El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1917-10-18
WILL CLASSIFY
MENFORD RAF 7
Eligibles to Be Rated Ac-
cording to Dependency
and industrial Value.

Washington. y. c.. oct lS.-A pro-
uounced change in the manner o. tax
ing men for the draft is forecast in
a statement from good authority. II
has been worked out in conferences
between the provost marshal generals
office and the president Il would
establish. in the eligible list, various
grades Of dependency and Industrial
value from which future drafts could
be made.
Civilians Consulted.
The plan. il was learned today. was
recently submitted to a committee OF
civilians who directed exemption
board activities In a number Of states
and received the Endorsement Of most
of them who now are discussing the
proposed plan with their state gov
crnOrs-
II is proposed TO formulate in each
local draft district a table of all reg
istrants, placing each in column de-
noting his dependents and industrial
value in the wars prosecution
ClassificatiOns Of Dependency
For instance. horizontal columns or
@ lassifications would be based on de-
tendency. Men with no dependents
would be placed in the first class.
those with dependent distant relatives
in the second class, those with wives
in the third class, those with a wife
and one child in the fourth, and SO on.
Industrial Classification
Similarly the vertical columns
might represent certain Industries ar
rayed according to their respective
merit as war necessities Industrial
classes under consideration in this
connection are farmers, shipyard en-
plOyes, munitiOn workers, railway and
transportation employees. miners steel
plant and motor industry wOrkmen
and certain other individual plants
or industry branches TO be designa Ted
from time TO time by the president
or the war department as temporarily
essential The latter classification
might include plants making military
clOlhing, harness, first aid materials
or professions, such as chemists and
other scientific men more needed for
war research than 10 carry arms
" Ould Work Down Through Table
Thus the table with horizontal de-
tendency classificatiOuS and vertical
Industrial clasSitications would hold
a place for each registrant in accord
ance with his dependency or indus
trial value claim. In selecting men
after examination. boards would take
all men physically fit having neither
dependents nor value in essential war
industries When this class was eN-
hausted, draft authorities would draw
on the classes having the slightest
dependency claims and the least value
in essential Industries. Theoretically
the draft would work down through
the table to the classes with most de-
pendents and highest Industrial value
No class would be exempted as such.
but the most valuable man would be
placed so that they would not be
called upon until the need for soldiers
became more urgent and all the less
essential classes exhausted.
It is understood the entire program
viii be made known as soon as Il is
completed and approved by president
Wilson 20 allay the anxiety prevailing
throughout many industries over the
next draft which probably would have
been made as early as December. be
fore the new plan VISA proposed, but
which now may be delayed.