Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1917-10-10
NATIONAL ARMY FORCES
WILL BE RED|sTR|BUTED.
Shortage of Men In National Guard,
and Plans for Negroes, Make
Change Necessary.
NEW DIVISION TO Bic FORMED
Negro Units Will Be Trained mt Va
rfous Cantonmcnts and Not
Brought Together Until They Arc
Ordered to France.

LBy Associated Prcss.]
WASHINGTON, October 9-Orders
issued to-day to commanders of Ma
tional Army environments disclose the
War Departments complete plans for
the training and organization of the
first 100000 men of the National Army.
Shortage of men in the three Ma
tional Guard divisions In the South,
the Thirtieth. Thirty-first and Thirty
ninth, coupled with 4 decision to form
n new National Army division of negro
troops, has made necessary n read
justment of the forces at fifteen of
the sixteen environments. The geo
graphical completion of three National
Army divisions will be changed entirely
as result.
EXPLANATIONS ISSUED
ny CHIEF OF STAFF
General Bliss. chief of staff. issued
this explanation:
The selected men that arc now
being gathered into the sixteen Ma
tional Army environments will be used
10 form the first force of 100000 men
authorized IN the act Of Congress APP
proved May IS. 1917. and TO MI up the
National Guard divisions to practically
the maximum strength of tho new or
ganization The balance OF tho $751;
0oC selected men will be used to sup
plement the voluntary erlistments for
the special and technical troops that
are such an important part Of the
organization of modern army 1t
is expected that the voluntary enlist
ments for the regular army Will be
enough to keep that branch of the ma
TONS forces filled Up to strength with
out transferring men to It from this
first selection for tho National Army.
The force of 100000 men will be
organized into sixteen white divisions
ara one colored division. One white
division Will be organized al each o.
the sixteen National Army can-cu-
mcnts and the units Of the colored di-
vision Will he organized at the various
environments where the number OF col
orcd troops is sufficient to organize ::
divisional unit
WILL. RE DISTRIBUTED
THROUGH ALL CANTONMENTs
Instead Of concentrating all of tho
colorcd men in the few environments
of the Southern States the policy of
the War Department will be to dis
tribute them more or less evenly
throughout all OF the sixteen National
Army cantonments.
I'm the Southern States, whose quotas
go 70 the cantonmcnts at Columbia,
>. C.. Atlanta, Ga, and Little Rock
Ark. Camps Jackson, Gordon and
Pike). the number of white men re-
CURED TO fill up the National Guard
divisions furnished by those same
States ia SO great and the proportion
OF colored 20 white In tho populations
OF those states is SO great that It has
been found TO be physically Impossible
TO organize three National Guard and
three National Army divisions mt full
strength from the white quotas OF
these States. and. therefore, the War
department has decided to take nil
OF the white men from these States.
hoth National Guard and National
Army. and organize thom into four
fuli strength divisions Ohrec National
Guard and ono National Army. This
National Army division will be or
ganizcd at Camp jackson from tho
men left over at Campo jackson. Cor
don and Pike after the three Notinr,,
Guard divisions (Thirtieth, Thir,v-nrst
and Thirty-nirth) have been filed up
to strength.
AZ Camp Gordon. after its white
quota has been transferred to tho Ma
tonal Guard and TO Camp jackson
'here VIII be organized a National
army division made UP of surplus
white mon drawn from Camps Dcyens.
Upton, Dix. Meade and Lee, and nj
Camp Pike. after its white quota has
been transferred to the National Guard
and Camp Jackson. there will be
formed National Army division made
up of surplus white men drawn from
camps Sherman, Custer. Grant Taylor,
Dodge, Funston and Travis.
IN FULL COMPLIANCE
WITH SPIRIT OF LAW
This plan, though somewhat differ
cnt from the one originally adopted by
The War Department of forming a com