Letter to Bureau of Prisons re Volunteer Work for Objectors

15 Shailer St.,
Brookline 46, Mass.,
October 25, 1943.

"We have considerable evidence for believing that the Federal Bureau of Prisons would seriously consider accepting a plan whereby these men could be given an opportunity to perform work in harmony with their beliefs."

        As I have been for nearly a year in charge of a volunteer plan of work for absolutist conscientious objectors, and believe that it might possibly fill the bill, I venture to submit it. I do not know whether the report's statement regarding your intentions in the matter has any basis other than the guesses of Mr. Axford and Mr. Leferver; if they have guessed wrong, or if you are only willing to consider plans that an absolutist conscientious objector could not possibly accept, then this letter would hardly be to the point. Again, I have no way of telling whether the prisoners would be willing to cooperate with the plan outlined, as I have had no direct contact with them; I do know, however, that Mrs Elizabeth Murphy, the mother of one of the prisoners, has already expressed her full approval of our plan.

        As I am convinced, from my acquaintance with the problem of absolutist conscientious objections (an absolutist being one whose conscientious objections to war are sincere enough to make it impossible for him to cooperate with any part of a war program), that no plan would work which attempts to force a large group into a set mold, I feel that that fact should be taken into account if we are to work out a plan which could be accepted by this group. Punishment will not change the beliefs of a man with sincere ideas; it will only strengthen them. But these came absolutists, if met by cooperation instead of coercion, can be brought into genuinely useful programs of work―genuine "work of national importance," to use the terminology of the Selective Service Law, instead of war work or boondoggling which could only be "of national importance" by special proclamation. Work for the sincere absolutist must be useful, it must be volunteer, and, above all, must not be war work; the demand has been for work controlled by the workers themselves, not from above.

        The plan of "General Projects" takes all this into account. Its projects are intended to be all in the "national importance" category, and to be capable of being made self-supporting, if properly pushed by their own workers. There is no war work; and none but volunteers are considered by the Projects. Draft status does not count for the Projects; all volunteers, male or female, and of whatever age, who have conscientious objections (to the satisfaction of the Projects) to all war work, are eligible to work for General Projects.

        Though only one project, namely that of compiling a series of transit guides of the various large cities and metropolitan areas of America, has actually been started, it is the intention of General Projects to enlarge its scope to take in other varieties of projects as soon as possible. (Incidentally, these "transit guides" are not to be confused with street guides, points-of-interest guides, WPA guides, or anything else hitherto published, as they contain transit information needed by visitors and residents in all cities, but never so far available in print.) On this initial project the prisoners named in this letter―or any other conscientious objector prisoners who may volunteer―would be gladly accepted if and when their release for such purpose could be arranged, and to do work in any city of their choice of the 100,000 and over population group in America. Though most of this volunteer work cannot promise immediate pay, some work commission basis is now available 

        The Projects are controlled strictly by the volunteers working for them, and the work is guaranteed to be on a non-profit basis.

        I feel that, in due fairness to the prisoners named, this plan should be both considered carefully by federal bureaus concerned with these prisoners, and presented fairly for consideration to the prisoners Murphy and Taylor themselves. It could also be made a basis for a plan of release generally in the case of conscientious objector prisoners who are willing to volunteer for our projects; in connection with which, we would welcome suggestions from the prisoners themselves as to new types of projects which it may be possible to add to General Projects.