The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1917-06-19
This 10 Keynote Of Selective Conscrip-
ton Act, According to Writer
In Eastern
Paper.
EXEMPTION BOARDS ACT
They VIII Have to Use Their Power
JudiclousIy and VIII Have
Much RESPONSE
biIity.

David Larence writes to the New
York Evening Post from Washington
as follows:
How will CONSUMPTION actually
work? If that question has been
asked out in the country many times
over, the country can rest assured
that it has been asked almost as
many times at the seat of govern
ment here.
With the idea of getting a general
view of the way the CONSUMPTION bill
would work, l went to the war de-
partment and talked at length with
Secretary Baker and some of the
army officers of the general staff.
was particularly interested in how
the farmers who were being urged on
the one hand to plant additional
crops, could feel sure that they would
have help enough to handle these
crops If suddenly the conscrp1tion
law were to take away their sons or
somebody elses sons on whom they
depended for the care of their fields.
And what is true of agriculture is
Just as much the case with other
Industries.
The conscription law, It was point
ed out to me, will take only 100000
men, or one out Of every twenty, en-
rolled as of military age. Yet 1t is
obvious that no business can be run
on chance taking, least of all can
the problem of labor for the farms
be thus easily disposed of, for until
the one man out Of that twenty is
picked, every farmer will consider
him self nOtentially affected
Use Jury Wheel.
With reference to that phase of the
problem, I was informed that extern
sive powers would be granted to the
local exemption boards. First. all
men between 81 and 80 would enroll
Con June 81 THEM names would be
placed in jury wheel and drawn, so
many for each state, according to the
percentage of state population to the
total needed.
OF the men chosen, physical exam
nation as we'll as answers to certain
questions, such as employment, de-
pendent relatives, ETC., would be re-
quired. In some cases the exemp-
lions would be automatically made by
the local board In others, exemp-
tions would have to be applied for.
Secretary Baker believes that it
would be a mistake to announce that
all agricultural laborers or munition
employees or laborers, in other trades
were to be exempted from military
service Every business would be
able to prove in these days of social
completely that it was related to the
national defense. Few, industries are
not But the generalities in the con-
scription law permit the application
of common sense rules. Common
sense, indeed, will be the principle
applied, / am informed, and therefore
every man can determine after being
drafted exactly whether he is to be
called to military service by the fol-
lowing reasoning in the following
case cited to me by high war de-
partment official:
Board Must Be Judge.
Suppose farmer has a big acre
age and always has had one son u
assist him, or really to help ma mage
his business. Now, the local exemp
tion board would know that case
They would know that
to take away that son would hurt tue
of that farm, and
thereby the nations food supply. But
suppose the man had two or three
sons, and the local board knew that
the farmer could spare one or pos
sibly two of them and still turn over
a big crop, that there were men
above the military age who were
available to take the sons places, and |
that labor had been plentiful in that !
section. 1t would be unwise to make |
exemptions in that case. But it
might be that labor was scarce and |
that the farm could not be managed |
If the boys were taken away The |
local board would have power to
make any exemption deemed nec"s- |
sary to keep the farms manned"
But the war department isn't ar
ticipating any difficulty, chiefly be-
cause the patriotism Of the American |
youth can be depended upon, What |
son would stay at home or could, con-
sistent with his self respect in the |
If it were generally |
known that he could be spared? What |
son would want the exemption unless |
the local board insisted upon it? And. |
In most cases it probably will be the !
employers of farm labor who will be
in procuring exemptions !
over the protest, no doubt, Of the |
very youngsters affected.
Industries Not to Suffer.
But the local board will have |
orders not to permit any men to go |
to war until satisfied that industries !
would not be vitality affected. That |
is the whole principle underlying the |
act as distinguished from |
Under the latter sys-
tenn, the patriotic ardor of the youth |
could, not be restrained, and the |
business and agricultural fabric of a |