Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-04-03

, but sufficiently trained to do their
part when included in brigades Of
trained British and French troops
This action has been followed by
orders TO accelerate the transporta-
ton abroad of American units now
in American training camps
The speeding-up of troop dis
patching will rapidly drain Amer
lean training camps, and to refill
them the war department win be
compelled TO increase by n larger
ratio the number of drafted men
called TO the colors
To discuss the Important changes
in the plans for the next draft made
| necessary by the speeding up OF
troop shipments TO Europe. Provost
Marshal General Crowder has been
summoned to confer tomorrow with
the general staff at the war depart
ment- New troop reQuisitions have
been prepared General CrowIer un-
derstands- that they call for a much
larger quota OF registered men for
April and the succeeding months of
1918. than had been contemplated
in the plans for fhe draft recently
completed
May Double the Gail
General Crowder frankly admitted
that the rushing of men in training
to Europe undoubtedly would call
for larger inroads on the registra-
ton The new situation makes pos
sible the following:
The number of men to be called
this year may be doubted, depend
ent upon the facilities of troop trans
portation TO Europe.
The call for troops through the
next draft may be so large as to
make it necessary TO go be-
| yond Glass I in order to fill the
| training camps, a course which draft
officials had not desired to pursue
! II possible TO avoid il.
April, May and June quotas. now
being prepared. may be swelled to
twice their proposed size.
Instead of 100000 men being
called this year. as many as 1,60O.-
Oeo men may be called; this, it is
believed, would exhaust available
material in Glass l.
Training in the camps and can
tonments probably will be shortened.
Men are TO be sent abroad as soon
as they master the fundamentals
Another thing made necessary bv
the policy of Fastening troops abroad
Will be the calling of the April quota
on the old basis of determining
quotas, the population ratio, instead
o& the scientific basis urged by the
! provost marshal general, which Con-
Sress is still debating, members of
the house military affairs committee
seeking to amend it. AS the bill,
STANDS 1t proposes TO allot the Quotas
| on the basis of the number of reg
! lstered men in class / in the re
spective communities as compared
10 the total registration. The hin
was passed by the senate a month
I ago. but Chairman Dent and six
other members of the house com
mittee are opposed to it and the
draft machinery meanwhile has been
slowed down.
Old Plan May Go In
Unless opposition to the quota bill
abates at once, so that il NAV ba
signed by the President within n
week, the second draft will have TO
go forward under the old. admit
tedly erroneous plan of allotment.
eneral Crowder conceded this last
night. He said he had urged the
Importance of the measure on Con-
gress repeatedly and that he did not
| the legislation.
General Crowder said in speaking
! of the proposed speeding-up process
that he did not believe it would be
possible to get all the troops now
in training to Europe by the middle
of the summer, but that he was con-
| fident the cantonments would he
abandoned much faster than the
| new draft could refill them under
the original plan. 1t had been pro-
| posed to send from 5000 to 5000
new drafted men to the cantonments
| each week. This rate will have to
! be greatly increased. Just how
! much the provost marshal could
not say, because he has not vet been
advised of the ideas of the president
and general staff on the subject.
Almost without exception general
staff officers in Washington gave
strongest approval to the plan
worked out by Secretary Baker and
Generals Pershing and Bliss with
British and French officials bv
which American troops in France
viii be brigaded with the allied
| forces.
Approval of this step was based
on the understanding here that II IS
a temporary policy designed to
utilize the full strength of Amer
ica's gighting forces until the men
ace created by the German drive
! is overcome. The British official
statement referred to this brigading
of American troops with British and
French as continuing so long as
the necessity lasts"
To a minor extent. the brigading
policy has been in effect for several