|
Civilian Public Service (CPS) was a form of national service providing conscientious objectors in the United States an alternative to military service during World War II. From 1941 to 1947, nearly 12,000 draftees, unwilling to do any type of military service, performed work of national importance in 152 CPS camps throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. Draftees from the historic peace churches and other faiths worked in areas such as soil conservation, forestry, fire fighting, agriculture, social services and mental health. The CPS men served without wages and minimal support from the federal government. The cost of maintaining the CPS camps and providing for the needs of the men was the responsibility of their congregations and families. CPS men served longer than regular draftees, not being released until well past the end of the war. Initially skeptical of the program, government agencies learned to appreciate the men's service and requested more workers from the program. CPS made significant contributions to forest fire prevention, erosion and flood control, medical science and reform of the mental health system. Background
Experiences of World War I The conscription law of World War I provided for noncombatant service for members of a religious organization whose members were forbidden from participating in war of any form. This exemption effectively limited conscientious objector status to members of the historic peace churches: Mennonites (and other Anabaptist groups such as Hutterites), Society of Friends (Quakers) and Church of the Brethren. The law gave the President authority to assign such draftees to any noncombatant military role. Conscientious objectors who refused noncombatant service during World War I were imprisoned in military facilities such as Fort Lewis (Washington), Alcatraz Island (California) and Fort Leavenworth (Kansas). The government assumed that COs could be converted into soldiers once they were exposed to life in their assigned military camps. Simultaneously the Justice Department was preparing to indict 181 Mennonite leaders for violating the espionage act because of a statement they adopted against performing military service. The draftees' refusal to put on a uniform or cooperate in any way caused difficulties for both the government and the COs. The treatment received by nearly 2000 of these absolute COs included short rations, solitary confinement and physical abuse so severe as to cause the deaths of two Hutterite draftees. Preparation for World War II After World War I, and with another European war looming, leaders from the historic peace churches met to strategize about how to cooperate with the government to avoid the difficulties of World War I. Holding a common view that any participation in military service was not acceptable, they devised a plan of civilian alternative service, based on experience gained by American Friends Service Committee work in Europe during and after WWI and also forestry service done by Russian Mennonites in lieu of military service in Tsarist Russia. As the United States prepared for another war, the historic peace churches, represented by Friends who understood inner dealings of Washington D.C. politics, attempted to influence new draft bills to ensure their men could fulfill their duty in an alternative, non-military type of service. On 1940-06-20, the Burke-Wadsworth Bill came before Congress. The arrangements for conscientious objectors were almost identical to the WWI provisions. Selective Service Act The Friends representatives continued attempting to make the bill more favorable to the historic peace churches. The Burke-Wadsworth Bill passed on 1940-09-14 becoming the Selective Service Act of 1940. The influence of the churches was evident in section 5(g), which says in part: Any such person claiming such exemption from combatant training and service ... in lieu of such induction, be assigned to work of national importance under civilian direction. The bill offered four improvements from the perspective of the churches over the WWI provisions. The exemption applied to conscientious objection based on religious training or belief, opening the door for members of any religious denomination to apply for CO status. Draftees turned down by local draft board could appeal under the new law. Assignments to work of national importance would be under civilian, not military, control. With COs under civilian control, violations of the law were subject to federal, not military, courts. From the military perspective, it removed the burden of dealing with thousands of uncooperative draftees and the concern that their philosophy would spread to others. Unlike harsher methods, the military found that this gentler approach resulted in about one in eight eventually transferring to military service. Organization When registration commenced on 1940-10-16, no structure was in place to handle thousands of anticipated conscientious objectors. Church representatives meeting with government officials learned that little thought had been put into the program, and the churches were advised to create a plan. Because the government wanted to deal with one body, not individual religious denominations, the National Council for Religious Conscientious Objectors was formed as a liaison between the churches and the federal government. The historic peace churches outlined a plan that included running and maintaining CPS camps under church control. However, President Roosevelt opposed any plan not involving military control over the draftees. To save their plan and retain civilian direction of the program, the churches offered to fund the camps. Aides to the President convinced Roosevelt that putting the COs to work in out of the way camps was preferable to repeating the difficulties of World War I. Selective Service and the peace churches agreed to a six-month trial of church supported and funded camps for conscientious objectors and thus Civilian Public Service was born. The first camp opened on 1941-05-15 near Baltimore, Maryland. A total of 152 camps and units were established over the next six years. The federal government provided work projects, housing, camp furnishings and paid for transportation to the camps. The responsibilities of the churches included day-to-day management of the camps, subsistence costs, meals and healthcare for the men. When the young men arrived at the first camps, they started a six month experiment that would extend to six years. Camp life The Civilian Public Service men lived in barracks-style camps, such as former Civilian Conservation Corps facilities. The camps served as a base of operations, from which the COs departed to their daily assignments. The sites were typically located in rural settings near the agricultural, soil conservation and forestry projects where the work took place. A large camp such as number 57 near Hill City, South Dakota, had five dormitories and housed up to 172 men building the Deerfield Dam. Later, with projects located in urban areas, the men lived in smaller units, communal housing near their assignments. The CPS men typically worked nine hours, six days per week. Mennonite Central Committee, American Friends Service Committee and Brethren Service Committee administered almost all of the camps. Association of Catholic Conscientious Objectors ran four camps and Methodist World Peace Commission two. Each camp was assigned a director responsible for supervising camp operation. The director saw to the needs of the men, oversaw maintenance of the camp facilities, handled community relations and reported to Selective Service officials. Initially pastors filled the camp director role. Later, capable leaders from among the CPS men directed the camps. Besides the director, a matron, business manager and dietitian staffed a typical camp. An educational director was responsible for creating recreational, social and educational programs for the men. Church history, Bible and first aid were standard course topics. The strength of instructional programs varied from camp to camp, and after nine hours of physical labor, it could be difficult to motivate the men to attend classes. Most camps had libraries, some showed current films and camp number 56 near Waldport Oregon had a particular emphasis on the arts. Camps produced newsletters and yearbooks documenting their experiences. The camp dietitian, with the help of men assigned as cooks, prepared all of the meals. Camps with large gardens provided their own fresh vegetables. Sponsoring congregations also supplied home canned and fresh produce. The camps were subject to the same shortages and rationing as the rest of the nation. Sunday worship services were organized by the camp director if he was a pastor, by a visiting pastor, or by the CPS men themselves. While the historic peace churches led the way in creating CPS, 38% of the men came from other denominations and 4% claimed no religious affiliation. Men spent their free time pursuing crafts such as woodworking, rugmaking, leatherwork and photography. Outdoor activities included hiking and swimming. Men formed choirs and music ensembles, performing in neighboring towns when relations were good. The men earned two days of furlough for each month of service. These days could be saved to allow enough time to travel several hundred miles home or in some cases traded to other men in exchange for cash. Men with wives and dependents found it difficult to support their families. Beyond a small allowance, the men did not get paid for their service, nor were their dependents given an allowance. To be closer to their husbands, women sought employment near their husband's assignment. Later, when positions on dairy farms became available, families could live together in housing provided for farm workers. Men who became uncooperative with the CPS system and were unable to adjust to the church run camps were reassigned to a few camps run by the Selective Service System. These camps tended to be the least productive and most difficult to administer. Men who felt compelled to protest the restrictions placed on them by the conscription law tried various techniques to disrupt the program, such as initiating work slowdowns and labor strikes. Routine rule breaking frustrated camp directors. The most difficult cases were turned over to the federal court system and the men imprisoned. Finances Churches were primarily responsible for financing Civilian Public Service, providing for the men's food, clothes, and other material needs. The churches also provided and paid for the camp director. The men received an allowance of between $2.50 and $5.00 monthly for personal needs. When jobs were available in surrounding farms and communities, those willing to work beyond their regular CPS jobs could earn extra spending money. The federal government spent $1.3 million on the CPS program. The men performed $6 million of unpaid labor in return. Men who worked for farmers and in psychiatric hospitals received regular wages, which they were required to turn over to the federal government. Objections to this practice developed immediately because the men felt they were helping to fund the war. A compromise was reached where the wages were put into a special fund that was frozen until after the end of the war. At one point, church representatives unsuccessfully attempted to have these funds used for providing a living allowance for the men's dependents. Types of work The first Civilian Public Service projects were in rural areas where the men performed tasks related to soil conservation, agriculture and forestry. Later men were assigned to projects in cities where they worked in hospitals, psychiatric wards, and university research centers. Soil conservation and agriculture Anticipating the rural background of most men, the initial camps provided soil conservation and farming related projects. By August 1945, 550 men worked on dairy farms and with milk testing. Labor-intensive farming operations like dairies were short of workers and accepted COs to help fill the gap. Men assigned to the Bureau of Reclamation built contours to prevent soil erosion, constructed 164 reservoirs and 249 dams. A sixth of all CPS work was performed in this area. Forestry and National Parks At Forest Service and National Park Service camps CPS men were responsible for fire control. Between fires they built forest trails, cared for nursery stock, planted thousands of seedlings and engaged in pest control. Campgrounds and roadways on the Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive of Virginia are products of CPS labor. Hundreds of men volunteered for smoke jumping, showing their willingness to take great personal risks. When fire was detected by a lookout, smoke jumpers were flown directly to the site and dropped by parachute to quickly contain and extinguish the fire. From base camps scattered through the forests of Montana, Idaho and Oregon, the men were flown up to 200 miles to fire sites, carrying firefighting tools and a two-day supply of K-rations. For larger fires, additional men, supplies and food were airdropped to expand the effort. Up to 240 CPS men served in this specialized program. Mental health As the war progressed, a critical shortage of workers in psychiatric hospitals developed, because staff had left for better paying jobs with fewer hours and improved working conditions. Understaffed wards at Philadelphia State Hospital had one attendant member for 300 patients, the minimum ratio being 10:1. The government balked at initial requests that CPS workers fill these positions, believing it better to keep the men segregated in the rural camps to prevent the spread of their philosophy. Eventually the men received permission to work in the mental institutions as attendants or psychiatric aides. Individuals who found jobs at the rural camps unfulfilling and meaningless, volunteered for this new type of assignment. The mental health field promised to provide the work of national importance that the program was designed to produce. By the end of 1945, more than 2000 CPS men worked in 41 institutions in 20 states. The CPS men discovered appalling conditions in the mental hospital wards. In an interview, conscientious objector Asa Watkins described his experience when he first entered a mental hospital in October 1942:
The CPS men objected to the mistreatment and abuse of patients and determined to improve conditions in the psychiatric wards. They wanted to show other attendants alternatives to violence when dealing with patients. Outraged workers surveyed CPS men in other hospitals and learned of the depth of abuses throughout the psychiatric care system. Contacting church leaders and government officials, the COs begin advocating for reforms to put an end to the abuses. Conditions where exposed in institutions such as Cleveland State Hospital, Eastern State Hospital in Virginia and Hudson River State Hospital. Asa Watkins continued:
The reformers were especially active at the Byberry Hospital in Philadelphia where four Friends initiated the The Attendant magazine as a way to communicate ideas and promote reform. This periodical later became the The Psychiatric Aide, a professional journal for mental health workers. On 1946-05-06 Life Magazine printed an exposé of the mental healthcare system based on the reports of COs. Another effort of CPS, Mental Hygiene Project became the National Mental Health Foundation. Initially skeptical about the value of Civilian Public Service, Eleanor Roosevelt, impressed by the changes introduced by COs in the mental health system, becomes a sponsor of the National Mental Health Foundation and actively inspires other prominent citizens including Owen J. Roberts, Pearl Buck and Harry Emerson Fosdick to join her in advancing the organization's objectives of reform and humane treatment of patients. Medical experiments
Epilogue The Civilian Public Service men were released from their assignments and the camps closed in April 1947, nineteen months after the end of the war in the Pacific. Reforms in the mental health system continued after the war. The experience of Mennonite COs was instrumental in creating regional mental health facilities in California, Kansas and Maryland. The CPS camps produced a generation of church and civic leaders. Lewis Hill, who was in CPS camp number 37 near Coleville, California, together with several other COs founded Pacifica Network and KPFA Radio in Berkeley, California, the world's first listener-sponsored radio station. Poets William Everson and William Stafford were both in CPS camps. Actor Francis (Fritz) William Weaver spent time in the Big Flats (New York) CPS Camp number 46. Men from the historic peace churches volunteered for relief and reconstruction after their release from CPS. The 1947 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to American and British Friends Service Committees for their relief work in Europe after the war. Mennonite Central Committee redirected its effort from camp administration to relief and reconstruction in Europe after the war. Civilian Public Service smoothed the way for alternative service for conscientious objectors in the United States during the Korean and Vietnam Wars. Although CPS would not be duplicated, the idea of offering men an opportunity to do work of national importance in place of military service was established. See also Notes | |||||||||||
|
| ||||||||||||
 |
|
| |