Williams news., 1917-05-31


 Draft Bill Not conseription.
 The whole nation must be a team in which each man shall play the part for which he is best fitted To this end Congress has provided that the nation shall be organized for war by selection and that each man shall be classified for service in the place to which it shall best serve the general good to call him.
 The significance of this cannot be overstated. It is new thing to our history and landmark in our prog ress. It is a new manner of accepting and vitalizing our duty to give our selves with thoughtful devotion to the common purpose of us all.
 Section 6. That the President is hereby authorized to utilize the serv- ice of any or all departments, and any or all officers or agents of the United States and of the several states, territories, and the District of Columbia, and subdivisions thereof, in the execution of this act, and all off cers and agents of the United States and of the several states, territories and subdivisions thereof, and of the District of Columbia, and all persons, designated or appointed under regula- tions prescribed by the President, whether such appointments are made by the President himself or by the governor or any other officer of any state or territory to perform any duty in the execution of this act, are here by required to perform such duty as the President shall order or direct, and all such officers and agents and persons so designated or appointed oh f,,11 acts done by them in the execution of this act by the direction of the Presi- dent.
 Correspondence in the execution of this act may be carried in penalty en- velopes bearing the frank of the War Department. Any persons charged as herein provided with the duty of car rying into effect any of the provisions of this act or regulations made or di- rections given hereunder who shall fail or neglect to perform such duty; and any person charged with such duty or having and exercising any authority under said act, regulations or directions, who shall knowingly make or be party to the making of any false or incorrect registration, physical examination, exemption, en- listment, enrolment or muster; and any person who shall make or be a party to the making of any false statement or certificate as to the fit ness or liability of himself or any other person for service under the provisions of this act or regulations made by the President hereunder, or otherwise evades or aids another to evade the requirements of this act or of said regulations, or who, in any m O oh foh nnf frr11 kr perform any duty required of him in the execution of this act shall, if not subject to military law, be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction in the District Court of the United States having jurisdiction thereof be punished by Imprisonment for not more than one year, or, If subject to military law, shall be tried by court martial and suffer such punishment as a court martial may direct.
 State Officials to Aid In Registration.
 Now, Therefore, I, Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States, do call upon the governor of each of the sew eral states and territories, the board of commissioners of the District of Columbia, and all officers and agents of the several states and territories, of the District of Columbia and of the counties and municipalities therein to perform certain duties in the execu- tion of the foregoing law, which duties will be communicated to them directly in regulations of even date herewith.
 It is in no sense conscription of the unwilling; it is, rather, selection from a nation which has volunteered in mass. It is no more choosing of those who shall march with the colors hor if Is of n shall serve an equally necessary and devoted purpose in the industries that lie behind the battle line.
 The day here named is the time up- on which all shall present themselves for assignment to their tasks. It is for that reason destined to be remem- bered as one of the most conspicuous moments in our history.
 Should Be No Gaps in Ranks.
 It is nothing less than the day upon which the manhood of the country shall step forward in one solid rank in defense of the ideals to which this nation is consecrated. It is import ant to those ideals no less than to the pride of this generation in manifest ing it's devotion to them that there be no gaps in the ranks.
 It is essential that the day be ap- preached in thoughtful apprehension of it's significance and that we ac- cord to it the honor and the meaning that it deserves. Our industrial need prescribes that it be not made technical holiday, but the stern sacri- flee that is before us urges that it be carried in all our hearts as a great day of patriotic devotion and obliga- tion, when the duty shall lie upon every man, whether he is himself to be registered or not, to see to it that the name of every male person of the designated age is written on these lists of honor.
 In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed
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