Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1917-07-21
GREAT LOTTERY
 CONDUCTED WITH
 MUCH CEREMONY War Secretary Draws First Capsule From Sealed Jar,
 Drafting No. 259.
WORK NOT ENDED
 EARLY HOUR TODAY
At 1:25 O'clock This Morning Army Department Officials Begin Draw ing of Last 800 Capsules, Out of
 Total of 1Oo0O, in Operation.

WaSnlnSIOh, July l,-(Saturday. ]
 At 1 o'clock this morning, more i than 15 hours after ihe start of the l drawing of lots under the selective | draft, nearly 1000 of the 10,5OO upm- bers still were to be drawn. Off, cials expected to finish before 2:30 o'clock.
 No. 10000 was drawn at .25 a. m..
 and the drawings of the last 800
 was begun
 Washington, July 2O.-Selective
 conscription was put into effect today
 by a national lottery to fix the order of military liability for the 10,OOO,OOO
 young Americans registered for ser
 vice. .t
 To accomplish the result 1O,5OO numbers had to be drawn, one at a time, a task which began in the morn- ing and lasted far into the night. The
 lottery was held in tn public hear ing room of the senate building with war department officials in charge of theactual drawing.
 As result of the drawing, every registered man was given a definite place in the liability for srvice. AL ready 6S7,000 have been ordered to the colors, to fill to war strength the regular army and the national guard, and to constitute the first increment of the national army.
 To secure that tota;. 1,374,0OO will be called for examination within a few weeks, estimating two registrants for every soldier accepted. These 1,374,000 will be taken from the head of the liability list, every local dis trict furnishing 8 fixed quota.
 The drawing today was conducted with ceremonies as democratic as the Ideal of citizenship could embody It was shortly before 1o o'clock when Secretary Baker, invested by the president with the carrying out of the draft law, rapped for order. Congress sional committees were in their seats and on a small table stood the great lottery jar, sealed With brown paper, and showing through it's transparent walls a heap of unnber filled cap- sules. that must be taken out one by one.
 In front of the tahlc row of army officers waited, with the official tally sheets before them. Down one side of the room ran another table, where two score press representatives wait ed to send out tho numbers as they were read.
 Secretary Baker briefly explained the purpose of the drawing, then stepped forward to be hlindfolded, and draw the first number. Major Gen. eral Duval broke the seal and with long-hooked spoon vigorously stirred the capsules. The secretary reached into the jar, picked UT capsule and handed 1t to the announcer. It was number 258.
 Then, in quick succession other numbers were drawa, while cameras and motion picture machines re- corded the actions. By the laws of chance No. 1 was drawn from the jar as No. 4269 in the liability list, while No. 10,500, tcp number among the capsules. came out No. 23S.
 Registrants will receive no official word of their order Of liability until their local board summons them for examination after official records of the drawing have been transmitted to them by mail Preparations of these records will besin tomorrow.