Norwich bulletin., 1918-01-30
EXEMPTION BOARD RECEIVES
 LETTER FROM WASHINGTON,
Calls on sehooI Teachers ito. Volunteer < Their Services i1 Draft Work Y

ioent- Wilson: sa
 The success of the seieetive service system has been largely. due to the reliance that has been placed on the co-operation of all citizens in it's exe- eution. In, the registration. the .elec- ton officers of the several states were called upon to perform specific task and they performed it unanimously i and efficiently. tatterly, I have had occasion to cali the lawyers and the | physicians of the country to specific | duties, and they have responded in a | solid rank. The time has now come l when the teachers of the country can | perform very necessary task, and have no doubt that they win respond in the same manner.
 The process of classification of all l men within the field of selection Is 1 proceeding rapidly. It becomes nec- essary to carry forward with this pro- cess the making of very complete | index which shall accurately locate I any specially qualified man among the ten millions on, our ehrollment lists. The local boards are so overburdened with the work of classification that this task cannot be put upon them, and yet the necessities of the nation require that it be, performed with the greatest possible despatch and ac- curacy. This duty can be performed best by the teachers of the various communities. Under authority con- terred upon. me by the selective ser- vice law therefore. call upon all teachers to present themselves to the local boards having Jurisdiction over the areas in which they reside, for the purpose of examining the, question naires and filling out the index cards in accordance with more specific in- structions to be issued by the provost marshal general
 Crowder in an announcement to the principals of high schools in every county, city and town having local boards .says:s s-,.ssr s->=-.--->---' Your precise duty is to cal together | all the teachers under your jurisdic- 1 tion or affiliated with you and. to pre- sent to them the presidents call upon | them for their services. Having done
 this, you should determine, in accord ance with these instructions, the
 teachers that you can utilize to do this
 and without delay. You should then visit the local boards within your jur-
 isdiction, present this as your creden- tial and offer them the systematized
 service of the teachers you have se- ! lected with g definite statement of the number of hours of work offered and the hours Of the day in which it will
 be performed. In this connection 1t l is to be remarked thai the need is
 such that all zeal and effort possible
 should be expended in bringing the
 arrears of work up to date So that all
 the questionnaires in Pile l, as de-
 scribed in the inclosed instructions,
 will be carded without avoidable delay
 and as fast as classifications are made,
 The needs of the army are such that Iyou can afford to give this duty the right of way over every civic task. For
 the time being, other needs must suf- fer in efficiency, if need be, in order
 that the war may be won and the cause of liberty saved. t
 Provost Marshal Crowder issues the
 following notice tc teachers in all schools of the United States:
 To Teachers in All Schools of the Il United States:
 T Not long ago you were all asked tc
 lend your services to the raising of the I national army A direct opportunity l for the most valuable service has now arrived, and the need is urgent. il It is of paramount importance to the
 selective features of the draft and tc the effective employment of the mar
 power of the army that every man bs
 so placed in it as to give the most ad
 vantage to his qualifications.
 The problem is, therefore, to f1nt , the men w@G can do the various thing. l necessary in the. modern army.
 i For this purpose, a central classi | fled occupational file will be organized
 in the provost marshal generals office at Washington, so that when calls ars
 made upon this office by the severa branches of the army for men of spe
 cial occupations or skill we can motif,
 the various district boards just hoy
 many and what persons of those quail , fications are to be found in their jur
 isdietion;. and the boards can thel , proceed to the selection under the law = Without such central classified file l repeated examinations by the board
 or the, thousands of duestionnaires il I each Jurisdiction would be necessary : and such a task Is obviously imprac , ticable.
 - For the preparation of the centra 5 classified file. card must be made fo
 each person filing questionnaire. a soon as the board has classified him s The making of this card consists mere ly in transcription of certain data iron v the questionnaires on to a card alread e prepared in blank form.
 II At this moment 9,606 900 of suc]
 cards are being sent to the respectiv
 local boards. AS the boards are no
 likely to be able to prepare these card
 without increasing their forces, it i
 confidently hoped and expected tha
 the necessary force will. be supplie
 by the teachers of the United States | trained men and women, who are es ? pecialiy competent for the task. ! The work will not be very length,
 or exhausting, but 1t Is absolutely in T dlspensable to the proper manning a e our army. and 1t must be done accu
 rately. Errors, if any were made ,, would to that extent obstruct and con U fuse the work of the army. We hay 2 a right to expect the careful achieve ment of this task of earding. Moth ing could more directly contribute t the rapid progress of our military op erations. Anyone. who helps effective . y in doing this is contributing just a directly as if he or she put gun int '' the hands of q soldier, In every com
 mu1ity where there is a local boar . It is requested and urged that tn
 teachers of all schools offer their ser q vices to the boards to. despatch thi i task promptly The sooner it is des s patched the more quickly the arm
 VIII be lighting effectively on the frin ' line.
 if This statement is positively and lii a erally correct. It ought to nerve a n n patriotic men and women to contr s bute to the task. t.-l. Q It is desirable that every one vol o unteering should pledge attendance f. n definite number ofedays and houl n until the work is finished.
 d Full instructions for the filling (