The public ledger. [volume] (Maysville, Ky.) 1913-1968, 1917-05-12
1880 AGE AGREED ON - HOUSE
CONFEREES ACCEPT PROHIBI.
TION AT MILITARY POSTS
AND REFUSE ROOSE.
WELT PLAN

Washington, May 1O--The long dead
lock of Senate and House conferees
on the selective draft military bill
was broken today with agreements
on a compromise measure by which
great army would be raised by Sc
lective CONSUMPTION of men between
the ages Of 81 and 80 inclusive.
Authorization for recruiting Colonel
Roosevelt's proposed volunteer divi-
sion for service in France written
into the bill by the Senate and de-
Tended stubbornly by the Senate con-
ferees finally was thrown out on the
insistence of committeeman rep
resenting the House. In turn the
House yielded to the Senate's pro-
posal for prohibition Of military posts.
The conference report is expected
to be given approval by both Senate
and House in few days and within
two weeks after the President has
affixed his signature, registration of
those eligible for CONSUMPTION will be
under way throughout the country.
Some states already have selected
their registration board and the War
Department has erected a vast and
intricate war machine for assigning
and organizing the conscripts. They
will be assembled at training camps
in September.
Administration Satisfied
The compromise bill is understood
to be generally satisfactory to the
administration and to the army gen.
eral staff on whose advice the origin
al measure was framed. The most
important change made in confer
ence was in the age limit fixed by
the staff at 10 and rs, inclusive. The
Senate made them 81 and q and
the House q and 40. The ages named
in the conferees agreement are 81
and 30, inclusive, making the draft
applicable to all male voters under
81.
Although there has been no direct
authoritative expression from the
White House regarding the Roose-
welt volunteer proposal, administra-
ton opposition to it has been infer
red from the fact that no provision
for volunteers was conveyed in the
bill as sent to Congress from the
War Department. With the Roose-
welt proposal the conferees also
threw out Senate amendment under
which three regiments of volunteers
could have been enlisted for service
on the Mexican border.
Appeal to President Provided (.
The section dealing with exemp-
tion from draft was rewritten in
part by the conference committee and
provision was mades for hearings in
exemption applications before local
civil tribunals with right to appeal to
a second tribunal and finally to the
President.
Two Of the House conferees re-
fused to sign the conference report.
Representative Anthony, Of Kansas,
would not accept 1t because the
Roosevelt amendment was stricken
out. Representative Kahn, of Cali
fornia, would not agree to the pro-
visions should be left to the Presi-
dent.
Prohibition Clause Acceptable
Republicans In the Senate who have
favored Colonel Roosevelt's authority
to raise and take American troops to
France declared tonight that an ef-
fort would be made on the floor to
have the Senate insist In the reten-
ton Of this feature. Another vote on
the proposal may also be forced In
the House which has once rejected II.
Tho general expectation, however. Is
that the conference decision will pre-
vail
The prohibition provision as agreed
TO excludes liquors, beer and wines
form any military post, but does not
forbid sailing or giving these bower
ases 70 soldiers except whom In uni
form Il may not suit some Of The
radical psohIbIuonIsls, but In visv
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