The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1918-05-23
(By Associated Press.)

WASHINGTON, May %. Every
man OF draft age must work or fight
after July under drastic amend
ment to the selective service regula-
tions announced today by Provost
Marshal General Crowder.
Not only idlers, but all draft regis
trants engaged In what are held to be
non-useful occupations are to be hailed
before local boards and given the
choice Of a new job or the army.
Gamblers, race track and bucket
shop attendants and fortune tellers
head the list. but those who will be
reached by the new regulation also
include walters and bartenders,
theatre ushers and attendants, pass
enger elevator operators and other at
tendants Of clubs. hotels, stores, ETC.,
domestics and clerks in stores.
Will Be Re.ciassified.
Deferred classification granted on
account of dependents will be disre-
garded entirely in applying the rule.
A man may be at the bottom of class
one or even in class 4, but if he falls
within the regulation and refuses to
take useful employment he will be
given a new number in class l that
forthwith. Local boards are author
ized to use discretion only where they
find that enforced change of employ
ment would result in disproportionate
hardship upon his dependents.
n had been known for some time
that some form OF work or fight"
rlan had been submitted to President
Wilson. but there had been no init
nation that it was so far reaching in
scope. Both the military authorities
and department of labor officials be-
lieve that II will go long way toward
solving the labor problem for farmers.
shipbuilders and munition makers, and
will end for the present at least talk
OF conscription of labor. The an
nouncement today gives notice signifi
cantly that the list Of non-useful occu
pations will be extended from time to
time as necessity requires.
Crowder's Statement.
The statement from Marshal Crow
der's office:
Provost Marshal General Crow
der today announced an amendment
to the selective service regulations
which deals with the question of COM
pelling men not engaged in a useful
occupation immediately to apply them
selves to some form of labor. contrib
uting to the general good. The idler,
IL, t@I !,
the alternative Of finding suitable en-
ployment or entering the army.
This regulation provides that after
July l. any registrant who is found by
a local board to be habitual loafer,
or not engaged in some useful occu-
patton, shall be summoned before the
board. given chance to explain and
in the absence of a satisfactory expla-
nation, to be inducted into the mill
tary service of the United States.
ANY local board will be authorized
to take action whether it has original
Jurisdiction of the registrant or not;
in other words, any man loafing
around a pool room in Chicago may
be held to answer to Chicago board,
even though he had registered in New
York and lived there most of his life.
Applys to Gamblers.
The regulations which apply to idle
registrants will be deemed to apply
also to gamblers of all descriptions,
and employees and attendants of buck
bishops. and race tracks, fortune tel
lers. clairvoyants. palmists and the
like, who for the purpose of the regu
lations. shall be considered as oilers
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