Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1918-09-26
CALL TO EMPLOYERS
Paramount Duty to Aid Work of
SeIective Boards.
Can Perform Great Service to coun-
try by Helping Work Of Classifying
Registrants Under the Sc
iective Service Act.


er representatives of industry through
out the country concerning their share
of responsibility in the classification
of the new registrants under the Sc
lective service act
General Crowder says:
i have noticed, in the general ex-
pressions of the public attitude which
reach this Office, two frequent features
which lead me to the present COM
ments- One of these features Is the
belief that the process of awarding de
ferred classification to a registrant re-
quires merely the filling out of the
QUESTIONABLE, and that the selective
service boards will perceive the pro-
priety of making the deferment. with
out the assistance furnished by the
registrant's formal claim indicating
the deferment desired. The other fea-
ture is the employers failure to real
lie his responsibility to intervene in
aiding the boards determination, and
therefore to inform himself fully on all
the considerations which should affect
the decision as to deferment.
L. AS to the first mentioned belief,
1t must be pointed out that if it were
universally acted upon, the process of
classification would be seriously ham,
pered and delayed. Someone must in
dictate that the individual case is one
which should arrest the special atten-
ton of the boards in respect to the reg
istrant's occupational status. The
boards do not possess q superhuman
omniscence
Boards Will Make Examination.
The boards will do all that they pos
sibly can. on their own initiative, to
reach just decision by a complete ex-
animation of the QUESTIONABLE. even
where no claim is expressly made. A
regfstrant is therefore at liberty. if he
sees fit. to trust to the scrutiny of the
boards to discover the necessity for his
deferment.
Nevertheless, the boards will vel
come and will need all the aid that can
be furnished by the indication of
claim made for deferment. With this
and speedy one.
2 Why should the employer, or 9th
er third person. In such cases. make
the claim? Because the employer in
this, situation represents. the nation
because Tin the statutory phrase)
''the maintenance of the military es-
adjustment or of national interest
during the emergency" requires that
some well-advised third person should
look after that national interest. which
the registrant himself may not have
sufficiently considered.
1t Is often forgotten that the selec-
tive drift is only one element in the
depletion of a particular industry's
man-power. A second and large ele-
ment is found in the voluntary with
drawals for enlistment: how large this
Is may be seen from the circumstance
that the total inductfons by draft have
reached some 1000 900. while the total
enlistments in army and navy amount
to some 1.4OO. OOO-nearly three-quar-
tiers as many. A third element, very
large, but unknown as to its precise
extent, has been the transfer of labor
power from one industry to another.
into the distinctively war in
dustries offering the inducement of
higher wages. How relatively small.
In actual effect. has been the effect of
the selectfve draft is seen in the fact
that. for all the occupations represent
ed in the 100000 classified regis
trants of January. 1918, the percen-
tage of the entire Industrial popuIa-
ton represented by the class / regis
trants amounted to only per cent 1t
ran as low as 8 per cent for some oc-
cupatfons, and correspondingly higher
for some other occupations; but the |
national average was only 6 per cent. |
Any notably larger depletion in partic- |
ular industries must therefore have !
been due, partly to enlistments. and in |
probably greater degree. to voluntary |
transfers into other industries.
Must Remember Nations Needs
These other Influences are therefore
to be kept in mind by employers and |
others. IN weighing the question wheth- |
er the best solution, in the national |
Is to ask for the deferment |
Of individuals or groups of men. Such |
deferments may assist the immediate |
situation In the particular establish |
ment but they merely force the army |
same number of men thus deferred |
The cumulative needs of the |
forces are known and inn |
perative; and any given quantity of |
deferments will ultimately have to be |
made up by the depletion of some |
other occupation. Thus 1t becomes |
the employers duty to consider these |
aspects of deferment, in seeking that |
of his own problem which best |
COMFORTS with the national interest. |
The cessation of eniistments will |
protect industry against |
one irregular and uncomfortable |
source of arrangement 1t will CORE
spondingiy throw upon the selective |
fh0 St