Free trader-journal. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1916-1920, 1917-05-19
ILLINOIS MEN ARE
READY FOR SERVICE
Continued from Page ~

not he revealed much before the
close of the war
Following the signing by President
Wilson of the selective draft bill at
3 o'clock last night. the issuance of
the proclamation calling for the reg
istration of all males eligible To draft.
The announcement that For yery
good military reasons" the offer of
Col. Roosevelt to raise an army of vol.
unteers was declined and that Perish.
Ing was to lead the American army,
the War Department settled down to
get the machinery of war working at
top speed.
The regular army units that are be
ing withdrawn from the border and
sent to various concentration camps
to be extended into additional regi-
ments to bring the regular establish
ment up to top strength are being hur-
ried to their selected posts.
GNtIN n'ut' 6V'NiHoi anu
general has been directed by tele-
graph to devote every agency to re.
cruiting to strengthen the state ma
tiOnal guard SO that they can be mus.
tered inte the service without any
delay during the period between July
ID and August 5, The machinery of
the quartermaster's department and
OF the General Staff have been speed
ed up to get ready for the new army
that is to be organized The question
Of whether CONSUMPTION will have to
be extended to fill gaps In the lines of
the regulars and of the national
guard will remain open for the pres
ent. Officials are hopeful that the en-
listments will be sufficient and they
base their hopes on the fact that
many eligibles of military age prefer
to volunteer to bring conscripted
There will be SO concentration
camps located in the various divisions.
The department commanders are Sc.
lecting the sites and as soon as pos.
sible they will be made ready for oc-
cupancy.
The national guard and the regul.
ars will be the first line of defense
and II Is expected that they will pre-
cede the new CONSUMPTION arm to
France. One thing is considered Ger.
tain and that is that the methods of
training will be revolutionary Inten-
sive in the extreme will be the work
OF the soldiers as il is hoped that the
United States will be playing real
part In the war before mid autumn
The heaviest task at present is tC
secure equipment Every possible
manufacturing establishment in thu
country now Is al WORK along line,
already planned turning out the stu
pendous amount OF material that il
needed But officials are orderinl
that nothing shall be left undone t.
get everything necdlul.
a. many Americans who could have beer
i secured for selectiye branches of tn
service have gone to Canada and Ell
listed there This is said TO be ea
pecially 20 of the aviation corps. Thu
Canadian flying school at Toronto q
present IL training many younl
Americans. They went across tn
border because of the announcement
that as soon as they qualified the,
would be sent directly to the from
and the American aviation plans still
are far from complete.
The question OF what Ia to be don,
with Col Roosevelt may be b,ough
prominently to the front very soon
In announcing that for the present h.
would accept no volunteers and civ
ing his reasons therefore, Presden
Wilson echoed the united opinion o
the army general staff But Their
are many persons here who would llk
to see the administration offer tn
colonel an opportunity to utilize hi
peculiar genius for the nation insteo
Of accepting the appointment to be
major general proilered him by Go,
Whitman, Ct New York And II ha
already been suggested in official eli
cles that the President is considcrn
whether there Is not some way he ca
use the former president