Statement by the President Upon Signing Order Creating an Amnesty Board To Review Convictions Under the Selective Service Act.

FREEDOM of conscience is basic to our American tradition of individual liberty. The Congress recognized this traditional freedom when it enacted the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940. That Act recognized conscientious objection to war by reason of religious training and belief, and provided alternative service in work of national importance under civilian direction.

Under this program, about 25,000 men were inducted and served in the Armed Forces as non-combatants. Some of these men received awards for heroism up to and including the Congressional Medal of Honor. In addition, about 12,000 men served through the war in Civilian Public Service Camps, where they performed tasks in connection with the preservation of our natural resources.

Acting under the powers granted the President by the Constitution, I have today issued an Executive order creating the President's Amnesty Board. This Board will examine the cases of all persons convicted under the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, and will recommend those persons it deems deserving of Executive clemency.

The Chairman of the President's Amnesty Board will be the Honorable Owen J. Roberts of Washington, D.C., former Associate Justice, Supreme Court of the United States; recently Chairman of the War Department Advisory Board on Clemency. The other members will be Mr. James F. O'Neil, Chief of Police of Manchester, New Hampshire, former Vice-Chairman of the Americanization Committee, the American Legion; and Mr. Willis Smith of Raleigh, North Carolina, former President of the American Bar Association.