Arizona republican., 1917-08-08
MAKING READY TO ORGANIZE
 NEW NATIONAL ARMY WHEN
 DRAFTED MEN ARE AVAILABLE
Republican A. p. Leased WIre1

Republican A. P. Leased Wlre1 Washington, Aug 7-Provost Mar | shal General Crowder and his assist | ants are at work on the final set of | regulations to be promulgated this ! week to complete the organiZa tion of the selective draft war army They will govern actual mobilization of the men selected.
 | Statements issued today by the war ] department show that preliminary fig
 ures place the total force of national guard taken into the federal service i August ,, at 1908 officers and 419S34 men.
 Another statement showed that 1S0.- 766 war volunteers have been recruited for the regular service since April 1. leaving only about 1000 vacancies in the regulars at war strength.
 1 These figures mean that approXi mately 725,000 men are now under arms exclusive of the navy and mar inc corps, to be supplemented within the next few weeks by 6S7000 raised under the se.ective draft bill. Of the
 latter number about 5O0000 will com pose the third great element of the war army the national army, and the re-
 mainder will go to fill up the regulars
 and the guard and their reserves.
 The mobilization regulations will
 show how the drafted men are to be assigned. Already the war department
 has received countless applications from men certain to be called in the first increment of the draft forces for assignment to some particular arm or branch of the service. Where q man has been summoned by his local board for physical examination, no method
 exists whereby he may enlist in the tlor 1,ts- rf,at on the home quota It is probable how
 ever, that some effort will be made to
 meet the wishes of the drafted men in this regard, as far as possible when
 they are mobilized. It can be done only
 to a limited extent as the regulars and
 guards, as shown by today's statement. are practically filled
 The war department has taken over
 recruiting for the national guard as
 well as the regulars the entire guard having now become a part of the army of the. United States and having no
 connection with the states. Todays | statement says that about half the men appiying for enlistment are within the draft ages.
 Those accepted will count as credits on subsequent quotas of their districts.
 The statement lays stress, however, , on the fact that the country wants all the men it can get who can be spared , at home.
 The national guard statement shows
 that only the number Of men short or the 419,S34 figure shown by checking
 of the muster rolls by department commanders and rejection of any found unfit will be taken from the draft
 forces for the guard service. The re cruiting services expects to fill the reg i,,lo tO G,,ll tomorrow
 or next day, so that there probably will be a surplus of 150,000 or more
 men when the fuli 6oT, 900 of the first increment of the national army is as . sembled.
 In addition, recruiting throughout the
 country will supplement the excess, all | men who volunteer going into the reg ulars or the national guard or into the reserve after full war strength IS | reached.
 y It is regarded as likely that the mob iliZation regulations soon to be issued will show that the surplus of drafted n men is to be used as a recruit reser-
 voir and that all the men will be put U under training as quickly as possible.
 A recruit depot will be established in V France. from which regiments at the U front will be kept filled up. drafts of men from the main recruit depot in this 2 country being sent over to this dis u trihution center as needed. In the
 | same way. sick or wounded men will
 be returned to the front when recovered T and a steady flow of recruits to main e tain active regiments at top fighting 7, efficiency will be provided in this way , The only hint of the probable method o of mobilization of drafted men lies ir ~Flor T. which shows that the adjutant genera
 may summon the quotas of the dis = tricts in increments. Division of eacf
 quota into five equal parts is suggest
 ed. each part to be called up separately
 as needed
 Under this arrangement it would bf
 possible to call at once the men to form
 ;hc new national army and to sum mon later those who are to compose the reserves for all clements of th' army. Men temporarily needed il
 harvest fields CT elsewhere could h'
 classified by local boards into thes
 latter increments to meet emergenc, T. situations in their districts without de l. laying organization of new forces sd A reorganization of war units unde Ie which the old plan of units of 2S,0o
 men is abandoned for the continenta in unit of about 19.0o0 men, was an at nounced today. Under the new plan J. division will include only two infantr.
 brigades of two regiments each in plac le of-three brigades under the old system r. Many other changes in organization n are made, including material increas is in the artillery and machine gul T. strength of each division. The cayalr
 (Continued on Page Two)