Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1917-07-16
DELAY OVER DRAFT
FRETS GOVERNMENT
"Speed-Up" Orders to Go Out
Unless Offending Boards
Show Early Results.
$50 YET TO BE HEARD FROM
After Actual Drawing of Men,
Remaining Work Will Be
Largely Mechanical.
$50 YET TO BE HEARD FROM

ing might be held tomorrow, except
for delays in certain districts. The
impatience which has made itself man.
ifest from the White House down will
result in "speed-up" orders from Wash
ington. unless the offending boards
show early results
Reports have been received from
twenty of the rty-eight States, but
that proves nothing. as practically all
the States which have sent in dupli-
cate lists still have one or two boards
m saing.
In all. about $50 boards have not
been heard from. They are the ones
which are holding up the draft.
1t mas been made plain. after several
conferences between President Wilson
and Secretary of War Baker. that the
government wants the draft over with.
so 1t can turn its main attention to
other matters in connection with the
war. After the actual drawing, the
rest OF the work will be merely me-
chanical, and will require no great
amount of effort except in certain linn
tied quarters. such as the provost-mar-
shal-general's office, which will have
q harge of the exemptions.
The States themselves will have to
sec that the men drafted to fill their
quotas are brought up for examination.
and show up when ordered to camp.
REMAINDER WILL BE FLOWER
OF THE NATIONS MANHOOD
The. machinery will put the desired
number of men in the military hopper,
and call out the ones desired The
others it will cast aside, and wha.
remains will be the flower Of the ma
tion's manhood
AS fast as men are required. thew
will be ordered according to their re-
spectire position on the list If more
than the original 6S7 900 are necessary.
it will be merely matter of routine
for the President to sign an order re
curing another million to present
themselves. The government TODAY
had practically completed its work of
distributing millions of pamphlets for
the use and guidance of the local ex-
emption boards. Most important of all
these pamphlets probably were the
instructions to physicians who will
make physical examinations of the
drafted men.
The government aims to have the
prevent waste of time in exemption
hearings. should the men be found
physically At for service.
More than $500 physicians have been
selected through the State authorities
for the examination work They Will
work under Federal instructions and
control, and the requirements for the
regular army will be the requirements
physically for the drafted men, These
are most stringent. and estimates to-
day were that only one man out Of
three would be found physically eligi-
BILE. To the others. buttons bearing
the words Exempted U. S." or some
similar designation would be supplied
to show that they have done their
bit" as far as they could. Similar but
tons will be supplied men exempted for
other reasons.
DRAWINGS NOT PROBABLE
BEFORE NEXT SATURDAY
Any affection of the eyes not curable
by glasses, any af1iction of the senses.
such is lack of hearing: any deformity
either natural or the result Of acct
dent; any disease of the heart lungs
or kidneys; tuberculosis in any form
contagious blood diseases and similar
Affections will prevent acceptance. If
a man is refused the next man in or
der on the draft lists will he called for
service. Officials still believed to-day
that the drawings would not be pos
sible before Saturday, at the earliest
a squirt on the recalcitrant boards
might bring about the drawing earlier
as it will be held the moment the last
State has wired the numbers are COM
plete.
No policy of a blanket character has
been fixed by the President or the War
Department for the guidance OF district
exemption boards in making occupa-
tional or vocational exemptions from
military service.
For the present. at all events this
is wholly a problem to be dealt with
by the district exemption boards. They
are to fix their own policy with regard
to 1t and have both original and final
jurisdiction over the question There
is no appeal from their verdict, nor
has any board inferior to them any
voice whatever in the matter.
The reason given The Times Dispatch
correspondent to-day why the govern.
ment itself does not take hand In
this highly important matter and In
some general way at least indicate to
the district boards what lines OF in
dustry are vital to the prosecution of
the war ard what occupations should
be considered for exemption, Is that
no such advice or instruction could be
made applicable to the whole country.
sHIPRUILDING Vital.
IN MANY INSTANCES ,
Shipbullding on the seaboard. for in
stance. might be of the utmost value
TO the government in carrying on the
War, provided 1t is naval shipping or
deep-sea shipping. or steel shipping or
some particular kind OF shipping. But
this would not apply to the building
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