The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1917-07-27
Plans Are Now All Arranged to
Pull Off the Rattle For /
This Draft
Announcement Is Made Today
BY General Crowder, Who
Is In Charge
Probability Now Is That Army
Event Will Take Place
Tomorrow
IAssoc,ared Press Dispatch

IAssociared Press Dispatch.l
Washington, July 19-At $3.50 tomorrow
morning In a committee roo moi the SEN
ate office building Is fixed as the time and
place for the war army drawing.
Washington, July 19.-Ten million
men are registered in the United
States for war service-6S7,OOO are
needed in the first call for the ma
tional army. Who shall go first?
This question is asked and the
method by which it is to be answered
was outlined by the Provost Marshal
General Growder in an explanation
issued today of the great drawing
about to be held in Washington. The
scheme evolved is so simple that the
drawing of one set of thousand
numerals and another of ten will fix
with absolute equality of chance the
order in which every one of the ten
million registrants shall report to his
local board for examination and sub
sequent exemption, discharge or &C
ceptance for military service.
Since the average exemption dis
trict registration is 5000 and there
are 1857 districts, the average num-
Der Of men listed with each opera
ton of the drawing machinery will be
about 10000.
General Crowder announced also
that local boards will be instructed
to call 200 per cent of their quota at
the first call to provide for probable
exemptions. That means that 1874
600 men will be notified to appear for
examination within the next few
days. If more are necessary, they
will be called for as needed by the
local board in the order provided for
in the drawing.
In some districts the 100 per cent
allowance for exemption may be too
large and in others too small, but the
local boards will be instructed in evr
cry case to continue calling for msh
until the district quota is filled. Each
state governor is now alloting to his
districts their respective portions OF
the states quota.
Cards Given Numbers.
In each of the 1857 exemption dis
tricts among which the ten million
registration cards have been divided,
the cards have been given serial
numbers. The number of registrants
In each district varies from about
1856 in the smallest to more than g.
600 in the largest, so that the serial
numbers to be dealt with in the
drawing range from one to between
nine and ten thousand.
In order to reduce the mechanical
process and make it possible for the
1000 numbers drawn to reach every
man in every district, a so-called
master key has been devised.
Thus will be obtained by drawing
slips numbered from naught to nine,
which will be listed in the order they
are drawn to form the key.
Then will begin the drawing of the
numbers one to one thousand. For the
district with not more than one
thousand registrants there will be no
problem to determine the order of
appearance before the exemption
board, The number drawn first will
fix the man whose card bears that
serial number as the first to appear
before his board. In the district with
only 1876 registrants, the 1876 will be
liable for appearance in the order in
which their numbers are drawn, and
when number higher than that ap-
pears the district of course will not
be affected.
Application of the master key
makes it possible to apply fairly
each of the one thousand numbers
drawn to districts with more thar
one thousand registrants. AS num-
Der is drawn it will be added to eacf
of the thousand in excess of one
thousand in each district.
For instance, if 25 is the first mum
Der drawn, it will represent 25, 1,025
2,O25, 3,O25, 4,O25, 5,025, 6,025
7,O25, S,025 and 9,025.
BY applying the master key the or
der in which these numbers will b.
listed in each district will be deter.
mined. If the drawing of ten mum
erals for the key should result thi'
way: 9, z, 1, 5, 2, 3, 0, 8, 4
6. Then the drawing of % as the frs
number of the Thousand would fl,
the first men to appear before tn
exemption board in this order: 9.025
7,O25, 1,025, 5,025. 2,O25, 3.025, rs, 8,
O25, 4,025 and 6,025..
The district with more than min
thousand registrants thus will hav
ten, of its men assigned to thei
places at the head of its list, wit
.,9,025 on top. The district with les
than one thousand men will. hay
one, number %, at the head of 1t
list. This process will be continue
until every man of the ten millio
has been assigned his place on tn
roster of his district. In his explana
ton OF the process and Of the reaso
for fixing the order of liability TO
all of the men when only $4,000 ar
needed General Crowder says:
The Order OF Examination.
eff we were dealing with the an
-cient draft, we should take ever
fourteenth man. We are not conscrip
ting. We are selecting for militar
service those whose civil service ca
best be spared. Therefore, the cues
ton is not who shall go first? blu
swho shall be first called UP for ex
animation and what we must d