pro-
vided for:
1. The camp buildings to be constructed by the as-
uWhen Director Townsend left, he was succeeded by Assignee-Director Philip
Nordstrom. In the closing months of the program, Virgil Wilkinson was selected
for this position.
288 Pathways of Peace
signees on Forest Service land in the Apalachicola Na-
tional Forest.
2. The Forest Service to issue a permit to the Florida
State Board of Health to cut timber without charge.
3. The camp to furnish the necessary sawmill equip-
ment.
4. The Forest Service to provide a logging truck and
the necessary hand logging tools.
5. The camp to be administered and maintained by
the Brethren Service Committee.
6. The materials necessary for the buildings to be pro-
vided by the Forest Service or the State Board of Health.
7. The assignees to be assigned in equal numbers to
the health project and to the Forest Service, the latter to
use the men on routine forestry work, especially fire
control.
8. The Forest Service and the State Board of Health
each to furnish the equipment, tools, materials, and su-
pervision for its work.16
Under these terms the project went forward at the
new location. A site was chosen in the Apalachicola
Forest approximately twelve miles from the city of Tal-
lahassee, and work was begun. The first tasks to which
the men turned were the designing of the camp buildings
and the installation of the sawmill equipment. The
logging and milling of lumber necessary for the various
structures followed. By February the surveyors were
driving the stakes to mark off the buildings, and by sum-
mer the first of these were completed and in use. As
finally developed, the camp consisted of a large adminstra-
10The agreement among the parties was contained in a contract entitled Relo-
cation of Crestview Unit of C.P.S. No. 27 in Wakulla and Franklin Counties,
Florida.
Crestview and Tallahassee 289
tion building, four dormitories, a wash house, and the
work sheds and garages. The construction work was or-
ganized under the supervision of assignee foremen.
With the camp structures completed, full attention was
turned to the development of the health and Forest
Service work projects. Approximately equal numbers of
men were assigned to each field of endeavor. The work
of the Forest Service crew included many of the same
tasks as those performed in other national forests, namely:
fire fighting, telephone and radio maintenance, trail and
road work, prescribed burning, tool maintenance and
repair, operation and maintenance of equipment, the
manufacture of tiles for culverts, and timber cruising.
Some of this work was developed in the area near the
camp, while the remainder was undertaken at a small
side camp, Wilma, a ranger station, approximately forty-
five miles west and south of Tallahassee.
Health Work
As at Crestview the major goal of the health project
was the control and elimination of hookworm through
the construction and installation of sanitary privies. The
means developed at Tallahassee to achieve this goal dif-
fered, however, from those of the former camp. One of
the chief points of divergence lay in the development of
the sawmill mentioned above. Under the terms of the
triparty agreement the camp bought and installed all
the equipment necessary to the complete milling of logs,
including a forty-eight-inch main saw, an edger, and a
planer. The Forest Service, in turn, then allowed the
camp to cut from its lands such timber as was needed,
without charge.
290 Pathways of Peace
Several days each week a number of the assignees al-
located to health work formed into a logging crew to
cut and haul the timber from the forest. At the same time
another crew of assignees operated the sawmill, cutting
the logs into lumber of the proper dimensions, and stack-
ing it for drying. This arrangement provided the local
project with a continuous supply of lumber for its work.
In the construction of the sanitary units new methods
utilizing mass production techniques were perfected.
Boards previously cut to the correct dimensions were
brought to templates especially designed for assembling
a single section of the unit. The final assembly of the
various sections into the complete privy was then made
at the site of installation.
As the program progressed at Tallahassee, and the final
details of lumbering and privy construction were well
established, there developed a new relation between the
camp and several of the county health departments of
the state, who, like Tallahassee, were working on a pro-
gram of hookworm control. Because the Civilian Public
Service project seemed a model in many respects, several
sanitarians and health officials from these counties visited
the camp to observe and study the techniques and meth-
ods in use there. As a result, they carried back to their
own projects many of the ideas that had been developed
by the assignees. At the same time arrangements were
made by which the Tallahassee camp supplied several
of these counties with duplicates of the forms, templates
and jigs which the camp was using. They also supplied
in quantity the prefabricated wood sections of the privies
to other projects on hookworm control. Tallahassee thus
became a vital influence in hookworm control throughout
Crestview and Tallahassee 291
the state. Through their work, the members of the Tal-
lahassee unit stimulated the growth of other similar
projects, contributed to more efficient production meth-
ods, and, in a time of shortage, furnished a source of
lumber supply to projects which otherwise would have
been handicapped severely or totally curtailed.
In many ways the co-operative arrangement whereby
the health and forest projects were developed together
proved of value, for each undertaking supplemented the
other in a very effective manner. The assignment of CPS
men to work in the forest helped to provide protection
and upkeep for this great natural resource. At the same
time the forest provided the lumber necessary to the
development of the sanitation project. Large hopes were
placed upon the long-time effects of such a program. It
was expected that from the improved health of the in-
habitants the resources of the forest (which was the
chief source of livelihood in the area) would be better
developed, and that the forest could then in turn pro-
vide a more stable and effective economic support for its
workers.
The major problem of the co-operative arrangement
was the lack of an adequate number of assignees to meet
the needs of both projects. Although the average num-
ber of men assigned to Tallahassee was thirty-eight as
compared to twenty for Crestview,17 the full potential
of production was never reached because of the lack of
personnel. From twenty to thirty or more additional
workers would have been required to utilize fully the
"Form No. 105 of the National Service Board for Religious Objectors for
Crestview and Tallahassee. Figures are an approximate average calculated from
these monthly reports. In addition to the thirty-eight men at the Brethren unit
of Tallahassee, additional men were stationed at the Friends and the Mennonite
units in Florida.
292 Pathways of Peace
machinery and equipment at the camp. Negotiations
with Selective Service to secure the additional assignees
were not successful.
In spite of the labor shortage, however, the work was
markedly successful in both fields, forestry and health
alike.
The chief forest officer, John W. Squires, evaluated
the program in these terms:
In my opinion this camp has served a very useful purpose, not
only in the hookworm control work, but on much needed forestry
projects, many of which would have gone undone during the
jN cLJ ... •
We never had any difficulty with the personnel. We found the
group to be cooperative and hard-working in most instances. Frank-
ly, we think this has been a very worthwhile project ... .18
Finances
The financial support of Crestview and Tallahassee
was borne by the Brethren Service Committee. At Crest-
view the service committee purchased the land and
materials for building the camp, and a large amount of
the tools and equipment necessary to the project. After
Crestview was closed, the land and buildings were sold.
At Tallahassee one of the largest expenditures was for
the sawmill. This item was cared for through an amortiza-
tion fund built up from the sale of the wood units and
through the final sale of the equipment at the close of
the project. Generally the sanitary units were paid for
by the recipients on the basis of the cost of the materials,
although in some cases other arrangements were provided
for those unable to purchase on such terms. For both
MLetter of John W. Squires, forest supervisor, to W. Harold Row, December
4, 1945.
Crestview and Tallahassee 293
projects, consequently, the primary cost to the Brethren
Service Committee was the maintenance of the men.
Camp Life
Apart from the physical environment, life at Talla-
hassee was similar to that at Crestview. In the organiza-
tion of the camp the assignees and staff continued a joint
direction of the project, although the particular interest
groups and committees responsible for the development
of unit activities were changed. The new phases of the
work likewise required a regrouping of the crews and the
election of foremen for each crew. In the sense of edu-
cational achievement the main growth of the assignees
continued to come through opportunities provided by
the total camp situation rather than from the more formal
classes, although some additional courses— including so-
ciology, first aid, understanding the Bible, and marriage,
family, and courtship— were offered.19 A variety of re-
ligious services was likewise continued.
Also contributory to unit life was the opportunity
which the campers had of putting into practice their
convictions about race relations. A camper at Tallahas-
see, discussing the efforts of the CPS men to treat Negro
clients with consideration, noted: "In race relations, the
campers endeavored to live in a spirit of equality with
both their white and colored neighbors, quite success-
fully. Improvement also was made among the campers
themselves, a few of whom at first were less courageous
along this line than others."20
Although the spirit of camp unity and the desire to
"Five men completed for college credit the standard course in introduction to
sociology which was taught by a camper, Robert Rohwer.
*°Lctter of Robert Rohwer, August 12. 1947.
294 Pathways of Peace
Table 12
Tallahassee Work Accomplishment Record21
December 1943 — January 1946
Job Description Units Man-Days
Privies 329 1,690
Privy equipment 69
Privy concrete forms 26 109
Accounting and bookkeeping
for Wakulla hospital 500
Construction and maintenance of camp
buildings and grounds 2,055
Lawyer for State Board of Health 118
Septic tank 21
Logging operation 1,099
Logging equipment 257
Garage 85
Urinals 5 5
Fire fighting 467
Fire presuppression 465
Equipment, repair and manufacturing 968
Well drilling 18
Forest maintenance 938
Road betterment and maintenance 858
Equipment, operation and repairs 242
Planting 49
Sawmill building 128
Sawmill equipment 437
Sawmill operation 1,740
Health survey 87
Project overhead (Forest Service and
Health service 626
Wilma and Ocala 1,321
Saturday turnback 414
Special details 455
Camp overhead (cooks, laundrymen, etc.) 5,009
»These figures were furnished by the Florida State Board of Health upon
request of the author.
Crestview and Tallahassee 295
assist the people of the area remained the dominant note
throughout the life of the project, in the last months
before closing there was noticeable a reaction on the part
of the men against the restrictive features of the CPS sys-
tem. The long period without pay and compensation,
the lack of freedom for the men to choose their own man-
ner of serving, and the absence of the normal aspects of
ordinary living began to weigh more heavily upon them.
Yet with the protest against these features, there was still
retained the sense of community within the camp, and
the desire to serve the people of the area. The hook-
worm project was still regarded as one of the best of all
CPS projects; but it was felt that a fuller measure of
service could be rendered apart from the draft law.
A Worth-while Contribution
In estimating the value of the work of the CPS men
in Florida, the report of an official visitor from Selective
Service seems particularly significant:
The efficiency of the various units in the construction of sanitary
privies can be determined by comparing the amount of work done
by the assignees to that done by workers under the Works Progress
Administration. Man days of work per privy are as follows: Mul-
berry 3, Orlando 3.1, [Tallahassee] 5 (which includes the production
of lumber as well as construction), W.P.A. lls^ [man-days].
For coordination and efficiency this unit is outstanding. This is
due in large measure to the able leadership of Ralph Townsend,
Director of the entire CPS Project No. 27, and to the interest and
loyalty of the majority of the men.
This entire hookworm project will, in my opinion, stand out as
one of the most worthwhile contributions made by conscientious
objectors during this war, and it should be encouraged and enlarged
so far as possible.22
"Official report of Major Waif red Lindstrom to Colonel Lewis F. Roach, head
of the camp operations division of Selective Service, November 20, 1944, page 1.
CHAPTER 9
The Minnesota Experiment in Starvation
and Rehabilitation
In November 1944 thirty-six CPS men arrived at the
laboratory of physiological hygiene of the University of
Minnesota to serve as subjects in what is now known,
in the United States and abroad, as the "Minnesota
experiment." The participants had been carefully chosen
from CPS units over the nation. They were, after a period
of preparatory and control studies, to subsist on a Euro-
pean type of famine diet for six months, and then to
undergo controlled nutritional rehabilitation for some
months thereafter. Nine additional CPS men had been
selected to serve as special assistants to the scientific staff.
The entire group was to take part in an effort to create
a controlled miniature of the kind of famine which deci-
mated western Holland in the winter and spring of 1945.
This was not the first nutrition project using CPS men
at the University of Minnesota. Early in 1943 assignees
began serving there as guinea pigs in studies on vitamin
requirements. By the spring of 1944 they had partici-
pated in several experiments involving a few days of total
fasting, which were designed to throw light on the prob-
lems of shipwreck and disaster. The fact that these studies
disclosed major uncertainties about the bodily changes
in starvation and the food needs for subsequent recovery
The Minnesota Experiment 297
pointed to the value of a more extensive experiment in
undernutrition. Such a study seemed particularly im-
portant since the certainty of major world food shortages
was becoming increasingly evident. Discussions of these
questions between the laboratory staff and individuals in
the CPS group brought assurances from the CPS men
that the scientific requirements for prolonged and severe
semistarvation would be met by men like themselves in
the conviction that the scientific and humanitarian gains
would more than compensate for the personal sacrifices
involved.
Doctors Henry Longstreet Taylor and Josef Brozek for
the staff and Harold Guetzkow for the CPS men devel-
oped the idea with enthusiasm. The director of the
laboratory, Dr. Ancel Keys, began efforts to enlist support
and sponsorship. Initial results were disappointing except
for the ready interest evinced by a few officials of the
Church of the Brethren and the Society of Friends. W.
Harold Row, the national director of Brethren CPS,
urged the Brethren Service Committee to support the
experiment as a special project and to give financial
assistance. The Brethren Service Committee in June
1944 agreed to aid the project and invited the Mennonites
and the Friends to share in the venture. The response
was favorable from both these groups. The natural in-
terest of the service committees in the experiment was
augmented by the development of plans to use the project
as a training center for CPS men interested in relief work.
This was possible because the duties of the "guinea pigs"
were of a nature that approximately half their working
hours could be devoted to a study program. A. S. Imirie,
of the camp operations division of Selective Service, lent
298 Pathways of Peace
his support to the project, but appeals for Federal funds
were by-passed by various agencies. Concentration on the
direct tasks of the war prevented recognition of the in-
evitable aftermath of famine and its tremendous prob-
lems, for which accurate information would be needed.
In the meantime the staff of the laboratory proceeded
with the detailed planning, but months went by and there
were still no signs that the essential Federal funds would
be forthcoming. At this juncture the director of the
laboratory appealed to other organizations. His efforts
were successful; funds were secured from the John and
Mary Markle Foundation for Medical Research, the
Home Missions Board of the Unitarian Society, the Sugar
Research Foundation of New York, and the National
Dairy Council of Chicago. This aid brought the total
guarantee of funds to the point where, by using all re-
serves from the laboratory's budget from the university,
it seemed justifiable to proceed. The medical research
committee of the Office of Scientific Research and Devel-
opment gave the support required by Selective Service,
which agency, in turn, authorized the establishment of
the project. The plan for the project went forward
immediately.
The subsequent financial history may be mentioned. In
the latter phases of the experiment, assistance was given
through the Office of Scientific Research and Development
and the Office of the Surgeon General of the United States
Army. Throughout the entire project, the support of the
University of Minnesota was of major importance. Thus
the Minnesota experiment was a truly co-operative under-
taking. Funds from church, industrial, governmental,
The Minnesota Experiment 299
private philanthropic, and academic sources made it
possible to carry the project to its completion.1
Organization and General Operation
The over-all administration and responsibility for the
project rested with the staff of the university laboratory,
headed by Ancel Keys. The usual responsibilities of the
church administrative agency within the CPS system were
assumed by the Brethren Service Committee, although the
Friends and the Mennonites were closely associated with
the Brethren in the project. W. Jarrott Harkey served as
assistant director of the assignee group.
The educational program of the unit was developed
under the leadership of Paul H. Bowman, Jr., and Robert
W. Stevens. Bowman, an experienced relief worker, was
director of the relief training. Stevens served as unit edu-
cational secretary.
For the duration of the project the CPS men were
housed immediately adjacent to the laboratory workrooms
and offices. The stadium headquarters provided dormi-
tories, toilet facilities, study rooms, a large recreation hall,
and the unit office. Meals were prepared and eaten in
Shevlin Hall, a short distance away on the campus.
The demands of the tests and measurements were
heavy; however, this work occupied only a part of the
twenty-four hours a week devoted to laboratory duties.
Each man had other tasks assigned according to his ex-
perience and interests. These included housekeeping
chores, laundry work, assistance in the workshop, tabulat-
ing, and other similar duties. Regular outdoor walks and
1Much of the data regarding the origin of the experiment has been furnished
by the staff of the laboratory of physiological hygiene.
300 Pathways of Peace
periods of exercise on the treadmill were also part of the
routine.
For approximately the first five months of the control
period and the early part of semistarvation the men were
free to come and go during their off hours except for the
requirements of the diet and regular hours of sleep.
Thereafter, however, a "buddy system" was introduced;
no man could be outside of the premises unless he was
accompanied by a "buddy." This constant surveillance
was necessitated because of the increasingly severe stress
of resisting the temptation to break the diet. The buddy
system was discontinued after six weeks of rehabilitation.
Even with the buddy system it was not impossible to
break the diet, and it was remarkable that, with very few
exceptions, the men adhered faithfully to the regimen at
all times. Confirmation of this was furnished not only
by the testimony of the men themselves but by the fact
that their weight losses and starvation changes conformed
entirely to theory.
The experimental plan demanded for its success the
full understanding and active co-operation of the CPS
men. Frequent meetings of the whole group with the
staff kept everyone informed of all developments and
allowed questions and complaints to be answered. In
addition a small committee chosen by the CPS men main-
tained constant liaison with the staff and the subjects.
W. Jarrott Harkey and Max Kampelman were particular-
ly effective in this work.
The Laboratory Experiment
From the beginning the laboratory experiment had a
twofold aim: to add to the store of scientific knowledge
The Minnesota Experiment 301
about starvation and rehabilitation; and to formulate
from this knowledge a set of recommendations that might
be used by those directing relief operations in stricken
areas. The character of the diet and the degree of starva-
tion were aimed to be representative of the famine and
war conditions in north central Europe. This meant that
the starvation menus would be based on the foods avail-
able in that region during the famine period, and that
the rehabilitation menus would be based on the same
minimum diet plus those relief foodstuffs likely to be-
come available for rehabilitation purposes through
importation.
Three definite steps were involved in the experiment:
a standardization or control period, a starvation period,
and a rehabilitation period. Through all these phases the
men were subject to the same environmental conditions
and testing procedures, so that it was possible to establish
a set of standards regarded as normal and then to observe
the effects of starvation and subsequent rehabilitation
upon these standards.
The tests and measurements applied numbered in the
hundreds, ranging "from the anthropometric to the psy-
chiatric and included details of circulation, metabolism,
psychomotor performance and responses to standardized
stresses, as well as all ordinary items of medical examina-
tions."2 It should be noted that this testing program
stressed not only the physiological characteristics devel-
oped during the three phases of the experiment, but also
the psychological and activity-performance characteristics
as well. The laboratory was well equipped with all the
'Ancel Keys, "Human Starvation and Its Consequences," Journal of the Amer-
ican Dietetic Association, XXII, 7 (July 1946), page 583.
302 Pathways of Peace
material facilities necessary for this elaborate testing
program.
The Control Period
The first phase of the experiment was the control pe-
riod of twelve weeks. The purpose here was to bring
about a standardization of diet, activity, and living con-
ditions for all the subjects, in order that the character-
istics evidenced prior to starvation could be regarded as
"normal" and correlated to specific environmental con-
ditions. To achieve this end the men were subsisted on
"a series of menus devised to be calorically adequate and
reasonably 'normal' with regard to variety, food items
and specific nutrients as eaten under good economic cir-
cumstances in the United States and northern Europe/'3
At the same time they were given a measured amount of
work to perform, also regarded as "normal" activity.
Thus by the end of the twelve weeks the responses of
the subjects to the battery of tests and measurements were
taken as standard or "normal" responses, and were used
as a basis for evaluating the responses of the same sub-
jects to the same tests during the ensuing periods of starva-
tion and rehabilitation.
Starvation
During this time (twenty-four weeks) the subjects were
fed a diet approximating that available to the peoples
of north central Europe during the war-famine period.
"The major items were bread, potatoes and cereals, with
considerable amounts of turnips and cabbage. Only token
*Keys, Brozek, Henschel, Mickelscn and Taylor, Experimental Starvation in Man
(Minneapolis: The Laboratory of Physiological Hygiene, October 15, 1945), page
15.
The Minnesota Experiment 303
amounts of meat and dairy products were provided."4
Meals were served twice a day during the week, and once
on Sunday. Three different daily menus were used in
rotation. At the midpoint and the close of the starvation
period the men were subjected to the full battery of tests
and measurements.
Rehabilitation
The rehabilitation period of the experiment began
after the subjects had been on the starvation rations for
twenty-four weeks. At that point they were divided into
four groups, as nearly equal as possible, each of which
was fed a diet differing from the others in calorie, pro-
tein, and vitamin content. Within each group half the
subjects received supplementary portions of proteins and
vitamins. Thus the plan of the experiment made it pos-
sible to compare the rate and quality of rehabilitation
produced by four different diets, and to estimate the rela-
tive effects of calories, vitamins, and proteins in contribut-
ing to this growth.
After twelve weeks of controlled rehabilitation all re-
strictions were removed and the men were free to leave,
but a call was made for twelve volunteers to remain under
further test and observation for another two months.
Volunteers were secured and the findings on these proved
highly valuable. In March 1946, some eight months after
the end of semistarvation, arrangements were made for
follow-up examinations. Twenty-one of the former sub-
jects were examined in this way. Finally, it was possible
to return some of the men to the laboratory in September
of 1946 for several days of study. Thus the total period
304 Pathways of Peace
covered by the data amounted to twenty-two months.5
The contribution of the experiment to science is be-
yond question. Knowledge of the effects in man of under-
nutrition and famine, and the needs for rehabilitation,
was immensely increased. Director Keys, in discussing
the results of the experiment, stated:
It is entirely clear that the Minnesota Experiment succeeded in
recapitulating the essential features of European famine. Numerous
conferences here and abroad have verified the opinion expressed by
Major Marvin Corlette, M. C
"In mid July 1945, it was my pleasure in company with Colonel
John B. Youmans, Director, Nutrition Division, SGO, and Dr. V. P.
Sydenstricker, Professor of Medicine, University of Georgia, to visit
the Laboratory of Physiological Hygiene ... at the University of
Minnesota. The purpose of this visit was to observe a group of
. . . conscientious objectors who had been on semi-starvation diets
of about 1600 calories for the preceding six months. These men had
been on a preliminary three months' standardization period, prior
to their starvation, during which time their caloric intakes and
energy expenditures were equilibrated at about 3300 calories. During
the starvation period, the energy expenditures of the subjects had
been kept at the 3300 calorie level.
"The picture presented by these men was a most striking one ex-
hibiting as they did an average weight loss of about 40 pounds.
Most had gaunt pinched faces and the peculiar sallow color that
those of us who had seen the concentration camps in Western Eu-
0 Detailed observations and findings of the experiment have been given in several
publications of the laboratory staff. Among these are The Research Project at
the Laboratory of Physiological Hygiene, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis,
on Starvation and Nutritional Rehabilitation (Minneapolis: Laboratory of Physio-
logical Hygiene, May 20. 1945); Keys, Brozek, Henschel, Mickelsen and Taylor.
Experimental Starvation in Man (Minneapolis: Laboratory of Physiological Hy-
giene, October 15, 1945); Keys, Taylor, Mickelsen, Henschel and Brozek assisted
by Simonson, Sturgeon and Wells, Rehabilitation Following Experimental Star-
vation in Man (Minneapolis: Laboratory of Physiological Hygiene, January 15.
1946). A book, The Biology of Human Starvation, is now in publication and
will contain a thorough treatment of the laboratory experiment.
A brief and nontechnical account of the experiment and particularly of the
application of the findings to practical relief administration is given in, Paul H.
Bowman, Jr. and Harold S. Guetzkow, Men and Hunger (Elgin: Brethren Pub-
lishing House. 1946).
The Minnesota Experiment 305
rope had learned to associate at a glance with starvation. At least
65% of the subjects had demonstrable dependent edema and
many had brownish pigmentation of their skin. Practically all ex-
hibited a pronounced sinus bradycardia with resting pulse rates in
the low thirties.
"These were the salient clinical features of the picture we saw
at Minneapolis, and it very closely simulated the picture of semi-
starvation seen in Western Holland as well as in some of the Ger-
man concentration camps in the early spring of 1945. Except for the
absence of filth and secondary skin infections in the experimental
subjects, it appears that the fundamental clinical pattern of partial
starvation as we observed it in Europe has been duplicated."0
The Educational Program and Relief Training
The major educational emphasis of the unit was prep-
aration for foreign relief and rehabilitation service, al-
though the individual members were not limited to this
field of activity but were encouraged to select studies
which would best fit their interests and future vocational
plans.
The relief and rehabilitation training program was
oriented principally toward opportunities for service in
France, Germany, the Low Countries, Scandinavia, and
Latin America, since it seemed likely that the sponsoring
agencies would operate in these areas when war-devastated
countries were open to relief efforts. Those who chose
the relief and rehabilitation program as their major edu-
cational project strove to attain the following qualifica-
tions: (1) a spiritual basis of personal life, (2) facility
with the appropriate foreign language, and (3) particu-
lar skills likely to be useful in the field. These qualifica-
tions, listed in the order of importance, were "kept con-
•From a statement furnished the author by Director Keys, December 31, 1947,
page 1 ff.
306 Pathways of Peace
stantly in mind by the staff, and ... by all men in the
unit as the year's program developed."7
As has been noted, one half of the project time was
available for educational activities. In the first three
months of the experiment, members of the unit, in a
total average work week of fifty-three hours, were able
to spend twenty-six hours per week on education, and
twenty-seven hours per week on assigned laboratory
work.8 By the midpoint of the six months' period of
semistarvation, however, the effects of starvation became
sufficiently marked that it was necessary to institute
changes in the educational program to coincide with the
rate of debilitation among the men.
Those assignees assisting in phases of the experiment
other than as subjects, the "overhead," were responsible
to the laboratory (or CPS) for forty-eight hours of work
per week, and thus were not able to devote as much time
to educational activities as the starvation subjects did.
Since the major educational interest of the unit was
relief training, a number of courses were developed to
contribute to this concern. Through an arrangement
with the university extension division two courses of ten
weeks each were offered to the men by members of the
university faculty. Enrollment in the first, National and
Local Governments of Western Europe, was twenty-six;9
and in the second, Topics in Social Work, was twenty-
three.10 University credit for this work was granted to
those members desiring it.
After these courses were completed a series of lectures
^University of Minnesota "Guinea Pig" Unit, Summary Report of Education
Program, November 15, 1944— October 20, 1945 (mimeographed report), page 1.
*Third Progress Report on Educational Program, February 17, 1945, page 5.
^Summary of Education Program, January 25, 1945, page 1.
^Fourth Progress Report on Educational Program, April SO, 1945, page 3.
The Minnesota Experiment 307
on public health conditions in foreign countries was ar-
ranged. Meanwhile foreign-language study was progress-
ing daily. Conversation courses in French, Spanish, and
German were taught by four unit members. Approxi-
mately forty men participated in this phase of the pro-
gram.11 In May, Paul H. Bowman, Jr., began instruction
in principles of relief work. For this course he drew upon
various studies in the field, the history of private and
public relief agencies, and his own experience of several
years in such work abroad. Laboratory staff members
contributed to the educational program by offering a Red
Cross course on nutrition, lectures on physiology, and a
short course in laboratory techniques.
In addition to participation in the specific unit-spon-
sored courses, the men who were interested in future re-
lief work organized into six special study groups during
the year. They were: (1) community life, (2) economic
life and co-operatives, (3) recreation as therapy, (4) nutri-
tion, (5) psychology, moral structure and breakdown,
and (6) the relationship of peace philosophy to techniques
of relief work. These study groups were affected adversely
by the debilitation of the stress period, however, and did
not achieve significant results.
To gain practical field experience in relief work, the
men were urged to participate in various kinds of group
work in the near-by communities. It was hoped that
such a course would keep the training program from be-
coming too academic and theoretical. Twenty-three men
participated in activities of this type, working at settle-
ment houses, youth centers, for a neighborhood recrea-
tion association, and for an interracial co-op store.
uThird Progress Report .... page 3.
308 Pathways of Peace
The unit members were quick to take advantage of the
resources of the university by enrolling in a number of
classes. In January 1945 thirty-two men were enrolled in
fifty-four courses,12 with an additional number auditing
work. By April the men were increasing their academic
diet; thirty-six men were participating in fifty-six dif-
ferent courses.13 During the spring quarter the semi-
starvation men were averaging two courses per man.14
A roster of visitors and speakers at the unit, published
in the education reports, indicates that guest speakers of
excellent caliber visited the unit on an average of twice a
week. Other outside contacts were established as mem-
bers of the project were invited to appear before local
groups to describe the laboratory experiment.15
Some of the achievements of the education program
were noted by the unit secretary in the following terms:
Probably the most important results of the year's educational
activities are intangible: vocational plans have been modified, or
men have come to see with greater clarity what factors bear upon
vocational choices, speaking knowledge of foreign languages has
been gained, men have acquired work experience in different kinds
of jobs, many have materially furthered their educational and cul-
tural development, all of us have learned a great deal about foreign
relief work experience and opportunities, and certainly the starva-
tion subjects have grown immeasurably in spiritual perception and
appreciation of the consequences of starvation, as a result of their
experience.16
^Summary of Education Program, January 25, 1945, page 2.
^Fourth Progress Report . . . , page 3.
"Ibid.
18The Minnesota experiment attracted the interest not only of local groups in
the Minneapolis area, but of many others as well. Several of the national news-
eathering agencies released accounts of the project. Articles were also featured
in nationally circulated magazines, including the Reader's Digest, Life, Time,
and Liberty.
16. . . Summary Report of Education Program, November 15, 1944— October
20, 1945, page 2.
The Minnesota Experiment 309
Other Activities
In spite of a full program, the assignees found time to
participate in several other campus, community and unit
activities, particularly in the early months of the ex-
periment before the effects of the starvation regimen had
depleted their strength.
One of the most successful ventures of the group was a
food-packaging program for European relief, begun dur-
ing the period of severe starvation stress. In co-operation
with a Fellowship of Reconciliation chapter in Minne-
apolis and friends, the men assembled gift boxes of food,
toilet articles, and small items of clothing. "By Oc-
tober 20 [1945], close to two hundred boxes had been
sent, at an average cost per box of between four and five
dollars/'17 This good work inspired at least two other
community groups to initiate food packaging.
Cordial relations were maintained between unit mem-
bers and a number of different churches in the Twin
Cities area. The men assisted in choir work and young
people's programs, and spoke at church retreats and
church conferences. In addition several devotional and
worship services of an informal type were initiated by a
group within the unit.
Advantage was taken of the opportunity to join in the
cultural life of the area. Some of the men took an active
role in the productions of the university theatre and
others assisted in musical programs. The participation of
the men in the life of the campus and the community
was noted by the educational secretary as, in reporting
on a postwar problems conference sponsored by the stu-
dents of the university, he pointed out:
"Ibid., page 6.
310 Pathways of Peace
Two members of the unit had prominent parts in this conference:
Max M. Kampelman was a member of a panel debating the merits
of postwar conscription, and Ralph Michener spoke on a panel
discussing world federation. I mention this here as typical of the
unit's relationship to the campus and community up to this point,
rather than as a special case deserving particular mention.18
Another unit development of note was the organization
of a "local" of the CPS union. This group was active in
their program, and among other items of business under-
took to finance a public-opinion poll to ascertain public
reaction to the conscientious objector. In this they were
successful, raising the necessary four hundred dollars.
The results of the survey were "surprisingly favorable to
C. O.'s, and have since received national attention/'19
Practical Uses of the Minnesota Experiment
The knowledge gained from the Minnesota project
has been studied extensively by many groups and of-
ficials of the United States and of other nations in their
efforts to meet the problems of famine and relief feeding
arising from the Second World War. Their uses of the
experiment, as discussed by Director Keys, have included
the following significant developments.
The findings have been provided, in advance of final analysis, to
all major groups concerned in relief work and problems of food
and nutrition throughout the world. Besides a constant heavy
correspondence, the Laboratory has been visited by a great many of-
ficials and experts who wanted to consult on the application of the
Minnesota experiment to the actual day-to-day problems in all parts
of the world. Official representatives and delegations have come
l6Fourth Progress Report .... page 6.
19. . . Summary Report of Education Program, November 15, 1944— October
20, 19% 5, page 6. See page 413 for additional information about the CPS Union
and the public-opinion poll.
The Minnesota Experiment 311
from Canada, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, England, India,
China, the Netherlands East Indies, Brazil, Chile, Puerto Rico, Nor-
way, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, The Netherlands, France, Switzer-
land and Poland.
In the United States the Minnesota experiment has been exten-
sively used by the Departments of State, War, and Agriculture. In
the proceedings of the food and nutrition board of the National Re-
search Council, July 21, 1947, the following statement was
made . . . :
In December 1946, the Committee on Emergency Food Problems
prepared a memorandum on questions submitted by the Cabinet
Committee on World Food Programs. Part I of the memorandum
was entitled "Calorie Consumption Levels and Their Relation to
Health, Well-being, and Capacity for Work." The major portion
of the material used in this report was prepared by Dr. Keys. . . .
this report . . . has been of great value to all government agencies
concerned with the planning of the food export program.
There are ample evidences of the widespread interest in the Min-
nesota experiment. It is more difficult to discover the extent to
which the experiment has actually influenced food and relief pro-
grams and plannings. In general, it would seem that application of
the findings has been made in several ways:
(1) Evaluation of the degree of undernutrition in individuals and
population groups in areas of food shortage. The experiment pro-
vided detailed criteria and objective standards for diagnosis.
(2) Knowledge on the work capacity of underfed people. From
the experiment it is possible to estimate the effects of a given degree
of undernutrition on the capacity for different types of work.
(3) Understanding of psychological problems. The experiment
showed the important effects on personality, emotion and outlook
of food deprivation, and pointed out significant consequences for
social and political problems.
(4) Medical dangers in semistarvation. The experiment dis-
closed the development of weaknesses and associated dangers in the
starved body.
(5) Caloric needs for rehabilitation. The experiment showed that
the dietary level for effective rehabilitation is much higher than
312 Pathways of Peace
previously thought; the inadequacy of most relief programs was
made clear.
(6) The place of special vitamin and protein supplements in re-
habilitation. The experiment showed that simple relief foods, in
relative abundance, are all that is required in the great majority of
cases; extra proteins and vitamins are not generally needed when the
famine diet has been of the European type.
(7) The persistence of starvation effects. The experiment showed
that even under the most favorable circumstances full rehabilitation
after semistarvation requires many months of abundant and good
diet. Restoration of lost weight alone is not a good criterion; func-
tional recovery is much slower.
I believe it is correct to say that all who were intimately concerned
with the Minnesota experiment— CPS and staff men alike— are con-
vinced that it was more than successful in a technical sense. The re-
sults have provided knowledge and understanding which have stim-
ulated larger and more effective relief operations. The total of hu-
man sympathy has been increased; the burden of suffering has been
reduced. The experiment itself was a unique example of co-opera-
tion by many individuals and organizations representing highly di-
verse views in some other respects. The use of the objectivity and
advanced methods of science for the ends of Christian charity is not
unique but it is rare. We hope that the experiment may prove an
object lesson in improving the effectiveness of good will.20
The above summary of the uses of the Minnesota ex-
periment and the motivation behind it expresses the
spirit of the entire project. For the CPS men who of-
fered themselves as subjects, for the scientists who labored
with meticulous care, for the agencies who sponsored and
supported the project, and for the starved peoples of the
world, the venture was indeed fruitful.
*°From the statement furnished the author by Director Keys.
CHAPTER 10
Relief Training and Service Units
During the course of the Civilian Public Service pro-
gram several units devoted to relief and rehabilitation
training and service were established under the admin-
istration of the Brethren Service Committee. Among
those developed in the early years, 1942-1943, were the
Lagro China Unit, the Crestview-Tallahassee Unit, the
Martin G. Brumbaugh Reconstruction Unit, the Colum-
bia Training Unit, the Manchester Training Unit, and
the Philadelphia Research Unit. In the last years of
Brethren CPS additional special projects were established
whereby assignees were detailed to work in various relief
depots of the Brethren, and to service aboard ships car-
rying livestock to Europe. The motivation behind the
establishment of these projects stemmed, in the main,
from the intense interest of the church agencies and a
large segment of the assignee population in work of this
nature. To most of the participants in these projects it
seemed particularly appropriate for conscientious ob-
jection to war to be expressed in terms of a positive service
to mankind. Relief work was felt to be such a service.
The Lagro China Unit
The first Brethren Civilian Public Service unit estab-
lished for relief and rehabilitation work was the Lagro
314 Pathways of Peace
China Unit. This was a small group of assignees, fourteen
in number,1 selected from volunteers over the United
States and brought together at Camp Lagro to complete
preparations for what was expected to be two years of
ambulance and emergency relief work in China. The
men assembled in camp in February 1942. In addition
to the assignee members the group included Dr. Carl
Coffman, who had previously served in China as a medi-
cal missionary.
The training period at Lagro was used to study the
Chinese language, first aid, and elementary medical pro-
cedures. Instruction in relief techniques was offered by
Howard Sollenberger, an experienced worker from the
China field. Through a special arrangement with Se-
lective Service the group was freed from regular camp
project work in order to devote full time to these ac-
tivities. During this period also a large quantity of drugs
and medical and surgical supplies was bought and packed.
As the six weeks' term of training drew toward a close
and as negotiations for transportation to China were being
concluded, the plans of the unit for foreign service were
blocked by a refusal of the State Department to grant
passports to the conscientious objectors. Although no of-
ficial reason was given it was understood by some that
the government did "not wish to be represented abroad
by C.O.'s who were drafted and therefore in a semi-offi-
cial capacity/'2 Shortly after this refusal the unit was
assigned to emergency duty at the tornado-stricken town
1The fourteen were: J. Gladden Boaz. Charles Butcher, Frederick E. Kidder,
Melvin F. Funk, Nelson Fuson, Elmer E. Hartzler, Richard Lockwood, Raymond
Long, Dale Nebel, Harold Phcnd, Howard Sollenberger, James Stanley, John Swan,
and Paul Weaver.
aJames Stanley, "China Unit," in The History of CPS Camp No. 6, Lagro,
Indiana, by W. Earl Griffin.
Relief Units 315
of Goshen, Indiana. After a month in Goshen the unit
was brought back to Lagro and officially disbanded.
Eventually several members of the unit were detailed
to the Castaner rehabilitation project in Puerto Rico.
Although the failure to secure approval for the China
unit to work abroad was a great disappointment to its
members and sponsors and, indeed, to a large number
of campers over the United States who hoped for similar
assignments, those interested in relief continued to seek
opportunities for training and service. Their persistent
efforts were finally rewarded with the establishment of
the Columbia Unit in August 1942.
The Columbia Unit
The Columbia Unit consisted of a group of fifteen
assignees selected to participate in a special training pro-
gram in international administration offered by Colum-
bia University. These men were transferred from their
regular CPS project work to the university campus in
New York where they were free to give full time to
their study. Seven of the men were sponsored by the
Brethren,3 seven by the Friends, and one by the Catholics.
Financial aid also came from others, including the Fel-
lowship of Reconciliation and the Methodists. University
scholarships were made available as well, and in a few
instances the men helped support themselves.
The program offered by the university was designed to
train both civilian and military personnel. Of the total
course enrollment approximately thirty per cent were
CPS assignees, fifty per cent were naval officers and the
■The seven were: Tartt Bell, Nelson Fuson, Howard Gustafson, Eugene F. Kid-
der. Rufus B. King, Earnest Snavely, and Charles Webb.
316 Pathways of Peace
remaining twenty per cent were civilians. It was hoped
that from the association of the military personnel with
the civilians the problems of each might be better under-
stood by the other. This seemed important for it was
expected that in the administration of foreign areas,
civilian and military agencies often would be working
together within the same region.
As announced by the university the program of training
was aimed to develop personnel capable of assuming ad-
ministrative posts within occupied or liberated areas.
The CPS group was especially concerned with relief, re-
habilitation, and reconstruction, and the problems at-
tendant to the administration of successful programs in
these fields. The period of study extended over one year,
beginning in August 1942. Included in the curriculum
were general courses designed to furnish background to
the total group, as well as intensive specialized courses
related to the specific geographic area in which the in-
dividual trainee expected to serve. These latter studies
included language training and a survey of the historical,
political, legal, social, geographic, and economic features
of the area. In addition to the university staff, use was
made of experts from civil and official life who were ex-
perienced administrators in the fields under study. Schuy-
ler C. Wallace and Philip Jessup, of the Columbia Uni-
versity faculty, directed the training program.
Although the immediate goal of the training program
was achieved in the sense that the assignees were pre-
pared in a very thorough manner for relief service, the
ultimate goal of foreign assignments for CPS men was
not realized. This development was the result of action
by the United States Congress in the summer of 1943.
Relief Units 317
At that time Congress approved a bill which, in effect,
forbade the use of conscientious objectors outside of the
United States and its territories and possessions. Two
men of the Brethren group, however, Rufus B. King and
Howard Gustafson, were able to utilize their training
through service in the Brumbaugh Reconstruction Unit.
A third, Charles Webb, found opportunity for foreign
service in a post-CPS assignment.
The Manchester College Unit and the Philadelphia
Research Center
Following the approval by Selective Service of the
Columbia Training Unit in the summer of 1942, the
church agencies continued to press for further opportuni-
ties in relief training and service. By the spring of 1943
they secured the approval of Selective Service and of other
government agencies for the establishment of a greatly
enlarged relief program. On April 21 of that year an
order from the office of Director Lewis B. Hershey estab-
lished CPS 101, a foreign relief and rehabilitation project
to be jointly administered by the Brethren, the Friends,
and the Mennonites.4 Early plans called for the estab-
lishment of a unit headquarters and research center in
Philadelphia with additional full-time training units at
various colleges and universities. The college centers
were to provide a corps of relief and reconstruction work-
ers for service around the world during and following the
war. The Philadelphia center was envisioned as a unit
4CPS Unit 99 was also a part of the expanded relief program. This was the
Chungking, or China unit. Over-all supervision of this unit was furnished by
the American Friends Service Committee, with the Brethren and the Mennonites
sharing in the project. CPS 99 was disbanded by the same action of Congress
that disbanded the CPS Unit 101. (Page 320.)
318 Pathways of Peace
which would prepare study materials for the use of the
CPS men in the camps and which would undertake such
other research as would be useful to relief agencies. Dr.
Eldon Burke was appointed director of the Brethren sec-
tion of the Philadelphia unit.
With the enthusiastic support of the assignees, who had
been eagerly awaiting opportunity for relief service, the
Brethren began immediately to lay the groundwork for
the college program. Comprehensive long-term plans
were outlined by M. R. Zigler, W. Harold Row, Leland
S. Brubaker, and Andrew W. Cordier, and arrangements
were made for opening a unit at Manchester College,5
North Manchester, Indiana. Dr. Cordier was secured to
direct the unit. Careful selection of some seventy men
from Brethren CPS was made, and on June 7, 1943, the
assignees assembled on the Manchester campus.
At that time the Manchester program was thought of
as the first step in a large relief and rehabilitation train-
ing program. Those selected were not promised a relief
assignment abroad or further training beyond the ten
weeks planned, though it was hoped that one or more
of these possibilities would be available for many of the
group.
Living quarters for the trainees were furnished in
the men's dormitory, and meals were provided at the col-
lege dining hall. Because of the heavy demands of the
program and the shortness of the training period, prac-
tically all of the activities of the men were related to
relief study.
The program as set up emphasized an over-all study
BThe Friends and the Mennonites likewise planned for college units similar
to that at Manchester.
Relief Units 319
of the geographical areas in which relief work might be
done, the methods and techniques of relief administra-
tion, and the broad spiritual, political, and social im-
plications of relief work. Seven major courses were of-
fered during the two five-week sessions. These included
one on contemporary Asia (the Brethren hoped to place
workers in China) and a second on contemporary Europe.
A third course considered problems of reconstruction.
Two courses dealt with topics in social work, and two
with relief administration. Because of the shortness of
the sessions, language study was postponed to later train-
ing periods.
In addition to intensive morning sessions of lectures
and discussion, the training program included work in
individual creative skills. Each day in the late afternoon
the group divided into small sections emphasizing auto
mechanics, agriculture, construction methods, home nurs-
ing, care of clothing, public health and sanitation, com-
munity development, and food and nutrition. Each of
these interest groups shared the results of their study with
the total unit. At the close of each day a period was
devoted to meditation in the college chapel.
A faculty of excellent calibre, including Manchester
College staff members and a large group of outside talent,
contributed greatly to the informative and inspirational
sessions. In addition to local professors, Director Cordier,
Dr. C. Ray Keim, Prof. O. W. Neher, Dr. Lucille Carmen,
and Miss Grace Eshelman, other prominent Brethren
educators, including Dr. Paul H. Bowman, Dr. F. E. Mal-
lott and Dr. W. W. Slabaugh, contributed to the curricu-
lum. Brethren relief workers, John Barwick, Howard Sol-
lenberger, and Dan West presented analyses of Brethren
320 Pathways of Peace
relief work in England, Puerto Rico, China, and Spain.
Mennonite relief experiences were reviewed by Dr. M. C.
Lehman and Dr. Ernest Miller of Goshen College. The
relief work of the Friends was described by Clarence Pick-
ett and Howard Kershner and by Dr. John W. Nason of
Swarthmore College. Additional resource leaders were
Dr. John L. Gillin of the University of Wisconsin, Dr.
Chester Bower of Western Reserve University, Dr. Arthur
Swift, Dr. Morris Mitchell, Dr. Arthur Morgan, Paul
Comly French, Dr. Robert Hoppock of New York Uni-
versity, and Dr. Ammon Swope of Purdue University.
The Manchester training program was received enthu-
siastically by the participants, and the plan was progress-
ing well until, in June 1943, Congressional action put
an end to Unit 101. At that time Congress clearly indi-
cated its disapproval of the college projects and the serv-
ice of conscientious objectors outside of the United States
and its territories and possessions. Through a provision
in the War Department appropriation bill the use of
government funds for such projects was prohibited. This
action was interpreted as a judgment that "only fighting
men and fighting equipment should be sent overseas as
representative of this government,"6 and that the war
effort would be best furthered by using shipping space
for the armed forces. This was the same proviso that
eliminated the foreign service prospects of the men of the
Columbia Unit.
In spite of the keen disappointment which this en-
actment brought to the CPS men, they maintained a
vigorous interest in the program until its close in August.
During the last weeks the Brethren administrators worked
•"Foreign Service Units." The Reporter, II, 3 (August 1, 1943), page 2.
Relief Units 321
to re-assign the unit members as nearly as possible ac-
cording to their qualifications, preferences, and available
openings. As finally concluded the transfers provided for
the return of some of the men to base camps, where, it
was hoped, they would be able to share their knowledge
and experience and to assist in contemplated special
schools. Others were detailed to the Brumbaugh Re-
construction Unit and to the Crestview project. Still
others returned to mental hospitals and to the Hopewell
farm.
Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Research Center, which
was at the beginning of its development, was also elim-
inated by the same Congressional enactment. A modified
program was maintained, however, under the direction
of Dr. Burke without the services of the CPS assignees.
One of the outcomes of the work at the research center
was the book, Puerto Rico: Unsolved Problem by As-
signees Earl S. Garver and Ernest B. Fincher.
The action of Congress in prohibiting foreign relief
service for the conscientious objectors was a serious blow
to morale within the CPS units. Many of the men were
not only deeply disappointed over the lack of opportuni-
ty to serve in areas of need, but in addition interpreted
the ruling as indicating a diminished regard by Congress
for freedom of conscience.
Assignments to Relief Depots
With the closing of Unit 101 in 1943 the opportuni-
ties for full-time relief training and service within Breth-
ren CPS were greatly curtailed. Not until two years later,
in August 1945, were new projects established through
which assignees could be detailed to relief work. At that
322 Pathways of Peace
time Selective Service approved a plan whereby a limited
number of conscientious objectors could be assigned to
service in the relief program being sponsored by the
Church of the Brethren. The work was that of assist-
ing at the church relief depots and centers located in the
United States.7 At the peak of this CPS project a total
of between seventy and eighty men were utilized in this
manner. The monthly average of the unit, however,
ranged between thirty and forty men. The largest groups
from the total quota were assigned to the relief centers at
New Windsor, Maryland, and Modesto, California. Small
groups ranging from two to six or more were located at
the Nappanee, Indiana, and Dayton, Ohio, depots. The
Wenatchee Canning Unit and the Heifer Project Com-
mittee also received some help from CPS assignees. At
these several centers the CPS men served to supplement
the other workers in the relief program of the Brethren
in already-established projects.
Within this special project the Brethren Service Com-
mittee acted as both the CPS administrative agency and
the agency using the men. Thus, in addition to the usual
details of the CPS routine, the service committee was
likewise responsible for directing the daily work activities
of the assignees. This latter function was cared for by
the managers of the local centers.
The daily work of the men included participation in
practically all the activities of the local centers. A number
were assigned to the processing of relief clothing. They
helped sort, repair, and bale the goods for shipment.
'Several of the relief centers were supervised by the Brethren, but were affili-
ated with the Church Committee on Relief and Rehabilitation, and with the
Church World Service organization. These were co-operative interdenominational
agencies established to coordinate nation-wide church relief activities.
Relief Units 323
Some assignees were truck drivers, responsible for the
collection and delivery of the relief materials. Food sort-
ing and packing was a major assignment also, as was shoe
repairing. At New Windsor some men assisted with the
heifers-for-relief project, and at Nappanee others helped
in soapmaking. Meanwhile, assignees were also detailed
to maintenance jobs as carpenters, plumbers, painters, and
other construction workers, and to various office duties
necessary to the operation of the centers. A description
of the relief program at the New Windsor center affords
insight into the type of work in which the men assisted.
The excerpt is from a bulletin issued by New Windsor.
six month's record shows center did two million dollar
RELIEF JOB
Exactly 2,019,350 pounds of relief clothing valued at almost two
million dollars and 3,530,882 pounds of food valued at $155,000
were shipped abroad from this Center during the first half of 1946.
Also shipped overseas in the same period were:
Pounds Value
Toys and tools 4,334 $ 2,150
Soap 55,707 5,570
Medical supplies 3,095 2,349
Kitchen utensils 1,104 276
Field and garden seeds 66,838 33,364
Sewing thread 792 110
The sum total of shipments for the first six months of 1946 is
5,648,012 pounds of all goods with a value of $2,156,592.17.
Food Shipments Include Cereals
The total amounts of food also include grains and cereals bought
in carload lots with cash contributed for that purpose. By special
arrangement with certain millers, the Center can purchase sixteen
pounds of relief cereal containing ground wheat, oats, and soybean
grits for $1.00. One pound, or only six cents' worth of cereal, equals
324 Pathways of Peace
a pound of cheese in food value and can feed an undernourished
child for one day.
All of the goods listed above came from church, community, and
individual donations. Shipments were made to sixteen countries,
with local church officials doing much of the final distributing over-
seas.
This Center One of Largest
This volume of goods has made this Center one of the largest
church relief goods depots in the United States. Not only are cloth-
ing, bedding, canned foods, and money received here, but the list of
relief necessities has grown to include soap, candles, shoes, kitchen
utensils, table ware, dolls, carpenter tools, mending supplies, cotton
feed bags, and a number of other items needed abroad in war-
stricken lands.8
Although the other Brethren centers handled a smaller
volume of material, their work was similar in nature.
Seagoing Cowboys
In January 1946 there was established under Brethren
administration the special CPS project known as the
"seagoing cowboy" unit. The work of this group con-
sisted of the shipboard care of livestock being sent to
Europe by the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation
Administration (UNRRA). The origin of the project
may be traced in part to the activities of Benjamin G.
Bushong, a Brethren in charge of securing livestock at-
tendants for UNRRA shipments. Bushong, in co-opera-
tion with the Brethren CPS offices, urged the establish-
ment of a program by which CPS men might be used for
such livestock work. Negotiations with Selective Service,
UNRRA and other official agencies were successful, and
by February 1946 the first group of CPS assignees were
"The Weekly Processor, I, 21 (July 1, 1946), page I. The Weekly Processor
was a mimeographed newsshect issued by the New Windsor Center.
Relief Units 325
en route to Bremerhaven, Germany. Before the final
closing of the project in December 1946 over three hun-
dred fifty CPS men had made one or more trips to Europe.
This group represented one section of the larger group
of UNRRA employees also engaged in this same work.
The chief administrative responsibilities in the opera-
tion of the program were shared by the Brethren Service
Committee and the United Nations Relief and Rehabili-
tation Administration.9 The latter, as the agency using
the men, assumed the major financial support of the
project. They agreed to pay for the services of the live-
stock attendant the sum of $150.00 for each round trip,
and to provide medical care and compensation insurance
for each assignee while outside of the United States. In
addition they furnished an allowance of $2.50 per day
for each day the man remained in port after assignment
to a ship, and prior to his signing as a member of the crew.
UNRRA also paid the Brethren Service Committee an
amount equal to three per cent of each attendant's pay.
This money was to defray administrative expenses and
to provide recreational, educational, and religious ma-
terials for the use of the attendants. The administrative
responsibility for handling of the crews was delegated by
UNRRA to the Brethren Service Committee. The service
committee, in turn, functioned through the office of Ben-
jamin Bushong at New Windsor, Maryland, and through
the national Brethren CPS office at Elgin, Illinois. Assist-
ing in the administration of the program at the New
Windsor office were Assignees Charles Frantz, Charles
Brashares, Raymond Hartman, and others.
9Camp Directors Bulletin No. 170 of the National Service Board for Religious
Objectors outlines the several responsibilities of the participants in the plan.
326 Pathways of Peace
The responsibilities of the service committee included
the initiation and supervision of the many detailed pro-
cedures necessary to the operation of the plan. Volunteers
were needed for the project. These were secured readily
from CPS units over the United States, for the program
was received enthusiastically by the assignees. Arrange-
ments were provided for quartering the men between
trips at the New Windsor relief center, and later at New-
port News, Virginia, as well. At New Windsor the as-
signees worked in the relief center while awaiting their
second or subsequent shipping assignments. Maintenance
of the men during such a period was the responsibility
of the service committee. The Brethren administration
was also responsible for the assignment of the men to the
ships and for the office details of the program such as
arranging furloughs, acting as a fiscal agent in the dis-
bursement of funds collected from UNRRA, and main-
taining the official forms and records required by that
agency and by Selective Service. A special program of
religious, educational, and recreational assistance was also
undertaken, although the shifting and transient nature
of the project made a continuous or group-centered pro-
gram impossible. Most work of this kind was confined
to provision of books and religious literature for use on
shipboard, provision of recreation equipment, and the
arranging of contact persons for the assignees to visit while
in Europe. Individual counseling was available also to
some degree. While at New Windsor the "cowboys" were
able to use the many resources there and to join in the
community activities of the center.
Through assignment to the livestock attendant project
the men acquired a status slightly different from that of
Relief Units 327
the regular CPS assignees. Technically they became
members of the Civilian Public Service Reserves. For
each round trip completed (trips ranged from four to
eight or nine weeks) they received $150.00. From this
amount, however, they were required to pay their trans-
portation expenses to the port of embarkation, and to
provide transportation to their homes upon discharge.
Transportation expenses, except for the return home
were equalized among the members of the unit through
a "pooling" arrangement. As part of the final arrange-
ments prior to sailing the men were required to obtain
seamen's papers, to undergo physical examinations, and
to receive certain immunization injections.
The Shipboard Routine
Life aboard a cattle boat at sea was a new experience
to most assignees. In eager anticipation the Civilian
Public Service Reserves prepared for the journey. They
packed their sea bags with clothing, books, stationery,
and packages of food for destitute individuals in foreign
ports whose addresses had been furnished them. After
the complications and red tape of visits to the War Ship-
ping Administration, the Coast Guard, and the United
States Shipping Commissioner's office, they boarded the
livestock carriers.
The vessels included modern Victory and Liberty ships
as well as some that had seen decades of service. Many
bore colorful names such as Zona Gale, Virginian, Mexi-
can, and John /. Crittenden. The ships' facilities includ-
ed bunks, storage lockers, and salt water showers. The
arrangements aboard ship were livable, but were seldom
comfortable.
328 Pathways of Peace
The primary concern of the attendants was the care
of the animals aboard the ships. Especially on the trips
over, their work occupied most of their time. On the
return trips, however, the men had more leisure. The
daily schedule of work began when the night watchman
awakened the crews for the feeding of the horses or cattle
at 6:00 a.m. After breakfast at 7:30-8:30, the men watered
the animals, and then began the daily cleaning, scraping
the floors of the stalls and washing the aisles with salt
water. One attendant spoke for many when he described
the difficult chore of cleaning the stalls from behind.
"A horse is often quite a different personality fore and
aft . . . ."10 After the midday meal, the cleaning was
finished. Hay and oats were then hoisted up from the
hold and the animals were fed and watered. This routine
was followed by each attendant, who had from twenty-
five to thirty horses in his care. The men took a great
interest in the animals. However, in spite of their efforts
and those of the experienced veterinarian who always
sailed with a shipment, a number of animals were lost.
One assignee aboard the S.S. Luckenbach described
the work in these terms:
We have horses aboard. 579 now. . . . None of my 32 have
died. . . . [At first] walking down between a double row of waving
heads who can bite each other across the aisle was a real task. . . .
None of mine are mean and I've settled down the ornery ones.11
Further insight is given into the work aboard ship by
a livestock attendant writing in his diary at dawn as the
ship made for Trieste.
10"Notcs from Cowboys," Marine Bull Pen, I, 3 (April 26, 1946), page 2. The
Marine Bull Pen was a newssheet carrying reports on the livestock attendant
project.
"/bid.
Relief Units 329
The stables are quite narrow and when a horse lies down (she
isn't supposed to during the trip) she usually lies down with her
front feet sticking out through the boards at the front of the stable.
When she wants to get back, up again she can't do it because her
front feet slip and she can't get them under her. In a couple cases
we have used a block and tackle around her shoulders to pull her
back so she can get up. At other times if there are more men around
we just take a hold of her tail and halter and pull her around. . . .
It's almost time to call the boys now. We found the 12th horse
dead on our last round just now .... We are really stuffing them
with hay. We have more than twice enough for the trip and if they
have plenty they are quieter. Some of the better mares are certainly
getting around to the place where they have nice sleek coats on
them.12
At the destination, the process of unloading a ship
was interesting. On dock the spectators and the workers
watched as cables were lowered from large booms into
the hold, then were fastened to the cargo, raised, and
swung over and lowered to the dock. The unloading was
described by an attendant in this manner:
We brought some single stalls along with us from New York.
When they were ready to unload the horses, they would drive them
into the stalls, close the door and lift the entire stall with the horses
in it out on to the dock. When they opened the door, incidentally,
the horse almost went wild. These horses had been tied up for at
least 20 days and on their feet almost the entire time. They would
kick up their heels and break down along the dock, which was just
a wide strip of land with stone edges. And they would really run!
About everyone in our crew had the time of their lives. They were
out helping to catch them and were riding them around the dock
bareback. You can imagine the good time the boys and horses both
had after all that time on the sea.
12Byron P. Royer, A Seagoing Cowboy in Italy, page 26 (a journal of a live-
stock attendant; mimeographed, ninety-five pages). Although Royer was not an
assignee, his descriptions are typical of the experiences of the conscientious
objectors.
330 Pathways of Peace
The Mexican [another UNRRA cattle boat] pulled into port and
docked right in front of us on our second day in. They came over
with a load of cows and horses and when they started unloading,
too, there were cows and horses running all over the dock area. You
should have seen it. They even got down to the gate where we
went out to go to town. The Limey guards there at the gate had to
keep chasing them back to keep them from going out the gate with-
out authorized passes from the captain.13
During the periods off duty, the seagoing cowboys
found the hours filled with new experiences. There
was little organized recreation on the ships, but the at-
tendants were at no loss for diversions. Many spent hours
talking with the crews aboard, men far different from the
Mennonites, Brethren, Friends, Methodists, and others
who made up the CPS Reserves. Relations were usually
friendly and much was gained in exchange of points of
view. On return trips the boats sometimes carried a load
of servicemen, homeward bound after years or months
of action. With them, too, the CPS cowboys talked and
exchanged experiences. Often recreational, educational,
and religious materials were furnished for the men by the
Brethren CPS Reserve administrative staff.
Though there was a great deal of variation in the trips,
many of the attendants can recall experiences such as
these: vesper services on a gun mount pointing out to
sea with the salt spray in their faces as they sang lined
hymns; the water throwing up its phosphorescent waves
and porpoises making fiery streaks as they broke through
the waves; the calm radiant path of the moon on the
water from the horizon to the ship; and a storm at sea
about which one cowboy wrote, "I didn't mind the roll-
*Ibid., page 58.
Relief Units 331
ing so much and the dipping of the side almost to the
water, but when it would seem to rare up like an animal
and growl like that, I would just as soon have been in
Indiana."14
The time spent in visiting foreign ports varied from
three or four days to two weeks. The cowboys sent back
reports of appalling destruction in Polish cities; of mined
harbors, and live hand grenades lying around the docks
at Trieste; of the families who welcomed them and shared
their meagre rations; of the German woman in a Polish
port who earned only a loaf of bread a day; of tiny vil-
lages nestled in the hills of Italy with cobblestone streets,
where women knelt to wash clothing in open flumes of
water, and of half-hidden courtyards; of coming suddenly
on a German graveyard, overlooking an Italian harbor,
with five hundred wooden markers over the graves that
lay silent in the sun; of roadside chapels badly bombed
and unrepaired, but where people knelt and worshiped.
The cowboys saw men eagerly examine the contents of
the ship's garbage cans and watched people enter hovels
of rubble and bombed stones for shelter at night. One
attendant summed up the impressions thus: "One gets
from such a trip ... a first hand witness of ruin and the
condition of Europe now. One begins to feel the psychol-
ogy of want, despair, indecision, confusion . . . ."15 The
same observer pointed out, "We were hitting at the 'grass
roots' when we brought in livestock and farm implements
and fertilizer. . . . We can bring them food, but if we
go farther and provide tools so they can start producing
themselves, it's an improvement."10
"Ibid., page 71.
,5Letter of Arthur Lcntz to David Lindscy, March 5. 1946. page 1.
"/bid.
9
32 Pathways of Peace
Such were the projects within Brethren CPS concerned
with relief training and service. In the first years, the
training program seemed to offer opportunities for the
development of a well-planned, comprehensive relief
program. Beyond the training period many of the con-
scientious objectors looked to assignments in foreign lands
where the destruction of the war was raging and where
the need for service was great. The action of Congress
in precluding foreign assignments and college training
units ended, for a time at least, the program under way.
Fortunately, however, the legal restrictions did not apply
to the territories and possessions of the United States, and
on the island of Puerto Rico a project was established
which offered opportunity for conscientious objectors
to serve in a rehabilitation project of far-reaching
significance.
CHAPTER 11
Castaner and the Martin G. Brumbaugh
Reconstruction Unit
Far to the south of the United States, in the Carribean
Sea, lies the small mountainous island of Puerto Rico.
The island is one of the most poverty-stricken areas of
the world. In 1942 from ninety to ninety-five percent of
the income of the Puerto Ricans was spent for food, which
meant, of course, that little or nothing was left for all
the other needs of life.1 It was to help meet these other
needs, and more especially those of medical and social
rehabilitation, that the Martin G. Brumbaugh Recon-
struction Unit was created.
Backgrounds
By the spring of 1942 many CPS men had indicated
a desire to aid in relief work abroad. The Brethren
Service Committee, in an effort to provide an opportunity
for such work, sent its chairman, Andrew W. Cordier,
to explore the possibilities of establishing a special re-
construction project in Puerto Rico. In April Cordier
visited the island, and, after investigation, returned to
recommend that such a project be initiated. Selective
Service approval was secured, and in June the official order
establishing the Puerto Rico project was issued.
Report of Andrew W. Cordier to the B.S.C., May 11, 1942. page 1.
334 Pathways of Peace
From the outset it was determined that the work of
this unit would center around the Puerto Rico Recon-
struction Administration (PRRA) and the series of
rural rehabilitation projects which it had developed.
This was a Federal agency created in 1935 to set in mo-
tion an island-wide program of reconstruction. Among
their many enterprises— such as slum clearance and hous-
ing, construction of schools, building of roads, and de-
velopment of electric power— were several rural rehabili-
tation projects.
The rehabilitation projects were established along the
following lines. For each project PRRA purchased large,
individually owned farms of several hundred acres and
subdivided them into units of from one to five acres.
On each unit they built a low-cost, hurricane-resistant
house. These homesteads were then sold to the labor-
ing farm class on a long-term payment basis. Each project
included, in addition to the homesteads, a large central
farm, and a community center. At the central farm the
homesteaders had the opportunity of working for wages to
supplement the living earned from their individual farms.
There, also, they were able to secure scientific advice on
the improvement of crops, the introduction of new
crops, the breeding of livestock, and other farm problems.
The community center included a medical dispensary,
schools, playgrounds, recreational facilities, provision for
a few small handcraft industries, and additional develop-
ments aimed at serving the needs of the people. Thus
these projects represented a rather complete approach
to the problem of rural rehabilitation. By 1942, how-
ever, many of the community services had been greatly
curtailed or cut off completely, largely because a lack
Castanet 335
of funds left the projects with insufficient personnel. It
was at this point that the Brumbaugh unit was to serve.
Basically, this unit furnished the personnel to carry out
the community program of medical care, public health,
and social service of these rural projects. The venture
represented a co-operative enterprise between the PRRA
and the Brethren Service Committee.
First Developments
David Blickenstaff, first director of the unit, arrived
on the island in June. He began immediately to establish
all the necessary contacts for the undertaking. A series
of conferences with the PRRA officials chiefly involved,
namely, Guillermo Esteves and A. M. De Andino, and
with representatives of the insular health department laid
the basis for the development of the work. In August
the first contingent of eleven CPS men and Doctors Daryl
M. Parker and Carl F. Coffman landed.2 The group
proceeded at once to the PRRA project which had
been chosen as the site of the initial endeavor. This
was Castaner, located in a mountainous yet thickly
populated area in the west central portion of the island.
The need there for medical services was almost unbe-
lievable. Cordier had pointed this out in his report to
the service committee.
At Castaner . . . there is only a nurse. A doctor comes to the
community twice a week. [Seventeen] miles from Castaner is the
town of Lares, but they have only one doctor . . . [he] is seventy
years old. In an opposite direction, thirteen miles away from Cas-
*Doctors who served in succeeding years included Franklin K. Cassel, Everett
B. Myer, Francis Helfrick, Sylvia Helfrick, and Homer L. Burke. The eleven CPS
men weTe: Dan E. Boehm, William P. Coston, Alden C Douglass. George L.
Furse, Jr., Dwight L. Hanawalt, Elmer E. Hartzler, Frederick E. Kidder, George
E. Mason, Lawrence B. Moore, Howard E. Sollenberger, and Paul M. Weaver.
336 Pathways of Peace
taner is the towrw ol \djuntas with a population of . . . [4,000].
They have no doctor. Thus in a radius of fifteen miles from Cas-
tafier live a total of some 40,000 to 50,000 people with the services of
only one doctor. This situation is characteristic of almost the whole
of the interior section of the island.3
In the face of such need it was soon decided that a
small rural hospital with outlying clinics would be the
chief emphasis of the unit.
Since there was no hospital building at the project, it
was necessary to construct one. This was done by re-
modeling an old barrack-type structure of the Civilian
Conservation Corps model. For the first weeks and
months this was the main activity of the unit. New con-
crete piers were installed to replace old sagging founda-
tions; the floor was leveled; most of the wall sections were
interchanged to give the desired arrangement of windows
and doors; partitions were erected; the plumbing and
electrical systems were overhauled; cabinets were con-
structed; the interior and the exterior were repainted.
At the same time a beginning was made in other fields.
This initial period of preparatory work was summarized
well in a report of Director Blickenstaff.
For the first six weeks the activities of the unit have been centered
around the complete reconstruction of a large barrack-type building
to form a twenty -five bed hospital. This construction job has been
carried out with materials supplied by the PRRA . . . the work
being done by the men in the unit. The hospital building now in-
cludes a large kitchen and dining room, sterilizing room, obstetrics
room, operating room, men's, women's, and children's wards, doc-
tor's office, diagnostic laboratory, and X-ray room. . . . Before the
hospital was completed, the doctors had already been busy on many
minor surgery and emergency cases. A long list of urgent cases re-
*Cordier, op. cit., page 2.
Castanet 337
quiring operation and hospitalization had been prepared before
work on the hospital had even begun.
While this construction work was going on a small diagnostic lab-
oratory was organized. One of the CPS men, an industrial chemist
who had studied medical chemistry in an American university, set
up the laboratory and has been doing the chemical work for the
two doctors. In collaboration with the Insular Department of
Health, we are now in a position to do diagnostic laboratory work
for the other rural dispensaries ....
... we are reopening the local community center where we shall
provide a program of community recreation ....
First aid classes have been organized .... Nurses' training
classes are being conducted and local personnel is being trained as
nurse aides to assist in the operation of the hospital.
With an ambulance sent from the United States we are providing
ambulance service for the area and for the hospitals on the north
and south coasts. This is a service which is very necessary because
of the inadequate transportation facilities.4
By the end of the year the hospital was nearly com-
pleted. The doctors had performed meanwhile almost
two hundred operations.5 In addition a start had been
made in the field of public health with eight hundred
twenty-seven typhoid injections and two hundred twenty
smallpox vaccinations.6 On December 7 a recreation pro-
gram of indoor and outdoor games was formally instituted
at the community center.
Further Developments at Castaner
The Hospital
In the following months, the unit became more firmly
established in its work, and at the same time began to
'Report of David Blickenstaff, director, page 1 ff.
■Report of the Castafier General Hospital for the five months ending December
31. 1942, page 4.
*Ibid., page S.
338 Pathways of Peace
expand into new areas of service. The hospital was of-
ficially opened in February, with ceremonies attended
by many civic leaders of the island. Governor R. G. Tug-
well, the chief of the Insular Medical Services, and the
commissioner of health were among the notables present.
The aspirations of the men were well expressed by the
latter when he said that he hoped the venture would
demonstrate the practicality of such a plan and set a pat-
tern adequate to meet the rural medical needs of the
island.7 The achievements of the hospital in the period
following gave promise that this goal could be reached.
Within a six-month period almost two thousand four
hundred in-patient days were recorded.8 Such a service
becomes more meaningful when it is remembered that
the patients treated would have had little or no oppor-
tunity for hospitalization elsewhere. The following sta-
tistics9 give further insight into the service rendered.
Table 13
Hospital Statistics, January — June 1943
J an, -Mar. April- June
Beds available 15-17 17
Average per cent of occupancy 72 84.9
Total patients admitted 159 185
Number of in-patient days 1,056 1,318
Average stay in hospital 6.4 7.1
Highest hospital census 19 24
Lowest hospital census 1 6
Average hospital census 11.8 14.4
Operations 140 168
iCastaner Newsletter, I. 14 (March 16, 1943), page 2.
Quarterly reports of the M. G. Brumbaugh Reconstruction Unit for the pe-
riods January-March, and April-June, 1943; page 2 of each report.
9Ibid., pages 2 and 4 of each report.
Castaner 339
The immunization work begun earlier as part of the
health program was continued. In the first six months
of 1943, smallpox vaccinations totaled six hundred thirty-
five, typhoid injections two hundred five, and diphtheria
vaccinations four hundred ninety-four.10
A Rural Clinic
Service to the outlying areas was increased through the
establishment in February of a medical dispensary at Rio
Prieto, a small settlement several miles distant from Cas-
taner. Each Saturday a group from the hospital, includ-
ing one of the doctors, journeyed there in the unit ambu-
lance. Medical examinations, prescriptions, dental ex-
tractions, ambulance service, provision for laboratory ex-
aminations, and hospitalization and surgery at Castaner
-these were some of the tasks performed. A graphic ac-
count of the operation of this outlying clinic is found in
the unit newsletter.
Saturday Morning at the Rio Prieto Dispensary
At seven-thirty every Saturday morning . . . the "carry-all ambu-
lance" ... is warmed . . . before it takes a load of unit members
to a strenuous five hours' work at Rio Prieto.
Half way . . . the staff may be joined by Dr. Colom, local dentist
... . At the Bartolo crossroads we are flagged down by . . . Mrs.
Mendez who goes along to help eradicate hookworms .... A little
farther . . . school marm Mrs. Marquez occupies her seat . . . , and
Father and Mrs. Pagan .... Last stop is for Miss Colom, dispen-
sary treasurer and record assistant.
The crowd is waiting for us— sometimes as many as a hundred.
Don Pancho, owner and loaner of the little house in which the dis-
pensary is held, is there to open the door for us. He is a big, paunchy
Spaniard, one of the aristocratic gentlemen farmers of this region.
He stands around fathering the whole outfit, telling stories for which
10Ibid.f page 3 of each report.
340 Pathways of Peace
he is famous and seeing that his friends get special and prompt at-
tention.
First on the program is the handing out of consecutive numbers
to return patients wanting to see the doctor for examination or pre-
scription. While this is going on all the anemic and stomach-
troubled little children that the doctor has told to come back for
hookworm treatment are rounded up for a dose of oil of chenopo-
dium and carbon tetrachloride. This is followed an hour later by
a dose of castor oil or magnesium sulfate. Such a din of noise is sel-
dom heard— fifteen kids yelling, sputtering and crying. They have
learned already to bring their own oranges or lemons which help to
destroy the foul taste.
A good morning's work consists of . . . [thirty] return patients
and about the same number of new patients through the doctor's
office, between twenty and thirty tooth extractions and about thirty
miscellaneous cases.
There is a little globe bank on the register desk that collects from
one to four dollars every Saturday morning. This plus the commu-
nity contributions that were made to get the dispensary started, plus
all the neighborly help we get, makes the Rio Prieto Dispensary a
very interesting community project. But as soon as possible we are
going to have to have two clinics a week instead of only one on
Saturday. There is too much work to be done.11
The Community Center
During this period the recreation program of the com-
munity center was firmly established. As in all activities,
much preparatory work had to be done. Many hours
were spent explaining and interpreting the program
to the Puerto Rican community. In addition, physical
facilities had to be provided. The unit laid out courts,
repaired equipment, and had lights installed for night
play. An old paint and carpenter shop was converted
into a clubroom, and a storeroom was constructed. The
"Castailer Newsletter, I, 14 (March 16, 1945). page S ff.
Castanet 341
major game activities included softball, volleyball, ping
pong, badminton, and basketball. A further develop-
ment that gave promise of contributing to the life of the
community was the organization of a club for boys from
twelve to sixteen years old. It was through this medium
that the unit hoped to inculcate ideals into the com-
munity, "so that from the people themselves will come the
leadership to solve some of the problems of Puerto
Rico."12
Movies were a much-appreciated feature at the com-
munity center and were usually shown to capacity audi-
ences. The following excerpt from a recreation report,
though not descriptive of typical moviefare, indicates the
enthusiasm with which the movies were received.
The first evening of movies the hall was literally packed, with
about 250 persons present. Since that time the crowd has gradually
increased, until the rafters offer the only unoccupied space in the
building. Several peer in the many windows on both sides of the
room.
Titles of the films vary from "Saving Savages in the South Seas," a
missionary film, and "The Life Cycle of the Yellow Fever Mosquito,"
to "Construction of a Dirigible." In spite of a few seemingly unin-
teresting subjects, the people appreciate them immensely and con-
stantly harry the recreational director with "Hay peliculas por la
nocheV* (Is there a movie tonight?). Through the suggestion of
some of the people, a collection is taken each night .... Every-
one seems to have at least a penny to contribute. ... we feel that
perhaps the people will have a little more appreciation ... if they
can share at least a token burden of the expense.13
The community center also included a small public
library of literature in Spanish, built around a loan of
books from the Carnegie library in San Juan. This, too,
"Ibid., I, 15 (April 6, 1943). page 1.
**Ibid., page 1.
342 Pathways of Peace
was much appreciated by the residents of the area. Other
noteworthy services included the use of the center for
local community meetings, and the beginning made
toward the development of a more formal education
program with a class in first aid.
Expansion
New Projects
By summer, 1943, the work at Castaner was well estab-
lished and the first steps were taken toward expansion.
The Brethren previously had invited the Mennonites
and the Friends to join them in the Puerto Rico venture
by assuming responsibility for similar PRRA projects
in other areas of the island. Both Mennonites and Friends
had accepted and were assigned to La Plata and Zalduondo
respectively. Later the Friends also undertook work at
St. Just.
Expansion in another direction came with the assign-
ment of men to work in the Virgin Islands, the Brethren
to St. Thomas and the Friends to St. Croix. These units
were organized differently from the Castaner project,
however. Here the workers became regular staff mem-
bers of the municipal government under the supervision
of the heads of the various departments to which they
were detailed. At one time the St. Thomas unit included
a recreation worker in the Division of Public Play-
grounds, a male nurse for psychiatric patients in the
Department of Health, an instructor of vocational train-
ing and manual arts in the Department of Education, a
social worker (non-CPS) and a cook-housekeeper for the
unit. St. Thomas opened in January of 1944 with the
arrival of Howard Gustafson, the assignee director. By
Castanet 343
April of 1946 the unit had been reduced to one man by
reason of demobilization.
Yet another phase of the Brumbaugh unit work con-
cerned the assignment of men to various branches of the
Insular and Federal government in Puerto Rico. Such
men were specialists in their fields and included an epi-
demiologist, a tax expert, a city planner, three archi-
tects, and a craftsman of artificial limbs. As in the
Virgin Islands, the men worked directly under the super-
vision of the heads of the departments to which they were
assigned. All were located in the San Juan area.
The Total Brumbaugh Unit
With these new units in operation the Martin G.
Brumbaugh Reconstruction Unit comprised several proj-
ects— Castaner, La Plata, Zalduondo, and St. Just; St.
Thomas and St. Croix; and the special assignments to
San Juan— all united under a central administration, yet
each retaining a large degree of local autonomy. The un-
dertaking originally centered at Castaner thus became
a co-operative enterprise of the historic peace churches
under the general administration of the Brethren Service
Committee.14
Central Administration
Over-all co-ordination of the program came from two
sources. In the United States, the Brethren Service Com-
14The history of the projects of the Friends and the Mennonites is beyond the
scope of this study. Thus, though very important in themselves, these projects
are mentioned only as they touch upon the history of the Brethren projects.
Suffice it to say that all the units presented points of likeness and points of dif-
ference. Each group dealt with the same agencies, met many of the same prob-
lems, and fashioned its program after the common ideal of medical and social
service. At the same time, however, each group developed the work within the
lines of its own peculiar genius.
344 Pathways of Peace
mittee was responsible for general supervision. This in-
volved matters of relationship to the National Service
Board, Selective Service and other government agencies,
and problems of shipping and transportation. They were
assisted by an advisory committee, composed of a Breth-
ren, a Friend, and a Mennonite, that met to determine
broad general policy and to give counsel and advice. The
advisory committee also confirmed the appointment of
a general director by the Brethren Service Committee.
Brethren who supervised the administration of the pro-
gram from the Elgin office were L. S. Brubaker, M. R.
Zigler, and W. Harold Row.
In Puerto Rico the administration of the total pro-
gram was the responsibility of the general director, Rufus
B. King. Such functions as the relations of the Brum-
baugh unit with PRRA and other agencies on the island,
the co-ordination of the work of the local projects to
the general aims, and the filing of reports were admin-
istered through his office in the San Juan area. He was
assisted by an administrative council composed of the
local directors and himself. This council also provided
for a united program of publicity. King began his work
as general director in the summer of 1943.
Local Administration
The development of each project within this over-all
plan was directed largely by its own staff. Local authori-
ties were dealt with by the separate groups as was nece*
sary unless the matter involved affected the total Brum-
baugh unit. In affairs of finance the Brethren were re-
sponsible for Castaner, the Friends for Zalduondo and
St. Just, and the Mennonites for La Plata. Each group
Castanet 345
selected its own personnel and assigned them to their
tasks. For other matters of local import, there was no
reference to the central administration. Each local proj-
ect also had a director of its own. At Castaner the men
holding this position during the period when the unit
was primarily a CPS project were David Blickenstaff,
Dr. Daryl M. Parker, Rufus B. King, and Herman Will,
Jr.
Continued Growth of Castaner
Before the spring and summer of 1943 additional CPS
men arrived at Castaner. The original group had num-
bered eleven. By April this was increased to fourteen,
and by August to eighteen. In July of 1944 the group
numbered twenty-five. From that time on the total hov-
ered around this figure until, in the winter of 1945-46,
it was much reduced by reason of demobilization.15 In
addition to the CPS men, several other continentals served
in the program, including the medical doctors, the nurses,
and others with professional training. Many of the women
who assisted were the wives of unit members. Native
Puerto Ricans were employed also to help with the work.
Thus the total personnel at the Castaner project num-
bered around sixty.
Additional workers meant that the program could be
expanded. Coupled with this increase was the fact that
much of the preparatory work had been completed in
many areas of need. Now that the hospital had been built,
and many of the other structures and facilities of the
community center renovated, the personnel were free
"It is Interesting to note that several assignees remained in Puerto Rico after
being discharged from CPS. At least seven men continued to live and work on
the island, or returned later, for an appreciable length of time.
346 Pathways of Peace
to devote more of their time to the work at hand. From
the summer of 1943 the activities of the unit gradually
increased in scope and intensity. The newer emphases
were especially applied in the fields of public health and
community services, although the development of the
hospital and medical dispensaries was in no way
diminished.
The Hospital
From the summer of 1943 until the close of the pro-
gram as a CPS venture16 (and even to the present) the
work of the hospital continued on in much the same
manner as before. The doctors and the nurses in charge
were trained and skilled personnel and maintained high
standards of practice in their work. Except that there
were diseases and problems peculiar to the Castaner lo-
cale, much the same round of events took place as in
other small hospitals. There children were born, opera-
tions performed, and death encountered. There many
of the common diseases were treated and fractured bones
were mended. The service rendered became so vital and
outstanding that the Insular Legislature, in the 1945
session, approved a Health Department budget item call-
ing for approximately twenty thousand dollars to be used
toward the expenses of operation.17 As an experiment
in rural medical care, the hospital was a decided success.
18The winter of 1945-46 may be taken as the period during which the unit
ceased to be primarily a CPS project, and shifted to its present basis. Prior to
that time the continental personnel were almost wholly CPS men, the exceptions
being mainly the doctors and the women nurses. Thus, in October of 1945, of
approximately thirty continentals at Castaner, twenty-four were assignees. By
January of 1946, however, half this group had been discharged. In the months
following, CPS men were a numerical minority. The last assignee was dis-
charged March 29, 1947.
"The same was voted for the La Plata Hospital. There was no hospital at
Zalduondo or St. Just.
Castanet 347
Table 14
Castaner Hospital Statistics18
1943 1944 1945
July-Sept. Oct.-Dec. Jan.-June July-Dec.
Beds available for use .... 25 *25 *25 *25 *26
Per cent of occupancy .... 73 58 60.5 66 63.5
Total patients admitted .. 251 290 593 654 1,138
In-patient days 1,717 1,758 3,634 4,022 7,666
Average stay in hospital .. 6.8 6.1 6.1 6.2 6.8
Highest hospital census ..25 31 32
Lowest hospital census .... 8 7 9
Average hospital census .. 18.5 19.2 20 21.7 21
Operations 306 309 683 769 646
• Plus eight nursery
Rural Clinics
It has been noted that in February of 1943 a medical
dispensary was initiated at Rio Prieto. In 1944 two ad-
ditional dispensaries were established along a similar
pattern in other outlying rural areas. The first opened
at Yahuecas in the forepart of the year, and served until
July of 1945. There the chief emphasis was upon ma-
ternal and infant hygiene. The second opened at Mirasol
in December, and provided general medical care to the
people of that area. At Castaner, also, there was a dis-
pensary, used to supplement the work of the hospital.19
In addition to general medical service, the Castaner dis-
"These statistics are taken from: the quarterly reports of Castaner for July-
September, and October— December, 1943, page 2 in each report; the first semi-
annual report of Castaner, January— June, 1944. page 3; the second semiannual
report of Castaner, July— December, 1944, page 3; and the annual report of
Castaner for 1945. page 3. The figure indicating the number of "operations" for
the year 1945 was compiled on a different basis than in the preceding years.
*»A technical distinction among the several dispensaries should be noted. Those
of Yahuecas and Castaner were regularly established clinics of the Insular De-
partment of Health, in which the unit co-operated by furnishing personnel.
Those of Rio Prieto and Mirasol were established by the unit and the local
residents apart from the Department of Health.
348 Pathways of Peace
pensary conducted special clinics in maternal and infant
hygiene and control of venereal disease.
Public Health
In 1944 additional personnel made it possible to enlarge
the public health program. The work was expanded
gradually to include public school visitations, home vis-
itations, health education, milk stations for children, fur-
ther immunizations against common diseases, hookworm
control, and a tuberculosis survey.20
At the public schools several health measures were in-
itiated. Included were general physical examinations for
the children, hearing and vision tests, a test for diphthe-
ria, and a test for tuberculosis. The unit members also
inoculated the children against smallpox, diphtheria and
typhoid and treated them for hookworm.
Home visitations were made as a follow-up from clinic
and hospital experiences, and from the registrations at
the infant milk feeding station. A census of the area,
taken by unit members, further assisted in this work.
Since so many of the health problems of the people could
be traced directly to poor health practices in the home,
this work was quite valuable.
To aid in the problem of nutrition the unit assisted in
the establishment of two milk stations, one at Castafier,
and one at Rio Prieto. These were operated in conjunc-
tion with the milk station committee of the Office of Civil-
ian Defense. Here children from three to seventeen years
"An additional emergency service was rendered by the Brumbaugh unit to
victims of a disastrous fire in the town of Lares. Three assignees, one of whom
(Stanley Harbison) was from the Castafier project, assisted in directing the oper-
ation of a tent camp for approximately four hundred people. They helped to
raise health standards and sanitary practices, and to initiate precautions against
epidemics. Their services were greatly needed and were much appreciated.
Castaner 349
of age were free to come for milk and other supplemental
foods. Average daily attendance for the two reached one
hundred forty during the second half of 1944.21
The public health program was further developed
through a program of education. For the community,
talks on various common problems of health were given
and literature was distributed. Movies and films supple-
mented this work. For the unit members, a training pro-
gram was inaugurated consisting of individual study and
a series of lectures by United States Public Health Serv-
ice officials and the unit doctors on phases of public health
practice. Three members of the unit were able to spend
short periods at the School of Tropical Medicine, at San
Juan.
Since there was a large amount of hookworm in the
area, the unit undertook a series of measures to control
the disease.22 Among them was a program aimed at pro-
viding sanitary latrines for the homes. The men recon-
structed or improved many that constituted health haz-
ards. Supplementing this work was a program of educa-
tion showing the causes of the disease and the precautions
necessary to control it. Finally, the medical dispensaries
provided treatment for those infected with the disease.
A tuberculosis survey of the residents of the immediate
area was completed in 1945. This involved the Vollmer
patch testing of almost two thousand persons, and a fol-
low up by X ray in suspected cases. The testing was ac-
companied by a community-wide educational program.
Through the dispensaries many inoculations for com-
mon diseases were provided.
^Second semiannual report of Castaner, July— December, 1944, page 4.
^See page 274 for additional information about hookworm.
350 Pathways of Peace
The Community Center
Some indication has been given already of the activities
of the community center, especially as they developed
during the early months of the program. The work in
the period following the expansion of the unit grew upon
these first foundations and included recreational activities
in the form of athletics, games, clubs, dramatics, crafts,
movies, and social events; classes open to the community;
a women's embroidery industry; a public library; pro-
vision for community meetings; and other such enter-
prises. The facilities to carry out this program included:
... a meeting and game room capable of handling 300 persons;
a library; girls' sewing and club room; boys' club room; craft shop;
softball field; a lighted concrete court containing basketball, volley-
ball, badminton, tennis, and shuffleboard lay-outs; a small grass field
containing swings, teeter-totters, training bars, and an overhead lad-
der .... Sanitary facilities include modern inside toilets and a
shower room for community use.23
The facilities mentioned indicate the types of games
played at the center. For those who desired a formal
program, regular volleyball and softball teams were or-
ganized and leagues set up. For others, participation was
more informal and unscheduled. Several field days were
held, to which neighboring communities were invited.
These included a whole round of games with the visitors
as well as informal friendly fellowship. The larger aims
of the athletic program were to develop: " (1) a spirit of
sportsmanship and team play; (2) physical growth and
muscular skills; (3) a creative leisure time activity for
the young people of the community."24
"Annual report of Castafier for 1945, page 4.
••Quarterly report of Castafier, April— June. 1944, page 8.
Castaner 351
Several clubs were organized at the center, for both
girls and boys. These provided wholesome group associa-
tions and opportunity to teach the "foundations of demo-
cratic living." In the older girls' clubs the activities in-
cluded: "sewing, embroidering, crocheting, native hand-
craft, English and classes on child care."25 In the younger
girls' groups, "handwork such as drawing, coloring, cut-
ting, glueing, making of puppets, singing, low organiza-
tion games, stories, native handcraft and music apprecia-
tion"26 were the main interests. The boys played soft-
ball and other group games, learned carpentry and hand-
crafts, and enjoyed hikes together. The club program was
a very important part of the larger program of the com-
munity center.
Among the newer activities was the organization of a
boys' summer camp in co-operation with the La Plata
and Zalduondo units. The support for this project came
from three sources: from the boys themselves; from dona-
tions by groups and individuals in the States; and from a
fund raised by the community. The "purpose of the camp
was to give the boys of rural Puerto Rico a chance to
experience a week of intensified training in group living,
and to instill in them some ideas of purposeful living."27
The youths chosen for the training were from those who
participated in the community center activities. The
Y.M.C.A. of Puerto Rico loaned their camp site to the
Brumbaugh unit for the occasion.
The movies, the public library, and the use of the cen-
ter for social and business meetings have been mentioned
KIbid., page 10.
»Ibid.
"Castaner Newsletter, III, 11 (August 1, 1945), page 3. The fint camp was
held in 1944. Each year since, a similar camp has been held.
352 Pathways of Peace
in previous pages. Two of the social events developed
were particularly outstanding. One of these was the an-
nual Christmas party sponsored by the unit for the chil-
dren of the area. Gifts, most of which were made pos-
sible by friends in the United States, were distributed
to the three hundred to five hundred children attending.
A program of games and entertainment was featured also.
A second annual event was a carnival held in the
spring to raise money for the club work and for the boys'
camp. This was a popular undertaking, and was sup-
ported with enthusiasm by the whole community. Among
the various attractions of the day were a queen contest,
a velada or program of entertainment featuring the
crowning of the queen, and a variety of booths. The en-
tertainment was provided largely through the efforts of
the club groups.
Education for the Puerto Rican community was an-
other important phase of the extensive work undertaken
by those assisting in the center. Instruction was offered
in several subjects. First aid, English, music, woodshop,
home nursing, junior home nursing, and sewing were
some of the interests developed. An extension of edu-
cational services was inaugurated by a group within the
unit which undertook to provide means for Puerto Rican
young people to come to the United States for study. At
least six students were brought to the mainland as a result
of such efforts.
The unit hoped through the many activities of the
center to develop local leadership and to create a feeling
of community among the inhabitants so that they might
come to take the initiative in solving their problems.
Castanet 353
Maintenance and Construction
A consideration of the program at Castaner would not
be complete without special mention of the great amount
of maintenance and construction work performed by the
unit. Perhaps the largest single achievement in this field
was the building of the hospital. Yet this was but one
operation of many. In almost every undertaking the
first step was the repair and renovation of equipment and
quarters. The assignees were particularly ingenious in
remodeling and repairing old equipment and in devising
needed apparatus from such materials as were at hand.
It should be noted also that the preparation of meals and
the operation of the laundry for the hospital and unit
were in themselves large tasks. For example, during 1944,
the kitchen served over sixty-two thousand meals,28 and
in 1945 the laundry washed over seventy-nine thousand
pounds of linen and clothing.29
Technical Agencies
Although the bulk of the program at Castaner was
carried on in conjunction with the Puerto Rico Recon-
struction Administration, official relations were estab-
lished by the unit with several other agencies. Chief
among these was the Insular Department of Health. This
department supplemented the services of the doctors
and other unit personnel in the hospital and medical dis-
pensaries by contributing the use of an ambulance, some
medicines and supplies, and pay for certain types of
cases and services. Their greatest contribution was the
above-mentioned allotment of twenty thousand dollars
"First and second semiannual reports of Castaner, January— June and July-
December of 1944, page 5 of each report.
"Annual report of Castaner for 1945, page 6.
354 Pathways of Peace
per year.30 This subsidy was begun in 1945 and is still
operative.
Other groups with whom the unit worked included:
the United States Public Health Service, the Farm Secu-
rity Administration, the Insular Department of Educa-
tion, the Insular Sports Commission, the Insular Child
Feeding Program, the Insular Agriculture Extension
Service, the School of Tropical Medicine of San Juan,
the Y.M.C.A. and the Red Cross. The Farm Security Ad-
ministration was the agency through which the Brethren
distributed their first shipment of "heifers for relief." In
Puerto Rico, General Director King planned the neces-
sary arrangements with this government office; and as
a result, approximately fifty dairy heifers were appor-
tioned to low-income farmers. A second shipment of twen-
ty-five animals was distributed through the PRRA.
Support of Castaner
The financial support of Castaner has been the responsi-
bility of the Brethren Service Committee. Although their
obligations have been met chiefly from their own funds,
substantial assistance has been rendered by island groups
and individuals. The contributions of the Insular De-
partment of Health have been noted previously. From
the Puerto Rico Reconstruction Agency came the use
of buildings, materials for their renovation and mainte-
nance, some equipment and supplies, water, and, for a
limited time, electricity. Other agencies assisted also,
mainly with supplies and equipment. To a limited extent,
local municipalities paid cash sums in appreciation of the
services. And finally, many persons of the area helped as
•°Page S46 above.
Castanet 355
they could, through small donations in cash or kind. At
the same time, friends of unit members sent gifts to the
project from the United States.
Recognition of the Unit Work
The reception of the unit by the islanders was cordial
and friendly, and little marred by the fact that the ma-
jority of the personnel were conscientious objectors to
war. Through hard work and high professional achieve-
ment, the workers won the respect of those with whom
they came in contact— government officials and civic lead-
ers of the island, as well as the local Puerto Ricans whom
they were serving. Evidence of appreciation came in
many ways— often in the form of gifts. These ranged from
small sums to a fifty-bed Red Cross field unit, valued at
several thousand dollars. The response of the islanders
to the unit work was well described in the Castaner
newsletter:
We came to Puerto Rico half expecting a cold, hostile attitude
toward us because of our position as C.O.'s. And from a people
eking out a bare existence we anticipated little more than appeals
for help, medical or otherwise.
To our surprise things have turned out just the reverse. Frequently
appreciative neighbors or hospital patients make us presents of one
sort or another. Many times after toiling long hours on some phase
of hospital work, we hear a knock at the door, and a timid hand
offers a bag of oranges or a dozen eggs, and then we know our work
has been truly appreciated ... .31
Recognition of the contribution of the Brumbaugh
unit was made by Oswald Garrison Villard, following his
visit to Puerto Rico in March 1944. At that time the
nationally known journalist and for many years publisher
KCastaAer Newsletter, I, 17 (May 18, 1943), page 3.
356 Pathways of Peace
and editor of The Nation and The New York Evening
Post, spent several weeks making a study of the current
state of Puerto Rico's problems. Writing in The Chris-
tian Century, he discussed efforts being made to improve
island conditions. Of the Brumbaugh Reconstruction
Unit, he said:
Of all these enterprises the Castaner project ... is perhaps the
most interesting because of the very fine work being done there by
the Martin G. Brumbaugh Reconstruction Unit and the Reconstruc-
tion Administration with the cooperation of the national Selective
Service and the insular health department.
It was my privilege to spend a day with this American reconstruc-
tion group at Castaner, and I can hardly exaggerate the impression
. . . upon me as I saw this splendid group ... at work in this up-
lifting labor, this constructive adventure in human relations, when
nearly all . . . the world is devoting itself to destruction and mass
murder. ... If this does not become the ideal reconstruction un-
dertaking in all Puerto Rico I shall be surprised— indeed I think it is
that now. It is Christian fellowship at its best.32
Unit Life
At Castaner there was not a sharp division between
the work project and other aspects of unit life. The ener-
gies and interests of the men were almost wholly absorbed
by the program and became integrated around this center.
More than in most CPS units there was built up a com-
munity of interests that found expression in the service
rendered. The history of the educational endeavors of
the men reflect this spirit. Almost all their study was
directly related to the problems they were facing by
reason of their being at Castaner, and included such sub-
jects as first aid, history and social problems of Puerto
"Oswald Garrison Villard, "What Hope in Puerto Rico?" Christian Century,
May 10. 1944. page 591 ff.
Castanet 357
Rico, public health, hospital procedures, and Spanish.38
In the early months of unit life, the group worshiped
together in Sunday evening meetings. Daily devotions
were on a personal basis. Beginning in the spring of 1943,
however, particular emphasis was given to a daily period
of group worship in the early morning. Each week a
different leader was in charge of the morning devotions.
Other services which were held regularly were Sunday
school and Sunday evening vespers. Some unit members
took an interest in the local Puerto Rican services in
Spanish which were held weekly in the chapel of the
Castaner project. In addition to these specific aspects
of the unit religious life, the entire service of the men
in the project might be viewed as religious in nature, for
the motivation behind their work was primarily a spir-
itual concern for the underprivileged.
In a number of ways the Castaner unit experienced the
trials common to most group endeavors. For them there
were periods of discouragement when the progress of the
work seemed barely perceptible and the tasks almost in-
surmountable. Difficulties of wartime transportation and
communication, and shortages of needed supplies had to
be overcome. There was a general lack of sufficient per-
sonnel to meet all the great needs of the area. Further,
there were differences in personal views that had to be
adjusted to the larger aims of the group. Yet through
all such periods of stress there was a group loyalty and
devotion to the service under way that provided in a great
measure for the overcoming of these obstacles.
"Though individual study in Spanish was practically always in progress, a
large proportion of unit members participated in a concentrated group program
for several months in 1944. The classes, which were held five hours weekly, were
under the direction of Margarita Will, assisted by assignees, Fred Kidder and
George Furse.
358 Pathways of Peace
Personal sorrow came to the unit through the deaths
of three assignees: Elmer Hartzler, Elzie Ray Holderreed,
and I. Harvey Horner. The first two died during their
service on the island, and the latter very soon after his
return to the mainland. The graves of Hartzler and
Holderreed are in the Adjuntas municipal cemetery in
the territory in which they lived and worked.
While there was sorrow and stress for the group, there
was also joy and a sense of achievement. The reception of
the work by the islanders and the visible improvement
of the lot of the inhabitants were a source of deep con-
tent. The fellowship provided by the group associations
and the nature of the project brought to old concepts
newer meanings of human relations and service. The
spirit of Castaner was well caught by a writer in the
newsletter.
Castaner holds you in a curious sort of fascination. . . . [To
know Castaner] you need to rise in the early morning and lift your
eyes to the rose crowned mountain crests that seal you in this val-
ley—and know that there is no road back from the purpose that
brought you here. You need to watch the children, shabby and bare-
foot but proud and happy, chattering their way along the road. You
need to stop and wonder at the great loads piled on their heads.
You need to scan the jagged boundary of the horizon black against
a waning sunset and love the beauty of the tiny box-like houses and
the royal palms silhouetted against the flaming clouds. You need to
sense the warmth of the earth and find human life about you, know-
ing that in both are contained those seeds that can bear fruit for the
world's needs. You need to find the thrill of believing in people
because they are people and understand that your faith is not predi-
cated upon your knowledge of them, but upon the same divinity in
their lives which fills yours and makes you a part of them. You need
to see the eyes of the people staring questioningly at you as they
confront you with disease-infected, malnourished, worn-out bodies.
Castanet 359
You need to see the net hammock stretched from a long bamboo
pole, swinging from the shoulders of two men who bring a relative
or friend for treatment. You need to feel the aching in your heart
and wonder at the futility of what you do; when you send a freshly-
nourished child back to no milk and inadequate diet that will re-
turn him to your care again; or to bid a boy or girl good-bye, finally
free from infection, knowing that he will return to a home environ-
ment of poverty and disease; or to hand out hookworm medicine
to children already on their third and fourth treatment and send
them away their feet yet bare and exposed to the parasites you have
eliminated from their stomachs. You need to see a tenth or fifteenth
child born into a family, too poor after the first to support another,
and helplessly watch the waning capacity of the worn-out mother to
bring them up healthful and adequate for life.
And finally your head will buzz— your mind will wonder frantical-
ly, "What can be done, what can be done, why am I here?" And
some evening you will bow your head with the setting sun, thank-
ful in the knowledge that in the midst of ignorance you have
learned much; in the midst of suffering you have found great joy;
and from out of poverty you have been abundantly filled. Then
the mystery of Castaner will break over you and fill you with strange
humility and you will seek new courage for the opportunity of meet-
ing tomorrow's dawn.34
The work originally begun at Castaner as a CPS proj-
ect has been carried on in post-CPS days. There the
Brethren Service Committee35 is still sponsoring the pro-
gram of medical and social service along the same basic
lines established in the first year of the venture. At the
same time, an increased emphasis is being placed upon a
religious ministry.
"Jean Harbison. "Observation," Castaner Newsletter, I, 22 (September 1, 1943).
page 3.
"Now the Brethren Service Commission.
Part III
THE ADMINISTRATION OF BRETHREN
CIVILIAN PUBLIC SERVICE
The administrative responsibilities of the Brethren
CPS program were divided between several different
groups and agencies. Among these were the various of-
fices and boards of the Selective Service System; the
various peace-group participants, including the National
Service Board for Religious Objectors, the Brethren
Service Committee, and the IV -E assignees; and the sev-
eral technical or using agencies. In the foregoing pages
some indication has been given of the interrelationships
of these groups and their respective areas of responsi-
bility. This is especially true of the functioning of the
peace groups and of the technical agencies in the local
work units. The chapters following are especially con-
cerned with the administrative procedures and relation-
ships developed between Selective Service and the peace
groups, and with the manner in which the national CPS
office of the Brethren Service Committee functioned.
CHAPTER 12
The Church Agencies and Selective Service
Broadly viewed, the Civilian Public Service program
represented an effort of church and state agencies to work
together in meeting a situation involving fundamental
interests of both groups. By legal enactment, the final
authority for the establishment and administration of
the program had been vested in the president of the
United States, who, in turn, had delegated his authority
to the director of Selective Service. The director, in
turn, while retaining authority for over-all supervision,
had delegated responsibilities for the administration of
certain phases of the program to other governmental
agencies, and to the National Service Board for Religious
Objectors, an agency created by religious groups con-
cerned with the problem of conscientious objection to
war. While in some areas of activity the working agree-
ment established provided for a division of responsibilities
that seemed quite clear, in others the line of demarcation
was not so apparent. In the material following, an ac-
count is given of the origin and nature of the working
agreement and the respective functions and duties as-
sumed by the church and state groups.
Origins of the Church-State Agreement
The relationships developed between Selective Service
364 Pathways of Peace
and the peace-group sponsors of CPS may be traced to
the activities of the latter groups in Washington, D. C,
in the summer and fall of 1940. At that time a national
draft law was being considered by Congress, and, as previ-
ously indicated,1 the historic peace churches and others
were actively engaged in securing Congressional recogni-
tion of conscientious objection to war. The original
draft of the bill before Congress had provided for con-
scientious objection to military service in the following
manner:
Nothing contained in this Act shall be construed to require or
compel any person to be subject to training or service in a com-
batant capacity in the land and naval forces of the United States
who is found to be a member of any well recognized religious sect
whose creed or principles forbid its members to participate in war in
any form . . . but no such person shall be relieved from training
or service in such capacity as the President may declare to be non-
combatant.2
In Washington, as the draft act was being deliberated,
the concerned peace groups were seeking to extend this
limited recognition of conscience to include more liberal
provisions. Specifically, they urged: (a) the exemption
of conscientious objectors from noncombatant service as
well as from combatant service, (b) consideration of the
individual conscience without reference to church mem-
bership or affiliation, (c) recognition of conscience on
the grounds of belief alone as well as on the grounds of
"religious training and belief," (d) supervision of con-
scientious objectors by civilian rather than military per-
sonnel, and (e) complete exemption for the "absolut-
*Page 41 above.
•Section 7(d) of the original Burke-Wadsworth bill, S.4164. introduced in the
Senate on June 20. 1940.
The Church Agencies and Selective Service 365
ists."3 The bill finally approved by Congress included
some of these features. As adopted in September, the law
provided:
Nothing contained in this act shall be construed to require any
person to be subject to combatant training and service in the land
or naval forces of the United States who, by reason of religious train-
ing and belief, is conscientiously opposed to participation in war in
any form. Any such person claiming such exemption from com-
batant training and service because of such conscientious objections
whose claim is sustained by the local [draft] board shall ... be as-
signed to noncombatant service as defined by the President, or
shall, if he is found to be conscientiously opposed to participation
in such noncombatant service, in lieu of such induction, be assigned
to work of national importance under civilian direction.4
This same law authorized the president to "prescribe
the necessary rules and regulations to carry out the pro-
visions"5 of the act, and to "create and establish a Se-
lective Service System."6 The president was further au-
thorized to "delegate . . . authority vested in him under
this Act, to such officers, agents, or persons as he may
designate."7
Following the passage of the law in September, the
peace groups concerned themselves with the procedures
by which the terms of the act were to be put into effect.
Their concern arose both from a general feeling on the
matter as an issue of religious significance, involving the
relation of the church to the state, and from the fact that
*For more detailed accounts see: E. Raymond Wilson, Some Notes on the Evo-
lution of the Provisions for Conscientious Objectors in the Selective Training and
Service Act of 1940, January 27. 1943 (a mimeographed bulletin. 11 pages); and,
Congress Looks at the Conscientious Objector (Washington: NSBRO, 1943). pages
4-31.
♦Section 5(g) of the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940.
''Ibid., section 10(a) (1).
•Ibid., section 10(a) (2).
ilbid., section 10(b).
366 Pathways of Peace
on the basis of experience in the First World War, they
expected many of their members of draft status to be af-
fected by the provision for conscientious objection. The
thought of the Brethren at this time was recounted by
M. R. Zigler, a Brethren leader active in the negotiations.
When the Selective Training and Service Act was enacted in 1940,
the Church of the Brethren had to face again the problem of rela-
tionship of church and state, as did the early founders of the church
in 1708. It was clear that the majority of the citizens of our American
commonwealth desired to enter the world conflict by military meth-
ods. It was clearly the belief of the Brethren that the energy of love
had not been utilized in trying to settle the relationship between the
United States and the other nations of the earth. While war had
not yet been declared, the whole atmosphere of the time made war
seem imminent.
Civilian Public Service was chosen as a method of separation of
church and state. It was said that if the church and state should be
separated, while the state went on the errand of war, there ought to
be a service of citizenship creative in nature— a sample of what the
whole world ought to do— in order to have the good life established.
It was felt that the world needed reforestation and soil conservation,
and there ought to be also redemptive projects such as working in
hospitals and doing relief work.
The design was to portray a new way of citizenship. Brethren
hoped to exemplify a constructive way of peace, in contrast to the
way of war endorsed by the government. It was also thought that in
order to separate the church from the state as clearly as possible, the
church, because it promoted this idea of living, should pay for the
program as a contribution and a testimony in which both the men
who chose Civilian Public Service and the constituency of the church
would participate and thus relieve the state as much as possible of
the financial obligation. The idea here was that it was an example of
not taxing the people for conscientious objectors which in turn
should be applied when the taxation for military purposes is levied
against those who sincerely feel that war is the wrong method of
settling disputes between individuals and nations. The whole proj-
The Church Agencies and Selective Service 367
ect was born, as far as Brethren are concerned, in the idea of cre-
ative citizenship.
It was very clear that the majority of the people in the United
States wanted to draft every young man for service. Civilian Public
Service was considered as a choice after registration. It was hoped
that the program of doing good in the time of war might gradually,
over a long period of time, become a recognized way of nations to
win the peace and to keep it.8
To co-ordinate and facilitate their approach to govern-
ment officials and the conscientious objector problem,
the Brethren, with the Friends and the Mennonites,
formed in October 1940 a National Council for Religious
Conscientious Objectors. By November the Fellowship
of Reconciliation had joined the council as a member of
the board of directors, and the Methodists, the Disciples
of Christ, and the Federal Council of the Churches of
Christ in America were co-operating in a consultative
capacity. In the same month the name of the organiza-
tion was changed to the National Service Board for
Religious Objectors. Meanwhile, members of this group
had been meeting with government officials to discuss
the manner in which a program of work of national im-
portance might be administered.9 As a result, the govern-
ment offered to delegate a share of the administration
of the emerging program to the National Service Board,
on the condition that the board would undertake to
finance and administer certain phases of the program for
all conscientious objectors. On December 12 the National
Service Board, then composed of representatives of the
Brethren, the Friends, the Mennonites, and the Fellow-
ship of Reconciliation, agreed to this proposal. The
•From a statement furnished the author by M. R. Zigler, March 22, 1948.
"Page 42 above.
368 Pathways of Peace
director of Selective Service, Clarence A. Dykstra, sub-
mitted a memorandum of the agreement to President
Roosevelt, who approved it on December 19. Basically,
this agreement provided for the three-way division of
responsibilities between Selective Service, the technical
agency, and the National Service Board, that characterized
the CPS program throughout the period of operation.
In February 1941 an executive order of the president
officially authorized the director of Selective Service to
"establish, designate, or determine work of national im-
portance under civilian direction"10 to which consci-
entious objectors might be assigned. The director was
also authorized to determine the agencies in co-operation
with whom the program might be developed, and to
prescribe such rules and regulations as might be necessary
to carry out the program.
Thus, by the spring of 1941 the main outlines of an
alternative service program were established. The basic
legal authority for the plan lay in the Selective Training
and Service Act of 1940. By executive order the president
had delegated the powers and responsibilities granted
him by that act to the director of Selective Service. The
director, in turn, had delegated certain responsibilities to
the National Service Board and to the co-operating tech-
nical agencies.
The Working Agreement
Under the agreement established between Selective
Service and the participating groups in 1941, the most
clear-cut delegation of responsibility was to the technical
agencies. To them was given the supervision of the work
10The text of this order may be found in the Appendix.
The Church Agencies and Selective Service 369
projects to which the conscientious objectors were as-
signed. At that time the co-operating technical groups
were the Forest Service, the Soil Conservation Service, and
the National Park Service, of the Federal government.
These agencies had work projects requiring large num-
bers of men, many of them unfinished programs first
begun by the Civilian Conservation Corps. These groups
also had supervisory personnel trained in the line of work
under consideration, as well as tools and other necessary
equipment for the job. At the same time the abandoned
CCC camp buildings located at the site of the work pro-
vided convenient living quarters for the assignees.
In the camp routine the technical agency was responsi-
ble for planning and supervising the total work program.
Specifically, it was responsible for determining what
tasks were to be done, how they were to be done, and
the number of men to be assigned to each task from the
quota available in the camp.
The delegated responsibilities of the National Service
Board included several areas of function, some of which
were quite definite in boundary, and some of which were
not. The memorandum of understanding of December
19 had defined the areas only very briefly.
[The National Service Board for Religious Objectors] has agreed
for a temporary period to undertake the task of financing and fur-
nishing all other [beyond the work project] necessary parts of the
program, including actual day-to-day supervision and control of the
camps (under such rules and regulations and administrative super-
vision as is laid down by Selective Service), to supply subsistence,
necessary buildings, hospital care, and generally all things necessary
for the care and maintenance of the men. Admittance to these camps
will not be dependent on membership in the particular church
groups undertaking this work.
370 Pathways of Peace
Should it develop that the church groups cannot permanently
meet the considerable financial outlay, or that difficulties develop in
the program here outlined, the Government could at any time modi-
fy the program or take it over in its entirety.11
In April 1941 the responsibilities of the National Serv-
ice Board were defined in a manual issued by Selective
Service as including the following functions:
The National Service Board for Religious Objectors, through its
camp director, is responsible for the maintenance of the camp and its
environs in accordance with standards acceptable to the govern-
mental agency involved; maintenance of discipline; recreation, edu-
cation, health and camp life of the assignee ... .12
Several points may be noted in these statements. In
the first place, the religious groups, through the National
Service Board for Religious Objectors, were thus bound
to pay most of the major costs of operating the camps.
They assumed responsibility for furnishing the necessary
food, clothing, and medical care for the assignees. The
costs of fuel and utilities, of certain aspects of the repair
and maintenance of the buildings, and the securance of
such equipment as could not be borrowed from the gov-
ernment, were also their responsibility. They likewise
bore the administrative costs of the program, including
office expenses and salaries for such personnel as were paid
(except technical agency personnel), and the expenses of
the religious, educational, and recreational activities spon-
sored in the units.
Taken together, these costs involved an outlay of many
thousands of dollars13 and represented a large expense
"Memorandum of Clarence A. Dykstra to the president. See the Appendix for
the full text.
"L-Camp Regulations (Washington: Selective Service System, April 11, 1941),
page 4.
"'Chapter 14 deals with the financial aspects of the program in some detail.
The Church Agencies and Selective Service 371
to the small denominations underwriting the program.
In the final analysis, the historic peace churches and the
other groups co-operating were willing to assume these
financial responsibilities because they felt the goals they
were seeking could be best achieved by their sharing in
the direct management of the program; and in their
negotiations with the government it seemed that such a
share could be obtained only through the assumption of
such liabilities.14 At the same time the church groups
were eager to provide a witness against war and they felt
that their payment for the program would contribute
materially to such a witness. Paul Comly French, the ex-
ecutive secretary of the National Service Board and one
of the central figures in the negotiations with the govern-
ment, spoke of the decision to assume financial support in
this manner:
Many times during the past two years I have heard the question
raised as to why religious pacifists assumed such a responsibility in
agreeing to finance . . . Civilian Public Service .... Some who
have felt deeply about the problem have been motivated by a desire
to see the Government assume the responsibility from a political
point of view because they believe that a democratic government
should participate in an increasingly larger field of citizen relation-
ship; others, however, have questioned the wisdom of the present
program on the grounds that money is being used which might be
better expended on pacifist action and educational programs.
I think that there can be little disagreement with anyone who
feels that the logic of the situation places a responsibility on the
Government to support conscientious objectors after having drafted
them for service.
That approach, it seems to me, is purely political and legal-
istic ... . I do not believe that any sizable number of persons
would ever come to understand our religious conviction that war is
14Page 45 above.
372 Pathways of Peace
wrong . . . merely because the Government financed a program for
conscientious objectors.
. . . when we decided ... [to finance CPS] we were not think-
ing in terms of legalisms, but rather of fundamental Christian ethics.
It was based on the belief that if a man asked you to walk a mile
with him, you would willingly agree to walk the second mile.
Civilian Public Service was conceived as a way of giving the state-
community the service which it asked . . . and then going beyond
that and paying for the privilege of serving. I think that most of
the people who participated in the decision to accept the responsi-
bility felt that it would give them an opportunity to prepare men
for the tasks that would come with the ending of the war and the re-
construction period that would face us at home and abroad. . . .
What I have said may be an over-simplification, yet I am satisfied
that the fact that people believe in a thing sufficiently to pay for it
has worth in making our testimony clear in a society in which ma-
terial things are predominant and the basis on which values are
judged.15
A second point to be noted regarding the agreement
between the National Service Board and Selective Service
was the recognition that the program proposed was tenta-
tive in nature and subject to future modification. Either
or both parties might request changes in the basic re-
lationship. The agreement also provided for a first trial
period of operations, after which both might consider
wrhether or not the relationship should be continued.
A third point of significance was the delegation of
responsibility for the off-duty hours of the assignees to
the National Service Board for Religious Objectors. To
the peace-group sponsors this was a very important part
of the agreement for, as noted elsewhere in this history,
they hoped to develop within the camps communities
18Paul Comly French. Civilian Public Service (Washington: NSBRO, Miy 1943).
page 3 ff.
The Church Agencies and Selective Service 373
through which the peace belief might be conserved and
extended. They planned extensive programs of educa-
tion and training, and of religious living, expecting that
from the camps would come leaders trained and dis-
ciplined to take part in the building of a new type of
society based on ideals of peace. Necessary to this develop-
ment, however, was the freedom to sponsor programs for
the off-duty hours.
The delegation of the function of discipline to the
National Service Board may be noted also, as well as
the responsibility to provide for all men classified IV-E,
regardless of whether or not they were members of the
constituent agencies of the board. The former function
was significant in the relationship, for, after the program
was under way, one of the points of disagreement between
Selective Service and the National Service Board centered
around the diverse concepts of discipline held by each.
The acceptance of all IV-E's into church-administered
camps was significant for it meant that the conscientious
objector communities would contain a very heterogeneous
population, with all the chances for failure and success
presented by such a situation.
The areas of responsibility retained within the Selective
Service System included the classification of the consci-
entious objector registrants, the processing of appeals by
registrants, their assignment to work of national impor-
tance, their transfer between projects, and their discharge
at the end of the service period. The official designation
of the projects of work to which conscientious objectors
might be assigned was likewise the responsibility of Se-
lective Service, as was also the over-all control and super-
vision of the alternative service program.
374 Pathways of Peace
The initial step of classifying the conscientious ob-
jector registrant was made by the local draft board of
the Selective Service System. The regulations provided
that:
In Class IV-E shall be placed every registrant who would have been
classified in Class I-A but for the fact that he has been found, by
reason of religious training and belief, to be conscientiously op-
posed to participation in war in any form and to be conscientiously
opposed to both combatant and noncombatant military service.10
The regulations further provided that each such regis-
trant be placed in class IV-E only after his eligibility for
the deferred classifications had been considered.
Registrants denied their claim of conscientious objec-
tion were accorded the right of appeal. Upon such appeal
the case was turned over to the Department of Justice for
investigation. A hearing was then held by persons espe-
cially appointed for this purpose. On the basis of the
hearing a recommendation was made to the board of
appeal. The board, however, was not bound by the rec-
ommendation. A further right of appeal to the president
of the United States was also provided. These cases were
handled by officers of Selective Service. An enlightening
summary of appeal experience is furnished by a report
of these officials for the year 1942.
The appeals of conscientious objectors have presented some of the
most troublesome as well as the most interesting questions. Here di-
vergent ideas broke sharply over that rock of contention presented
by the congressional language "religious training and belief." Local
boards and boards of appeal generally brought little sympathy to the
consideration of these cases. The tendency was to insist that con-
scientious objections be based upon certain kinds of religious experi-
ence. Many board members held the view that such objection must
^Selective Service Regulations, regulation 622. 51 (a), September 19, 1945.
The Church Agencies and Selective Service 375
arise from religious training and belief in those particular religious
organizations which make objection to war a definite part of their
creed. It was argued, for example, that a member of the Catholic
church could not possibly have a basis for conscientious objections.
Hearing officers of the Department of Justice took a somewhat
broader but still limited view in their early reports. They held gen-
erally that the conviction, while limited to no particular creed,
must nevertheless rest upon an easily recognizable religious back-
ground with the definition of religion the usual somewhat formal
concept.
After much consideration we adopted a more liberal view, based
upon a conclusion that the definitions of religion and the variety of
religious experience are so nearly infinite in number as to make
futile any attempt to say whether this or that one met the law. The
practical effect of this decision was to say that conscientious con-
victions held by a man reared in the environment of a religious
civilization and exposed, if only subjectively, to its ethical concepts,
have their roots in the same soil from which spring religious con-
victions, and furnish evidence from which may be drawn the infer-
ence that he recognizes a Deity or a power above and beyond the
human. This view has prevailed.17
Following final classification as a IV-E registrant, the
conscientious objector was assigned to one of the several
approved base camps. This assignment was determined
through a co-operative arrangement between Selective
Service and the National Service Board. In general, the
conscientious objector was allowed to choose the particu-
lar church administrative agency under which he pre-
ferred to serve.18
The transfer of assignees between units usually involved
the consent of several agencies, but the right of final au-
thorization was retained by Selective Service. Transfer
"Lewis B. Hershcy, Selective Service in Wartime (Washington: Government
Printing Office. 1943). page 258.
18In some instances, when two or more camps were equidistant from the local
board of the assignee, a choice of camps was possible.
376 Pathways of Peace
proved a troublesome problem from time to time as Selec-
tive Service, in some instances, withheld transfer approval
for reasons of discipline or ordered transfers without prior
consultation with the religious agencies.
The control of discharge procedures was also a function
retained by Selective Service. During the course of the
program various regulations provided a basis for dis-
charge by reason of overage, employment in certain speci-
fied industries, mental or physical illness, or dependency
needs. These regulations usually paralleled the discharge
standards applicable to the armed forces. Systematic de-
mobilization of the conscientious objectors was begun in
October 1945, on the basis of length of service, marital
status, and number of dependents.
Authority for the selection and designation of the work
projects to which the conscientious objectors were as-
signed, and for the quotas of men to be allocated to each,
was held by the director of Selective Service. As indi-
cated in chapter five, the initiative in the establishment
of the special projects came from the religious agencies
and the assignees, but the final consent of Selective Service
was necessary before any men could be assigned to such
units. Usually, joint discussion between representatives
of the technical agency, the National Service Board, and
Selective Service preceded the final determination of the
conditions of work and assignment.
The over-all supervisory function exercised by Selective
Service involved the regulation of several different aspects
of the Civilian Public Service program. Included were
such matters as the hours of work in the base camps; the
establishment of overhead quotas; the use of limited-
service men; the conditions of absence from camp includ-
The Church Agencies and Selective Service 377
ing furlough, liberty, and leave regulations; provision
for inoculations and vaccinations, provision of time for
the safety training and orientation programs of the tech-
nical and church agencies; restrictions on assignees living
outside officially designated quarters; provision for the
maintenance of health standards through inspections;
and provision for the maintenance and completion of
several systems of records. In addition, control of various
other matters was exercised by Selective Service.
The power of over-all supervision and control of the
program by Selective Service raised an important question
as to the nature of the authority exercised by the National
Service Board. One of the essential points involved was
the freedom of development to be granted the religious
agencies once the scope of their functioning had been de-
fined. Given certain areas of the program for which
they were to be responsible, the religious groups expected
to be free to operate within those areas according to the
techniques and methods evolved by them as nongovern-
mental, religious agencies.
A second point involved the modification of the various
areas of authority delegated to the National Service Board.
While recognizing that ultimate authority for the total
program lay with the director of Selective Service, the
religious groups felt the spirit of their agreement was that
such modification would come only after prior consulta-
tion between all parties.
Finally, in considering the nature of the original agree-
ment between Selective Service, the technical agencies,
and the National Service Board, note must be made of
the fact that no provision was made to pay the assignees
for their term of service (then thought of as for one
378 Pathways of Peace
year), or to provide compensation insurance for dis-
ability incurred while assigned to work duties. While
the religious groups expected to provide dependency as-
sistance, the specific details for such a program of aid were
not well developed in the first months of the program.
The religious groups did not press for pay in the begin-
ning of the program because at that time pay did not seem
to them to be a basic issue. Although their first proposals
had contemplated pay for certain types of projects,19 when
these proposals were turned down the question was appar-
ently closed for the time. Their chief point of emphasis
was the extension of an effective pacifist witness, and the
hardship of a lack of pay seemed to them to be offset by
the values accruing to such a witness through a service
of sacrifice. In this viewpoint, they felt, they would be
supported by many assignees. They also felt that to pe-
tition Congress for the necessary appropriation would
probably result in the cancellation by that body of the
proposed plan of operations.
The viewpoint of Selective Service at that date is not
clearly documented. There is some evidence that Presi-
dent Roosevelt was opposed to pay for conscientious ob-
jectors, and it seems likely that the government officials
were influenced by him in this regard.
Within the lines of this basic understanding the CPS
program was begun. The first camps opened in May 1941,
followed ten months later by the first special projects.
The program was operated continuously until, in March
1947, the last men were discharged from service. During
this period of operation several modifications or changes
were made in the original agreement between Selective
"Page 43 above.
The Church Agencies and Selective Service 379
Service and the National Service Board. Those that seem
most significant are outlined below.
Perhaps the greatest modification of the original plan
of administration lay in the development of the special
projects program with all the changed relationships re-
sulting therefrom. In the newer-type units the responsi-
bilities for financial support were revised radically. Gen-
erally the technical agency assumed the expenses of food,
quarters, work clothing, medical care, and incidental al-
lowances, which, in the base-camp program originally
envisaged, were responsibilities of the church groups. At
the same time a measure of the control and direction of
the unit developments passed from the hands of the
church administrative agencies. The superintendents of
the special projects, and especially of the hospitals, in-
fluenced the patterns of unit events more markedly than
did the project superintendents of the base camps. In like
manner final authority for discipline was often vested in
the technical agency of the special projects rather than
in the church sponsors.
Another deviation from the original plan of administra-
tion, also occasioned by the emergence of special projects,
was the establishment of those units in which the church
agencies were also the using or technical agencies. The
relief center projects were of this type, for there the as-
signees' duties were to work in the church relief program.
The livestock attendant project was practically on the
same basis, as were the relief training units. To a more
limited extent the Castaner project in Puerto Rico might
be considered in this category also. Projects of this type
afforded a great deal of satisfaction to both the church
agencies and the conscientious objectors, for both felt
380 Pathways of Peace
these assignments to be of great significance. Likewise,
the assistance rendered by the assignees enabled the agen-
cies to carry forward their church relief and rehabilitation
projects more readily than would have been possible
otherwise. The merging, in this class of project, of the
functions ordinarily divided between the technical agency
and the church administrative agency also eliminated
certain points of friction and overlapping of function.
A second important modification of the initial plan of
administration was the establishment of a series of govern-
ment-sponsored camps with which the church agencies
had no official connection. Since the original program had
called for the church agencies to administer all projects
for all conscientious objectors, the establishment of this
parallel system of camps marked a significant change in
pattern. In the new camps the responsibilities ordinarily
borne by the NSBRO were shifted to Selective Service
and to the technical agency.
Government camps were established by Selective Serv-
ice in response to the urgent requests of a group of as-
signees, and of other pacifist groups, particularly the Com-
mittee on the Conscientious Objector of the Federal
Council of the Churches of Christ in America, of which
G. Bromley Oxnam was chairman. One of the chief rea-
sons urged by these groups for the establishment of the
new-type camps was that the financial obligations of the
CPS program should be borne by the government. They
held that the government, having drafted the men, was
responsible for their support. At the same time a num-
ber of the assignees who felt the CPS program was basic-
ally wrong wanted to deal directly with the government
in expressing their opposition to conscription. Some felt
The Church Agencies and Selective Service 381
that the pacifist churches had become "agents of the Gov-
ernment in enforcing the evils of conscription. "20 Others
felt that government camps might provide pay, depend-
ency allotments, and compensation insurance.
The position first taken by the National Service Board
was that the creation of such camps would be unwise,
and so they did not initiate action for their establish-
ment. This viewpoint of the board was expressed in a
memorandum approved in September 1942.
We are apprehensive of grave dangers if the Selective Service ad-
ministration sets up at this time machinery ... to operate Govern-
ment-financed camps. It seems that the inevitable tendency will be
for that agency to extend its control also over Civilian Public Serv-
ice [i.e. church-administered camps], and to limit and perhaps com-
pletely to abolish such freedom as we have in Civilian Public Serv-
ice. We, therefore, do not see our way clear in joining at this time
in any steps for requesting Government-operated camps . . . .
However, we do not stand in the way of others taking such measures
as they deem right and proper.
Respect for the individual conscience ... is fundamental with us.
We wish to make it clear, therefore, to all those who are concerned
that it is a grave hardship to us to have assigned to Civilian Public
Service men who feel that this form of service offends their con-
sciences or does not give them an effective way to bear their religious
pacifist witness. We regard it as of the utmost importance, there-
fore, that conscientious objectors should have some genuine choice
as to service of national importance. Specifically, we shall continue
to work vigorously to extend the possibilities for . . . [special proj-
ects] and recognize that among those to be regarded as eligible for
. . . [special projects] in due course should be men who may not
adjust readily to . . . camp but who . . . give promise of render-
ing useful service in such special assignments.21
"From a Brethren Camp Directors Memorandum, February 22, 1943.
"Minutes of the Board of Directors of the National Service Board for Religious
Objectors. September 23, 1942. page 4. The memorandum, prepared by the
Fellowship of Reconciliation, received "the general approval of the Board."
382 Pathways of Peace
By the spring of 1943, however, the position of the
board had changed somewhat. Although apparently still
retaining doubts about the wisdom of creating govern-
ment units, they recognized that a number of conscien-
tious objectors were not satisfied with church-adminis-
tered CPS, and they expressed a willingness "as fully as
possible to cooperate with those who are seeking to de-
velop some other plan."22 In April the board approved
for transmission to Selective Service a memorandum
which raised the problem of "men in camps who do not
want to serve under a church agency. We believe that
some plan should be devised for these men to operate
directly under government supervision."23
The first government camp was established at Mancos,
Colorado, in July 1943, followed in January 1944 by a
second camp at Lapine, Oregon. A third government
camp was established at Germfask, Michigan, in May 1944.
The Germfask camp was moved to Minersville, California,
in June 1945.
With the development of the parallel system of govern-
ment camps, the conscientious objector registrants had
a wider range of choice for their initial assignment. In
the first months of government camp administration those
registrants who did not express a preference for either
type of camp— church-administered or government-admin-
istered—were generally assigned to one of the former. In
May 1944, however, a new policy was initiated. All who
did not specifically ask for church camps were to be as-
signed to government units.
Another deviation from the administrative agreement
**Ibid., March 31, 1943, page 10.
™Ibid., April 16, 1943, page 1.
The Church Agencies and Selective Service 383
first established in 1941 may be noted as the changed or
emerging attitudes of the administrative groups in regard
to pay, dependency allotments, and compensation in-
surance. The National Service Board for Religious Ob-
jectors came in time to feel that in view of the large num-
ber of men who desired pay, provision should be made
for such. This feeling was strengthened as the term ot
service was lengthened from the originally proposed year
to an indefinite tenure. Thus by October 1943 the board
requested Selective Service to "reconsider the present
program at the point of pay for men who desire it,"24 and
by December went on record as definitely requesting pay
for such assignees.
Selective Service had come to feel, meanwhile, that
the lack of wages was a very important factor in securing
public acceptance of the program. They also recognized
the value of the no-pay provision in deterring insincere
registrants from applying for the IV-E classification.25
Thus their policy was to oppose pay for conscientious
objectors. It seems apparent, however, that regardless of
the attitude of Selective Service or the National Service
Board, Congress would not have appropriated money for
such a purpose. Their unwillingness to provide even the
lesser items of compensation insurance and dependency
allotments seems to support such a conclusion. Likewise,
discussions of the issue by officials of Selective Service and
the National Service Board with individual Congressmen
revealed a basic unwillingness of the members to support
**Ibid., October 14, 1943, page 5.
^Page 38 of Congress Looks at the Conscientious Objector contains an account
of the testimony of Lewis F. Kosch before the subcommittee of the Senate Com-
mittee on Military Affairs, August 12, 1942. ". . . the very fact that a man does
not get paid is one means of sorting the conscientious objector from the
slacker ... ."
384 Pathways of Peace
a wage provision. Paul Comly French reported on one
such canvass as follows:
A Selective Service officer has recently discussed the question of
pay, maintenance, and dependency . . . with thirty Congressmen,
to learn how they felt ....
Only one man indicated a willingness to introduce a bill which
would provide for pay; the other twenty-nine said they would
neither introduce such a bill nor support it. Several were willing to
provide maintenance for men in camp, provided the government
operated the camps. A majority expressed a willingness to act favor-
ably on dependency provisions, provided this was confined to need,
and the funds now in a segregated [frozen] fund in the Treasury
were used.
This report is in line with the discussions that I have had with
both Senators and Congressmen.26
The National Service Board also came to feel that
the matter of providing allotments to care for the de-
pendency needs of the assignees was a responsibility of
Congress. In October 1943 they expressed this feeling
to Selective Service:
We are deeply concerned about the problem of dependents of
conscientious objectors, and are desirous of working with you in
attempting to solve this problem by proper presentation to the
Congress so that they will assume what we feel is their basic re-
sponsibility in this area.27
Selective Service officials, on their part, were willing
for such allotments to be made, provided they were spe-
cifically authorized by Congress. The director of Selec-
tive Service and other officials appeared before Congres-
sional committees and presented the problem to them.
Congress, however, refused to recommend such payments.
"Paul Comly French, General Letter, January 4, 1944.
"Minutes of the Board of Directors of the National Service Board for Religious
Objectors, October 14, 1943, page 5.
3
'▼Jit
^
Educational
Activities
Semiformal classes
Camp libraries
were popular
Bulletin boards
announced
discussions,
provoked thought
Recreation
Touch football,
Fort Steilacoorn,
Washington
Shakespeare (Mid-
summer Night's
Dream), Waldport,
Oregon
Table tennis,
Lagro, Indiana
Above: Biethren Service Committee in early CPS days. Rear — Leland S.
Brubaker, Paul H. Bowman, J. I. Baugher, A. W. Cordier, Paul W. Kinsel.
Front— H. F. Richards, M. R. Zigler, L. W. Shultz, Mrs. Ross D. Murphy.
Committee personnel changed from time to time
Below: A Camp Directors' Conference. Rear — Mills, DeLauter, Hodges,
Gnagy, Schrock, Townsend. Front — Garver, Huston, Weaver, Row, Yoder,
Nichols
Above: Denominational Representatives Confer. Rear — M. R. Zigler, Breth-
ren; Orie O. Miller, Mennonite; E. LeRoy Dakin, Baptist; Paul J. Furnas,
Friend; Charles F. Bess, Methodist; James C. Mead, Congregational. Front —
Paul C. French, Friend; W. Harold Row, Brethren; A. M. Gaeddert, Men-
nonite
Below: Pacifists Meet Soldier.
Kcsch of Selective Service
Brethren leaders confer with Colonel Lewis F.
The Church Agencies and Selective Service 385
The National Service Board, meanwhile, established
a special dependency council to care for the most pressing
needs of the assignees. This council provided assistance
to those men not helped by the individual church agency
plans.
Legislation providing compensation insurance for con-
scientious objectors received the active support of Selec-
tive Service. Officials of that agency testified before Con-
gress urging that such provision be made on a national
basis. Again, Congress refused. Some insurance was pro-
vided, however, through the arrangements worked out in
the establishment of certain of the special projects.
A further modification of the original agreement
emerged as a result of the divergent viewpoints held by
Selective Service and the National Service Board in re-
gard to discipline. On the one hand the concepts of the
church groups centered around ideals of redemptive pro-
cedures. They were primarily concerned with the re-
habilitation of offenders rather than with their punish-
ment. They also felt self-imposed discipline was, in the
long run, more effective than that which was externally
imposed.
Selective Service, on the other hand, felt that such
an approach was unrealistic. They felt that prompt and
effective punishment should follow a breach of conduct,
and that such discipline would have to be imposed largely
from without.
As a result of dissatisfaction with the methods of the
church groups, Selective Service initiated various dis-
ciplinary measures of their own, thus passing into an area
originally delegated to the National Service Board. In
the first instances their chief line of action in this regard
386 Pathways of Peace
took the form of denying transfer approvals for assignees
who they felt had a poor camp record. Later, with the
opening of the government camp at Mancos, they began a
policy of transferring discipline cases to that unit, where
the assignees could be under their direct supervision.
This policy was vigorously protested by various constitu-
ent members of the board (including the Brethren of-
ficials), but Selective Service felt their procedures justi-
fied, and continued with them. Although in some specific
instances the church groups were able to secure a reversal
of decision, in others they were not. The problem of dis-
ciplinary procedures thus remained as a point of dissatis-
faction to both Selective Service and the National Service
Board.
In various other ways as well, Selective Service modified
the church-group field of action. Directives wTere issued
imposing restrictions on the use of off-duty hours for
"outside" work, and imposing mandatory penalties for
unauthorized absences from camp. In some instances or-
ders affecting the delegated functions of the National
Service Board were issued directly to the units rather than
through the board. Actions of this type produced a seri-
ous crisis when, in March 1943, Selective Service issued
a ban on assignee attendance at a "social action" confer-
ence in Chicago. The ban, effected by a cancellation of
furloughs, brought to the fore issues of civil liberties and
the control of off-duty hours. The Brethren administra-
tion protested this course of action and refused to trans-
mit to the camps a later order from Selective Service dis-
ciplining the men who had attended the conference in
spite of the prohibition.
The trend of these modifications was generally a move-
The Church Agencies and Selective Service 387
ment from a first basis of rather flexible and broad re-
sponsibilities delegated to the church groups toward a
narrowing of their field of function. Paul Comly French
noted this trend in summing up the experience of the
first few years.
We were able, initially, to deal directly and personally with C. A.
Dykstra and . . . Lewis B. Hershey. There were few rules and what
did exist seemed reasonable. While we were unable to gain ap-
proval for any type of project except camp units, we knew of the
difficulties in finding any Federal agency willing to use conscien-
tious objectors. We had a wide measure of freedom in selecting the
projects within the scope available. We could reject suggested proj-
ects and Selective Service System would accept our judgment. We
were regularly consulted before major changes were made and had
a very real part in shaping the program. We had considerable free-
dom in terms of AWOL, liberty, leave, cars in camp, transfers, dis-
cipline, and similar sections of the program. During this period, our
relationship was friendly and even cordial. It was a joint attempt
to solve a difficult problem.
During the past 18 months, the program developed and increased
from a few hundred men to 6,500. Selective Service changed from
a "training program" to a "war program." General Hershey's job
became more and more complicated and difficult, and he had less
time for the kind of personal relations we maintained during the
first period. Selective Service became a smooth-functioning, efficient
group. ... It was only the natural course of government, it seems
to me, to expect the expansion in the Camp Operations Division
[of Selective Service] and the rules that followed. During this period,
Selective Service . . . assumed control of the AWOL problem; made
suggestions regarding cars in camp; the number of liberty and
leaves allowed; and the selection of camp projects; and exerted real
pressure on us in handling disciplinary problems. Since July 1,
they have moved further into the area of discipline by arbitrarily
transferring men to the government camp and refusing our request
for . . . transfers which we have felt would assist us in our admin-
388 Pathways of Peace
istrative functions. This general tightening has been felt by all of
us in the NSBRO office.28
Again, in 1945, French remarked upon this tendency of
Selective Service to assume a larger control of the
program.
The conviction has been growing on me during the past few
months that we are having a much smaller part in reaching decisions,
in conjunction with Selective Service, than we previously had. The
attitude of Selective Service seems to be more and more that we have
little right to question their judgments ... .20
Thus, the field of functioning of the National Service
Board was narrowed in the later years of CPS, yet their
persistent efforts to secure desired changes were successful
in many instances. Balanced against the losses in one
direction were the gains in another— notably in the
development of the larger opportunities of the special
projects program.
The National Service Board for Religious Objectors
In the preceding pages some indication has been given
of the relationship of the National Service Board for
Religious Objectors to Selective Service and of the areas
of responsibility delegated to it by that governmental
agency. In the pages following, attention is turned to an
examination of the development of this board and to the
manner in which it functioned.
Following the formation of the board by the historic
peace churches in October 1940, the organization was ex-
panded to include other groups as well. By November
^Paul Comly French, Board of Directors Memorandum, No. 231. September 2.
1943, page 1.
»Ibid.t No. 474, April 3, 1945.
The Church Agencies and Selective Service 389
the Fellowship of Reconciliation had joined as a member
of the board of directors, followed by the Methodists, the
Disciples of Christ, and the Federal Council of the
Churches of Christ in America. Shortly thereafter the
board was reorganized to consist of one member each
from the Brethren, the Friends, the Mennonites, and the
Fellowship of Reconciliation, and three members to repre-
sent the Federal Council of Churches. This group of
seven comprised the membership of the board of directors.
The organization of the board proceeded with the elec-
tion of its officers, M. R. Zigler, chairman, Orie O. Miller,
vice-chairman, and Paul J. Furnas, treasurer. Paul Comly
French was secured to direct the work as executive secre-
tary, and a staff of assistants was employed. With the
establishment of an office in Washington, the board and
the staff were ready to undertake their work.
From the outset, the primary function of the National
Service Board and the Washington staff was to serve as
the representative of the member-agencies to the govern-
ment, and to provide a means whereby the separate church
groups might co-ordinate their activities. The board of
directors, representing the agencies, outlined the broad
general policy to be followed in the negotiations with
Selective Service, and the staff undertook to effect this
policy. French, in particular, served as a liaison agent to
the government in a very effective manner. At the same
time, representatives of the separate agencies usually met
with the Selective Service officials, in company with the
Washington staff, when important matters of policy were
under discussion. In effect, the constituent members of
the board thus dealt directly with the government as
separate church agencies. The Brethren officials par-
390 Pathways of Peace
ticipating in such policy-forming meetings were usually
M. R. Zigler and W. Harold Row. The meetings of the
board of directors to consider policy and to co-ordinate
the plans and operations of its members were supple-
mented by regularly held meetings of the national CPS
directors of each of the agencies operating camps. The
national CPS directors also regularly attended the meet-
ings of the board of directors and participated fully in
its deliberations and decisions. Further co-ordination of
the functioning of the separate agencies was secured by
conducting negotiations with Selective Service through
the offices of the National Service Board. From time to
time the board of directors met with Selective Service
officials to discuss their mutual problems.
Although the responsibilities for the actual operation
and supervision of the camps and units had been dele-
gated to the National Service Board by Selective Service,
the board itself did not undertake this work. Rather,
it, in turn, delegated these responsibilities to its con-
stituent members. Thus, the Brethren were given the
responsibility for administering certain approved projects,
while the Friends and the Mennonites were each given the
same for other projects. In time, other church groups as
well assumed responsibility for operating units. Among
these were the Catholics, the Methodists, the Baptists, the
Evangelical and Reformed, and the Disciples of Christ.
In delegating authority to these groups, the National
Service Board followed a policy of granting them the
largest degree of autonomy possible within the limits of
the working agreement with Selective Service. Thus,
several rather distinct CPS programs emerged which,
though co-ordinated at the national level, reflected di-
The Church Agencies and Selective Service 391
verse patterns in the local units. This pattern of pro-
cedure, wherein each agency, rather than the National
Service Board, operated the camps and was more or less
independent of the others in conducting its CPS pro-
gram, had both advantages and disadvantages. As a policy,
it permitted each group to follow the line of its respective
genius to a large degree. On the other hand, the lack of
a centralized authority and supervision raised difficult
administrative problems, especially in respect to nego-
tiations with Selective Service. The Washington staff, in
dealing with the government, was often unable to com-
mit itself without consulting the separate agencies. Se-
lective Service felt that such a procedure was very slow
and cumbersome, and not what they had expected. As
a result, they sometimes initiated direct action of their
own to secure more prompt results.
Certain other developments and functions of the
National Service Board may be indicated briefly. From
the first, groups other than those represented by the
board of directors were invited to participate in the work.
Through the formation of a consultative council and
through other means, over thirty-five religious organiza-
tions became affiliated with the program in the course of
its history. Among the groups were those listed in table
15. A dependency council, a financial council, and a
committee on civilian bonds likewise functioned in an
effective manner. Within the Washington office special
sections were created to deal with specific areas of action.
The special projects section, under the direction, at dif-
ferent times, of George Reeves, Tom Shearer, Claude
Shotts, and Barrett Hollister, handled much of the work
preparatory to the establishment of new units. An ad-
392 Pathways of Peace
visory section, under the supervision of Huldah Randell
and Winslow Osborne, offered legal assistance to consci-
entious objectors in CPS, in the armed forces and in
prison, as well as to registrants whose cases were pending.
The camp section, under the direction of J. N. Weaver,
handled assignments, transfers, and other matters related
to the functioning of the units.
In the course of the CPS program, several criticisms
were made of the board and the work which it was un-
dertaking. Some felt the board was not firm enough in
its dealings with Selective Service, and exhibited an over-
conciliatory attitude. Such critics felt that more vigorous
protests were needed at the points of disagreement and
that strong demands should be made to secure desired
changes. The board, on the other hand, felt that a policy
of conciliation and a willingness to negotiate were more
appropriate to the ideals which they represented.
Table 1530
Groups Affiliated with the National Service Board for Religious
Objectors, 1944
Assemblies of God (General Conference)
Baptist— American Baptist Home Mission Society
Catholic— Association of Catholic Conscientious Objectors
Christadelphian— Christadelphian Central Committee
— Christadelphian Service Committee
Church of God (Indiana)
Church of God (Seventh Day)
Church of the Brethren— Brethren Service Committee
Congregational Christian— Committee for Conscientious Objectors
Disciples of Christ— Department of Social Welfare
Dunkard Brethren Church
wPaul Coraly French, Three Years of Civilian Public Service, August 15, 1944,
page 34 (a mimeographed report).
The Church Agencies and Selective Service 393
Dutch Reformed Church
Episcopal Pacifist Fellowship
Evangelical Church— Board of Christian Social Action
Evangelical and Reformed Church— Commission on Christian Social
Action
Evangelical Mission Covenant
Federal Council, Churches of Christ in America— Committee on the
CO
Fellowship of Reconciliation
First Divine Association in America, Inc.
Friends— American Friends Service Committee
Jewish— Central Conference of American Rabbis— Committee on
CO's
—Jewish Peace Fellowship
— Rabinnical Assembly of America
Lutheran— Augustana Lutheran F.O.R.
—Lutheran Peace Fellowship
Megiddo Mission
Methodist Commission on World Peace
Mennonite Central Committee
Molokan Advisory Board
Pacifist Principle Fellowship
Pentecostal Church, Inc.
Presbyterians— Committee on Presbyterians in CPS
Seventh Day Adventists— Committee on National Service and Medi-
cal Cadet Training
Unitarian Pacifist Fellowship
United Brethren
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom
Young Men's Christian Association
A second series of criticisms was related to the nature
of the agreement with Selective Service. Some pacifists
felt that the working arrangement was an alliance with
a war-making and conscripting government, which was
morally wrong. Some pointed out that through the agree-
394 Pathways of Peace
ment one group of pacifists accepted responsibilities
which put it in the position of coercing other pacifists.
Others emphasized the point that the peace groups should
take no part in the administration of a conscription law.
At the same time, the issues were raised of the basic re-
sponsibility of the government for financing the program,
including pay, dependency allotments, and compensation
insurance. Because of dissatisfaction at these points, at
least two peace groups associated with the board with-
drew their support. These were the War Resisters
League and the Fellowship of Reconciliation. The latter,
in December 1944, resigned as a member of the board of
directors, although maintaining a consultative relation-
ship.
On the other hand, the validity or pertinence of these
criticisms was not admitted by other peace groups. They
maintained that the agreement with the government en-
larged rather than restricted the alternatives of the IV-E
group by providing an additional choice for the con-
scientious objector. They pointed out that they, too, were
seeking to have the government provide pay, dependency
allotments, and insurance. And finally, they maintained
that the program was an alternative to conscription for
war, and that as such it provided for a separation of the
church from the war activities of the state.31
31 Pages 62 and 416 following discuss assignee opinion on these questions.
CHAPTER 13
Central Administration and the Local Units
As indicated in the previous chapter, the National
Service Board itself did not undertake to operate the
CPS camps and units, but rather re-delegated the au-
thority which it had received from the director of Selec-
tive Service to its constituent members, primarily the
Brethren, the Friends, and the Mennonites. Thus, to
the Church of the Brethren, the board passed the responsi-
bility for the operation of certain of the CPS projects.
Since the Church of the Brethren had designated the
Brethren Service Committee as its official agent in mat-
ters relating to alternative service,1 it was this committee
that became responsible for the administration of Breth-
ren CPS.
The National Brethren CPS Office
Faced with the responsibility of operating alternative
service projects, the Brethren Service Committee organ-
ized itself for the task ahead. A national Brethren CPS
office was created and Paul H. Bowman was secured to
serve as national director for the beginning months of
the program. The preliminary negotiations relative to
the establishment of the first base camps were conducted
through the national office working in close co-operation
*Page 38 above.
396 Pathways of Peace
with the National Service Board. Camp sites were in-
spected, equipment was ordered, and camp staffs were
hired. By May 1941, after several months of preparation,
Camp Lagro was opened to receive the first ten men2 as-
signed to Brethren CPS. In the months following, ad-
ditional camps and projects were established until, by May
1942, one year later, the Brethren were operating seven
camps and two special projects. Meanwhile, Paul H.
Bowman had been succeeded by M. R. Zigler as national
director, who, in turn, was followed by W. Harold Row.
Row took office in Elgin, Illinois, in February of 1942 and
remained director of the program until its close. In the
years following 1942, the number of camps and projects
continued to increase steadily, until, by October 1945,
just prior to the start of demobilization, the population
of the Brethren units was almost two thousand men.
The national office staff required to administer Breth-
ren Civilian Public Service grew steadily in proportion to
the work entailed by the expanding program. From a
first staff consisting of the national director and a single
secretary, the office personnel was increased, until, by the
fall of 1945, between eighteen and twenty-five persons
were giving full time to the work. Most of this number
were drafted assignees, who, through a special arrange-
ment with Selective Service, were assigned to such work
in lieu of service in the base camps or other special
projects.
The over-all administration of the Brethren CPS pro-
gram, vested in the national office by the Brethren Service
Committee, involved many different types of function.
2These first ten assignees were: Jesse E. Clem, Ora E. Hahnert, John M. Lantis.
Loren K. Moscr. Harold Phend, Forest W. Shively, Arthur J. Thomas. Bernard
W. Vaughn, Charles A. Wagner, E. L. /oilers.
Central Administration 397
These ranged from the handling of the detailed routine
aspects of the program to the initiation and development
of religious and educational services aimed to promote
the highest possible growth of individual and group life
within the conscientious objector units. The more im-
portant of these national office activities are outlined in
the paragraphs below.
One of the chief responsibilities of the national office
was to represent the service committee at the various
policy-forming meetings of the National Service Board.
W. Harold Row, as the national director of Brethren CPS,
and M. R. Zigler, as the executive secretary of the Breth-
ren Service Committee and the Brethren representative
on the board of directors, were usually the Brethren of-
ficials participating in such conferences. These same men
likewise represented the service committee in negotiations
with Selective Service and with other governmental agen-
cies. Through the decisions which they made at these
times they proved an important factor in shaping Breth-
ren Civilian Public Service policy.
The national CPS office was also responsible, in co-
operation with the finance office, for directing the finan-
cial policy of the CPS program. The allocation of funds
for the operation of the camps and units, especially, was
one of their major tasks. An account of the expenditures
of the program may be found in Chapter 14.
Meanwhile, the central office at Elgin was responsible
ultimately for the innumerable details necessary to the
establishment and maintenance of the camps and projects.
As noted above, this office, in co-operation with the Na-
tional Service Board, inspected proposed camp sites and
investigated special project opportunities. After specific
398 Pathways of Peace
units were delegated by the National Service Board to
the Brethren for administration, it was necessary to secure
personnel to operate the units. In the first months, the
local camp staffs were appointed directly by the national
office, but this practice was gradually superseded by local
elections in the units for staff positions,3 and by the con-
ference method4 of selecting directors. After the camp
staffs were secured, the national office delegated to them
broad responsibilities for administering the local units.
At the same time, many of the details preparatory to the
opening of the camps were handled by these staff mem-
bers. Included were the ordering and purchasing of
needed supplies and equipment, and the preparation of
the camp facilities for housing and feeding assignees.
The details of transferring men between units were
also handled, in large part, by the Elgin office. With the
growth of the special-projects program, this function be-
came increasingly important. Careful consideration had
to be given to the qualifications of the applicants and to
the requirements of the project to insure, as far as pos-
sible, a satisfactory situation for all parties. In the last
years of the program the process became more complex
as various restrictions were placed upon transfers. Hos-
pital superintendents were generally unwilling to release
men until they could be assured of a replacement, and
transfer from base camps during the fire season was ex-
ceedingly difficult. The heavy responsibility of handling
the work of the placement section for the major period
of BCPS was borne by William M. Hammond, Jr., an
assignee on special assignment to the Elgin office. Others
■Page 110.
*Pagc 412.
Central Administration 399
who served in the placement section at various times
were assignees Vance Geier, Richard Tuttle, and Wayne
Lucore. During the course of the program, several thou-
sand applications were processed by the placement section.
In May 1944, the Elgin office undertook the admin-
istration of a special dependency allotment plan. Prior
to that time, responsibility for the dependency needs
of the assignees was placed largely in the local churches.
This method of meeting the problem had proved inade-
quate, however, in some instances, especially in congre-
gations unfavorably disposed toward the Brethren CPS
program. Cases were reported in which registrants, not
feeling certain that their dependency needs would be met,
chose the armed services rather than CPS.
The Brethren dependency plan of the national office
initiated in 1944 provided a basic monthly allotment of
$25 for a wife and $10 for each child. These amounts
were adjusted, however, in the light of greater or lesser
need. Grants were made only to applicants requesting
assistance. In addition to the standard monthly allot-
ments, special allotments to cover emergencies were
issued. Such grants often were applied to the expenses
of illness, operations, and maternity care for wives of as-
signees. The Brethren dependency committee considered
each application on the basis of investigations by the
camp director, local minister, area supervisor, or other
representatives. Individuals who served on this com-
mittee at various times were D. W. Bittinger, Leland S.
Brubaker, I. N. Garber, Robert Greiner, Edwin Gross-
nickle, E. M. Hersch, Anetta C. Mow, and W. Harold
Row.
Paralleling this plan, which covered assignees of Breth-
400 Pathways of Peace
ren affiliation, was a similar plan administered through
a special dependency council of the National Service
Board. Through this council, supported jointly by the
Mennonites and the Brethren, men of other affiliations
assigned to Brethren or Mennonite units received similar
assistance.5
Despite the efforts indicated and the assistance afforded
to many assignees, the problem of dependency was never
solved in a manner satisfactory to all. Some men viewed
such grants as charity. Others felt unwilling to ask for
help from the churches. As a consequence a number of
dependents suffered more or less severe deprivation. The
problem became particularly acute as the draft came to
include more and more fathers in the last years of the
program.
Educational assistance offered the local units through
the Elgin staff included a variety of services. In the
first years, the provision of books, magazines, and other
reading materials helped the units to establish their li-
braries. Assistance was offered in initiating programs of
study and activity in the camps. Memorandums and bul-
letins of information were issued on many subjects of
interest, including reports of unit programs, bulletins
on orientation, bulletins on language study, on camp
newspapers, on visiting speakers, on audio-visual aids, and
on numerous other subjects. Eventually these bulletins
were compiled into a Manual of Helps for Educational
Secretaries, a volume that proved very helpful to the local
unit leaders.
BThe Friends cared directly for all dependency cases in their units and thus
did not utilize the NSBRO dependency council. All three groups, and the Fel-
lowship of Reconciliation, shared in assisting men in prison and in government
camps.
Central Administration 401
During 1943 and 1944, especially, the Elgin office em-
phasized the promotion and initiation of a series of spe-
cial schools, including the School of Cooperative Living,
the School of Foods Management, the School of Pacifist
Living, the School of Race Relations, and the School of
Fine Arts (Fine Arts Group). The national office helped
to plan such ventures and to secure the necessary finances
and leaders. Assistance was also given through the pro-
vision of special library materials needed for such study
groups.
Meanwhile, increasing emphasis was placed on a pro-
gram whereby national leaders in various fields were
secured by the Elgin office to visit the camps and projects.
These visitors were generally well received by the as-
signees and served to stimulate educational growth.
Through conferences planned by the national office,
the local educational secretaries were able to meet to-
gether and exchange ideas, and to formulate improved
plans for their respective units. Common problems and
proposed solutions were discussed and methods and tech-
niques which had proved useful in various camps were
brought to light. Such conferences afforded an excellent
opportunity for the co-ordination of the national and
local educational programs.
In the closing years of CPS, an increasing emphasis was
placed on vocational guidance and vocational informa-
tion services. Special materials requested by individuals
or units were secured, and bulletins were issued describ-
ing various vocations. A limited placement service of-
fered opportunity for some assignees to find employment
in the field of education.
During this period the Elgin office also developed a
402 Pathways of Peace
comprehensive plan of assistance for men wishing to
work for official credit with high schools and colleges.
One feature of this program was the provision of oppor-
tunity for assignees to take one or more of the general
educational development examinations provided by the
American Council on Education. These examinations
were comparable to the examinations used by the United
States Armed Forces Institute. Brethren colleges granted
credit to men showing satisfactory achievement scores.
At the same time, individual counseling was furnished to
assignees regarding their post-CPS educational problems.
In 1945, special educational aid plans were developed
to assist men in financing their post-CPS studies. To all
assignees who had served in Brethren Civilian Public
Service (or to members of the Church of the Brethren
who had served under other CPS agencies) the following
help was available for study in Brethren colleges. The
college granted a discount of fifty per cent of the regular
tuition, while the Brethren Service Committee supplied
food or cash to the college to meet the remaining fifty
per cent. Thus, the equivalent of full tuition was pro-
vided. The amount of aid varied in proportion to the
length of drafted service. For the first six months of CPS
assignment, the men were entitled to benefits for one
academic year. For each additional twelve months of
CPS service, benefits of an additional academic year were
granted.
Supplementing this Brethren college plan was the
establishment of a fund from which a limited number of
scholarships and loans might be granted. This plan was
aimed to include assignees not covered by the Brethren
college program.
Central Administration 403
For the major period of Brethren Civilian Public Serv-
ice, Morris T. Keeton served as national educational
secretary. Others who served in this field were J. Aldene
Ecker, Paul Keller, William Stafford, David Lindsey,
and Vladimir Dupr£.
A further area of responsibility of the national Breth-
ren CPS staff was that of encouraging a religious emphasis
in the camps. During the first years, leadership responsi-
bilities for the development of the religious life activities
of the camps and units rested mainly with the local staffs.
In many cases the first directors were ministers, and as
such it was generally expected that they would furnish
the impetus and leadership for the religious program.
In many camps, however, the details of the directorship
seemed to leave little time for such responsibilities. At
the same time the nature of the administrative duties of
the director worked against his becoming an effective re-
ligious leader and counselor. The compulsive features
of the program which he was called upon to administer
raised a barrier, for some assignees, to the full rapport
necessary for a religious ministry. In view of these and
other obstacles6 to the growth of religious activities, the
Elgin staff sought to increase their services to the local
units. A full-time position for a national religious life
secretary was created in 1944. Through this step the staff
hoped to stimulate the units to new activity and to pro-
vide a measure of leadership and direction to the pro-
gram. At the same time, assignee leaders within the units
were being placed on the camp staffs to care for the
religious life concerns.
The increased emphasis by the Elgin office was evi-
•Page 169.
404 Pathways of Peace
denced in several ways. A series of bulletins, prepared by
the national religious life secretary, offered information
and suggestions on the initiation and development of
religious activities. Included in the series were bibliog-
raphies on Christian education, and materials on re-
ligious films, on divinity schools and theological semi-
naries, worship programs, recent developments in re-
ligion, and other subjects.
Paralleling the bulletin service was a voluminous cor-
respondence between the national and the local religious
life secretaries. Problems and proposed solutions were
discussed, and ideas of proved usefulness were exchanged.
Conferences, also, were held at which these leaders were
able to meet and to present more fully their concerns to
each other. The mutual stimulation and the growth in
knowledge which came from these conferences seemed
valuable.
At the same time an increased emphasis was placed
upon the promotion of unit visitors and speakers, the
majority of whom carried to the assignees a message of
religious significance. Some of these visitors were enabled
to remain at the units and live with the men for several
days to increase the effectiveness of their work.
Somewhat later in the CPS program efforts were made
whereby local ministers visited the units and provided a
part-time ministry. National religious life secretaries of
Brethren CPS were, successively, Ercell V. Lynn and Eli
F. Wismer.
An additional field of work emphasized by the Elgin
office in the latter period of Brethren CPS was that of
personnel counseling and guidance. Increased attention
to services of this type was evidenced by the creation in
Central Administration 405
1944 of a full-time position in the office for such work. At
that same time, the units were urged to consider the
selection of competent assignees for personnel duties and
to provide a place on the staffs for such workers.
The services offered through the national personnel
secretary included the provision to the units of many
needed resource materials— pamphlets, bulletins, tests,
surveys, and other similar items. Various standard forms
for recording useful personnel data were devised and dis-
tributed. Correspondence between the national and the
local secretaries offered a means for a mutual discussion
of special problems. In co-operation with the educa-
tional section, considerable attention was given to vo-
cational guidance. At the same time, experienced men in
the field of counseling and guidance were secured to visit
units and to work with the local staffs and with the as-
signees. Edwin Wright, of the Fellowship of Reconcilia-
tion, was particularly effective in such work. The total
program of personnel services was developed with great
energy by the Elgin staff in an effort to overcome the
vitiating features of the CPS experience.
Closely related to the work of the personnel secretary
was that of the demobilization section. By mid- 1945 a
rather comprehensive program of demobilization services
had been worked out preparatory to the release of the
assignees from CPS. One phase of the program included
the preparation and distribution of a series of post-CPS
planning forms. From the data secured in this manner,
information on the needs and interests of the men for
their post-CPS life was readily available.
Financial assistance for the dischargees was offered in
two forms. The first was in the nature of small, short-
406 Pathways of Peace
term loans from an emergency discharge loan fund.
Grants of this type were aimed to supply the immediate
needs of the men in the interim between discharge and
employment. Typical needs of this nature were clothes,'
maintenance, expenses incident to relocating families,
medical expenses, and similar items. A second loan fund,
administered through a financial aid committee, was
aimed to assist in re-establishing men in business or
civilian community life. The loans available from this
latter source were larger (up to $1,000) and of a longer
term than those from the emergency discharge loan fund.
The Elgin office also sponsored a job-opportunity serv-
ice through which employment openings were announced
to the units. At the same time, in co-operation with the
Inter-agency Demobilization Committee of the NSBRO,
support was given to the formation of local demobiliza-
tion committees in various centers of the United States.
These local committees offered a variety of services to the
dischargees. Local pastors of returning CPS men were
also contacted, as were other individuals interested in
the welfare of the conscientious objectors. Assignees who
worked in the personnel and demobilization sections in-
cluded Lowell Wright, B. Tartt Bell, Gerard V. Haigh,
Galen Dickey, Ivan Grigsby, and Wayne Lucore.
In addition to the major functions indicated, the cen-
tral office also handled innumerable routine details at-
tendant to the administration of Brethren CPS. Reports,
surveys, daily correspondence, accounting — these and
many other tasks were a part of the daily work. An ad-
ditional service, inaugurated in 1944, was the publica-
tions of the BCPS Bulletin, a bi-weekly newssheet pro-
viding information on Brethren CPS activities.
Central Administration 407
The working relationship between the national office
and the local units involved the delegation of large re-
sponsibilities to the camp and unit staffs. Insofar as pos-
sible, the central office endeavored to follow a policy of
local autonomy. In educational and religious life ac-
tivities, and in other phases of the off-duty program, the
Elgin staff sought to furnish leadership but did not press
their program as a demand. Rather, they offered their
services more as an advisory and resource group. In other
areas of functioning, more conformity to a national pat-
tern was required. Included here were the routines of
official reports, or transfer, and of budgets and accounting.
The Elgin office also required that the selection of the
members of the camp and unit staffs conform to standard,
approved procedures.
In the official relationships with the technical agencies,
the first terms of agreement were usually set by the na-
tional office. The local staffs were able often to modify
such terms without prior approval, but major alterations
required the consent of the Elgin administration.
In the official relationships with Selective Service, prac-
tically all negotiations were conducted by Elgin staff mem-
bers. This was especially true in matters relating to over-
all CPS policy. At this point, local units were expected
to conform to such procedures and agreements as were
established. Practically the only occasions on which local
staffs dealt with Selective Service officials were during the
inspection tours of Selective Service representatives.
Coordination of the national and local administrations
were provided through conferences and training schools,
through visits of Elgin staff members to the units and vis-
its of local unit members to Elgin, through visits of the
408 Pathways of Peace
area supervisors, and through a voluminous correspond-
ence. Such means afforded opportunity for an exchange
of viewpoints and a bringing to the fore of common prob-
lems. At the same time, opportunity was afforded for
creative planning.
To prepare assignees and others for administrative
positions in the CPS units, four special training schools
were instituted. The first was organized in November
1942, and included a session at the national Brethren CPS
office in Elgin (one week), followed by a session at the
office of the National Service Board in Washington, D. C,
(three weeks). At Elgin the topics discussed included
the history of the Church of the Brethren and its current
emphases, the Brethren Service Committee, and the de-
tails of Brethren CPS administration, with especial em-
phasis on base camps. Provision was also made for in-
dividual conferences. At the offices of the National Service
Board, the Brethren group assembled with similar groups
from Friends and Mennonite units for combined meet-
ings. There the sessions featured materials on general
problems, on techniques of successful administration, and
on procedures of completing the numerous and complex
records required in CPS administration. Helpful con-
tacts were made between the school members, the leaders
of the church agencies, officials of Selective Service, and
technical agency officials.
A second training school was convened in February
1943, in Washington. After the combined session with the
other church agencies, the Brethren group met with the
national Brethren administrators to consider topics of
special interest to the BCPS program. A third school was
convened in May 1943, and a fourth in October 1943.
Central Administration 409
A series of administrators' conferences, held at inter-
vals throughout the program, also served to co-ordinate
the national and local functions. These were initiated by
the Elgin staff as a means of mutual exchange of informa-
tion on administrative problems and techniques, and as
a means of joint planning. In the early years the group
usually included camp directors and the national BCPS
staff, with visiting speakers from technical agencies, Se-
lective Service, and church and pacifist groups. Later,
the assistant directors of hospital units, and area super-
visors attended the conferences. After 1944, members of
the BCPS Council (assignees) were present at some ses-
sions. Highly trained resource people were often present,
as well, to help in specific subjects under consideration.
The area supervisors also served to tie together the
work of the national and local staffs. These men visited
both the units and the national office as part of their
regular duties, and thus were able to provide a liaison
between the two. Supplementing the visits to the units
by the area supervisors were the visits of members of the
national staff, including the director, the educational, re-
ligious life, and personnel secretaries, and others.
The relationship of the national BCPS office to the
Brethren Service Committee was that of a responsible
administrative staff to its board of directors. Ultimately
the service committee exercised final authority in matters
of policy. The service committee in forming its decisions,
however, relied heavily upon the recommendations of
its staff. This seemed almost inevitable in the light of
the lack of precedent for such a program to which the
committee might refer, or by which it might be guided.
At the same time, the pressures and exigencies of the war-
410 Pathways of Peace
time social order often precipitated crisis situations de-
manding immediate action. In meeting these situations,
the administrative staff, in effect, made policy to a greater
or lesser extent. Thus, much of Brethren CPS policy was
initiated administratively, although ultimately the service
committee passed the final judgment. The service com-
mittee met in regular session approximately four times
annually. At such sessions they heard the reports and
recommendations of the national BCPS staff.
Within the national staff, W. Harold Row, as national
director, was responsible for shaping administrative pro-
cedures. In his work, he was assisted by a staff of several
persons, including the administrative assistant, J. Aldene
Ecker, and the national educational, religious life, and
personnel secretaries, as well as others. The usual pro-
cedure in developing the national program was for the
concerned secretary and the director to meet together to
plan the work. In matters of over-all concern, the staff
met as a group. Although, ultimately, the final decisions
rested with the director, in practice the recommendations
of the staff members influenced greatly the pattern of de-
velopment. This was especially true of such matters as
educational, recreational, and religious life activities, and
other concerns related to the off-duty-hours program.
Since the staff members were, for the most part, assignees,
their presence brought to the office a type of assignee rep-
resentation. Such representation was only indirect, how-
ever, since the secretaries were not chosen by the men in
the units, and were not responsible to them.7 In the
7Late in the CPS program, the national staff (except the director) became re-
sponsible to the assignees to a certain degree through a plan whereby a member
of the BCPS Council participated in a review of the work of each secretary.
Sec page 413.
Central Administration 411
primary relationships of Brethren CPS to Selective Serv-
ice, and to the technical agencies, the assignee staff had
less influence in shaping policy. Such concerns were
handled more directly by the national director, the ex-
ecutive secretary of the Brethren Service Committee, and
the Brethren Service Committee.
Assignee Representation and Concerns
The question of assignee representation in the forma-
tion of CPS policy was raised early in the program by
various campers. Such men urged the viewpoint that
a democratically administered program would, of neces-
sity, provide for such representation. To a limited degree,
the pattern which emerged through the years came to
incorporate some of the values sought by these assignees.
Local Unit Developments
Some indication has been given previously of the de-
velopment of camper participation in the government of
the local units.8 The general movement was from a pat-
tern in which the directors, appointed by the central
office, made the major decisions affecting the camp com-
munity, to a pattern wherein such decisions came to be
shared with the camper body through the camp meeting
and various camper committees. Concomitant with this
growth was the evolution of the election method of filling
local staff positions and the use of assignees in such posi-
tions. The emergence of these modes of procedure began
early, especially in certain of the camps. In successive
years the practices grew and spread through the Brethren
"Page 109.
412 Pathways of Peace
units, until, by 1943-44, their use had become quite gen-
eral. Meanwhile, by 1942 the practice of using assignees
as unit leaders in special projects had begun, coupled,
later, by the use of assignees as base-camp directors. By
1944, the assignees were afforded opportunity to partici-
pate in the selection of camp and unit directors through
the introduction of the conference method as the pro-
cedure for filling those offices.
As first used in Brethren CPS, the conference method
was a plan whereby representatives of the groups directly
affected by the functioning of the directorship met to-
gether to select a person for that office. Such groups usu-
ally included the national Brethren CPS administration,
the assignees of the unit concerned, and the Brethren con-
stituency of the region. At the conference of the repre-
sentatives, various candidates were considered and re-
viewed. Lengthy discussions, with the use of reference
materials and resource persons, and consultation with the
constituencies, were a part of the procedure. Through a
process of elimination, the field was narrowed to a few
candidates. Final selection was made on the basis of a
sense of the meeting when possible. The decision of
the conference was regarded as final by the participating
groups. Although in practice the conference method was
cumbersome and not without some defects, it marked
a definite advance in assignee representation.
The first director chosen by this means was Robert
Case of Cascade Locks, who took office in February 1944.
From that time following, the conference was the regular
method used in selecting unit directors.
Two additional feaures related to the conference meth-
od may be noted. They were the authorization by the
Central Administration 413
Brethren Service Committee for (1) the extension of the
method to include the positions filled by the Elgin as-
signee staff, and (2) the use of a conference to review in-
cumbents previously selected by that method. In actual
practice, these features seemed to have been little used.
An additional development in assignee representation,
although not of strong or widespread growth in Brethren
units, was the CPS Union. This was an organization of
assignees into a pattern comparable to that of trade union-
ism. The plan of organization called for the development
of locals within each project and for a national general
executive board. Membership was open to conscientious
objectors in all-CPS, and the armed services, or dis-
chargees, and to conscientious objectors in prison. Among
the goals sought by the union were to serve as an agent
for its membership in collective bargaining, to provide a
means of exchanging views, to provide a channel of action,
to obtain just and reasonable conditions of work and pay,
and to make known and to endorse the principles of trade
unionism. As a whole, the union movement was very
weak in Brethren CPS, except at the University of Min-
nesota project and at the Columbus hospital unit.
One of the notable accomplishments of the Minnesota
local was the financing of a national public opinion poll
to ascertain public attitude toward conscientious ob-
jectors and certain specific issues of the CPS program.
The poll was conducted by the Princeton Office of Public
Opinion Research in April 1945.9 The results of the
•The Princeton Office of Public Opinion Research, a widely recognized research
office, conducts polls on many national issues.
The questions and responses of the poll sponsored by the Minnesota local are
listed in the Appendix. Also listed there are materials on other polls concerning
conscientious objectors which were conducted by the Princeton office.
414 Pathways of Peace
poll were surprising in view of the widely accepted stereo-
type that conscientious objectors were the object of ex-
treme disapproval. The poll sponsored by the Minne-
sota local, as well as an additional series of polls by the
Princeton Office of Public Opinion Research, made it
clear that the American public was much more friendly
toward conscientious objectors than had been thought.
Their tolerance seemed especially significant in view of
the fact that the country was engaged in a total war.
The National BCPS Council
Assignee representation in the national administration
of Brethren CPS was of slower growth than in the local
units. The first elected body of assignees to confer with
the national administration, the BCPS Council, was not
convened until January 1944.10 The creation of this
body came largely in response to persistent pressure by
some campers for "grass roots" representation at the na-
tional level. The council consisted of six men, chosen by
the assignees in the units, to meet with the Brethren
Service Committee and the national BCPS staff to bring
before these groups the concerns of the men.11 They
met approximately twice a year over a period extending
from January 1944 to March 1946. Each council was
newly elected prior to its assembling in Elgin.
Reaction in the units to the creation of the council was
enthusiastic on the part of those who had felt that the
campers should have an increased voice in the administra-
tion of the program. Men in special projects, on the
10The BCPS Council was known as the advisory council prior to May 1945.
"In addition to the six delegate council members, one man was chosen in each
unit as a corresponding member of the council. This member was responsible for
handling the business of the council within the unit.
Central Administration 415
whole, reacted with indifference, partly, it seemed, because
they felt that the existent administration represented them
adequately, or that in their particular units they were
more removed from direct contact with the administration
than were the men in the base camps. The Brethren
Service Committee, while authorizing the council, was
uncertain about the outcome of the experiment.
Originally the group included three representatives
from the base camps, one from hospital units, one from
special units, and one from the dairy farmers and dairy
testers. Subsequently, this representation was changed to
correspond with the exodus of assignees from the base
camps to the special projects. Each council chose one
member to act as interim chairman to care for council
business in the periods between the meetings at Elgin.
The interim chairman also met with the newly elected
council as a seventh member.
Council members were elected by preferential voting
within the units. The members were considered as repre-
senting all the concerns of the units which had elected
them, rather than those of a single "party" or group of
men. Assignees elected to council positions were: first
council, January 1944, Robert Bowers, Charles Pieh, Glen
Evans, James Cassel, Jesse Clem, and Robert Rohwer,
interim chairman; second council, November 1944, John
Brown, Channing Briggs, Mark King, Thurl Metzger,
Kermit Sheets, and William Stafford, interim chairman;
third council, May 1945, Leo Metzger, Earl Griffin, John
Higgins, Leo Baldwin, John Hanks, and Harold Guetz-
kow, interim chairman; fourth council, November 1945,
Joel Petre, Dave Orser, William F. Garber, Harry E.
Miller, Clarence Quay, and Maurice Metzger, interim
416 Pathways of Peace
chairman; and fifth council, March 1946, Ralph Miche-
ner, Eugene Miller, William Wheeler, Wilbur J. Stump,
Herbert Imboden, Jr., and Lloyd Danzeisen, chairman.
Council sessions with the Brethren Service Committee
and the Elgin administrative staff were devoted primarily
to presenting the concerns of the men to these groups.
Coming as they did directly from the units where they
shared with their fellow assignees common group prob-
lems, the council members were able to present the prob-
lems of CPS life in a direct and effective manner. This
injection of the feelings and experiences of the men of the
units into the discussions of policy helped to counter-
balance a distance from the realities of CPS life which of
necessity characterized those who were not living in the
units as assignees. In the deliberations with the service
committee, the council had advisory powers only, the
voting being restricted to the members of the committee.
The concerns discussed by the council were drawn from
the thought of the men as expressed through polls, ques-
tionnaires, queries, letters, and discussions held in the
units prior to the council meetings. Because the concerns
of the assignees reveal their attitudes in regard to the
Brethren CPS program, they are considered at some
length in the pages following.
Highest on the list of assignee concerns were the finan-
cial problems of pay, dependency, and compensation in-
surance. The very pressing issue of provision for de-
pendents was one about which the men felt strongly.
They urged that the Brethren CPS administration exert
vigorous pressure to have the government assume this
financial burden. The campers wished to turn to the
church for dependency help only as a last resort.
Central Administration 417
Campers were almost as unanimous in their position of
desiring pay for work performed, although there was a
minority who preferred to receive no remuneration. The
amount usually thought of was the equivalent of army
base pay. The compulsion of working without wages
was regarded by a number as a form of slavery. Others
felt the value of payless work as a form of sacrificial service
was greatly diminished when the sacrifice was not volun-
tary, but imposed from without.
Assignees also frequently expressed their desire for
compensation insurance to be provided by the govern-
ment.
As a means of gaining insight into the thinking of the
assignees on these concerns, the following excerpts from
replies to a questionnaire distributed by the Council to
all Brethren CPS units are listed:12
(Unit No. 47) I feel that it should be the responsibility of the
government to appropriate sufficient finances for operation of CPS
and for paying the men army base pay.
(Unit No. 121) I believe that BSC should continue to do every-
thing possible to achieve these aims [pay, dependency, and compen-
sation insurance] for the campers.
(Unit No. 134) Must have dependency, pay and insurance to lift
CPS more than i/2 plane above prison and stop forcing C.O.'s with
dependents into the army.
(Unit No. 121) I think if this problem was solved that this would
eliminate a number of the other problems.
(Unit No. 51) If CPS is to be truly a voluntary working without
pay it should be put on an individual basis. To respect the minor-
ity, these benefits should be available to all. If some did not want to
accept them, that would be their personal decision and would be a
much truer testimony, because it would be their decision rather than
"This questionnaire was distributed by the BCPS Council in October 1944. The
responses noted here are substantiated by letters, queries, and summaries of unit
opinion which were sent to the council.
418 Pathways of Peace
a decision that they are forced to accept made by someone else.
(Unit No. 134) Those responsible for the laws which force men
into conscription should also be responsible for caring for [them].
The men also expressed several concerns relative to
the type of work projects being provided. Generally,
they desired work which would better utilize their skills
and training, and work more directly and immediately
related to the welfare of persons. At the same time, several
questions were raised about war-related work, and the
unimportance of some of the base-camp assignments.13
The problem of the men in the camps who were fre-
quently in sick quarters also was an expressed concern
of the assignees. They felt more should be done to pre-
vent the mental and physical deterioration which was in-
creasing with each year of conscripted work. They felt
also that men had been assigned to CPS who were be-
low the physical standards of induction, and that others
were being retained whose condition warranted discharge.
There was, at the same time, a recognition of the problem
of those men who were malingerers. For all these cases
the assignees urged a more effective and energetic pro-
gram of action.
The administration of Brethren CPS and the extent of
democracy within the camps and units were also frequent-
ly discussed concerns of the assignees. One set of criti-
cisms centered around the point that administrators who
were not themselves draftees living and working in the
units, although fully sympathetic, could not feel the
frustrations and compulsions of CPS life in the same
manner as the assignees. It was pointed out that payless
work and the negative features of drafted service could
iapages 92-99 discuss these topics in detail.
Central Administration 419
be comprehended only by those who were unpaid, and
upon whom the draft law acted. Another series of criti-
cisms was related to the policy of the national administra-
tion, which was frequently characterized as lacking in
firmness in dealings with the government. Many of the
men felt the national staff should express itself more
forcibly to the government and present a stiffer attitude
in their negotiations. The administration, on the other
hand, felt a policy of conciliation and a willingness to
negotiate was more in accord with the ideals which they
represented. At the same time, the national administra-
tion was also critical of various aspects of CPS and the
program which it was developing. They felt that the
Selective Service framework, within which they worked,
was limiting in nature, and that CPS could not achieve
all the goals which pacifists were seeking.
Reactions of the men varied on the question of as-
signee representation in the formation of Brethren CPS
policy. One point of view was that within the framework
of conscription it was practically futile to talk about
democracy. Another point of view was that the assignees
should be given a direct and responsible voice in shaping
the program. Various interpretations were held as to how
effective a representation was provided through the estab-
lished practices— the conference method, the BCPS Coun-
cil, the use of assignees as staff members, the election of
local unit staffs. Perhaps the most fundamental criticisms
relating to democracy within Brethren CPS centered
around two major concepts. The first of these involved
the viewpoint that the control of the program by the
church reflected: (1) an overemphasis upon its role as
the originator of the program, and (2) an overemphasis
420 Pathways of Peace
upon its role as the financial supporter of the program.
It was felt that the hundreds of human personalities
constituting Brethren CPS far outweighed the financial
investment.
The second concept involved the point of view that a
true representation could ensue only when representa-
tives were elected by, and were responsible to, their con-
stituencies. It was felt that, although in many respects,
the goals of the service committee and the national staff
were the same as the goals of the assignees, until the men
had a direct share in selecting the persons to fill such
policy-forming positions, the men did not have a respon-
sible or full representation.
In the last years of Brethren CPS, following the cessa-
tion of hostilities, the question of whether or not the
church should withdraw from the administration of the
program was raised with a new and strong emphasis.
The sentiment of the majority of the men was apparently
that the church should cease its function as an administra-
tive agency. They felt the mission of the church was not
to assist in the administration of a conscription program.
A number indicated, however, a desire for a continuing
educational and religious ministry by the church. At
the same time, the majority of the men apparently felt
the church should continue a CPS program for those as-
signees desiring church-sponsored units.
Other concerns voiced by the men included recom-
mendations for the elimination of racial segregation, for
strong opposition to peacetime conscription, and for a
more rapid demobilization, as well as recommendations
on many other issues.
In the sessions at Elgin, the council presented many of
Central Administration 421
these concerns of the campers. Thus, they sought to ex-
tend the use of the conference method in filling positions
and in reviewing those already filled. They brought to
the fore the financial problems of CPS men, urged im-
proved types of projects, pressed for concerted opposition
to peacetime conscription, an increasingly firm stand by
the service committee on such issues as race relations,
and the support of men conscientiously opposed to cer-
tain types of project work. They also proposed a com-
prehensive preparation for demobilization and a careful
re-evaluation of the BCPS program. Two councils con-
sidered directly the question of whether or not the church
should withdraw from the administration of CPS. The
recommendation of one (November 1945) was that rather
than withdraw from the program the participating groups
should seek to revise it. The recommendation of the
other (March 1946) was for withdrawal.
The response of the Brethren Service Committee and
the Brethren CPS administration to the presentation of
concerns was generally to concur with the council on the
major values being sought, to a number of which the
administration was already committed. On the question
of the method of achieving these values, however, there
was a divergence of opinion. Generally the stand of the
committee was more conservative than that of the coun-
cil, particularly in regard to the amount of direct assignee
representation in the formation of policy which should
be granted, and in regard to the methods of negotiating
with the government.
The reaction of the assignees within Brethren CPS to
the achievements of the council varied from those who
gave little weight to its contribution (since the council
422 Pathways of Peace
did not have the voting privilege) to those who felt that
genuine progress had been made. Men who served on
the council felt that the relationship with the Brethren
Service Committee had been very satisfactory, for the
meetings of these groups had been characterized by a
friendly and understanding spirit. In other ways, as well,
the council members were pleased with gains which they
felt had been made, though they were always conscious
that their constituency tended to minimize accomplish-
ments as long as the council was an advisory body only.
In considering the degree of assignee representation in
the administration of the Brethren CPS program, at
both the national and local levels, the following seems
clear. Within those areas of function delegated to the
Service Committee by Selective Service, the men had con-
siderable influence in giving direction to policy. In edu-
cational and religious activities, especially, and in other
aspects of the leisure-time program as well, their influence
was very significant. At the same time, however, in mat-
ters pertaining to the primary relationship of the service
committee to Selective Service and to the technical agen-
cies, the influence of the men was much less. Further,
insofar as the assignees were represented in the selection of
persons to fill policy-making positions and in the review of
the work of such officials, a direct and responsible repre-
sentation was effected. Insofar as such participation was
limited, there was a corresponding loss in representation.
Finally the practice of using assignees in staff positions
provided for the direct injection into the program of the
feelings and thought patterns that were common to them
and their fellow assignees by virtue of their conscientious
objector position.
CHAPTER 14
Some Financial Aspects of Brethren CPS
The Church of the Brethren, by the terms of its agree-
ment with the Federal government, assumed large finan-
cial responsibilities within the Civilian Public Service
program. Ultimately, its net expenditures for the opera-
tion and administration of the Brethren units totaled
$1,927,819. The way in which this sum, representing
one of the largest budget items in the history of the
church, was raised, and the manner in which it was ex-
pended, form the subject of the following pages.
Church Promotion and Sources of Support
The funds and supplies for the maintenance and ad-
ministration of the Brethren CPS program came to the
church headquarters, and to the CPS units, through a
variety of channels. In some instances, individual donors
simply carried their gifts to the camps or projects in per-
son as a spontaneous expression of support. More often,
however, funds were given through the regular channels
of the local congregation, whence they were forwarded to
the church headquarters at Elgin for allocation to the
Brethren Service Committee budget. Or, in many cases,
individual contributions were sent directly to the Elgin
office. Gifts of food, from individuals or groups, were col-
lected and taken to the units, or to the New Windsor,
Nappanee, or other service centers of the church. From
424 Pathways of Peace
these points, the supplies were redistributed to the camps.
Contributions to the Brethren CPS program were volun-
tary, with no individual assessments being made.
The appeal to the church members to support the
Brethren CPS program was made through many sources.
Articles in the church paper, the Gospel Messenger, ex-
plained the nature of the undertaking and the need for
support. Pamphlets and newssheets from the service
committee office likewise carried the appeal for funds.
From the office of the promotional secretary of the church,
H. Spenser Minnich, a special program of giving was
encouraged whereby church members were urged to con-
tribute to the special needs of the CPS program as well
as to the other interests of the church. One phase of this
promotional effort was developed through the issuance
of special Brethren Service certificates. These certificates
were designed to offer an alternative to the purchase of
war bonds. Unlike the bonds, however, the certificates
were simply a recognition of outright gifts.
Regional, district, and local representatives of the
Brethren Service Committee carried the appeal for funds
directly and personally to the individual members of the
church. Through talks and programs, often given in co-
operation with local or district committees, the needs and
goals of the venture were outlined. Much of the pro-
motion work was also carried forward through church
groups such as the women's aid societies, and through in-
terested pastors and elders or lay leaders. At times,
helpful contacts were also made by groups of assignees
from the units who were able to visit various congrega-
tions and thus bring the CPS program to their attention.
The response of the Brethren constituency to the needs
Some Financial Aspects of Brethren CPS 425
BRETHREN SERVICE COMMITTEE
CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN
Okt. oeitifUi. Ad "T- m "ff. J. fa Miller
hen contributed the within Mated ran to the Church of the Brethren to be
used In Civilian Public Service, In relieving suffering, in creating good
will and In making Christ known as Prince of Peace.
Contributor's Statement of Purpose
This contribution, made in addition to my normal giving. Is in consider-
anon of tragic world need, of the sacrifice of life and money which many
are making in war and of my desire to support constructive service to
humanity. This contribution is Intended as an alternate service to war.
In which my conscience does not permit me to engage. I give it volun-
tarily, asking neither interest nor return ofgjtndpal.
In wttneee whereof (he Brethren Service Committee
ol the Church ol the Brethren Usuee this certificate
on thU82ni.day ol -April
AA^JAb i
Local Church Officer
manmmxuiAVA jtwa»T.memiiBii! -'^ ^-i»j— ■■■■■■■■!■«!
This certificate offers insight into the spirit behind the contribu-
tions to the Brethren Service Committee. In one year alone, 1942-
1943, over eighty-six thousand dollars was given in this manner.
426 Pathways of Peace
and aspirations of the program varied greatly from place
to place. In some congregations and districts a whole-
hearted support was forthcoming. Money, food, and
clothing were contributed generously. At the same time,
from such groups there often came a number of IV-E
assignees. In other congregations, the response was less
favorable or was negative, and support was correspond-
ingly weak or lacking. In many instances, congregations
exhibited a divided or mixed response, with some mem-
bers contributing their time and money while others op-
posed the CPS program. Still others were neutral or in-
decisive in their thinking and action.
Reports from regional secretaries indicate that favor-
able responses were greatest from rural groups. Indus-
trial workers tended to be less enthusiastic contributors
to the program. Favorable responses also came more
readily in churches from which outstanding young men
had entered CPS. The reverse was also true. Though
some members contributed who did not personally hold
the nonresistant position, their support was limited.
Rather, the strongest support came from congregations
which were more fully in sympathy with the peace tenets
of the church. Response was also more ready in con-
gregations in which the pastors had placed consistent em-
phasis on the peace doctrine over a period of years.
In spite of varying attitudes among local groups and
individuals, and their corresponding responses, the over-
all budget needs of the program were fully met. For the
period 1941-1948, the amount of funds contributed to
the service committee from Brethren sources, and desig-
nated for CPS, totaled $455,315.07 (table sixteen). Cou-
pled with this sum was a total of $1,622,129.38 contributed
Some Financial Aspects of Brethren CPS 427
from Brethren sources to the service committee without
a specific designation. Thus, over $2,000,000 was avail-
able through the contributions of the Brethren constitu-
ency. Of the undesignated Brethren service funds, $873,-
131.51 was used for Civilian Public Service.
Supplementing these resources were very substantial
contributions from other denominational groups, and
from individuals, including some assignees.1 A number
of denominations whose members were assigned to Breth-
ren CPS projects paid to the Brethren, in full or in part,
the expenses incident to maintaining such men in the
Brethren units. In many instances, such contributions
were the result of a promotional program, initiated
through the National Service Board, which sought to in-
terpret to various church groups the needs and goals
of the CPS program. Dr. E. LeRoy Dakin, as well as
others, assisted in this work. By February 1948, $599,-
373.04 had been contributed to the Brethren Service Com-
mittee from non-Brethren sources. This amount repre-
sented over one fourth of the net cost of the total Breth-
ren CPS program.
In addition to monetary contributions, large amounts
of clothing and food were given for use in the camps
and projects. Early in 1941, requests were made to the
Brethren congregations for bedding, clothing, and packets
containing sheets, pillow cases, and other articles for the
assignees. The women's groups throughout the Brethren
churches responded quickly. In August 1941, the service
committee appointed Anetta C. Mow to work on prob-
*In the early years, especially, some assignees, Brethren and non-Brethren, or
their families, paid monthly the estimated costs of their maintenance ($30-$35
monthly in Brethren-sustained units, and $5.00 monthly in using-agency-sustained
units).
428 Pathways of Peace
lems of this nature. Churches were asked to contact her
office and then to send their contributions directly to the
points of greatest need. In the first year of the BCPS
program, approximately one thousand packets and one
thousand blankets and comforters were contributed, plus
a considerable amount of other material.2 In 1943, cloth-
ing contributions totaled over fifteen thousand pounds,
valued at approximately $13,000.3 Donations included
not only bedding and clothing, but also over two hundred
layettes for CPS families, prepared and sent by local
church groups.
An extensive project of food collection for Brethren
camps was launched in the summer of 1942. John D.
Metzler, full-time Brethren Service Committee regional
worker, and Galen Kilhefner, Don Snider, A. Stauffer
Curry, James Elrod, and J. W. Lear, regional secretaries,
and others supervised the food-collecting program and
handled promotional work in contacts with local church-
es. These secretaries worked through the district Brethren
service representatives and committees. Church groups
and individuals assumed the responsibility of cultivating
gardens, canning tons of fruits and vegetables, and pre-
paring meats and lard. Trucks— some rented, some pur-
chased, and some donated— collected the food and dis-
tributed it to the camps. Though all sections of the broth-
erhood responded, the Central Region was particularly
active and generous. Something of the spirit of the con-
tributors in this area is revealed in the following letter of
a regional worker:
«Report of Mrs. Ross D. Murphy, Gospel Messenger, August 22, 1942, page 19.
No complete record was kept of clothing contributed to Brethren CPS, nor was
budget credit given for it.
^Report on Clothing Contributions, January 1 to November 12, 1943, office of
Anetta C. Mow, Elgin, Illinois.
Some Financial Aspects of Brethren CPS 429
A week or so ago I called the chairman of the men's work and
asked him if he could find us some help for moving the food from
New Paris to Nappanee. He asked for a week's time and agreed to
deliver. Beginning yesterday morning at 8:00 o'clock men started
coming and also trucks and trailers until there was a total of fifty-
five men, nine trucks, and five trailers on the job. From 8:00 until
about 2:00 in the afternoon between eighty and eighty-five tons of
food had been hauled from New Paris and stacked in place in the
warehouse at Nappanee. That's something that can't possibly hap-
pen when you sit at a desk all of the time. I like Northern Indiana!4
Reports such as the following came in from those who
worked in the food-collecting program:
The man who was turned down because of physical reasons, went
home and planted sweet corn. When it was ready the young people
of his local church helped in the harvest. Canning costs he paid,
for he said that he could help in this way even if he were not in
camp. Result, 500 cans of corn brought in to the depot.
The church (Hurricane Creek) with a membership of 53 as listed
in the Yearbook, located nearly 90 miles away from District Confer-
ence, with a membership living in what is not regarded as the best
part of Illinois, sent a truck load of food to the District Conference.
This was perhaps the largest bulk donation from any congregation in
the district, although of the 23 congregations 17 are larger and more
than half are closer.
There is the . . . man who quietly, at different times, has tele-
phoned to the food administrator of his district and notified him of
certain items of food ready. So to date from this one farm have gone
35 dressed chickens, a sow and five pigs, a quarter of beef, one half
hog, one dressed cow . . . four dressed hogs whose combined live
weight was 1000 lbs., and about ten pounds of honey.5
To many assignees in the camps, these contributions
were evidence of the interest and goodwill of many Breth-
4From a letter of John D. Metzler, published in the Gospel Messenger, January
22. 1944, page 7.
"Food Project Reports, Brethren Service Committee files.
430 Pathways of Peace
ren. Some insight is given into the appreciation of the
men by the following excerpt:
One director says, "The greatest good results from the coming of
the food truck, especially to non-Brethren boys in camp. These men
have rather thought that they would be forgotten, pushed off here in
the woods. But the truck, loaded with nicely prepared food, seems
like a package from home ... ." Drivers say that there is never
any scarcity of help to unload the truck.0
In 1944 the program of food collection was enlarged
to provide food for colleges of the Church of the Breth-
ren, where its money value was turned into a fund pro-
viding for the postwar education of men in Brethren
CPS.
Eventually, the program of food collection, begun as
a CPS project, was expanded to include contributions for
foreign relief. As the CPS needs became less, and the
relief needs greater, the food-collection program became
primarily a relief project.
Major Expenditures of Brethren CPS
From the point of view of finance, two types of units
may be distinguished in Brethren CPS. The first type
included those whose financial support was borne pri-
marily by the Brethren Service Committee as the spon-
soring and administrative CPS agency. These may be
designated as Brethren-sustained projects. The second
type included those whose financial support was borne
primarily by the agency using the men. These may be
designated as using-agency-sustained projects. In the be-
ginning months of the program, units of the first type
only were established. These were the base camps oper-
*Ibid.
Some Financial Aspects of Brethren CPS 431
ated in conjunction with the Forest Service, Soil Con-
servation Service, and National Park Service of the Fed-
eral government. In such camps, the Brethren Service
Committee was responsible for the major expenses of
operation, including the costs of food and medical care
for the assignees, the costs of the religious, educational,
and recreational program of the camp, the salary of the
director and other paid staff members7 (not including
technical agency personnel), office expenses, the costs of
utilities, fuel, and a portion of the camp equipment, and
various other items.
Within a relatively short time, however, the first unit
of the second type had been established. This was the
dairy farm project, begun in May 1942. Three months
later, in August, the first Brethren hospital unit, Sykes-
ville, was opened. In these projects, and others of the
same type, it was the responsibility of the agency using
the men to bear the major costs of operation, including
the provision of food, medical care (in some instances
the B.S.C. bore part of the costs of medical care), living
quarters, compensation insurance, and a monthly allow-
ance to cover the costs of clothing and incidental per-
sonal expenses.
In the months and years following 1942, through the
initiative and the efforts of the assignees and the church
agencies, especially, there were established many addi-
tional units of the type wherein the using agency assumed
the major financial responsibilities of the project. By the
midpoint of the CPS program, April 1944, the number
of such units had increased until their population was
almost equal to that of the Brethren-sustained type. By
7Staff members or directors who were assignees were not paid.
432 Pathways of Peace
the end of 1944, the majority of the assignees were in
units financed in major part by the using agency. This
trend continued for the duration of the Brethren CPS
program.
At the same time, it should be noted that, in the course
of the program, five units were established for which the
Brethren CPS administration assumed major financial
responsibilities, but which were not base camps. These
were the public health units at Crestview and Tallahas-
see, Florida; the special soil conservation units at Wil-
liamsport and New Windsor, Maryland; and the Fish and
Wildlife Service project at Bowie, Maryland.8 These proj-
ects, together with the base camps, were all of the type
wherein the major expenses of operation were assumed
by the Brethren administration.
A comparison of the costs to the Brethren Service Com-
mittee of the two types of projects outlined— those for
which the committee assumed the major expenses, and
those for which the using agency assumed the major ex-
penses—may be made by considering points A and B,
table sixteen. For the period March 1, 1941, to Febru-
ary 28, 1948, the net cost to the Brethren for the first
type was $1,231,730.39. For the same period, the net
cost for the second type was $70,448.69. Further data
on costs may be drawn from table seventeen. As of Feb-
ruary 1945, table seventeen shows that the average cost to
the Brethren per man per month for Brethren-sustained
projects was twenty-four dollars and ninety-three cents.
The average cost to the Brethren for using-agency-sus-
8The major expenses of the Castafier, Puerto Rico, project were charged to the
relief and rehabilitation budget, rather than to the CPS budget. The same was
true for the Minnesota project in starvation and rehabilitation and certain of the
other CPS projects related to relief and rehabilitation.
Some Financial Aspects of Brethren CPS 433
tained projects was two dollars per man per month. These
figures do not include the expenses of the Elgin admin-
istrative office or the National Service Board, or the costs
of dependency and post-CPS aid.
An examination of the details of expense within units
of the first type (table sixteen) shows food the major
budget item. Approximately fifty-four per cent of the
net cost of these units was for commissary purposes. (This
figure includes the value of most of the food donated to
CPS, which for budget purposes was charged against the
camp commissary account.)
The second largest expenditure in these units was the
monthly cash allowance of two dollars, fifty cents, paid to
the assignees. This item was approximately nine per cent
of the total net cost of operation. The allowance was paid
in lieu of furnishing minor personal supplies.
Other large items of expense were: medical and dental
care, five and three tenths per cent of the total net cost;
utilities and fuel, five and one tenth per cent; trans-
portation, five and one tenth per cent; salaries and wages,
four and three tenths per cent; repairs and supplies, four
and two tenths per cent; and religious, educational, and
recreational activities, three and six tenths per cent.
A survey of the using-agency-sustained projects reveals
that the major expenditures by the Brethren were for
educational, religious, and recreational activities, for of-
fice costs, and for other items incident to the administra-
tion of the units, including the salaries of the area su-
pervisors.
The total Brethren expenditures, March 1, 1941— Feb-
ruary 28, 1948, for religious, educational, and recreation-
al activities for all BCPS units was $100,400.47. This was
434 Pathways of Peace
five and two tenths per cent of the total BCPS expendi-
tures for all purposes.
Certain other items of cost within the Brethren CPS
program may be noted briefly (table sixteen). For de-
pendency purposes, a total of $87,299 was expended dur-
ing the period March 1941— February 1948. Dependency
costs in Brethren CPS were borne entirely by the service
committee inasmuch as none of the using agencies made
provision for such grants. For the same period, $44,194.97
was expended for post-CPS educational and financial aid.
Practically all of the educational expenditures, $28,869,
were paid to Brethren colleges under the educational aid
plan described on page 402.
Information on the average daily and monthly costs per
man within specific Brethren-administered units may be
found in table seventeen. A detailed budget itemization
of such costs is given in table eighteen. Table nineteen
indicates the total budget of the Brethren Service Com-
mittee.
Table 16
Net Expenditures of the Brethren for Civilian Public Service9
March 1, 1941 — February 28, 1948
A. Brethren-sustained projects*
1. Commissary $677,101.65
2. Assignee cash allowances 119,150.11
3. Medical and dental 65,343.41
4. Utilities and fuel 63,740.80
5. Transportation 62,940.25
•Includes: Copemish, Manistee, Wellston, Walhalla, Kane, Marienville, Lynd-
hurst, Bedford, Santa Barbara, Belden, Cascade Locks, Waldport, Lagro, Magnolia,
VVilliamsport, New Windsor, Crestview, Tallahassee, Bowie.
The data in this table was furnished by Robert G. Greiner of the Brethren
Service Committee and the General Brotherhood Board finance office.
Some Financial Aspects of Brethren CPS 435
6. Salaries and wages 53,085.73
7. Repairs and supplies 52,579.75
8. Religion, recreation, education . . . 45,257.58
9. Equipment 37,507.49
10. Office expense 16,862.25
11. Miscellaneous 13,874.92
12. Telephone and telegraph 12,266.55
13. Insurance 12,019.90 $1,231,730.39
B. Using-agency-sustained projects* * ... 70,448.69
C. Elgin administration (telephone and
telegraph, paper, salaries, travel, etc.) 296,267.03
D. National Service Board-
Brethren share 125,953.71
E. Dependency grants-
Brethren committee 53,838.53
Thru National Service Board 33,460.47 87,299.00
F. Brethren in Mennonite and Friends
units 39,061.83
G. Post-CPS aid-loans 15,325.97
Educational aid 28,869.00 44,194.97
H. CPS share of Brumbaugh Unit costs 32,864.00
TOTAL $1,927,819.62
Source of Funds
Non-Brethren donations 5 599,373.04
Brethren donations designated CPS 455,315.07
From undesignated BSC funds 873,131.51
$1,927,819.62
••Includes: Agricultural experiment stations, dairy farmers, dairy testers, mental
hospitals and training schools, guinea pig units, Mt. Weather, Gainesville, mental
hygiene unit, area offices, etc.
436
Pathways of Peace
Table 17
Brethren Civilian Public Service Units
Average Daily and Monthly Costs Per Man10
To February 28, 1945
Av. men Cost
per per
Unit Total cost day day
A— Brethren-sustained projects
Lagro $ 61,229.26 83 $0,749
Magnolia 85,447.66 98 .729
Kane 105,820.95 116 .760
Wellston 136,172.13 130 .795
Cascade hocks 134,067.38 136 .843
Williamsport 51,151.97 33 1.496
Tallahassee 39,300.95 27 1.373#
Bedford 94,379.68 123 .753
Walhalla 44,113.38 112 .660
Belden 110,586.06 133 .843
Marienville 28,756.96 70 .911
Waldport 90,757.33 110 .952
Bowie 17,132.38 23 .768
New Windsor 6,011.20 31 1.090
Average per man
B— Using-agency-sustained
projects" 35,768.20 739 .067
C-NSBRO 74,288.23 1,235 .042
D-Elgin 78,910.39 1,235 .044
E-Brethren in Friends units .. 12,269.03 11 .99
F-Brethren in Mennonite units 13,048.11 12 .876
G-Other 21,285.03
Cost
per
month
$22.47
21.87
22.80
23.85
25.29
44.88
41.19
22.59
19.80
25.29
27.33
28.56
23.04
32.70
24.93
2.01
1.26
1.32
29.70
26.28
$1,240,496.28 $0,695 $20.84
average average
•$1.00 per man per day charged to CPS budget and remainder to relief and re-
habilitation budget.
••Includes all units not listed under A, and excepting those charged primarily to
the relief and rehabilitation budget.
10The data in this table is from a similar table compiled by Benjamin F. Hottel,
of the finance office, May 2, 1945.
Some Financial Aspects of Brethren CPS 437
Table 18
Itemized Expenditures for Base Camps and Williamsport and
Tallahassee
Average Monthly Costs Per Man to February 28, 194511
Average
for ten Williams- Talla-
Budget item base camps port hassee
1. Salary $1.08 $2.97 $3.96
2. Commissary 12.99 13.74 15.96
3. Transportation 1.11 2.01 3.36
4. Telephone and telegraph 18 .42 .12
5. Electricity 63 1.14 .48
6. Equipment 1.17 13.68 4.11
7. Office expense 30 .42 .75
8. Fuel 51 1.38 .21
9. Repairs and supplies 99 4.1 1 1.08
10. Insurance 21 .45 .63
11. Medical 1.14 .69 7.29
12. Miscellaneous 42 .54 .30
13-15. Education, worship, and recreation .90 .90 .90
16. Assignee allowance 2.28 2.43 2.04
$23.91 $44.88 $41.19
Elgin office expense $ 1.32
NSBRO expense 1.26
$ 2.58
Note: Tallahassee and Williamsport costs include large amounts for equipment
(and the Hopewell farm). When the units were closed, these investments were
liquidated. Thus the costs of operation appear larger than they eventually proved
to be.
uThe data in this table is from a similar table compiled by Hottel, May 2, 1945.
438
Pathways of Peace
Table 19
Brethren Service Com mil tee*
Church of the Brethren
Seren-year Report of Receipts and Expenditures
March 1. 1941, to February 28, 1948
Receipts
1. Brethren Service Fund $1,622,129.38
2. Civilian Public Service 1,023,794.13
3. China Relief 1 12,299.24
4. General Relief 530,521.00
5. Heifer Relief 243,935.05
6. European Relief 671,011.62
7. Falfurrias, Texas, Fund 20,000.00
8. Reconstruction and
Reserve Fund 3,375.47
Percent
of total
receipts
Net
expenditures
Percent
of total
spent
38.3
$ 677,863.70
16.2
24.2
1,620,572.33
38.8
2.7
146,319.53
3.5
12.6
628,580.77
15.1
5.8
157,618.45
3.8
15.8
921,964.42
22.1
.5
12,219.22
.3
.1
8,750.00
.2
$4,227,065.89 100 $4,173,888.42 100
• The table above shows the relation of the Civilian Public Service budget to the
total budget of the Brethren Service Committee (Brethren Service Commission)
for the above period. The data in the table was furnished by Robert G. Greinex.
Part IV
Epilogue
In the preceding pages, an effort has been made to
present the main facts of the Brethren CPS program.
Insofar as possible, the account has been limited to a
consideration of the historical events without an evalua-
tion of their significance by the author. Thus, the history
has been concerned with the problem of recounting the
past rather than with the problem of passing judgment
upon it. In the pages following, however, an approach
is made to the problem of appraising the program. Cer-
tain questions are raised that seem basic to such a con-
sideration. With an answer to these questions, the reader
can proceed more readily to a judgment as to the ethical
import of Brethren CPS. At the same time, some judg-
ments of the author are expressed in summary fashion.
CHAPTER 15
Toward an Evaluation
The problem of evaluating adequately Brethren Ci-
vilian Public Service is exceedingly complex. There is
evident no one point of view, acceptable to all partici-
pants and observers, from which to weigh and to judge
the program. Rather, there is apparent a diversity of
value standards among many of those who have expressed
themselves on the subject. In the final analysis it seems
apparent that to the problem each must apply for him-
self the ethical standards to which he, as an individual,
is committed, and to evaluate the program accordingly.
To the author, Civilian Public Service appears as a
mixed series of achievements and failures. Judged in his-
torical perspective, the program represents an advance,
for both the individual objector and the nation, over
previous ways of meeting the issue of conscientious ob-
jection to war. Through this alternative service, greater
recognition was accorded individual conscience by the na-
tion than in the draft of World War I. For the most
part, assignments were available which did not force men
to violate their consciences and which were of value to
the social order. Individual objectors were not subject to
personal abuse and mistreatment as they were in the army
camps in 1917-1918. The incorporation of such minimal
provisions into Civilian Public Service was a step in the
442 Pathways of Peace
direction of individual liberty and respect for human
personality. At the same time, however, the recognition
accorded by the nation through its government was lim-
ited. With the provision for conscience went certain re-
strictive features, which, in effect, were punitive in nature.
The failure of the government to provide a fair wage for
drafted work cannot be reconciled with a full recognition
of conscience. At the same time, many objectors felt con-
scientiously unable to accept alternative service under a
conscription law, while still others felt unable to register
under such a law. Thus, although in historical perspective
the provisions for conscience represented a step forward,
from the point of view of the ideal, the step was limited
and provided only a partial answer to the problem.
Judged from the effects of the drafted service upon the
conscientious objectors, Civilian Public Service repre-
sented a mixture of values. Through the experience, al-
most all the assignees grew in social awareness and in an
understanding of the social implications of personal ac-
tions. At the same time, however, a number evidenced
signs of serious personality disintegration under the com-
pulsive and negative features of their conscripted status.
From the point of view of work accomplished, Civilian
Public Service rendered a large contribution to society.
Within the program, invaluable service was given in many
fields of need— in the conservation of natural resources, in
the care of the mentally ill, in public health service, in re-
lief and rehabilitation, in agriculture, in scientific experi-
ments, and in other fields as well. On the other hand, it
seems evident that an even larger contribution could have
been made through a mode of organization or assignment
utilizing more fully the skills and training of the assignees.
Toward an Evaluation 443
The value of Civilian Public Service as a witness against
war seems significant. From such a viewpoint, some of
the restrictive features of the service are lessened or
changed in nature. Thus, the fact that no pay was granted
for the service appeared to many of the public as an evi-
dence of a genuine faith and strength of belief on the part
of the objectors, who, while desiring pay, were willing
to forego it rather than to abandon their principles. It
seems to the author that such a recognition of the good
faith of pacifists by the public is a necessary first step in
the process of effecting change in attitudes toward war
and peace. Apart from such considerations, the substan-
tial contributions of the objectors to the welfare of the
nation served as a witness for peace. The Castaner unit,
the Minnesota experiment, service in mental hospitals—
these and other projects were tangible evidence of the
desire of the conscientious objectors to serve in a posi-
tive way at the same time that they refused service in war.
The particular values accruing to the alternative service
through the participation of the Brethren Service Com-
mittee in its administration are hard to assess. There is
no way to know the direction events might have taken had
church agencies not shared in the direct management of
the program. However, some observations may be ven-
tured. It seems evident that apart from the efforts of the
church groups, the initiation and establishment of special
projects as alternatives to base camps would not have
reached its large-scale development. Further, certain of
the most significant projects were directly related to
church participation, including the relief training and
service units, the Minnesota experiment, the public health
units at Crestview and Tallahassee, the rehabilitation
444 Pathways of Peace
project at Castaner, and others. It also seems evident that
the large-scale efforts in education and religious activities
may be attributed in good measure to the church spon-
sors. At the same time, support of the program offered
an opportunity to church members who were not drafted
to share the burden of those who were, and an opportunity
to participate in a positive service to society, which in
turn effected for them a more direct and vital relation-
ship to the cause of peace.
On the other hand, church participation in the ad-
ministration of Civilian Public Service alienated from
church leadership a number of pacifists who felt religious
agencies should not be co-operating with a conscription
program. Thus a loss of unity in pacifist ranks came
about. A loss in the clarity of the church's opposition to
war also resulted, inasmuch as the CPS program came to
be regarded by some as an integral part of a program of
conscription for war. Because church-sponsored CPS, in
the first years, did not provide an alternative, such as
government camps, for those assignees who wished to
deal directly with the government, or for those who did
not wish church management, to that extent church
sponsorship was also unsatisfactory. This criticism is par-
ticularly valid for the period before the opening of the
first government-administered unit in mid- 1943.
Apart from such judgments of the author, however,
which reflect his personal views, are those judgments
which each reader must form for himself in seeking to
appraise the worth of the program. In the course of such
seeking, certain questions seem to press for answer, and
may be raised for the consideration of the reader as a
first step toward his own evaluation.
Toward an Evaluation 445
Fundamental to such an inquiry is the question, What
should be the relation of the individual to the state?
Some have felt that the corporate conscience and judg-
ment of society possesses a validity beyond that of the
individual, and that the state may lawfully demand con-
formity of its members. Others have denied the authority
of the state so to control its citizens and have maintained
that each citizen must be free to follow his inward con-
victions in matters of conscience. Tangent to this prob-
lem, the question arises as to how one best serves the
social order in which he finds himself. Is a following of
the will of society an effective means of securing progress?
Or is an individual variance necessary at points of issue?
And, given a desire to serve society, what are the most
efficient means at hand to effect such a service? Should
individual initiative and responsibility be the manner
of approach? Or should state-directed and state-controlled
services be instituted?
A further question arises as to the relation of the
church to the state. Should the two be separate? And
what is the meaning of separate? Does it mean no co-
operation between the two? Or that each possesses a defi-
nite area in which it finds its field of action? And are the
boundaries of such separation clear-cut? If one of the
peculiar areas of church functioning is individual con-
science, and the state begins to encroach in such con-
cerns, what happens next? Is the field to be abandoned
to the state?
In seeking an evaluation of Civilian Public Service, the
reader may also consider the relation of the individual
to the church and of the church to the individual. Can
the church represent the individual to the state in mat-
446 Pathways of Peace
ters of religious import? Is the church responsible for
bearing the burdens of its members? Can the individual
accept decisions of the church in lieu of exercising his
personal judgment?
More specifically, however, what of the concrete values
of the alternative service program? In terms of work,
could more have been accomplished by individual as-
signments to jobs utilizing the skills and training of the
assignees? Or would the administration and supervision
of such a program have proved more costly than its ulti-
mate worth? If so, what is the place of corporate direction
of individual action?
An additional question may be raised as to whether the
alternative service provided was in accord with the ideals
of the nation. Did it reflect ideals of tolerance and re-
spect for personality? Was there an essential fairness in
the treatment of the conscientious objectors? Through
this provision for conscience, did the nation advance
toward its professed goals of individual liberty and toler-
ance, and thereby maintain an integrity of purpose?
What was the value of CPS for those interested in
seeking to establish patterns of peaceful living for so-
ciety? Was it an effective means of maintaining the peace
belief and of carrying it to others? Was it a step toward
the elimination of war? And what are the alternatives
to be considered? How can the course of society be re-
directed toward the goals of peace on earth and goodwill
to men?
Bibliographical Note
The main source materials used in this study were located in the
archives of the Brethren Service Commission, 22 South State Street,
Elgin, Illinois. Use was also made of the Brethren Historical Library,
Elgin; of the files of the National Service Board for Religious Ob-
jectors, Washington, D.C.; and of materials from the files of the
National Headquarters of Selective Service, Washington, D. C. The
materials available are very large in quantity. The archives of the
Brethren Service Commission include one hundred forty-two stand-
ard-size file drawers. In the microfilming of these files, each drawer
is yielding approximately seven thousand five hundred images. Thus,
the Brethren Service Commission archives contain approximately one
million images of documents. Almost all of these may be considered
primary source materials. These files at Elgin were examined thor-
oughly and at great length by the author and are the primary basis
upon which this study rests.
The archives at Elgin may be divided into four distinct blocks of
documents— the subject file of the Brethren Service Commission, the
name file of the commission, the personnel files on the IV-E assignees,
and the files of the several Brethren Civilian Public Service field
units (base camps and special projects) from over the United States.
These latter files were secured as each field unit closed. All the ma-
terials in the field unit files and the personnel files are CPS-related
documents; most of the materials in the name file and the subject
file are CPS-related also.
Of the four divisions outlined, the subject group contains some of
the richest sources of information on Brethren CPS. Here were filed
papers and documents relative to subjects coming to the fore in the
operation of the program. The following listing offers some insight
into the nature of the materials within this group. The listing is not
intended to be exhaustive, but is intended only to indicate in a brief
448 Pathways of Peace
way some of the most important items in the collection. These sub-
ject files, now on microfilm, contain approximately one hundred four-
teen thousand images of documents.
Assignee Representation
Papers related to the Brethren CPS Council and to the conference
method of selecting personnel are valuable in considering efforts
to provide for participation by the assignees in administration and
formation of policy. Folders of special value in this group include:
Camper Participation in Administration; CPS Council; CPS Coun-
cil, Structure and Concerns; Committee on Review; Conference
Method.
BCPS Bulletin, The
A mimeographed newssheet issued by the national Brethren Ci-
vilian Public Service office. Gives an accurate account of current
events in the program. Covers the period July 1944— March 1947,
4-6 pages, seventy issues.
Brethren Camp Directors Memorandums
A series of memorandums issued by the national office of Brethren
Civilian Public Service on topics of current significance, especially
to the administration of the program. Approximately 1,500 pages
for the period 1941-47.
Bulletins, Reports, Surveys, Studies
Scattered throughout the files are a number of excellent bulletins,
reports, surveys and studies, typewritten and mimeographed, deal-
ing with specific BCPS topics. Illustrative of such documents are:
Boisen, Anton T., The Morale of the Conscientious Objectors in
Church-Operated Service Units (1944, 24 pages). Congress Looks
at The Conscientious Objector (Washington: NSBRO, 1943, 96
pages). Crago, Glen W., Background Data of Men Assigned to
Civilian Public Service (February 1948, 5 pages). French, Paul
Comly, Three Years of Civilian Public Service (1944, 36 pages).
Guetzkow, Harold S., Tables on Certain Characteristics of the Ci-
vilian Public Service Population (1943, 6 pages). Keys, Ancel, A
Report on the Role of Camp Operations Division, Selective Serv-
ice System in Scientific and Medical Research, 1943-46 (1946, 9
pages). Row, W. Harold, Report of the Director of Civilian Pub-
Bibliographical Note 449
lie Service to the Brethren Sewice Committee (January 1943, 6
pages). Wilson, E. Raymond, Home Notes On the Evolution of
the Provisions for Conscientious Objectors in the Selective Train-
ing and Service Act of 1940 (1943, 11 pages).
Educational Reports From the CPS Field Units
Probably the best single source of information on the Brethren
CPS program. Details the various phases of camp and unit life,
the educational, recreational, and religious life programs, data on
personnel (age, educational level, marital status, occupation), and
other items of interest. Practically all local unit developments of
significance were noted here. Submitted bimonthly to the Elgin
CPS office by the educational secretaries of the camps and projects.
Education Section
This section of the files is the most copious and best arranged.
Particularly valuable are the folders dealing with the special
schools established in the units, and the Manual of Helps for
Educational Secretaries. Other valuable folders relate to: Accred-
iting; Audio-Visual Education; Budget; Counselling; Educational
Secretary Conferences; Educational Secretary, Correspondence,
General; Educational Secretary Newsletter; Library; Pacifism; Re-
construction; Recreation; Scholarships and Loans; Vocational
Guidance; and many other subjects.
Evaluation and Interpretations
Materials in this section offer insight into the diverse viewpoints
held by individuals connected with the program. Particularly well
represented are the views of the "left wing" group within Civilian
Public Service.
Two widely distributed questionnaires may be noted: one, 1945,
prepared by Rufus D. Bowman, aimed to secure the reactions of
Brethren assignees to BCPS; the other, 1946, prepared by the El-
gin CPS staff, sought assignee opinion in regard to many of the
basic issues of Brethren CPS.
Keysort File
This special mechanical file records information regarding ap-
proximately two thousand assignees of Brethren CPS. Population
statistics of age, marital status, educational level, place of indue-
450 Pathways of Peace
tion, pre-draft occupation, etc. are readily available from this file.
Mental Hygiene Program of Civilian Public Service
The documents in this section consist of releases, handbooks, bul-
letins, mimeographed reports, and pamphlets concerning this de-
velopment in the Civilian Public Service program. There are also
folders of correspondence relative to the mental hygiene program.
The Exchange Service and the Progress and Action Reports are es-
pecially useful.
Minutes of the Brethren Service Committee of the Church of the
Brethren
Records the official decisions and recommendations of the com-
mittee. General over-all policy fairly well outlined.
National Service Board for Religious Objectors Documents
Many important documents were issued by this agency in the
years 1941-47. Among them may be listed: the Camp Directors
Bulletins; the Camp Director's Manual; the Director's Manual,
Civilian Public Service Hospital Units; the Directory of Civilian
Public Service; the General Letters of Paul Comly French; the
Memorandums to Executive Camp Directors; the Memorandums
to the Board of Directors; the Minutes of the Board of Directors
Meetings; the Minutes of the Executive Camp Directors Meetings;
Research Bulletins; and the statistical reports (NSB form 114) of
unit population. The Reporter, a 4-8 page printed paper issued
biweekly from the National Service Board office, contains accurate
reporting of events for the period July 1942— March 1947. Ninety-
eight issues.
Pamphlets
A collection of approximately forty pamphlets and leaflets, 4-16
pages, dealing with various phases of the program, as, special
projects, dependency, the Selective Training and Service Act,
Brethren peace heritage, etc. Some of the most useful of the
pamphlets are: Conscientious Objector Under the Selective Train-
ing and Service Act of 1940, The (Washington, D. C: NSBRO,
1944, 24 pages). Creative Citizenship (Elgin, Illinois: BSC, 1940,
6 pages). Dependent for Conscience Sake, A (Elgin: BSC, 1945, 6
pages). French, Paul Comly, Civilian Public Service (Washington,
Bibliographical Note 451
D. C: NSBRO, 1943, 21 pages). Jacob, Philip, The Origins of
Civilian Public Service (Washington: NSBRO, undated, 27 pages).
Row, W. Harold, Fulfilling Our Heritage: An Interpretation of
Civilian Public Service for Brethren (Elgin: BSC, 1942, 12 pages).
School of Cooperative Living, The (Elgin: BSC, 1944, 8 pages).
Special Projects (Washington: NSBRO, undated, 11 pages).
Problems
Includes folders devoted to problems encountered in Brethren
CPS, especially in regard to the issue of conscientious refusal to
perform war-related work (as cutting wood to produce chemicals,
building access roads to timber needed for war industries, etc).
The following folders are particularly valuable: Chemical Wood
Project, Kane; Emergency Farm Labor; Social Action Conference,
Chicago; Three Lynx Project, Cascade Locks.
Quarterly Work Progress Reports (form DSS 52)
Official reports to Selective Service by the technical agencies using
the assignees. Reported the amount of work accomplished and the
number of man-days used.
Religious Activity Reports
These papers are bimonthly reports on the religious activities of
the CPS units. The reports were written by the local religious life
secretaries and forwarded to the Elgin CPS office.
Selective Service
Three official reports of Selective Service may be noted: Report
of Selective Service to the President (May 1944, mimeographed,
109 pages). Hershey, Lewis B., Selective Service in Wartime (Wash-
ington: U. S. Government Printing Office, 1943). Selective Service
as the Tide of War Turns (Washington: U. S. Government Print-
ing Office, 1945). The administrative directives and the adminis-
trative instructions of Selective Service are filed with the Camp
Director's Manual. A series of extracts from letters written to
Selective Service by project superintendents evaluating the pro-
gram are also useful.
Special Newssheets— Dairy Diary, Marine Bull Pen, Castaner News-
letter
Mimeographed, 2-8 page newssheets dealing with events of interest
452 Pathways of Peace
to the members of the agricultural units, the livestock attendant
project, and the Castafier project, respectively. These papers re-
flect accurate reporting. The Dairy Diary, 39 issues, covers the
period, June 1943— February 1946; the Marine Bull Pen, 9 issues,
covers the period March 1946— July 1946; the Castafier Newsletter,
62 issues, covers the period September 1942— to date.
Visitors to Units, Correspondence and Reports
This section of the file contains the reports, analyses, recommen-
dations, comments, criticisms, and similar materials from the many
persons who visited the several units. In a number of instances the
visitors were professional consultants, e.g., psychiatrists, psycholo-
gists, ministers, educators, or leaders from various fields, such as
labor, co-operatives, race relations, etc. Such documents offer in-
sight into the program from the point of view of nonparticipants.
In addition to the subject file, extensive use was also made of the
files of the individual field units which were established throughout
the United States. These contain the documents accumulated at
each Brethren-administered CPS project. The files were shipped to
the Elgin archives as each project closed and are readily available
there.
Materials in this group are particularly valuable for the insight
offered into the course of events at the local level. The important
problems, decisions, activities, etc, of each project, as well as the
ordinary daily routines, are reflected through these sources. Because
the several units varied greatly, it is difficult to list specific items of
importance to the group as a whole. Generally, the bulk of the ma-
terial consists of correspondence to and from the local projects.
Perhaps the best single items are the newssheets and other publica-
tions issued. In almost every instance these were edited and written
by the IV-E assignees, and thus are very valuable as reflecting the pro-
gram from the viewpoint of the conscientious objectors. In the first
years, especially, 1941-43, the camps and units issued such material
rather regularly. Among the most useful are: Builders (Camps Man-
istee and Wellston: September 1941— June 1944). Camp Magnolia
Weekly Newsletter (August 1941— November 1941). Camp Walhalla
News (September 1942— August 1943). Columbian, The (Camp Cas-
cade Locks: January 1942— January 1943). Crestviews (Crestview
Bibliographical Note 453
Unit: March 1942— November 1943). Informant (Colony Unit: Jan-
uary 1945— January 1946). Kane Penn, The (Camp Kane: March
1942-September 1943). Manana (Camp Santa Barbara: July 1942—
April 1944). Magnolia Time Peace (November 1941— February 1942).
Peace Pathways (Camp Magnolia: March 1942— October 1944). Pole-
cat Press, The (Camp Bedford: August 1945— February 1946). Rais-
ing Kane (Camp Kane: March 1944— July 1944). Salamonie Peace
Pipe (Camp Lagro: July 1941 -March 1943). Second Mile (Camp
Marienville: January 1943— July 1943). This Is Our Story (Camps
Lyndhurst and Bedford: March 1943-March 1945). This Week
(Lyons Unit: October 1944-July 1946). Tide, The (Camp Wald-
port: December 1942— May 1944). Unit Bulletins (Fort Steilacoom
Unit: 1942-1945). Viewpoint (Fort Steilacoom Unit: October 1943
-April 1945). Wakulla Newsletter (Tallahassee Unit: October 1944
—April 1945). Weekly Memo (Norwich Unit: April 1943— June
1946).
Several units issued handbooks and directories which give impor-
tant information concerning the local projects. Also worthy of note
are the daily schedules and calendars of events, and the samplings of
materials which were posted on unit bulletin boards. Generally, the
files of each unit also contained material on public relations; re-
lations with the technical or using agency; publicity; problems; camp
facilities, including living quarters, kitchen, library, craft shop, in-
firmary, etc.; and leisure-time activities, including educational, recre-
ational, and religious developments. There are approximately forty-
nine file drawers of documents in the field unit file section of the
archives, or three hundred fifty thousand microfilm images of docu-
ments.
The name file of the Brethren Service Commission also contains
many documents of value. The bulk of the material consists of cor-
respondence to and from the several individuals and groups related
to the Civilian Public Service program, filed under their proper
names. Also filed therein is the correspondence between the Elgin
office and the local field units and their staffs, including the directors,
assistant directors, and other staff members. The latter documents—
the correspondence between the central office at Elgin and the indi-
vidual projects— reflect the relationships developed between the two,
454 Pathways of Peace
and their division of functions in the administration and operation
of the program. The folders of several of the key figures in the
movement are also of value. They show the impact of these indi-
viduals on the course of events, and contain their interpretations,
comments, suggestions, reports, etc. on the current scene. A sampling
of the most useful folders may be listed as: The American Friends
Service Committee; Wilbur Bantz; Charles Boss; Brumbaugh Recon-
struction Unit, correspondence general; Andrew W. Cordier; Paul
Comly French; Harold Guetzkow; Samuel Harley; Philip Jacob;
Lagro Camp; Mansfield, correspondence general; John D. Metzler;
Orie O. Miller; A. J. Muste; W. Harold Row; Walter Van Kirk; Jo-
seph N. Weaver; Dan West; and M. R. Zigler. There are twenty
file drawers of documents in this group, or approximately one hun-
dred thousand microfilm images.
The personnel files of the IV-E assignees contain papers by or
about each individual conscientious objector. They afford insight
into the types of men drafted for this service. The folder of each
individual contains a more or less complete record of his activities.
Included are standard forms listing background information; letters
of application, evaluation, and recommendation for new assignments;
furlough and transfer forms, and numerous other items. The corres-
pondence between the individual assignee and the local or central
offices is a good source of information on the attitudes of the men
toward the drafted service. Documents in this group of files offer
a rich field for psychological research. There are fifty-two file drawers
in this group, or approximately three hundred ninety-five thousand
microfilm images.
In considering the resources of the Brethren Service Commission
archives— the subject files, the CPS field unit files, the name files, and
the personnel files of the IV-E assignees— it has been possible to list
only a very limited sampling of specific items. Beyond the cited
references, the history is based on an extensive and thorough study of
hundreds of uncited folders in the files. These uncited folders are
valuable as they provide not only data on specific topics, but also a
sense of certain of the more intangible aspects of the program.1
1The archives of the Brethren Service Commission are available for the rue of
qualified research students.
Bibliographical Note 455
The Brethren Historical Library at Elgin was particularly useful
for information on the history of the Church of the Brethren. In
tracing the peace heritage, the following items were valuable sources:
Minutes of the Annual Conference of the Church of the Brethren
on War and Peace (Elgin: Board of Christian Education, 1935), com-
piled by L. W. Shultz. Minutes of the Annual Conference of the
Church of the Brethren on War and Peace, 1936-1940 (Elgin: Board
of Christian Education). Minutes of the Annual Meetings of the
Church of the Brethren (Elgin: The General Mission Board, 1909).
The minutes issued by each Conference in pamphlet form were also
used, as well as other minute books.
Also available in the library were the following: The Gospel Mes-
senger (the weekly church paper); the "full reports" of the Annual
Conferences (stenographic reports of certain of the business sessions);
the correspondence of W. J. Swigart, of the Central Service Com-
mittee for the period of World War I; and other useful items. CPS-
related books include: Bowman, Paul H.t and Guetzkow, Harold S.
Men and Hunger (Elgin: Brethren Publishing House, 1946). Bow
man, Rufus D., The Church of the Brethren and War (Elgin: Breth
ren Publishing House, 1944). Garver, Earl S., and Fincher, Ernest B.
Puerto Rico: Unsolved Problem (Elgin: Brethren Publishing House
1945). Stafford, William E., Down in My Heart, (Elgin: Brethren
Publishing House, 1947).
The files of the National Service Board for Religious Objectors in
Washington, D. C, were also surveyed for this study. The most
valuable items there, however, were duplicated in the Elgin archives,
and so a limited time only was spent in these sources. The best
single item was a stenographic report (1309 pages) of the administra-
tors training school of November 1942 to which many of the rank-
ing officials in the program contributed. Among such officials were:
Lewis B. Hershey, Director of Selective Service, Lewis F. Kosch, Chief
of the Camp Operations Division of Selective Service, A. S. Imirie,
F. A. McLean, Victor Olson, and other government officers, as well
as Paul Comly French, Joseph M. Weaver, and others of the Na-
tional Service Board. The speeches and remarks of these men are
revelatory of their respective points of view.
At Selective Service headquarters, some materials were made avaij-
456 Pathways of Peace
able by the officials in charge. Three items in particular are worthy
of mention. The first is an extensive monograph on Conscientious
Objection edited by Neal M. Wherry of the Selective Service staff.
Selective Service administrative officials also contributed to this work.
A second valuable item is a folder containing evaluations of the CPS
projects by the various superintendents of the institutions and agen-
cies using the conscientious objectors. A third item of note is the
collection of the quarterly work progress reports submitted by the
using agencies (listed above under the subject file of the Brethren
Service Commission, also).
In preparing the manuscript, the author has sought the criti-
cisms, suggestions, and insights of a number of the participants in
the program. The author was able to confer personally with M. R.
Zigler, W. Harold Row, Ora Huston, Lewis F. Kosch, A. S. Imirie,
and others, including several assignees. Through correspondence, the
several portions of the manuscript were submitted to persons who
were directly concerned with the events described. Their contribu-
tions aided in establishing factual accuracy, and offered insight into
the spirit behind the course of events.
Glossary of Terms, Names, and Abbreviations
BC PS—Brethren Civilian Public Service.
Brethren—Refers to the Church of the Brethren or its members.
BSC— Brethren Service Committee, renamed, June 1947, Brethren
Service Commission. Sometimes called the service committee.
CPS— Civilian Public Service.
Dykstra, Clarence A.— First Director of the Selective Service System.
IV-E— Draft classification of conscientious objectors assigned to CPS.
French, Paul Comly— Executive Secretary, NSBRO.
Guinea Pigs— Assignees used as subjects in scientific experiments.
Hershey, Lewis B.— Director of the Selective Service System.
Historic Peace Churches— The Church of the Brethren, the Friends,
and the Mennonites.
J-A-O— The draft classification of conscientious objectors inducted
to non combatant service in the armed forces.
Kosch, Lewis F.— Head, Camp Operations Division, Selective Service.
NSBRO— The National Service Board for Religious Objectors, Wash-
ington, D.C. Sometimes shortened to the National Service Board.
Row, W. Harold— National Director of Brethren CPS. After March
1, 1948, secretary of the Brethren Service Commission.
Selective Service— The Camp Operations Division of the national
headquarters of the Selective Service System, responsible for the
direction of Civilian Public Service.
Technical Agency— The agency responsible for directing the work
program— the "using" agency of each project.
Zigler, M. R.— Executive Secretary, Brethren Service Committee (un-
til February 29, 1948) and chairman, NSBRO.
Appendix
Additional Brethren CPS Units
The following units have not been described in the text, and are
noted here to complete the listing of Brethren CPS projects. Some
were sponsored by the Brethren for only a portion of their history, or
were established late in the CPS program. Others involved only
small numbers of men.
Alexian Brothers Hospital, Chicago. A special project operated in
conjunction with this general hospital. Assignees served chiefly as
nurses. Under the CPS administration of the Catholics until late
1945, when it became a Brethren-administered unit.
Bowie, Maryland. A special project operated in conjunction with
the Department of Agriculture and the Department of the Interior
on the Patuxent Wildlife Refuge. Various assignments connected
with the wildlife experiments and studies, and with the maintenance
of the refuge. Until 1945, jointly administered by the Brethren, the
Friends, and the Mennonites; then Brethren-administered until, in
the final months of CPS, it became a government-administered unit.
Gainesville, Florida. A special project in public health in Florida,
concerned with hookworm elimination. First administered as a
Friends unit, in 1946 it became a Brethren-administered unit.
Mount Weather (Bluemont), Virginia. A special project operated
in conjunction with the United States Weather Bureau. Assign-
ments included the collection and charting of weather data and
maintenance of the station.
Olustee, Florida. A small special Forest Service research project.
Experimental work in various phases of forest management, includ-
ing chemical research, plant pathology, experimental field work in
turpentine production, and timber management. Established in
1945.
Appendix 459
Guinea Pig Units. Special projects utilizing CPS assignees as
subjects and/or technicians in scientific experiments. The Brethren
sponsored such units, involving small numbers of men, at the Uni-
versity of Chicago, Cornell University, University of Illinois, Indi-
ana University, Johns Hopkins University, University of Minnesota,
Northwestern University, University of Michigan, Ohio State Uni-
versity, and the Mayo Aero Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. In the
Brethren-administered unit at Chicago University, the men served
chiefly as ward attendants and technicians in a malaria experiment
involving mental patients of the Manteno state hospital. At Cornell
University the men served as subjects in a study of the relation of
the protein level in the diet to resistance to cold weather. The men
served as subjects, at the University of Illinois unit, in a study on
the effect of diet on the ability to withstand sudden and intensive ex-
posure to cold. At Indiana University the assignees participated in
an experiment testing the effects of various types of clothing in
hot climates. At Johns Hopkins University, the men were subjects in
an experiment on protein metabolism relative to variations in diet.
At the University of Michigan, the conscientious objectors partici-
pated in an experiment to investigate the ability of men to work
under tropical conditions. At the University of Minnesota, the CPS
assignees were subjects and technicians in nutrition experiments.
The experiment at Northwestern University used the men in a
study of the effects of diet upon altitude tolerance. At Ohio State
University, work of the Brethren unit centered about an experiment
to determine physiological reactions to rapid change in barometric
pressure. At the Mayo Aero Clinic unit, the conscientious objectors
participated in an experiment involving the physiological reactions
of human beings to the conditions of operation under which modern
aviation is being developed.
The Selective Training and Service Act of 1940
Sections Relevant to Civilian Public Service
Sec. 5(g)
Nothing contained in this Act shall be construed to require any
person to be subject to combatant training and service in the land
460 Pathways of Peace
or naval forces of the United States who, by reason of religious
training and belief, is conscientiously opposed to participation in war
in any form. Any such person claiming such exemption from com-
batant training and service because of such conscientious objections
whose claim is sustained by the local board shall, if he is inducted
into the land or naval forces under this Act, be assigned to noncom-
batant service as denned by the President, or shall, if he is found to
be conscientiously opposed to participation in such noncombatant
service, in lieu of such induction, be assigned to work of national im-
portance under civilian direction. Any such person claiming such
exemption from combatant training and service because of such con-
scientious objections shall, if such claim is not sustained by the local
board, be entitled to an appeal to the appropriate appeal board pro-
vided for in section 10 (a) (2). Upon the filing of such appeal with
the appeal board, the appeal board shall forthwith refer the matter
to the Department of Justice for inquiry and hearing by the Depart-
ment or the proper agency thereof. After appropriate inquiry by
such agency, a hearing shall be held by the Department of Justice
with respect to the character and good faith of the objections of the
person concerned, and such person shall be notified of the time and
place of such hearing. The Department shall, after such hearing, if
the objections are found to be sustained, recommend to the appeal
board (1) that if the objector is inducted into the land or naval
forces under this Act, he shall be assigned to noncombatant service
as defined by the President, or (2) that if the objector is found to be
conscientiously opposed to participation in such noncombatant serv-
ice, he shall in lieu of such induction be assigned to work of na-
tional importance under civilian direction. If after such hearing the
Department finds that his objections are not sustained, it shall recom-
mend to the appeal board that such objections be not sustained.
The appeal board shall give consideration to but shall not be bound
to follow the recommendation of the Department of Justice together
with the record on appeal from the local board in making its deci-
sion. Each person whose claim for exemption from combatant train-
ing and service because of conscientious objections is sustained shall
be listed by the local board on a register of conscientious objectors.
Sec. 10(a) The President is authorized—
Appendix 461
(1) to prescribe the necessary rules and regulations to carry out
the provisions of this act;
(2) to create and establish a Selective Service System, and shall
provide for the classification of registrants and of persons who vol-
unteer for induction under this Act on the basis of availability for
training and service, and shall establish within the Selective Service
System civilian local boards, civilian appeal boards, and such other
agencies, including agencies of appeal, as may be necessary to carry
out the provisions of this Act. . . .
Sec 10(b)
The President is authorized to delegate to the Director of Selective
Service only, any authority vested in him under this Act (except
section 9). The Director of Selective Service may delegate and pro-
vide for the delegation of any authority so delegated to him by the
President and any other authority vested in him under this Act, to
such officers, agents, or persons as he may designate or appoint for
such purpose or as may be designated or appointed for such purpose
pursuant to such rules and regulations as he may prescribe.
Executive Order of President Roosevelt
Authorizing the Director of Selective Service to establish an alterna-
tive service program for conscientious objectors
Executive Order 8675
Authorizing the Director of Selective Service to Establish
or Designate Work of National Importance Under Civilian
Direction for Persons Conscientiously Opposed to Combat-
ant and Non-Combatant Service in the Land or Naval
Forces of the United States.
By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Selective Training
and Service Act of 1940 (Pub. No. 783, 76th Cong.), it is hereby
ordered as follows:
1. The Director of Selective Service, hereinafter called the Di-
rector, is authorized to establish, designate, or determine work of
national importance under civilian direction to which may be as-
462 Pathways of Peace
signed persons found under section 5 (g) of the Selective Training
and Service Act of 1940 to be conscientiously opposed to participa-
tion in combatant and non-combatant training and service in the
land or naval forces of the United States.
2. The Director shall make the necessary assignments to such
work, shall determine the agencies, organizations, or individuals
that may provide civilian direction thereof, and shall have general
supervision and control over such work.
3. To the extent that he may deem necessary to carry out the pro-
visions of this order, the Director may utilize the services of the De-
partments, officers, and agents of the United States; accept the serv-
ices of officers and agents of the several states, territories, and the
District of Columbia, and the subdivisions thereof; and accept vol-
untary services of private organizations and individuals; and may
obtain, by purchase, loan, or gift, equipment and supplies from
Federal and other public agencies and private organizations and in-
dividuals, with or without advertising or formal contract.
4. The Director is authorized to prescribe such rules and regula-
tions as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this order.
FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT
Dated February 6, 1941
Published in the Federal Register, February 7, 1941
Dykstra-Roosevelt Memorandum
Copy of a memorandum from the Director of Selective Service to the
President outlining a proposed working agreement between the
National Service Board for Religious Objectors and Selective Service.
With the approval of the President (December 19, 1940), this plan
became the basis upon which the CPS program was initiated.
Memorandum to The President.
From: The Director of Selective Service.
RE: Conscientious Objectors
The problem: The Selective Service Law provides that conscien-
tious objectors who object to non-combatant military training "shall
in lieu of such induction be assigned to work of national importance
Appendix 463
under civilian direction." There is at present no specific appropri-
ation for this purpose.
During the World War conscientious objectors presented difficul-
ties to both the armed forces and the law enforcement agencies far
out of proportion to the numbers involved. To avoid so far as pos-
sible a recurrence of such difficulties, a temporary and experimental
solution along the following lines is believed desirable.
All conscientious objectors willing to accept non-combatant mili-
tary service will be inducted in the Army for such service. It is esti-
mated that approximately half of the conscientious objectors will fall
in this category.
It is recommended that the remaining conscientious objectors,
estimated at about 5000 of the current quota of 800,000 men, be as-
signed to civilian camps for soil conservation and reforestation work.
In the absence of specific appropriations the Secretary of War,
the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of the Interior, and the
Director of Selective Service have informally agreed as follows, sub-
ject to your approval:
1. The War Department will furnish or loan cots, bedding, and
other items of camp equipment so far as feasible and necessary.
2. The Departments of Agriculture and The Interior will pro-
vide technical supervision for soil conservation and other similar
projects for these men, as well as tools and other necessary equipment
to the extent practicable. The Department has many projects of
national importance for which manpower has not heretofore been
available, which can be undertaken if this plan is approved.
3. The Federal Security Agency has agreed to cooperate, and may
be able to make available certain abandoned C.C.C. Camp sites, and
perhaps certain tools and equipment.
4. Selective Service will furnish general administrative and policy
supervision and inspection, and will pay the men's transportation
costs to the camps, as permitted under the Selective Service appropri-
ation.
5. The National Council for Conscientious Objectors, represent-
ing those church groups which include in their membership a large
proportion of the conscientious objectors, has agreed for a temporary
464 Pathways of Peace
period to undertake the task of financing and furnishing all other
necessary parts of the program, including actual day-to-day super-
vision and control of the camps (under such rules and regulations
and administrative supervision as is laid down by Selective Service),
to supply subsistence, necessary buildings, hospital care, and gen-
erally all things necessary for the care and maintenance of the men.
Admittance to these camps will not be dependent on membership in
the particular church groups undertaking this work. These church
groups recognize the special problem created by the conscientious
objector. Although generally opposed to the institution of war, they
wish to serve their country in a manner compatible with their point
of view by undertaking this voluntary obligation.
It is believed that a more intelligent and understanding handling
of the problem of the conscientious objector will be possible in the
type of cooperative program herein outlined than would be possible
under entire governmental auspices. It is further believed that the
voluntary assumption of financial and supervisory responsibility by
those who have taken part in the religious training leading to con-
scientious objection will meet with general public approval, if prop-
erly administered.
There is precedent in the successful furloughing of conscientious
objectors to the Society of Friends during the World War.
Should it develop that the church groups cannot permanently
meet the considerable financial outlay, or that difficulties develop in
the program here outlined, the Government could at any time modi-
fy the program or take it over in its entirety.
Due to the absence of specific appropriations and possible legal
limitations in the cooperating departments to the use of personnel
and material, it may be necessary to request a comparatively small
amount from the President's special defense funds or an appropria-
tion by Congress to implement the program herein outlined.
The Director of the Budget and the Advisory Committee on Se-
lective Service concur in this recommendation.
C. A. DYKSTRA
Director of Selective Service
The National Council for [Religious] Conscientious Objectors referred to above
had become the National Service Board for Religious Objectors by December 1940.
Appendix 465
Evolution of the Brethren Service Committee
November 1939
Council of Boards approves a Commission on Peace and Relief to
carry on work in these areas for the Church of the Brethren. Com-
mission to be composed of members of the Board of Christian Educa-
tion and the General Mission Board. Work of the commission to be
carried on by an executive committee composed of board members
and others. Leland S. Brubaker, Andrew W. Cordier, Paul W. Kinsel,
Nora Rhodes, and L. W. Shultz chosen as the executive committee.
November 1939
Executive committee votes to name itself the Brethren Service
Committee, subject to final approval by Council of Boards.
June 1940
Ocean Grove Conference authorizes the General Mission Board
and the Board of Christian Education to administer peace and relief
jointly through an executive committee known as the Brethren
Service Committee.
Standing Committee indicates M. R. Zigler might be released by
the General Boards for the work of the Advisory Committee for
Conscientious Objectors, if the task should call for considerable time.
M. R. Zigler elected chairman of Advisory Committee for Consci-
entious Objectors.
Ocean Grove Conference recommends chairman of Advisory Com-
mittee to be a member of the Brethren Service Committee in order to
co-ordinate work of the two groups.
Ocean Grove Conference appoints Leland S. Brubaker, Andrew W.
Cordier, Paul W. Kinsel, Nora Rhodes, L. W. Shultz, and M. R.
Zigler to the Brethren Service Committee.
December 1940
J. A. Robinson and J. I. Baugher added to the Brethren Service
Committee by special session of Standing Committee, meeting in
Chicago.
Committee of three appointed by special session of Standing Com-
mittee, Chicago, to study constitution of the Brethren Service Com-
mittee.
466 Pathways of Peace
June 1941
Brethren Service Committee reorganized by La Verne Conference
adopting report of the above committee of three.
1. Brethren Service Committee to consist of five members ap-
pointed by the Annual Conference with each general board to
appoint an ex-officio member. Associate representation to be
granted other Brethren bodies if at any time they desire to share
in the service of this committee.
2. Council of Boards to guide large policy.
3. Five 1941 appointees by La Verne Conference: Paul H. Bow-
man, Andrew W. Cordier, Mrs. Ross D. Murphy, L. W. Shultz, M.
R. Zigler.
4. Former Brethren Service Committee and Committee on Council
for Conscientious Objectors (Advisory Committee for Conscien-
tious Objectors) dissolved.
June 1942
Revision of procedure provides for all nine members of the com-
mittee to be finally approved by Annual Conference.
March 1943
Brethren Service Committee incorporated in State of Illinois.
March 1947
Brethren Service Committee reorganized, with other boards and
committees of the church, under the General Brotherhood Board.
June 1947
Brethren Service Committee re-named Brethren Service Com-
mission.
Persons who served on the Brethren Service Committee at various
times: J. I. Baugher, Charles D. Bonsack, Paul H. Bowman, Warren
D. Bowman, M. J. Brougher, Leland S. Brubaker, Andrew W. Cor-
dier, C. Ernest Davis, George L. Detweiler, J. Linwood Eisenberg,
Hylton Harman, T. F. Henry, Paul Kinsel, W. Newton Long, Bur-
ton Metzler, Mrs. Ross D. Murphy, W. W. Peters, Nora Rhodes,
Herbert F. Richards, J. A. Robinson, Ralph E. Shober, Gordon
Shull, L. W. Shultz, Claud Studebaker, Charlotte Weaver, M. R.
Zigler.
Appendix 467
Public Opinion on Conscientious Objectors
Results of a Public Opinion Poll on Conscientious Objectors Con-
ducted by the Office of Public Opinion Research, Princeton, New
Jersey, April 1945*
1. In general, do you approve or disapprove of Conscientious Ob-
jectors?
Approve 26.0%
Disapprove 65.1
No Opinion 8.9
2. Many Conscientious Objectors are willing to be sent overseas
to help in relief work in war areas. Do you approve or disapprove
of their going?
Approve 75.3%
Disapprove 18.5
No Opinion 6.2
3. At present Conscientious Objectors who are drafted by the
government for work receive no pay for their work. Their depend-
ents receive no financial aid.
(A) Would you approve or disapprove of their dependents re-
ceiving some federal aid?
Approve 67.1%
Disapprove 24.4
No Opinion 8.5
(B) Would you approve or disapprove of Conscientious Objectors
receiving some pay for their work?
Approve 60.8%
Disapprove 30.3
No Opinion 8.9
4. Should Conscientious Objectors, who are drafted for work, be
assigned to manual work in labor camps, or should they be assigned
to jobs which make use of their skills and training?
Skilled Jobs 70.9%
Manual Work in Labor Camps 16.8
No Opinion 12.3
•The questions of the poll were administered to 1184 persons representing a
typical sample of the national population in regard to age, sex, economic, educa-
tional, and geographic background, and other factors.
468 Pathways of Peace
Public Opinion on Conscientious Objectors
Poll of Opinions on Significant Conscientious Objector
Issues*, 19431944
% By Educational Levels
Questions and General % % %
alternatives public Grammar High College
N-308 N-95 N-107 N-105
1. Have you ever heard of CO's?
Yes 96.5 91.6 98.2 99.0
No 3.5 8.4 1.8 1.0
2. Should government allow men
to choose to fight in war?
Yes 16.6 12.6 12.2 24.7
No 80.0 82.1 85.1 73.2
No opinion 3.3 5.3 2.8 1.9
3. Motivation of CO's?
Not cowards 49.4 25.3 52.3 62.4
Partly cowards 23.4 31.6 21.5 18.1
Cowards 23.4 36.8 23.4 11.4
No opinion 3.9 6.3 2.8 2.9
4. Program for CO's?
Keep peacetime jobs 3.2 4.2 3.7 1.9
Farming; reforestation 30.2 21.0 32.7 36.1
Medical at front 44.5 31.6 46.7 54.1
Fight or jail 20.4 40.0 15.9 6.7
No opinion 1.6 3.2 .9 1.0
5. Should government support
CO's assigned to camps?
Yes 76.0 67.3 73.0 86.5
No 22.7 31.6 27.1 10.5
No opinion 1.3 1.1 0 2.9
6. (If Yes)
Pay them same or less than
private?
Same 70.4 62.4 70.5 78.0
Appendix 469
Less 26.5 34.4 28.2 18.7
No opinion 3.0 3.1 1.3 3.3
7. May CO's proselytize during the
war?
Yes 11.4 5.3 9.4 19.0
No 87.0 94.8 88.0 78.9
No opinion 1.6 0. 2.8 1.9
8. Friendly after war?
Just as friendly 55.1 32.6 61.8 69.3
Not so friendly 42.5 64.1 38.4 26.7
No opinion 2.3 3.2 0 3.8
9. Hire after war?
Just as quickly 32.8 20.0 29.0 47.6
Not so quicldy 65.9 79.0 71.0 48.5
No opinion 1.3 1.1 0 2.9
10. Civil Service after war?
Yes 47.6 27.3 43.0 70.5
No 49.3 69.4 54.2 26.7
No opinion 2.9 3.2 2.8 2.9
1 1. Number of CO's is few or a lot?
Few 57.4 40.0 61.8 64.3
Lot 25.0 37.9 21.6 17.5
No opinion 17.6 22.1 16.8 13.6
'Based on a representative sample of three hundred cases (stratified for repre-
sentativeness in the following fashion: age within sex within economic status)
gathered in late 1943 and early 1944 in the Trenton. New Jersey, area, by trained
interviewers, hired from the staff of the Opinion Research Corporation, under the
direction of Dr. Leo P. Crespi. In a report of the poll. Dr. Crespi, of the de-
partment of psychology, Princeton University, indicated that, in general, the re-
mits can be looked upon as reflecting pre-D-Day wartime attitudes toward CO's.
The above statistical data and additional information may be found in the com-
plete report of the poll, Leo P. Crespi, "Public Opinion Toward Conscientious Ob-
jectors: IV. Opinions on Significant Conscientious Objector Issues," The Journal of
Psychology, Volume 19, 1945. pages 277-310.
Interpretation of Data: "The first major conclusion of this study
is that in their specific opinions, just as in their general attitude, the
public manifests (a) substantial tolerance toward CO's, and (b)
limited agreement with CO principles.
470 Pathways of Peace
"The substantial amount of public tolerance ... is shown most
clearly in specific opinions on the question of what to do with CO's
during this war, and on the question of whether the government
should support CO's assigned to public-service camps. On the former
question, four-fifths of the general public, by not demanding that
CO's be given the choice of fight or jail, indicate that they accept the
principle of alternative service for CO's. On the question concern-
ing government support, over three-fourths of the public indicate
that the government should provide wages and a family allotment
for CO's assigned to work-camps. Of the members of the public who
express this belief, the great majority feel the compensation should
be the same as rather than less than that received by a private in the
Army.
"The limited amount of agreement with the CO point of view . . .
is shown most clearly in specific opinions on the question regarding
CO-philosophy— should the government allow men of draft age to
choose whether or not they will fight in this war— and on the ques-
tion regarding proselytizing ... ." (Crespi, op. cit., page 306.)
The estimated postwar reaction to CO's was most favorable in the
realm of social relations and least favorable in political and economic
realms.
A major conclusion of the poll was that education was a very sig-
nificant determinant of attitude toward CO's. Opinions in higher
educational levels were more favorable toward conscientious ob-
jectors.
Other findings of this poll indicated the influence of sex, age, and
economic status as factors determining attitude toward CO's. In the
age differences in opinions, a slightly greater leniency was found in
younger respondents (under 40). Concerning sex differences, women
did not differ significantly from men in specific opinions on concrete
issues regarding CO's. Data from the poll also revealed that to the
extent that economic status was correlated with education, rise in
economic status was associated with increase in favor to CO's.
(Data suggested, however, that economic status was not a major de-
terminant of attitudes.)
Appendix 471
General Statement on Civilian Public Service by the
Brethren Service Committee
In March 1946, the Brethren Service Committee issued a general
statement on CPS. The following extracts from the statement re-
veal the interpretation and policy of the committee at that time.
Interpretation of C.P.S.: The B.S.C. recognizes C.P.S. as a limited
instrument that is inadequate for the achievement of all ends sought
by pacifists. We consider C.P.S. further as a working compromise
between church and state— the church submitting under conscrip-
tion to an alternative to military service, and the state recognizing
conscience as the basis of exemption from military service. Thus,
C.P.S. is an imposed and regimented pattern of life rather than a
voluntary coming together of like-minded people in a free and un-
restricted community. Although restricted by such factors as Con-
gressional action, public opinion, pressure groups, Selective Service,
and administrative agencies, we regard C.P.S. as a true community of
men who hold in common at least one ideal— objection to war. This
community is an opportunity to evolve a working democracy, and to
live the good life under limiting circumstances— a place for both
personal and community growth. Without exception, as Brethren,
we interpret C.P.S. as a demand for the Christian life. And we be-
lieve that by maintaining the program of C.P.S. we seek to provide
for persons opposed to military service the means for legally express-
ing that conviction. Through an alternative that renders service to
country, church, and the world, we seek work that develops human
and physical resources, and exemplifies co-operative, peaceful, and
serviceable ways of community living, thereby attempting to re-
move the causes of war. As we review our C.P.S. experience ... we
are aware that we have not always realized these ideals. The ideals
remain, nevertheless, the ends which we constantly strive to attain.
Responsibilities: The B.S.C. assumes responsibility for the main-
tenance of Brethren men assigned to C.P.S. and, through the Na-
tional Service Board for Religious Objectors, for its share for all
other men in C.P.S. This is more than a financial responsibility. It
includes religious, educational, and personnel guidance; medical
care; dependency aid; and general welfare.
472 Pathways of Peace
Administration and Leadership: In accordance with its interpre-
tation of C.P.S. as an opportunity for true community living, the
B.S.C. seeks to provide leadership (camp directors, unit leaders, and
administrative personnel) selected through the mutual consultation
of persons who represent the interest involved .... The B.S.C. at-
tempts to share the policy-making authority delegated to it by Se-
lective Service.
Assignee Representation: We . . * believe that the opinions of
C.P.S. men should be obtained and used in matters of policy-making
and program planning.
A B.C.P.S. Council of democratically elected assignees meets peri-
odically with the B.S.C. to review the program, share concerns, and
suggest policy. This assignee opinion is earnestly sought by the
B.S.C, and although it does not necessarily determine the course of
action the B.S.C. will take, it does have an important place in policy
decisions. Assignee opinion obviously cannot alone be considered the
determining factor in B.S.C. decisions. Other factors that must be
considered are: the relation of the B.S.C. to the church constituency,
the opinion of B.S.C. members themselves, future Congressional ac-
tion, etc.
Projects: The Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 author-
izes Selective Service to determine what constitutes work of national
importance. However, the B.S.C. recognizes an obligation to work
for projects that provide men with opportunities commensurate with
their ideals, abilities, and interests. The committee will continue to
evaluate projects in the light of the following principles:
1. Consistency with Christianity and pacifism.
2. Social need and usefulness.
3. Nonmilitary significance.
4. Racial, religious, and political equality.
5. Utilization of skills, training, and interests.
6. Nonjeopardy of labor standards and employee opportunities.
7. Tolerant project administration.
Minorities: The problem of minorities is of special significance
in C.P.S. Idealistically the B.S.C. works for religious tolerance, racial
equality, and political freedom. In assisting in the placement of
assignees, the B.S.C. considers qualifications of the men without re-
Appendix 473
gard to race, creed or politics. In spite of our striving, however,
this ideal is not practically attained in all our projects. When an
assignee feels he cannot remain on a project under such conditions,
the B.S.C. will seek to effect satisfactory transfer to another as-
signment.
Conduct: Men who enter C.P.S. will become increasingly aware
of its limitations. Under conscription with its restrictions and com-
pulsions, there will be temptations to follow individual rather than
socially accepted standards of conduct. In such situations the B.S.C.
believes that Christian self-discipline is the most effective means to
successful group living. But when individual conduct thwarts the
established purposes of the program and is not resolved in the local
situation, the B.S.C. reserves the right to introduce some form of con-
structive and redemptive discipline consistent with the purposes and
ideals of the program.
Religion: We believe that religion should be the source of the
conviction by which men associate themselves with C.P.S. It is also
the continuing stream of inspiration by which men live in actual
situations. Where this spiritual stream continues to flow, its re-
sources enable men to face the many problems of a conscript society.
Through its religious ministry, the B.S.C. seeks to provide encourage-
ment that will inspire and sustain personal and community religious
values. This ministry not only encourages the Brethren traditions,
but also attempts to promote the commonly held Christian values
through means that strive for the realization of our Master's hope
that "all may be one."
Education: The B.S.C. likewise feels the responsibility to provide,
when possible in a conscript society, opportunities and facilities for
education. This educational program is stimulated and planned to
provide opportunities for personal growth and the creative change
of social institutions.
The Future: Although it is always easier to describe the past
than to venture into the future, we feel increasingly certain that
C.P.S. at best can be only a temporary phase of the current pacifist
testimony. C.P.S. is not an institution of such intrinsic worth that we
desire to perpetuate it indefinitely. From C.P.S. as it is now, we
must move to a clearer, stronger, and more consistent witness to the
474 Pathways of Peace
spirit of Christ. It is our opinion that in providing for conscientious
objectors during this war, substantial progress has been made over
World War I. Should peacetime conscription or another war come
upon us, we must prepare ourselves to advance from where we now
stand.
Conclusion: In the light of what we already know about the
power and uses of atomic energy, a lack of religious conviction can
plunge our world into the abyss of self-destruction. As Christians we
must create those forces that will prevent this destiny with death.
Our opportunity to avert this catastrophe becomes greater as our
government more nearly approaches the ways of the kingdom of
God. But should the dictates of the state prevent us from fulfilling
our responsibilities to the kingdom of God, we shall obey God rather
than man, take our stand, and prepare ourselves for the oppression
and persecution that is likely to follow. For the present we intend
to continue, in partnership with the government, those constructive
activities which demonstrate the effective force of that Love which
overcomes evil and transforms society.
Index
Ablett. Joseph. 218
Accrediting, 402
Administrators conferences, 409
Administrators training schools, 408
Advisory Committee for Conscientious
Objectors, 39. 42. 44
Advisory council. BCPS. 414
Affiliations, religious, 50
Age levels. BCPS. 53
Agricultural college and experiment
station units. 254
Aims of Brethren CPS, 44
Alexian hospital, 458
Alternative Service Proposals, 1940, 42
Annual Conferences,
1781-18 1911-27
1785-20 1924-33
1790-20 1931-24
1836-21 1932-24, 36
1840-21 1935-24
1845-21 1938-25
1863-21 1940-25. 465
1864-22 1941-44, 466
1884-26 1946-47
Annual Meetings, see Annual Confer-
ences
Anticonscription activities, base camps,
160
Appeals from draft classifications, 374
Area supervisors, 193. 219. 409
Assignee concerns, 416
Assignee representation, 109, 411
Assignees, characteristics of. 49
Assignees, viewpoints on war. peace,
and alternative service, 62
Assignment of conscientious objector
draftees, 375
Assistant directors, special projects, 192
Attendant, The, 236
Augusta hospital. 206
Sainton, Roland, 128
Banu, Wilbur. 193
Barr, Ernest, 272
Base camps, description of, 102
Base camps, organization, 102
Base camps, work projects, 73
Baugher, J. I., 466
Bcbec, Raymond, 219
Beckford, Lewis, 107
Bedford, camp, 85
Belden, camp, 75
Bell. B. Tartt, 406
Bibliographical Note, 447
Bittinger. D. W.. 128
Blickenstaff. David, 335. 336, 345
Blickenstaff, L. C, 107
Block, Ervin, 272
Board of Christian Education, 36, 37. 38
Boisen. Dr. A. T., 58
Bonsack, C. D., 466
Bowie. 458
Bowman. John, 219
Bowman. P. H., 34, 37. 39. 42. 395, 396,
466
Bowman, P. H., Jr., 107, 299. 307
Bowman, R. D., 34, 37
Bowman, S. L., 107
Bowman, W. D., 466
Brashares, Charles, 325
BCPS Bulletin, 406
BCPS Council. 414
BCPS Council, members, 415
Brethren college plan, 402
Brethren polity, change in. 25
Brethren Service Certificates, 424, 426
Brethren Service Committee
Agricultural college and experiment
station units, responsibilities. 257
Attitude toward special projects, 202
Base camps, responsibilities, 103
Dairy farms, responsibilities, 241
Dairy testing, responsibilities, 253
Evolution of, 465
Financial responsibilities, 431
476
Pathways of Peace
Financial responsibilities. special
projects. 292. 297. 315, 344. 354
Formation of. 38
Policy, conscience and the work proj-
ect, 95
Policy, emergency farm labor, 93
Policy statement, 471
Brethren -sustained projects, 430
Brethren-sustained projects, expendi-
tures of. 434
Brethren Young People's Department,
36
Briggs. Charming, 219
B rougher, M. J.. 466
Brubaker, L. S., 38. 318, 344. 466
Brumbaugh Reconstruction unit, 333
Buckley training school, 206, 211
Burke. Eldon. 318
Burke, Dr. H. L., 335
Bushong. B. G.. 324, 325
Buttrick, G. A.. 128
Cambridge hospital, 206
Camp atmosphere. 176
Camp community meetings, 110
Camp government. 109
Carlson, Jim. 173
Carper, F. S.. 37
Cascade Locks, camp, 75
Case. Robert, 107, 412
Cassel, Dr. F. K., 335
Carter, R. C. 277
Cash, J. G., 254
Castafier, 333
Boys camp, 351
Central administration. 343
Community center, 340, 350
First assignees, 335
Public health, 348
Technical agencies, 353
Hospital, appropriation for by In-
sular Legislature. 346
Hospital, statistics. 338. 347
Rural clinics, 347
Central administration, BCPS, 395
Central Service Committee, 30, 31, 33
Cessna, Harold, 107, 273
Chamberlin, Alfred. 241
Chatterjee. M. N., 128
China Unit, Lagro, 313
Christenberry. D. K.. 107. 219
Civil War, the Brethren and. 21
CPS Reserves, 324
CPS Union. 413
Classification of conscientious objector
registrants, 374
Cline. W. Z.. 107. 241
Clothing contributions, BCPS. 427
Coffman, Dr. Carl. 314, 335
College Park, 261
Colony training school, 206, 211
Columbia relief unit. 315
Columbus hospital. 206. 234
Committee on Legal Counsel for Con-
scientious Objectors. 37
Community relations, hospitals, 233
Community service projects, base camps,
172
Compensation insurance, 378, 385
Conference method of selecting person-
nel, 412
Conscience and work project, 92. 96
Consultative Council, NSBRO, 391, 392
Copemish, camp. 74
Cordier, A. W.. 38, 318, 333. 335. 466
Cornell University. 262. 459
Costs, daily, monthly, per man, 436
Creative Citizenship, 39
Crespi, L. P., 469
Crestview, 273
Crumpton, Enoch, 107
Curry, A. S., 428
Dairy farm assignments. 240
Dairy testing assignments, 249
Dakin, E. L., 427
Davis, C. E., 466
Davis, Charles, 107, 219
Dayton hospital, 206. 226
Dayton relief center. 322
DeLauter. Ora, 269
Delk, Ralph, 219
Demobilization services, 405
Dependency, 384, 399, 435
Dependency Council. NSBRO. 391
Detweiler, G. L., 466
Dickey, Galen, 406
Directors, camp, 106
Discharge from CPS. 376
Dodd, A. D.. 174
Dotterer, Stanley. 219
Draft law, peace groups and. 364
Duluth. 260
Duprf, Vladimir. 403
Index
477
Dykitn, C. A., 43, 368
Dykstra-Roosevelt memorandum, 462
East Lansing, 258
Eby, Kermit. 128
Ecker. J. A., 403
Education, central BCPS office. 400
Educational activities, mental hospitals.
225
Educational aid. 402
Educational levels. BCPS. 52
Educational program, base camps. 117
Educational program, base camps, aims,
119
Eisenberg. J. L., 466
Elliott, Robert. 219
Elrod. James. 428
Emergency farm labor. 92
Emmert, M. W., 33
Evaluation of BCPS, 441
Everson, William. 150. 151
Expenditures, BCPS. 430
Fellowship of Reconciliation, 228. 309.
389.394
Financial aid. 405
Financial promotion, NSBRO. 427
Financial responsibilities, peace groups,
43
Fine Arts Group. 149. 156
Fisher. Russell. 272
Fire fighting, base camps, 75
Fiuwater, Lawrence. 269
Florida State Board of Health. 273. 275.
276. 282
Food costs, BCPS. 433. 434
Forest Service. 73. 289. 369
Forney, Clyde, 107
Fort Steilacoom hospital, 206
Frantz. Charles. 325
French, P. C. 371. 384, 387, 389
Friends, 30, 33, 282. 297, 344
Frozen fund, 242
Funderburg. D. D.. 193
Furnas, P. J., 389
Gainesville, 283, 458
Garver, Earl. 107
Geier, Vance, 399
General Peace Committee, 24. 30. 32
General Welfare Board, 33
Geographic backgrounds, CPS men, 55
Gilbert, J. N.. 158
Gnagy. D. C, 107
Goshen Conference, 1916, 22. 30
Government camps. 380. 381, 386
Grand Rapids, 259
Grigsby. Ivan. 406
Guetzkow, Harold. 297
Guinea pig units, 459
Gustafson, Howard, 317. 342
Halgh. G. V., 406
Hall. Lloyd. 219
Hammond. W. M.. Jr., 398
Hanson, Marvin, 219
Harkey. W. J.. 219, 299, 300
Harley, Samuel, 107. 193
Harman, Hylton, 466
Hartman, Raymond, 325
Haynes, G. R., 152. 153
Heifer project assignments. 322
Heifers for relief. Puerto Rico, 354
Helfrick. Dr. Francis, 335
Helfrick. Dr. Sylvia. 335
Henry, T. F., 466
Hershey, L. B., 74
Hodges, Graham, 107
Hoefle. Dean. 219
Hollenberg. A. E., 130, 138, 139
Hollingsworth. Evan, 219
Hollister, Barrett. 391
Holsopple, Q. A., 107, 268
Hookworm control, 273, 274
Hopewell farm, see Williamsport
Hospital work, pacifist techniques in,
214
Huffman. Murl. 219
Hursh, Donald. 219
Huston. Ora. 107. 193
Imirie, A. S., 297
Importance of work, criticisms of, base
camps, 98
Indiana University, 459
Institute of Pacifist Disciplines, Well-
ston, 148
Interdenominational understanding, 173,
229
Ithaca. Cornell University, 262
Jaundice experiment, Norwich, 230
Johns Hopkins University, 459
Johnson, Alfred. 219
Kampelman, Max, 300
478
Pathways of Peace
Kane, camp, 75, 162
Keeton, M. T., 120, 130, 146, 154, 176,
403
Kcim, C. R., 37, 128. 169. 196
Keller, Edwin, 219
Keller, Paul, 129. 403
Keys, Ancel, 297, 299. 304
Kilhefner, Galen, 428
Kimmel, C. E., 107
King. Mark, 107
King, R. B., 317. 344. 345. 354
Kimmel, Mrs. B. F., 155
Kinsel. Paul, 38. 466
Kline, Marvin, 219
Lagro, camp. 89, 396
La Plata, 351
Lear, J. W., 428
Libraries, camp, 157
Lindsey, David, 403
Livestock attendants, 324
Location of BCPS units, 76
Long, W. N., 466
Lowden, William, 219
Lucore, Wayne, 399. 406
Lyndhurst. camp, 85
Lynn. E. V., 107, 170, 404
Lyons hospital, 206, 232. 234
Magnolia, camp, 89. 128
Mahaffey, Ray, 219
Manchester College relief unit, 318
Manistee, camp, 74
Mansfield training school, 206. 211
Manteno, 459
Map. BCPS units, 76
M aphis, Omer, 107
Marienville, camp. 75
Manila, camp, 74
Marion hospital, 206
Marital status, BCPS men, 55
Mathis, J. H., 107, 182
Mayo Aero Clinic, 459
McLean, F. A., 254
McNutt, P. V., 200
Medical, dental, costs. BCPS. 433. 434
Mennonites. 19. 30. 33, 268, 282, 297,
344, 400
Mental hospital units, 205
Mental hospitals, work assignments. 207
Mental Hygiene Program of CPS, 234
Metzler. Burton. 466
Metzler, J. D.. 428
Michigan State College, 258
Millar, Branford, 133
Miller. J. B.. 277
Miller, Myron, 269
Miller, O. O., 389
Mills, Richard, 107
Minnesota experiment, 296
Minnesota experiment, uses of, 310
Minnich, H. S.. 424
Mitchell, Morris, 128, 140
Modesto relief center, 322
Morale, base camps, 182
Mount Weather. 458
Moving pictures, base camps. 159
Mow. A. C, 427
Mulberry. 282
Murphy, R. D.. 37, 42
Murphy, Mrs. R. D., 466
Muste. A. J., 128
Myer, Dr. E. B., 335 4
Myers, James, 28
Nappanee relief center, 322
National BCPS office, 395
National Council for Religious Consci-
entious Objectors, 1940, 367
National Mental Health Foundation.
215, 238
NSBRO, 369, 370. 388
NSBRO. formation of, 30, 36
Neubauer, Allan, 219
New Windsor relief center, 322, 323.
326
Newtown hospital, 206
Nichols, Vernon, 107. 219
Non-Brethren contributions to BCPS,
427
Nordstrom, Philip. 287
Northwestern University, 459
Norwich hospital, 206
Nuhn, Ferner, 128, 175
Nutrition experiments. University of
Minnesota, 296
Occupational backgrounds, BCPS men,
56
Office of Scientific Research and De-
velopment, 298
Ohio State University. 459
Olmstead. Frank. 128
Olustee. 458
Index
479
Orientation, bate camps, 1 14
Orlando. 282
Ortmayer. Roland, 219
Osborne, Winslow, S92
"Overhead", camp, 108
Pacifist Information Center. 2S1
Page. Kirby. 128
Palsgrove. Eugene, 107
Park Service, 73, 369
Parker, Dr. D. M., 335. 345
Pay. 377. 383
Peace belief, relation to CPS. 28
Peace belief, summary, 20
Peace heritage, Brethren, 17
Pennsylvania Assembly. 1775. 19
Personnel counseling and guidance. 138.
404
Peters. W. W., 466
Philadelphia Research Unit. 318. 321
Pieh. Charles, 219
Placement, central BCPS office, 398
Population statistics. 191. 194
Post CPS aid. 434. 435
Problems, base camps, 182
Project superintendent. 103
Promotion of funds. BCPS 423.
Psychiatric Aid, The, see Attendant,
The
Public health service. 273
Public opinion poll. 310. 413. 467, 468
Puerto Rico project, see Castafier
Puerto Rico Reconstruction Adminis-
tration. 334. 353
Pyke. Dr. Charles, 219
Randell, Huldah. 392
Rath. Alfred. 219
Recreation, base camps, 165
Recreation, mental hospitals, 227
Reeves, George, 391
Relief activities, base camps. 159
Relief depots. 321
Relief training and service, ban on,
314. 320
Religious activities, base camps, 169
Religious activities, mental hospitals,
228
Religious affiliations. BCPS men. 50
Religious leadership, central BCPS of-
fice. 403
Religious program, base camps. 170
Revolutionary War. the Brethren and.
18
Rhodes. Nora. 38. 466
Richards. H. F.. 466
Rife. Lowell, 219
Rio Prieto clinic, 339. 348
Robinson. J. A.. 466
Roosevelt, President, 368. 378
Row. W. H., 45. 146. 189. 1%. 200.
273. 297, 318. 344, 390. 396, 397, 410
Rural clinics. Castafier, 347
St. Croix, 342
St. Paul. 260
St. Thomas, 342
Santa Barbara, camp, 75
Schilpp. Paul, 128
School of Cooperative Living, 125, 140.
156
School of Foods Management. 154
School of Pacifist Living, 146
School of Race Relations, 151
School of Rural Life. 265, 267
Schrock. Mark. 107. 146, 193
Seagoing cowboys, 324
Selection of projects. Selective Service,
199
Selective Service— peace group relation-
ships, 363
Selective Service, responsibilities of, 373
Selective Service System, classification
of registrants, 374
Selective Training and Service Act. 33.
459
Selective Training and Service Act, del-
egation of responsibilities under, 368
Shearer, Tom. 391
Shively, Forest, 219
Shober. R. E.. 466
Shotts. Claude. 391
Shull, Gordon, 466
Shultz, L. W.. 38, 466
Side camps, 84, 113
Simpson, Loren, 219
Smith, Wesley. 107
Smoke jumpers, 75
Snider, Don, 428
Social Action Conference, Chicago, 386
Soil Conservation Service, 73. 369
Soil conservation work. 89
Sollenberger, Howard. 314
Sollenberger, Paul. 219
480
Pathways of Peace
Solknberger, Robert, 107
Spaulding, Mrs. J. L., 155
"Sped*) detail," 109
Special projects. 188
Special projects, influence on base
camps, 195
Spike camps, see Side camps
Squires, J. W.. 292
Staff, camp, 108
Stafford. William. 403
Starvation and rehabilitation experi-
ment. 296
Stevens, R. W., 299
Stinebaugb, Galen, 107
Stinebaugh, V. H., 159. 219
Stronach, camp, 74
Studebaker, Claud. 466
Sykesville hospital. 206
Tallahassee, 284, 286
Taylor, K. W., 128
Terms of service, length of. BCPS men,
57
Thomas, Cecil and Frances, 152
Throop, Carl. 107
Tittle. William, 107
Townsend, Mildred, 274
Townsend. Ralph, 273, 282
Training and skills, utilization of, 98
Training schools, work assignments, 211
Transfer procedure, 195
Tuttle. Richard. 219. 399
Underwood. F. N., 219
UNRRA. 324, 325
University of Chicago, 459
University of Illinois, 459
University of Maryland, 261
University of Michigan, 459
University of Minnesota, 259. 459
Using-agency-iustained projects, 430
Using-agency-sustained projects, ex-
penditures of, 435
Vidan. George. 219
Villard, O. G., 355
Visitors to camps, 127
Wakulla, 284
Waldport, camp. 75, 167
Walhalla, camp, 74
Walk-outs, 64
Walscr, T. D.. 174
War Resister's League. 394
Ward attendants, mental hospitals, 207
Waseca, 260
Watkins. Lewis, 219
Weaver, Charlotte, 466
Weaver, Clyde, 219
Weaver, J. N., 392
Webb. Charles, 317
Wellston, camp. 75, 83. 134, 167
Wenatchee canning unit, 322
West, Dan. 37, 128. 146. 147. 148, 273
Wilkinson. Virgil. 287
Will. Herman. Jr., 345
Williams, O. P., 107
Williamsport unit, 264
Wismer, Eli. 404
Withdrawal, proposals for. 421
World War I, 24
World War I. the Brethren and. 22. 32
World War II, 33
Work accomplishment records
Agricultural college and experiment
station units. 256
Base camps, 99
Crestview. 276
Hospitals, training schools, 212
Tallahassee. 294
Wright. Edwin, 405
Wright. Lowell, 219, 406
Yoder. Milo, 107
Zalduondo, 351
Ziegler, L. JL, 107, 193. 245
Zigler. M. R.. 36, 37, 42, 238. 273, 318.
344. 366. 389. 390. 396, 397, 466
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