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6. “A Working Compromise Between Church and State”
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103 6 “A Working Compromise Between Church and State” “The B.S.C. recognizes C.P.S. as a limited instrument that is inadequate for the achievement of all ends sought by pacifists,” read the statement on the Civilian Public Service by the Brethren Service Committee. The statement continued: “We consider C.P.S. further as a working compromise between church and state—the church submitting under conscription to an alternative to military service, and the state recognizing conscience as a basis of exemption from military service.”1 Of the major groups involved in the CPS, some compromised more than others. The AFSC was never satisfied with the Selective Service Act of 1940 or the Selective Service’s administration of the CPS. In particular, the Friends were unsuccessful in having “absolutists” exempted from the conscription system. In 1945, it reiterated its opposition to conscription: “The participation of the American Friends Service Committee in the Civilian Public Service program does not imply its approval of conscription. We continue to believe that the entire war system , including its conscription of the lives and service of men, is morally wrong.”2 The AFSC favored voluntary national service for men conscientiously opposed to any form of conscription. Beleaguered by criticism from COs and war resisters for its cooperation with the Selective Service, the AFSC would withdraw from the administration of the CPS in the spring of 1946, prior to the end of the program. As early as April 1943, the AFSC had considered withdrawing from the CPS.3 The Friends would never again participate in an alternative service program for COs. At an AFSC board meeting on September 17, 1952, one Friend summarized the position of the Friends on the Korean War draft: “The Mennonite and Brethren attitude is different from that of the Friends. They are willing to work with any programs that will allow them to keep control of their own conscientious objectors, and they are willing to adhere to Selective Service regulations because of this. Our position is more of opposition for military purposes, and of unwillingness to be a party to the success of the conscription operation.”4 The Catholic CO organization, the ACCO, 104 | “We Won’t Murder” withdrew from the CPS and severed ties with NSBRO in October 1945. Arthur Sheehan of the ACCO wrote Paul Comly French to tell him that he believed the religious groups should no longer administer conscription.5 The Brethren regarded the CPS as a less-than-ideal compromise. For the BSC, the CPS was restricted by “congressional action, public opinion, pressure groups, Selective Service, and administrative agencies,” but represented an improvement over the situation of COs during World War I—a position that was certainly true. The BSC recognized that the CPS was “not an institution of such intrinsic worth that we desire to perpetuate it indefinitely.”6 Although the BSC and men in its camps disagreed with and resisted many Selective Service policies, the Brethren stayed with the CPS until its end in March 1947. Among the historic peace churches, the Mennonites were the most satisfied, or perhaps the least dissatisfied, with the administration of the CPS. The MCC did not resist government authority and was willing to cooperate with the Selective Service as long as members of the church did not have to perform military service or violate their consciences. One of the few times in which Mennonite COs bucked the CPS was when forty-five men at an MCC camp at Fort Collins, Colorado, refused a work assignment to thin beets.7 Colonel Kosch of the Selective Service called Paul French of NSBRO to ask him what he proposed to do about the situation . French spoke with Orie Miller, who said that the men understood that the beets were to be used to make alcohol for military purposes. Miller asked French to tell Kosch that he was sorry, but the MCC would support the men. The MCC could move the camp, or, if this solution was not satisfactory, the men would all go to jail. When French called Kosch to tell him what Miller proposed, Kosch said that he had contacted the Soil Conservation Service, which had assured him that the beets would not be used for anything but human consumption. This promise satisfied Miller and the MCC. Because of their backgrounds in farming, most Mennonites did not object to soil conservation, forest service, park service, or agricultural projects, although many found work in mental hospitals and training schools...