The Washington herald., 1918-08-04
Is TO 45 YEARS
DRAFT AGE
LIMITS
Secretary Bakers New Man
Power Bill to Be Offered
Monday in Congress.
WILL YIELD 5000, 900
SOLDIERS, If ADOPTED
Gives President Also Com
plete Mastery of the Ma
tion's Labor Situation.
WILL SEEK PROMPT ACTION AT
|RE-ASSEMBLING OF CONGRESS
Gen. Crowder Has Machinery Tun-
ed Up to Execute Law Ten
Days After Enactment.
WILL YIELD 100000
! SOLDIERS, If ADOPTED
! WILL SEEK PR0MPTAcTl AT
RE-ASSEMBLING OF CONGRESS

Draft age limits of Is to As years
are fixed in the bill prepared by
Secretary Baker and the Army Gen.
eral Staff. This will provide 10000
coo men in addition to those already
cubject to service.
Senator Chamberlain. chairman
of the Military Affairs Committee.
viii introduce the bill Monday.
Chairman Dent of the House Com
mittee will offer it simultaneously
in the lower branch.
This announcement. made yester-
day after conferences between Secre-
tary Baker and the chairmen Of the
Senate and House military commit
tees, is notice to the whole world that
America intends to put every avail
able ounce of her man-power into the
fight.
The measure VIII authorize the
President to draft persons between
the ages Of is and IS who may be
label to military service Sin sudh
sequence OF ages and at such time or
times as he may prescribe" The ef-
fact of this will be that the President
may call out all the younger men
first.
The bill would give the President
complete mastery of the labor situa-
ton, and would be in general way
wholesale broadening of the work
or fight" order recently promulgated
by Gen. Crowder =
However. the labor control Is in
cidental. as shown by Secretary Ba-
ker, who said:
Not Labor ConscrIption.
"All the possible combinations of
age limits were carefully studied
and it was found that in order to
get the men into Glass 1 for the
program proposed Is to As was
necessary. The bill when introduc-
ed. however. will contain a proyi-
sion authorizing the President to
call men out of Glass 1 by classes,
according to ages, so that IL 1t is
found possible the men between Is
and 10 will be called out later than
the older men who are found eligible
to Class /.
This will undoubtedly have the
effect of taking men who are other
wise deferred and putting them into
useful labor, but it does not con-
script anybody = for labor. 1t is
purely a military matter"
Understood President Approves.
1t is taken for granted Secretary
Baker has the approval of the Pres
ident for the new bill.
When Senator Chamberlain, chair
man of the Senate committee on
Military Affairs, left the War de-
partment after comforting with Sec
retary Baker yesterday morning, he
took with him a typewriter COPY of
the bill given to him by the Secre-
tary. He will introduce the bill
Monday morning.
Senator Chamberlain will call his
committee together Tuesday to go
over the terms of the bill so that
an early report may be made.
Chairman Dent of the House COM
mlttee will introduce the bill sim
ultaneously in the House and will
also take it up with the members
or his committee.
The Senate is bound by a unani-
nous consent agreement to take up
the prohibition rider in the Agri-
cultural bill as soon as the regular
sessions are resumed and dispose of
II before other business is consid-
cred. The effect of this may be to
impede the progress of the man.
power bill.
Chamberlain Wants Early Action.
Senator Chamberlain is honefuI
that it can be put into operation be-
fore the registrants in Class / are
exhausted.
The possibility of the bill eneoun-
tering stiff opposition in the House
was also considered yesterday. Some
Of the House leaders expressed the
opinion that lowering the draft age
to is will be strongly opposed in that
body.
Senator Chamberlain, who by vir-
tue of his position as Chairman of
the committee will lead the fight for
the bill in the Senate, is heartily In
sympathy with its provisions. He is
particularly pleased because the en-
forcement Of the measure will! be
tantamount to universal military
training. He has sponsored univer-
sal military training bill in several
sessions Of Congress. -
The bin will give the President
authority to summon all men be-
tween Is and 45 in case Of a. great
emergency" Senator Chamberlain
said. But I understand 1t will not
be the purpose of the administration
to call men above 81 unless they are
absolutely necessary. The younger
men make the best soldiers.
The bill will remove all danger
that it will be necessary to invade
C1asseN 2. and Of the present draft,
behevS We can get enough men
cosTisuEp ON rAsr rryr