Parachutes for Pacifists

Conscientious objectors who want courageous, if noncombatant, wartime work learned last week that they might get it. In June, Selective Service will start giving some 60 conchies the stiff Army and Marine parachute training course. The purpose: to fight forest fires. They will probably be stationed at Missoula, Mont., regional Forest Service headquarters, center of a rugged and remote fire area.

The Government's plan will not only serve to please restless conchies. It is good economics as well: the old method of trekking across mountainous terrain to quench a blaze costs the Forest Service an average of $3,500 per fire; parachutists have been doing the job faster at $247 per fire.

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