Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-09-04
WORK OR FIGHT"
REMAINS ALL
None Between 10 and As Re-
Iieved From Regulations,
Says Gen. Crowder.
WILL COMB EACH CLASS
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.

BY DAVID LAWRENCE.
(Copyright, 1918, By the New York Evening
Post, Incl
Maj. Gen. Enoch Crowder. the pro-
vost marshal general, made it clear
today that tho work-or-dght regula-
lions will be enforced for men above
the age of thirty-one Just the same
as it has been for those below that
limit In other words. as the draft
law signed by the President gives
the War Department jurisdiction over
all men between the ages Of eighteen
and forty-five. registrants who are
given deferred classincations either
because Of physical defects or de-
pendents or value to the industries In
which they are employed. will have
to continue to work at useful occu-
pations or be called into the Army.
The impression has arisen In some
parts of the country that because the
Thomas amendment was dropped oy
both houses Of Congress the work-or-
hght regulations also have been aban-
doned. Just the reverse IL true. BE-
cause the War Department 6Llea3y
had sufficient authority to entoree the
was deemed superduous. And It IS
the present intention OF the govern
ment to comb the classes above tnlr.y-
one with as much care. X not molS.
than was the case with the younger
registrants.
No Change in Non-Essentials.
For the present there will be no
change in the list of occupations helo
to be useful and those considered non.
essential. But strict applica..SH ..
the work or-f1ght rules to prevent
maintenance of the supply OF labor.
There are several kinds OF govern
ment work needed for the prosecution
of the military program which are TO-
day being held back on account OF
shortage of labor. Ordnance is par
ticulariy in need of labor. The re-
ports that have reached here concern
ing the production of spruce indicate
that all is not up to the mark In that
situation, either.
tofore been slow in some cases to en-
force the work-or-hght order because
they have not known how Tar they
could go. The regulations vest great
II there is idling on the job in any
community it is largely due to the
failure of local boards to follow out
the spirit of the regulation.
Exemptions Will Be Greater.
There probably will be more cases
before, because the War Department
anticipates that a large number OF
men between the ages Of thirty-one
and forty-five will be given deferred
ciassifications because Of their depend
ents.
Many persons at present engaged in
nom essential work are going along
Indifferent to the draft law because
they know they will be given deferred
classification.
But this does not render them inn
mune from military service. the
President has the authority under the
law of May. 1917. to vacate any ex-
given to a registrant. Reasonable op-
portunity is given for every man to
find work in a useful occupation. and
when in doubt as to what constitutes
a useful occupation the local or dis
trict boards can give registrants all
the information desired.
The labor situation will grow more
and more serious as unmarried men
above the age of thirty-one are
drafted for the unattached men even,
though lney are no" III uSel VI OCCu-
pations will have to go to the colors
unless their indispensability to the
industry in question is made the sub
ject of a special Industrial exemp-
ton. The majority of the men above
the age Of thirty-one will not be ell
gible for such industrial exemptions
and as consequence vacancies will
occur which must be filled by men
49, AZ work in non-essential trades
or by women.
Must Keep at Work.
But the important thing which Gen.
Crowder emphasized today was that
because men up to the age Of forty
five are given deferred classiflcations
they must not think themselves i'm
N mill airy service They
can be put in class 1 by the district
a..u iocaI boards If they are habitu-
ally absent from work, which irregu-
larity is the same as idleness, or II
they fail to make reasonable efforts
to get employment in useful occu-
pations.
The work-or-fight principle still
remains, and just as soon as the rush
of registration and classification 10
over, which ought to be by Christmas.
the War Department probably will
order its agents and inspectors to
begin a painstaking search for idlers
and those who really are not entitled
to their deferred classifications. In
the meantime district and local boards
are expected to enforce the regula-
lions to the letter.