The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1917-04-17
TO RAISE AN ARMY
OF 100000 MEN
FIRST UNIT OF HALF MILLION
WILL BE FORMED BY "sE-
LECTIvE DRAFT"
SIX MONTHS OF VIGOROUS
DRILLING FOR RAW RECRUITS

Selective Draft Age VIII Be Between
10 and Is Years, With Exemp-
tons. How the Army Will Be
Equipped.
The war department is preparing
to organize a new army of 1000, 900
men within the next year, no element
of which shall have had less than six
months of intensive military training.
The plan has the approval of the
general staff of the army, which has
made an exhaustive study of condi-
lions in Europe, and is backed by
President Wilson.
The plans provide for the imme-
date building of 80 infantry and 4
cavalry divisions, distributed at Is
district headquarters. Preparations
also have been made to draft into
the Federal service the entire Ma
tional Guard and to employ that
force, supplemented by the regular
army, in the establishment of the
training centers. Five months later
the first 100000 of the new army of
young men would assemble at the
centers to begin their training. Once
this force is trained it will be pos
sible to train an army of of 1,000,-
600 men every year if such step
is necessary to bring the imperial
government of Germany to terms"
Plans for Building New Army.
How the government plans to raise
the army of 100000 men within
year, and 100000 men within two
years, is disclosed in the bill prepared
by the general staff. In drafting its
program the staff recognized that
the United States must start at the
beginning and train 100000 officers
and non-commissiOned officers to un-
dertake the training of the thousands
of youths who will enter the service
with no notion of military life. The
regular army first will be expanded
TO 287 900 enlisted men and II 700
officers, which means that many pres
ent units will have to be divided and
filled to war strength with volunteers
or conscripts
The next step will be to call all /
units of the National Guard, which .
have approximately 327, 900 men and I.
100000 officers at war strength. but
this move will not be undertaken un-
til the proposed army bill has passed
Congress, thus preventing National
Guard officers from resigning to the
governors of their states in case they
are not pleased with their organiza-
lions. The bill will also make it pos
slble for the war department to dis
charge unfit officers. No new units /
of the National Guard will be or
ganized, and the full limit of the ma
tional defense act will be invoked to /
wipe out any distinction between |
Federal and state forces. Here also
volunteers may be received. and ,
drafting be resorted to only when
These two steps provide force .
oI oI4,UUO men and " 600 officers,
to be supplemented by a recruiting
to each unit, making an .
additional force of 100000 men un-
der training but held in reserve to
flll gaps IN the active army as they
occurred,
!. Calling Drafts to the Colors.
The general staff contemplates
that these expanded forces shall be
subjected to training Of character
hitherto unknown in this country At /
the same time the registration of all !
men between the ages of 10 and 25 /
will be carried out in the several
states, with the assistance of Federal,
state and municipal authorities. In /
August or early in September the
first 100000 of this new army, com !
posed exclusively of young men sum (.