STATEMENT OF DR. J. BEN ROBINSON, AMERICAN COUNCIL ON DENTAL EDUCATION AND DEAN OF THE SCHOOL OF DENTISTRY, UNIVERSITY OF MARLAND

Dr. ROBINSON. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, Drs. Johnson and Stone have stated pretty clearly the principles we have in view from the dental point of view.

One difference I should like to call to your attention. That is that while the critical shortage of medical students is impending, that in dentistry is imminent.

The dental schools of the country are denied a class for 1945.

With the usual enrollment over the past 4 years of approximately 2,400 freshmen, and the possible maximum deferment of 3,000, there will possibly this year be not in excess of 250 distributed throughout the United States. That was occasioned, of course, because of the fact that the Army specialized program as applied to dentists was discontinued in 1944: Those who are enrolled in dental schools, of course, are continued under the protection of selective service, but they will not be deferred to begin dental studies in 1945.

Senator BURTON. Does that mean you are actually skipping a class in any event?

Dr. ROBINSON. We are actually losing a class beginning this year in the normal progress of the educational program.

We enrolled 2,414 in the 1944 freshman class, of which 565 are assigned by the Navy, none by the Army, 1,659 are there not deferred by Selective Service, 138 are IV-F's; there are 23 women, 22 of subdraft age whom we cannot depend upon because we understand they will not be deferred when they become 18 years of age, and 7 foreigners. Those are in the 39 dental schools of the United States. On that basis we have made a study and an estimate and the maximum figure we would be willing to advance would be 250 students for this period of time.

Senator BURTON. In 1945, you expect to have about 250 instead of 2,400?

Dr. ROBINSON. Yes.

Senator BURTON. And in 1946, what are you looking for?

Dr. ROBINSON. About the same possibly. In 1946 medicine and dentistry will be in the some position with respect to dental students. Senator BURTON. To what extent do you expect returning soldiers to make up the shortage?

Dr. ROBINSON. We are not convinced of the validity of that source at the present time, certainly not for 1945.

May I use our own school as an illustration?

So far all applications coming to us from discharged veterans have failed to quality according to the standards we fix for admission. Some have had as much as 2 years of college work, but under the circumstances they do not qualify for admission.

The large crowd to which General Hershey referred, of 800,000 men who have had college work, of that number only a small percentage may be interested in dentistry and medicine.

As an illustration, in the city of Baltimore, there are 200 college men who gave up teaching positions in the public-school system to go into the service. They will not be available for medicine or dentistry.

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There may be some available. As a matter of fact, there are some in the services who have been admitted and are merely awaiting their return to begin their studies.

Many have been rejected who have the quantitative but lack the qualitative requirements. In other words, we judge from their credentials they would not make competent and successful professional men. Senator BURTON. You were using the University of Maryland as an illustration. Could you make it a little more concrete? How many of those men have applied for taking the dental course?

Dr. ROBINSON. I think we have had 11 apply for this year's class, none of whom were qualified.

Senator BURTON. How would that compare with the size of the class?

Dr. ROBINSON. Our maximum enrollment was 104.

Senator BURTON. So you had applications up to one-tenth of the maximum enrollment?

Dr. ROBINSON. For the first year's class.

Senator BURTON. How many will you have in your first-year class this year?

Dr. ROBINSON. This year, I think we have 86.

Senator AUSTIN. What was the reason for the rejection of the 11 applicants from the veterans' group?

Dr. ROBINSON. Two reasons: First, the quality of the college work presented by the veteran was of such a low quality that we were confident from our experience they were not qualified to begin the study of dentistry and pursue it successfully.

Dentistry, like medicine, fixes certain prescribed requirements, and they lacked those prescribed requirements which would qualify them to pursue the study successfully.

Senator HILL. What was the physical condition of the 11 who applied?

Dr. ROBINSON. We had not reached that point. So far as we knew, they were physically all right.

Senator JOHNSON. Do you have an age limit?

Dr. ROBINSON. No; but we discourage beginning the study after the age of 30.

Senator HILL. Do you know the reasons for discharge?

Dr. ROBINSON. No, sir.

Senator JOHNSON. Do you have a prepared statement you wish to place in the record?

Dr. ROBINSON. I do not, sir.

Senator JOHNSON. Thank you very much, Doctor.

Does anyone else desire to testify?

STATEMENT OF DR. G. D. TIMMONS, DEAN, TEMPLE UNIVERSITY

DENTAL SCHOOL

Dr. TIMMONS. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, one point I should like to bring to the attention of the committee which has bearing on the discussion concerning the number of these returned veterans who would probably elect to study dentistry is the experience we have had with the enrollment of various schools in the past.

In think it would largely depend upon the man's desire to study dentistry.

Only 1 out of every 18,600 people in the State of Ohio elected to study dentistry. In the State of Louisiana, 1 out of 20,700 elected to study dentistry.

Senator BURTON. Is that out of every man, woman, and child?

Dr. TIMMONS. Yes: the total number of dental students divided into the 7,000,000 population of Ohio gives 1 to every 18,600; and in the State of Louisiana there was but 1 dental student to every 20,700. In Colorado it was 1 to every 20,900, and in West Virginia there was 1 to every 22,400, and in the State of Vermont 1 to every 25,100, which I think is indicative of the choice that could be made by the man returning from the service.

Senator BURTON. Do you regard the situation as more difficult than in the medical profession?

Dr. TIMMONS. The figures would indicate it is.

Senator BURTON. And you are less likely to get discharged men to fill this profession?

Dr. TIMMONS. Past experience has said so; yes.

Senator BURTON. And you have concluded that in 1945 you are practically going to skip a class?

Dr. TIMMONS. In my own school I have accepted about 25 percent of the capacity of my entry class. It might be noted that, of the number who have been accepted, four are discharged veterans classified as I-C and will come to school under the benefits of the G. I. bill. I believe I have three more applicants.

And

Senator BURTON. What has been your experience percentagewise; have you been able to accept most of them or not?

Dr. TIMMONS. I have been able to accept, I would say, about 331⁄2 percent.

Senator BURTON. And those that you were unable to accept, what was your general reason for failure to accept them?

Dr. TIMMONS. Lack of either qualitative or quantitative require

ments.

Senator BURTON. Were all physically able?

Dr. TIMMONS. No one who has presented himself has been physically disabled.

STATEMENT OF COL. FRANCIS V. KEESLING, JR., SELECTIVE

SERVICE SYSTEM

Colonel KEESLING. General Hershey referred to some statistics he gathered in connection with the enrollments of medical schools for the coming year of 1945, and there was some comment that they included some Army and Navy personnel.

It is my understanding, and a check was made with the War Department, that the medical schools reserve places for that personnel. That, therefore, constitutes a priority and indicates that if those places are withdrawn in the future, which I understand will be true, other personnel can come in to fill those vacancies either from veterans, IV-F's,

or women.

One comment was made by one of the witnesses concerning the women enrollees. We have not completed our statistics on this time would not permit-but I think the committee should go into all the

facts a little more in detail. So far as the women are concerned, Dr. Willard C. Rappleye stated that his school with 115 places for the freshman class had 366 applications from women out of which they have already signed up 30. He told an officer in our headquarters personally over the phone that all these women had good credentials, and that a hundred had such similarly good credentials that they could not distinguish among them, and consequently had to put their names in a hat and draw out the 30.

At least, that is an indication that you will have a considerable number of qualified women applying in the future.

Senator ELLENDER. Colonel Keesling, you realize under the bill as drafted, before any deferments are made, the amount of available women must be taken under consideration by the President?

Colonel KEESLING. I understand that, Senator.

One of the general arguments in opposition to the bill is that under existing law both Selective Service and the Army can do everything that can be done under your bill. The mere passage of the bill will tend, therefore, to mislead people and cause them to believe that there are going to be deferments and accelerated discharges.

People will feel that Congress has taken some action over and abovethat which already exists. That will confuse our local boards as well as people generally.

I believe that quite naturally the medical schools and dental schools choose and pick the best they can from among all applicants. When those premedical students whom we deferred in class II came up and applied along with the veterans, IV-F's, and women, the medical schools would choose the best of them.

That does not mean that those who were turned down were not qualified. They were not as qualified, perhaps, as those who were selected.

If Dr. Johnson's statement is correct, and our figures seem to bear that out, the medical schools will have plenty of qualified applicants for the 1945 class, and if they are looking ahead at the 1946 class, considerably more information would have to be presented before the committee could pass on that.

Senator ELLENDER. Insofar as the premedical students are concerned, the emergency exists now to prepare for 1946.

Colonel KEESLING. Up to July 1, 1944, as I understand it, Selective Service deferred quite a large number of premedical students.

Therefore, the composition of the present freshman class does not reflect the effect of our action in terminating such deferments. You analyze the figures and you will see so many in the freshman class are IV-F's, so many are women, so many are military personnel, and so many are class II registrants.

I think you will have to look and see who and how many they turned down last year. There is the further question of who applied for 1945 enrollment, and how many have been already signed up for 1945, and what the experience is going to be.

I dare say that many of those that have been shown in these figures here on the composition of the 1944 class as being II-A and ÏI-B, actually, if they had been given physical exams, would turn out to be IV-F's, which would change the figure on the II-A's by decreasing it and increasing the IV-F figure.

Senator BURTON. Is it your contention that Selective Service can do everything under its present powers that is provided for in this bill? Colonel KEESLING. Yes, sir.

Senator BURTON. Is Selective Service watching the situation and endeavoring to meet it?

Colonel KEESLING. Yes, sir.

Senator ELLENDER. I put in the record there letters from the War Manpower Commission to show the attitude of the Selective Service. They have cut them out since July 1, 1944.

Colonel KEESLING. Since July 1, 1944, we have been inducting all premedical students. By this time we should have inducted all of them under this change in policy. I don't know what the college records show in that regard.

Therefore, all the enrollment figures for the next class should reflect that. The 1945 class is being fully enrolled in spite of our cancelation of deferments. In the case of Columbia for the coming 1945 class115 is the size of the class-32 have been enrolled from the Army, 30 from the Navy, 30 women, 6 veterans, 11 IV-F's, 2 under 18, 4 vacancies, and they had between 1,300 and 1,400 applications.

In the enrollments for that 1945 class you do not see any of our class II-A premedical students because we presumably have inducted all of those, and the same thing is true right across the board with the other universities.

The former class II premedical students are now members of the armed forces. They include the freshmen and all other classes of premedical students who were class II registrants and didn't enter the 1944 medical-school class. Presumably most, if not all, have been inducted under this policy.

In connection with another bill on this subject, H. R. 5128, of the Seventy-eighth Congress, we had the following to say:

In addition to the increased supply of doctors and dentists as a result of the increased enrollments in medical and dental schools over the past few years, and as a result of the accelerated medical and dental training programs, as demobilization progresses many mature veterans, who by reason of their military assignments desire to become doctors or dentists, or who were inducted after having had some training in medical or dental schools, or who were inducted after completing 1, 2, 3, or 4 years of premedical or predental training, will take advantage of the student training provisions of the G. I. bill. Such men should be given first preference in that field rather than exempting from military service and giving preference to young men 18 years of age who would not only create a morale problem, but would not, in all probability, become as good physicians and dentists as the more

mature veterans.

In the event circumstances occur to prolong the war and require a larger flow of students into the medical and dental schools at some time in the future, appropriate steps could at the proper time be taken to obtain the release of sufficient numbers of mature veterans who had already had some medical or premedical training rather than unnecessarily deferring young 18-year-old men who are so badly needed now by the armed forces.

It, therefore, appears that under existing policies, the number of physicians and dentists per thousand population will be further in