Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1918-08-07
THE U.S.. AND HER
GRAND ARMY
A Year Ago We Had Total Military
Force of 1884 officers and
2O2,5 $40 Men -
1913 ,s01 OFFICERS NOW
1,52S, 924 ENLISTED MEN
Out of First 2 Il Million Men to Take
The Physical Examination Be-
fore Local Boards 100000
Were Rejected

$40 enlisted men.
Today we have 123,S0t officers
and 1,52S,924 enlisted men, with 1t
least three months training.
We have upward to s million
registered young men in reserve and
are calling them into service as
rapidly as they can be Accommodated
in the camps.
At least 4 million of them will be
accepted for the National Army.
OF the 1,O57,363 men selected for
service under the first draft 639,054
or 6G.44 per cent filed no exemp-
ton claims.
OF the 3,0S2,959 men called in
the first draft substantially half or
1,560,570 filed exemption claims Of
which 1,2t5,049 were allowed.
1,500,056 or 1896 per cent call
led in the first draft were married.
OF these only shade over 10 per
cent were accepted for service, l.
336,941 being discharged and 1884,
lis accepted.
The number of single men accep-
ted in the first draft call was 623.-
796.
OF the 6,503,559 men registered
on June 5th, 1917, and not called in
the first draft, 3,149,473 were mar
ried and 3,354,0S6 single.
At this rate only S4Z,34S of the
married men already called will be
taken in later drafts as against L.
321,S45 single men.
Nearly one-fourth of the entire
number of men between FL and 81
years old were farmers.
In the National army now ready to
take-the field are $4,000 coal miners,
10000 metal miners, $4,000 >shop-
keepers and clerks, 10000 pro-
fessional men, doctors, lawyers, ar
lists, actors and journalists.
foreigners numbering 76,545
who have not become citizens were
accepted for service in the first
draft.
We even took 92S Germans, 49,
1873 subjects of Austria, 800 Bulgars
and 1000 Turks.
About II per cent of all men regis
tered for the draft were aliens.
About 10 per cent of those now
under arms were aliens when they
went to camp. A very large portion
of these have since become citizens.
Out of the first 21a million men
to take the physical examination be-
fore the local boards, 10000 were
rejected as physically unfit.
OF those accepted by the exemp-
ton boards about CT per cent were
rejected for physical causes after ar
irving at camp.
OF these men 81 per cent were re-
iected for slight defects. Next came
bad teeth, Sh per cent being dis
charged after reaching camp for this
cause. Hernia, ear troubles and
heart affections rank next.
A little more than IN per cent
of the men registered for the draft
are negroes-737,62 out of the
total of 9,586,508.
Out of the 2OS,953 negroes called
by the boards 1887 were certified
for service or 1928 per cent; and
whites only PATS per cent.
More than 100000 of the first
draft were totally illiterate. OF
those taken into service more than
10000 were unable to sign their
names.
We now have 16 great canton
ments each capable of housing, feed
ing and caring for $4,000 men be-
sides the Is camps in which the
National Guards were first housed.
Each cantonment has 1,400 sepa-
rate buildings. In all more than
$4,000 buildings have been con-
structed at cost of about 1876 mil
lion dollars.
More than $50 million feet of lum-
Der was used and 80 thousand car
loads of material and furnishings.
To protect the soldiers 20 million
blankets and 40 million yards of
mesquite netting were bought.
To elothe them involved such pur-
chases as 70 million yards of olive
drab cloth, 35 million yards of fan
mel shirtings, 26 million suits of
winter underwear and II million
for summer; 81 million pairs of
stockings, 81 million pairs of shoes
and 6,500,00O overcoats..
Food is bought for them in such
units as 116 million cans of baked
beans-a single recent purchase
81 million cans of condensed milk
and 20.2S7 900 pounds of prunes.
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