Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1917-08-15
MEN TO CAMPS EARLY OCTOBER.
Will BE Called Out In Four Divisions.
As to Exemptions.

Washington, Aug. 13.-The entire
$4,000 men composing the first in
crement OF the army draft forces will
be under training early in October.
Under orders issued to-day the first
| 30 per cent Of the quota of each dis
trict will begin entraining for canton
ments September 5; the next 80 per
cent September IS; and another 80
per cent September 30. The remain
ing 10 per cent will be modified as
soon after that date as possible.
The plan to assemble the new
forces in three increments distributes
the task OF furnishing supplies and
equipment through September. 1t
will also prevent serious shortages
in any camp, and will give the new
officers from the training camps time
to familiarize themselves with their
duties before responsibility for a
great body Of men falls on them.
The order issued to-day means that
about 10000 men will reach each of
the lG cantonments soon after Sep,
tcmber 5. They will first be examin-
ed physically by army doctors and
finally accepted or rejected. This
will take some time and the men will
have to be furnished with temporary
examination. If the full quota were
assembled at the same time, great
confusion would result. The first will
have been organized into skeleton
companies. battalions or regiments
! before the second arrives
In farming communities, local
boards now will arrange the lists Of
those to fill the first increment with
local crop conditions in mind The
men engaged In harvesting work and
who otherwise would go with the first
third of the district quota will be
passed over to the second or third as
may be necessary. On a discharge
for dependent relatives. Gen. Crow
der issued supplemental ruling to-
day holding that persons should not
be discharged because Of dependents
resident abroad.
THE object Of the law permitting
| persons to be discharged provided
he has a person falling within any of
the classes Of dependents, dependent
upon him was to prevent such de-
pendents becoming a charge upon the
American people,
The ruling says: "a dependent re-
siding abroad could not become such
/ charge
Only in rare cases are railway mail
clerks to be exempted To-day the
Post Office Department announced
! that published reports Of blanket ex-
emption for this class OF postal en-
ployees were based OH mis-interpre-
tation Of the department order cover
ing postal exemptions. Only scheme
clerks, chief clerks and assistant chief
clerks OF the railway service will be
, given exemptions, and most Of them
are above military age.
The Post Office Department an
| nounced also that it would certify eX-
emptions for post Office inspectors,
+ but not for postmasters. Postmas-
, tcrs OF the first, second and third
, classes. however. are exempted spe-
| citically under the law.
/, 1t developed to-day that the Navy
! Department, misunderstanding the
War Department ruling as to volun-
; tary enlistment of registered men,
, had instructed it's recruiting officers
! to accept registrants into the navy
even If they had been called before
their local boards for examination.
The mistake quickly was corrected,
recruiting stations being told by tele-
graph that no man called for exami-
nation under the draft law could be
accepted into any branch of the mill
tary or naval service as voluntary
recruit. Until called. however, regis
I trants are free to enter the army,
, navy or marine corps.