The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1917-11-28

OF drawing OF Glass III arrives, we
must demand even from agriculture
and industry an adjustment to re-
place small percentage of skilled
labor affected by the draft-men who,
while occupying no pivotal or i'm
portant position, can serve industry
or agriculture better than unskilled
men.
Should the pinch of military neces-
sity INCREASE beyond Class III, il would
mean that the nation would have to
begin to commit itself to hardship
ana to an adjustment in agriculture
ana industry to meet the paramount
necessity. We take i'm Glass III
very small class of persons upon
whom others are dependent for sup
port, but we do not break up the
closest and most sacred of the fam
ny relationships. We also invade the
Held of agriculture and industry to
The extent of taking. i'm the small
percentage affected. men who have
specialized themselves or who occu-
ny rather pivotal positions.
I'm Class Nv we find the men whom
We shall take as last resort. Before
that class is reached it is perfectly
safe to say that by the addition of
other classes as to a. age. say those
who have attained 21 since registra-
ton day and perhaps adding the
classes of Is and 10 and 20 years
old, men, we shall have included two
or three million men in our available
lst, and thus have saved Class w.
Class v comprises the field of alb
solute exempts.
There is one thought that 1 must
Impress to eradicate an erroneous
view that may be taken of this class
ihcation:
We are dealing in the field of labor
supply. Presuming that tbl labor
supply OF industry and agriculture
comprises men between the ages of
Is, and so. and assuming, for the
purpose of this exposition. that there
arc 100000 men Of each of these
ages. we are dealing with 80 classes.
appurtenant to agriculture and TO the
various industries. The draft af-
fects ten-thirty seconds of this sup
oily or only about 81 per cent. There
fore. turning to Class III. when we find
skilled farm labor listed there. it
does not mean that when Class IL
~ exhausted all skilled farm laborers
viii have been taken. From these
figures. it would seem to mean that
81 per cent OF al skilled farm labor
WIN have been taken. But even this
figure is misleading. Without the
definite. statistics that the present
draft will eventually afford can say
think. that within this class OF
skilled lahorcrs at least 62 per cent
OF those liable to draft will be found
in classes more deferred than Glass
III by reason of dependents, alien
age. and the like The result is that
when we have exhausted Class III. we
shall have taken only l2 per cent OF
the skilled labor appurtenant TO ag-
ricIlture. The same figures apply to
other industries.
To raise an army comprising hun
dreds OF thousands of men necessi-
totcs an inroad into the man power
OF the nation. We are committed to
THIS war and we ought to fight il i'm
the most effective fashion possible TO
us. The necessity of raising an army
Is paramount. The decrease i'm labor
supply must be adjusted in some way
othcr than by shutting off recruit
ment That IL can be adjusted there
IS no question. We see what England
has done, what France has done, and
most OF all what Germany has done.
The problem is not to maintain the
Labor supply of agriculture and of
every industry intact. 1t Is to make the
withdrawal Of men I'm the most scicn-
Tile manner possible. | think we have
zone that and that what is offered
mere IL the basis for nice balance
between our two necessities. fcI
That we can go no further. There are
those who say that we must ,,,in This
var i'm the economic field. with an
Inference that the raising of an armv
.s side issue. / say to YOU that with
any greater inroads into the field %
recruitment of our army. we shall b,
sending inferior men To the field
Ihat If this nation is not competent