Anti-War Leader Optimistic About Repeal of Draft

Tom Reeves, director of the National Council to Repeal the Draft, said last night that "there is a realistic chance of repealing the draft" in view of the wide-ranging agreement across the political spectrum on this issue.

Speaking in the Kirkland House Junior Common Room, Reeves said that "people are challenging the idea that the central state should have the power to tell others how to run their lives."

Combat Risks

Citing a Defense Department statement, Reeves noted that 60 per cent of all draftees, as opposed to 20 per cent of volunteers, are now exposed to combat risks.

Reeves said that the existence of a volunteer army, which he advocates, would negate the possibility of a Vietnam-type situation in which "an escalation of man-power was easily accomplished because the President could arbitrarily increase the number of draftees."

Reeves' appearance was sponsored by the Harvard Moratorium Committee.