Evening star., 1918-04-14
WHAT THE GOVERNMENT Is DOING

The vastnsss Of the working out OF
the selective service law perhaps viii
not be fully real
sHJactivn asrvioa ised until after the
:. great conflict whom
fully into this unprecedented piece OF
work that has been accomplished in
drafting the mon Of the nation to make
UP our National Army. =
The unprecedented character Of this
undertaking II q matter Of common
Congress. in the consid-
GRAFTON Of the act which authorized It.
entertained grave doubts as to whether
. plan could be devised which would
apply 20 new = principle Of selection for
national service without much misun-
derstanding and unhappinssh But the
results have been Of . most inspiring
kind and have demonstrated the uni
vsrsal willingness Of the American peo-
pie to serve in the defense Of our lib.
the nations defenders to the nation It
self The men selected constitute as
fins body Of raw material as were ever
trained in military science. They nave
already acquired the smArtneSs ana SOL
can troops. and those who oncs thought
that the volunteer spirit was necessary
to insure contentment and seal In SOL
disrs now freely admit that the men Sc
lected in this new way have those quail
ss:s, ss in t es g dsstss ne iha
the part Of the men to bear their part
Of the national burden and to do their
duty at the nations call. s-.
Most Of the success Of this great un-
F AHaA o. - - SNEa
thought and the breadth Of view with
which the ofYicials Of the Office OF the
provost marshal general of the War De-
partment organised the machinery for
its execution. But other elements have
contributed to its success. and first
rely upon the corporation Of the gov
ernorD Of states and state agencies in
the assembling Of the registration and
exemption boards. By reason OF this
with the national government the law
came As no outside mandate enforced by
soldiers. but as q working Of the homo
institutions in the hands Of neighoors
and acQuAintAnces pursuing a clear
Eift BY the states to the nation Of q
body Of men to be trained.
The press OF the country co-operated
In q most helpful way, drawing the
obvious distinctions between this mods
which have sometimes been resorted to
after the failure Of volunteering, and
pointing out to the young men Of the
nation that the changed conditions of
warfare made necessary q mode Of
gelection which would preserve the in
dustrial life Of the country a. q foun-
dation for successful military opera
tions.
The acceptance Of this law shows the
unity Of spirit Of the American people.
bureau Of foreign and domestic COM
merce Of the Department
Promoting Of Commerce has been
particularly effective re-
Ai"ue' Gently by reason Of the
stress laid on the employment Of epe =
cially trained men in securing flrst-
hand information abroad. = 80
Other leading nations have made ex-
tensive use Of resident agents. such as
consuls and attaches. and also tempo
rary commissions. composed Of men of
social position, but no other country
has equally developed a changing stan
of experts in particular Industrial lines
for current foreign reports.
In the past large portion OF the
government funds available has been
spent on straight trade investigations
of present and potential, markets for
individual lines Of American manufac-
turers. During the past year. however,
moro attention has been given to broad
Investigations designed to beneat as
many industries as possible and yet
be sufficiently specific to warrant the
time and money spent. The first study
OF new or comparatively unknown
markets requires Information on the
geographical and commercial condi-
tions peculiar to tho territory, and
likewise the nature of the Inhabitants.
with special consideration of different
races and nattonalities, purchasing
Good general reports on credits, NOR
chandising. laws and customs, re-
sources and industries have their place
as the forerunners Of more specialized
REPORTS.
Many of the Investigations result
from specific requests from leading
business associations. Officials of the
bureau are in hopes that American
business enterprises will take an increas-
ingly keen interest in their investiEa-
tions and submit any suggestions which
occur to them. Inasmuch as 1t is nee
essary to look ahead two years in map
ping out the new Investigations, it is
no easy matter, particularly in these
unsettled times, to fix plans for the
future.
1t was recognized by officials of the
Department Of Agriculture even before
we entered the war
Departments that the food problem