Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1917-07-18
i. s. DRAFT PLAN
WILL GIVE EACH
ORDER OF CALL
Numbers to Be Drawn for All
Registrars.
LIABILITY FIXED BY ORDER
Each Man Will Know Order in Which
He Is Liable to Be Called for War
Service-PIan Is Approved by
the President.

Washington, July 13.-Secretary Ba-
ker announced that in the drawing to
select men for draft into the war army
numbers will be drawn representing
every one of the nearly 100000 reg
istered, so that each man may know
the order in which he is liable to be
called for service.
May Exempt Fifty Per Cent.
Liability will be fixed by the order in
which the names come out. There are
some 5000 districts with numbered
registration cards. so the first number
drawn will represent the first 5000
men to appear before the exemption
boards.
1t is estimated that so per cent of
the men examined will be exempted or
fail to pass the physical examination,
so that more than a million men prob
ably will appear before the boards be-
fore the 6S7,00 or more wanted on the
first call are obtained.
Why Details Were Withheld.
Persistent inquiries from all parts Of
y
method to be followed in selecting men
for the national war army caused war
/ department officials to explain that
President Wilson's determination to
have absolute fairness govern the proc
ess was responsible for the decision
to withhold announcement of the exact
plan until the very eve of the drawing.
The exemption regulations and all
other moves in the making of the new
army have received the approval of the
president personally, and the draft reg
llations also will come from the White
House
All that is known now is that the
drawing will be from serial numbers
corresponding to numbers on registra-
ton cards and that 1t will take place
in Washington, probably at the capitol.
Baker to Draw First Number.
Secretary Baker or some other high
official will draw the first number and
then the process Of selection will be
pushed forward until there is flashed
by telegraph to every community in the
country the numbers of the men drawn.
1t is understood that the system
planned is so simple that the work will
be done in a few hours.
AS soon as the local organizations
are complete appointment of the dis
trict exemption boards will be an
nounced.
These boar6s, one or more in each
federal judicial district. will pass upon
oIo Io1 = I'LL
have jurisdiction over claims for ex-
emptions on account of employment in
industrial and agricultural or other
necessary enterprises.
Nominations for the boards proposed
from As states already have been sent
to the president by the provost mar
shall generals office.
Only Twenty-one States Ready.
So far only 81 states have reported
to the provost generals office the COM
pletion of their organization. In some
of them the names and serial numbers
of the men liable to draft already have
been posted. The first city to report
the completion of that part of the work
was Kansas City.
Some fear was felt at the war de-
partment that the delays in organiza-
ton might cause further postponement
of the draft.
It had been believed that the draw
ing might take place Saturday of this
week.
1t then became evident that it could
not be held before next week, and indi-
cations were that it might be the latter
part of next week before everything
was ready.
One of the states where there has
been the most confusion in organiza-
ton Is New York.
Purpose of Population Estimate.
The new estimate of population made,
by the census bureau as basis for
the draft, 1t is explained, is not to be
| taken as a genuine indication of the
actual population of cities and COM
| munities.
In some communities Industrial con-,
much greater than it normally has. In
other cities where industrial activities
are at low ebb the registration failed,
to show actually present the number
which the census bureau had given.
Moreover, as the object of the esti-'
mates is to fix q fair basis for estab-l
fishing local quotas, industrial centers
| with disproportionately large numbers
of young men subject to draft have
been given figsres probably consider
ably in excess of the number Of people,
actually within their borders.