The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1918-01-10
CLASS / men GO FIRST
The New Classification Excludes
Men with Dependents and the
Young Men are to 90 First.

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Men with Dependents and the
Young Men are to 90 First.
men mah9ieen for he war armies m saS stili to be
raised by the United States will
come from Glass one under the new
selective service plan. That means
the nations fighting is to be done
by young men without families de-
pendent upon their labor for support
and unskiIled in necessary industrial
or agricultural work.
Provost Marshal General Crowde1
announced the new policy in re
port on the operation of the selective
draft law submitted today to Secre-
tary Baker and sent TO- CONGRESS !
men for all military needs of the
country and to accomplish that OBJ
ject he urges amendment of the draft
law so as to provide that all men
who have reached their 'twenty-first
birthday since June S, 1917, shall
ton. Also, in the interest of fair
distribution of the military burden,
he proposes that the quotas of states
or districts be determined hereafter
on the basis of the number of men
in Glass One and not upon popula-
tiOn.
A Million in Glass One.
Available figures indicate, the re-
port says, that there are 100000
qualified men under the present reg
istration who will be found in Glass
One when all questionnaires have
been returned and the Classification
extention Of registration to men
turning FL since June 5 of last year
and thereafter will add 100000 men
Glass One comprises Single men
without dependent relatives, mar,
ried men who have haMtually failed ed
dependent upon wives for support or
not usefully engaged. and whose
families are supported by incomes
independent of their labor; unskill-
ed farm laborers.. Ynskilled indus
trial laborers, regiseants by or IN
acation is claimed or made, regis
trants who fail to submit question
naire and in respect of whom no de-
ferred classification is claimed or
made, and all registrants not includ-
ed in any other division of the sched-
ule:
single men and married men with
Independent incomes most of the
@weieht of military duty, for the
number of men in the other .divfs-
ions of Glass One is very small.
Better Than Expected.
General Crowder finds that the
pectations and pays high tribute to
the thousands of civilians whose
service made the plan a success.
cat the presidents CALL he says,
TALL ranks of the nation, reluctantly
entering the war, nevertheless IN.
stantly responded to the first call OF
the nation with vigorous and un,
selfish cooperation that submerged
all individual interest in single en-.
deayor toward the consummatiOn of
the national task. ! take it that no
great national project. was ever at
tempted. with so complete reliance
upon the voluntary cooperation of
ly no such burdensOme and sacrificial
statute had ever before been execut-
ed without great hierarchy OF otflc-
ials.
s.This law has been administered
by civilians whose official relations
winch they are. vested BY the presi-
dents designation Of them to per-
form the duties that are laid upon
them. They have accomplished the
task. They have made some mis-
takes. The system offers room for
improvement.
No Equal in GERMANY.
s.But the great thing they were
called upon to do they have done.
The vaunted efficiency of absOlut-
ism of which the German, empire
stands as the ayatar can offer moth
ing to compare with 1t. 1t remains
intrinsic political idea upon which
Aemricant institutions of democracy
and self-gOvernment have been bas-
>ed."
1,nalyzing the first draft General
CrOwder shows that $685. ,5OS men
between the ases Of IT, q and 81 Years
only $3.50 arrests had been made of
those who sought to evade registra-
ton, and of that number 2,263 were
released after having registered, and
there remains only 2,O95 cases to be
prosecuted: The report declares dec ares
,OOO26 per cent of the men within
draft age evaded registration.
A rough figure of so per cent is
given as the number of registra ants
who failed to appear when called by
but General Crowder hastens to ex-
plain that most of these men already
are in Europe in the American, Brit,
ish and French armies, They, did
not await the draft processes in their
easeiness to get into action.
.show." General Crowder adds; that
the number of those who will fully
fail to appear for examination when
called is insignificant.
Few Physically Deficient.
OF the total registration of 1885,
sos, the number called and examin-
ed was 3.O82,949, and Of these L
for military service. Since the first
call was for only 687 900 men, there
now remain 37O,363 men awaiting
summons to the mobilization camps.
OF all men examined 730,756, or
2S.7 Der cent were rejected for
t-H-.aanI ~oocorc Thof ~ iS pninfod