The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1917-07-20
Se~ Jst&N / avh,h, anAt lofr,cer

New JstseN 1 When nhAt sofficer
learned through publication OF the
system Of double drawing announced
early in the day that a great injustice
would be done in his state because
of the way in which the local boards
had given serial numbers to the cards
from the registration precincts.
hasty conference OF officials was
called. and similar condition was
found to exist In many parts of the
country. In some lists colored and
white registrants had been classified
In separate groups and the serial nun
bers ran accordingly. In others aliens
were separated and given their own
group OF serial numbers.
A Hopeless Tansie.
II was hopeless tangle. II the tlou-
BILE drawing system were carried out,
one election district in any exemption
division might be swept clean of all
Its young men to fill the quota while
the other election districts in the same
exemption area furnished no men
whatever. In other cases it might be
necessary to pass upon and exempt a
thousand aliens before a single Amer
lean was called to service. In others
thousand negroes might be taken
Tor examination before n white man
was called, or vice versa.
Resort to Original Plan.
There was only one way ont and
the war department promptly an
nounced that the whole intricate meth
Cd of drawing devised to save time
and labor would be abandoned in ia
Vor OF the simple. direct plan of draw
ing sufficient numbers to fix the place
OF the last man in the largest exemp-
ton district. That was the original
plan and it was intended for weeks to
draw in that way. but the enormous
amount of labor and the time involved
prompted the effort to devise a short
cut that would be fair to all
Officials congratulated themselves
tonight that the difficulty in the way
of the double dra wing was found to-
day rather than after the drawing.
Lansing, Mich, Largest.
The drawing tomorrow was fixed Mt
lo'oo numbers because an exemption
district in Lansing. Mich. has O,263
registered men. That is the largest
district on record here. Seven states
thus far have failed to report their
maximum districts, however. and 49,
500 numbers will be drawn to take
care OF the improbable possibility that
n larger district will show up later.
Immense Extra Labor.
The change in plan throws an enor.
nous burden of work on General
d'rowder's office. which had to be com
pleted tonight. In one room a score
OF clerks pounded away with number
ing machines through the night, max
ing up the $500 additional key num-
bers necessary. In another room so
men, girls and boys toiled over bowls
OF black capsules. rolling up the num-
bered slips as they were received and
slipping them into the concealing gel
atin covering from which they will be
taken by the announcers tomorrow.
Montana's Largest s,764.
Alabama first state on the roster Of
the union, reports its largest exemp
tion district as containing 1926 reg
lstrants in the drawing tomorrow, the
numbers from 6926 to 10000 inclu-
slre can be disregarded entirely so far
as Alabama is concerned.
BY the same process, Montana has
no interest in numbers above S,764
Late tonight General Crowder is
suea second statement explaining
that no blame should be attached to
local officials. whose failure to shuttle
the cards in their jurisdiction caused
Il, =
Abandonment of the more elaborate
pan. He also pointed ont that this
1allure was not confined to New Jer-
sey. but was widespread.