WASHINGTON -- President Nixon announced today cancellation of draft calls for 50,000 men in November and December.
He said that in addition to calling off the draft of 32,000 men in November and 18,000 in December, induction of 29,000 scheduled for October would be phased out over all three months of the final quarter of the year.
The President said that if Congress does not act this year on his proposal for shifting to a lottery-type draft, he would institute a random selection system by executive order.
Nixon made the disclosure in a brief statement just prior to a news conference at the White House with Defense Secretary Melvin R. Laird prepared for a press conference in the Fish Room.
The 32,000 draft figures for November and 18,000 for December mentioned by Nixon had not been made public previously but the 29,000 quota for October was announced earlier.
The Laird news conference had been scheduled previously at the Pentagon to make public what he said in advance would be significant changes" in draft calls, as a 60,000-man troop reduction in Vietnam set to be completed by Dec. 15.
Nixon's disclosure that the total draft call for the last three months of the year would be the 29,000 previously scheduled only for October would mean that the total number of inductions for 1969 would be 289,000 -- slightly below 1968. The total number of draftees last year was 296,000.
By the end of this month, the 1969 inductions will total 260,000.
Asked how the October draft call of 29,000 would be spaced, in terms of inductions, Laird said the matter was not finally decided but Selective Service officials had indicated to him that they favored calling up 10,000 in October, 10,000 in November and 9,000 in December.
He said the January draft call, now programmed for 35,000 men, would be reviewed in December with a view toward a possible cutback.
