New-York tribune., 1918-09-05
The Draft Raid

Liberty Dra1t is not WIlaC tne depart
ment of Justice thinks it is.
1t is not means of imposing military
service upon unwilling or inert people by
stern, efficient government. The very
name is term of convenience only.
What happened was that an over
whelming majority of the population
said: I'VE will volunteer, not individ-
ually but in one mass, and empower the
government to call US up by a selective
principle" Then Congress passed the
first conscription act, awkwardly So
called, and it had never to be enforced
by the government. The people them
selves enforced it and made the govern
ment ashamed of the steps it had timo
rously taken to meet ''draft riots
A new man-power act has just been
tardiy passed. The age limits have been
wdened, not altogether because it was
necessary for military reasons to widen
them-not at once-but because it was
the country's impulse to offer men all the
way from eighteen to forty-ivs.
Self-drafting of men under the new
act will begin on September II. On Sep
tember 3, with very slight notice, the De-
partment of Justice begins "slacker Of
fensive," to uncover the relatively few
abject delinquents who failed to report
themselves under the first act
1t is estimated that in New York and
nearby towns $4,000 men have been car
rested" in the last two days by the agents
of the Department of Justice, assisted by
soldiers, sailors and patriotic organiza-
tlons impressed for that purpose, and
that fewer than per cent of those ar
rested were found to be "slackers" in
fact.
This means that over 10000 citizens
who had faithfully discharged their self
imposed obligations in the first selective
draft were rudely seized in their gongs
to and fro, bundled into trucks and i'm
provised patrol wagons, exposed in help
less manner to the boots and ieers of the
pOpulace, detained for hours in barracks
and armorles, and at last released with
out any possibility of redress-all for the
heinous crime of having lost or mislaid in
piece of white cardboard.
Justice goes upon the rule that it were
better for ten guilty men to escape than
for one innocent man to be hanged The
Department of Justice in this achieve
ment has acted on the theory that ninety
seven loyal citizens might better be
mobbed and exposed to this unpardonably
public humiliation than that three draft
slackers should escape. We wish it had
ever been, or would begin now to be, one
tenth so Jealous in abating the enemv
alien menace
We are told unof1icially that the object
OF the man hunt by which this citv has
been and continues to be distracted is not
so much to get the "slackers," the pro-
portion of which, after all, was expected
to be very small, but to produce certain
moral effect upon those who might be
tempted to excuse themselves from the
registration that will begin on Septem-
ber IL. If that is it, the purpose is so
gratuitous that we do not wonder at it's
being. stated unofficially. We trust that
the Department of Justice will realize
that all it has done has been to test the
patriotism and patience of the people in
trying and inexcusable manner.
AS a guarantee against the possibility
of any repetition of this unflendlv and
painful performance, it would occur to
any one to suggest that all draft regis
trants be furnished with metal identif-
cation tags, suitable to be worn constant
ly, such as soldiers wear. And as for the
"slackers" who have been combed out,
certainly there was no need to conduct the
search for them in the spectacular man
ner of police raid. There are many
other ways.
"a