The Mena weekly star., 1918-04-04
CALL FOR DRAFT TED
 MEN TODE GRADUAL
Office of the Provost General Gives More Definite Information on's' Much Mooted Question--Msny
 Skilled Artisans Needed.

mere mas Deen ktedt ucai oA speculation in the press concerning what has been termed "The date of the next draft Almost every week, announcements have been made and these announcements, being mere guesses, have resulted in the unrest and uncertainty that has been unfor- tunate.
 As a matter of fact the state of un- preparedness of the army to assimi- late recruits varies from day to day and from week to week and the most scientific manner of recruiting the forces will be to withdraw them from civil life as fast as they can be assim- Hated by the army and no faster. According to this plan, men will be in ducted into the service in very small groups apportioned among various states from week to week or from month to month as they are needed. In order to distribute the burden equally over the various states, how ever, it is necessary to make arith- metical computations of the share of each state and it is not practicable to make these computations for such small numbers. For mere bookkeep- ing facility, therefore, it is necessary to assume total of considerable size and to apportion it among the several states as their immediate burden. This total is called national quota, and the various shares are called state quotas. The announcement of the quota does not mean that any such great number of men will be called to military service at once and, indeed, has no necessary relation to the date of call for the reason that a constant ly changing situation causes changes in the number of men who are to be called to the colors.
 It is unwise to attempt to make a forecast of the number of men that will be called for immediate military service in advances of the develop ment of the whole complex problem of supply and transportation. It is also unwise to make public announcements of specific figures which might serve the enemy as a precise basis for de- termining the plans for military par ticipation of the Nation in this war. It is necessary, however, to compose the present unrest and uncertainty by some public announcement and for this reason the following is authori- tatively stated.
 The next national quota will be an- nounced and apportioned among the several states as soon as pending ieg- islation authorizing a change in the basis of computation is enacted in Congress. This legislation has been passed by the Senate and favorably reported by the House Military Com mittee. The number that will be as- stunned as basis for computation will be 800,000, which is well within the authorization of clause of section of the Selective Service Act of a sec- ond increment of 500,000 men, in- creased by the recruit training units authorized by clause of said section 1, and by the special and technical troops authorized by section of said Act. It cannot now be announced what the total number to be called to the colors each month will be but it may be stated that no more men will be called than can be properly accom- modated and promptly assimilated
 There are difficulties confronting the nation in the supply of labor ap- purtenant to agriculture. Class 1, from which new levies are to be with drawn, will contain many more men than are at present required for the army It would be a most unscientific and fatuous step if the men in Class were called indiscriminately with out regard to the labor situation ir agriculture. Therefore, the Local Boards will be directed to fill their quotas in the order of liability of mer in Class 1 as determined by the na- tional drawing, except that, where il is shown that a registrant is com. pletely and assiduously engaged in the planting, cultivation or reaping of g crop, his call to the colors shall be deferred to the foot of the quotas oi his board as long as he continues tc be so engaged Whenever any regis trant, whose call to the colors has been deferred by reason of his en- gagement in agriculture, is shown tc have been idle on the farm on which he is engaged or to have trified with the deferment that has been accord ed him, the boards will forthwith in duct him into the military service if his order number has been reached in the meantime. The effect of this ex- pedient is to grant furloughs from service prior to actual call to the col ors to the men so greatly needed in the production of this years crop.
 This is not, however, the only expe- dient that is to be adopted to conserve the supply of labor appurtenant tc agriculture and to mobilize all means for increasing the harvest for the az. ricultural season of 1918. There is now pending before Congress bill authorizing the Secretary of War tC grant furloughs, with or without pay to men in the army to enable them tc engage in industrial and agriculture pursuits. The purpose of this bill i; to relieve serious situations in partic