The Washington herald., 1918-05-30
TAPS
Big RESERVOIR
OF MAN POWER
Calls Many Class | Men for
Limited Military
Service.

Provost Marshal General crowdsr
has tapped another reservoir.
Through an outlet opened last night
In the storage basin OF Americas
man-power will now indirectly more
terror for the Hun. Several hundred
thousand registrants held for linn
ited military service will be released
to take the places Of able-bodied
men fit for the firing line.
The first call for men in this class.
wired to the governors Of all States
last night, is for 5000 These home
soldiers will be sent into the tim
Der regions OF the far Northwest
to cut spruce for airpIanes. They
will be a part OF the army; but,
instead of duty in the trenches, they
will spend the summer amid health
full surroundings in . great drive
for raw material urgently needed for
the building OF this country's tre-
mendous air feet.
Voluntary EnroIImsnt.
Voluntary enrolment will be per-
mitted up to June 6. Men will be
listed for acceptance for this duty
in the order in which they apply
to their local boards Their physical
condition must not be such as
to impair their usefulness for the
work to be performed.
II enough men are not obtained
voluntarily, orders will be issued di-
recting local boards to invoIuntarily
induet them. beginning with the first
on the list In Class 1. After June
reports will be made to the Pro-
vost Marshal General. and. IL neces-
sary. Rllotments will be made to the
various States to be filled.
Men skilled in twenty-three Yoca-
tions are eligible for this service The
list includes locomotive engineers,
railroad grade foremen. wooden
bridge carpenters. telephone linemen.
telegraphers. pile driver foremen.
steam shovel operators. steam filters.
automobile mechanics. cooks, railroad
brakemen, laborers. firemen. railroad
track foremen. locomotive repalrmen,
surveyors or railroad instrument men,
craftsmen, stationery engineers for
donkey engines. carpenters. electric
ians. automobile drivers, clerks and
railroad conductors.
Using Man Power.
lone of the great problems Of the
draft" said Gen. Crowder in announc-
ing tno new Chh. mas Dccll Nilc sOlA-
ton OF the question OF what to do
with the men held by the examining
surgeons throughout the country for
limited service. There are in this
class several hundred thousand men,
some with a thumb of, some with
toe off, some with a glass eye. but
almost every one OF them engaged in
active business Military authorities
have studied for months how to use
them. Provost Marshal General Crow
der has solved the problem by request
ing staI corps to utilize the services
Of these men and thus release hght-
ing men for the front line"
Forestry is only one Of the many
things these men can dc. Oth6- calls
will follow in rapid order, as the re
ouirements warrant. Figures received
at draft headquarters show positively
that there arc more than 9eo.0Jo limited
service men in Glass ], and II ls De-
lieyed the total number of men OF this
tyne will, run much higher.
Ultimately IL is planned to release
for the firing line the great bulk OF
physically fit men now engaged IN
home war work.
The spruce situation reached such
serious stage a few months ago. when
timber workers were recruited for for
estry regiments and the engineer
corps. that the War Department was
prevailed upon TO return these r1en 10
spruce production. The ehect or To-
nights order will be the early re-
lease OF these men.