The Washington herald., 1917-07-20
No Trouble Expected.

No Trouble Expected.
The change in method was caused
by blundering in the serial lettering Of
the registration cards in certain
areas" where the red numbers were
applied according to election districts
instead OF the draft exemption dis
tricts. Instead of drawing II key
numbers and 1000 serial numbers, Il
will be necessary to draw 1850 num-
bers, the highest number within the
Jurisdiction of any one board. No
key numbers will be drawn, Il was
stated
Gen. Crowder said the change will
make the burden heavier in some To-
calities than in others, and the change
In procedure will also entail additional
burdens upon local boards.
officials OF the Department Of Jus
tiee said yesterday they expected no
trouble as a result of the announce
ment OF the draft numbers.
If any opposition to service shows
Itself IL Will not be until the men are
actually called upon TO leave home
and go TO the concentration camps. IL
was believed. The Federal and State
authorities are prepared to put down
any such demonstrations.
Under the original plan. the draft.
would have been completed in an hour.
War Department officials said the
trouble was caused by officials in GER
tain parts Of New Jersey.
There viii be Is witnesses at the
historic event. the lottery which gam
bles with 10.s)0.On0 lives Of Americas
best manhood and stretches its arm
TO practically every home and freside
in the Union.
One State-New Jersey-Upset the en-
tire calculations OF the government
Widespread errors in number Of regis
tration cards by Jersey officials forced
the War Department late Yesterday
TO abandon the plan announced ear
her in the day and substitute a
straight STaft in which 1850 numbers
will he drawn and which viii REQUIRE
10 hours 10 conclude.
Cnruffied by the last--nInute over
throw Of his carefully prepsred sr-
ransements, Provost Marshal Cen
Crowder, disappointed but smiling.
made the following official statement:
'Advices received by long distance
telephone late this afternoon indicate
that in certain areas the boards, in
numbering registration cards. have
kept the cards segregated BY cleo
ton districts and that serial num-
hers have been assigned 20 the whole
group for a board while the cards
were thus segregated.
VIII Draw IO.so0 Numberr
III the drawing is concluded as orr
ginally planned. in groups Of .0pa. the
result VIII be that considerable pro-
portions Of certain election districts
VIII be brought up for examination
together. This will result in draft
Ing persons from one locality within
the jurisdiction of board before any
person is drawn from another local.
ity within the same jurisdiction.
For this reason 1t has been decided
TO abandon tine drawing by thousands
and TO draw 1850 numbers, which is
In excess of the highest number Of
cards under the jurisdiction Of any one
board
The only change in the plan viii
be that there will be one drawing in
stead OF two and that every number
will establish the order Of every man
in the United States whose registra-
ton card bears that number.
The advantage Will be greater SIM
plicity. The disadvantage will be that
the drawing will require ten hours to
complete"
Thus did Gen. Crowder aba ndon a
scheme to which he had devoted DAYS
OF work and nights Of study for more
than two months. The draft. as IL
will be held today, means this:
There are 45S7 registration boards.
Each board supervises either a coun-
ty in the rural sections or a district
with an estimated population OF 5000
in cities Of 5000 and over.
The numbers Of the registrants in
these districts varies. The smallest
number in any one district is ls5-in
an unsettled county in Wyoming. The
highest is more than l000O, in a dis
trict of Detroit
Enclosed in gelatine capsules viii
be numbers from ! to 10.50O. These
will be placed in a great glass bowl.
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