The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-09-11
BISHOP NILAN'S LETTER URGING
 REGISTRATION
Appeal to Men Read in All Catholic Churches of the
 Diocese Last Sunday.

The following letter from Blshor Jehn J. Milan of Hartford, urging members of the congregations to reg ister tomorrow for the new draft call was read in every Catholic church in the diocese last Sunday;
 Dear Father;-
 The government of the United States has enlisted your services as a Four Minute Speaker to explain to your people at all the masses next Sunday the law which requires all males who are eighteen and less than forty-six years of age to register at the voting places in their voting dis tricts next Thursday, Sept. 18th, be- tween the hours of ' in the morning and in the evening.
 The only persons who are excused from this registration are those who are already in active service in the military or naval forces of the United States or have already registered un- der the previous laws of May 1917, or May, 1918. Make 1t clear to the members of your congregation that the law covers every male who will be eighteen years of age by next Thursday and all males above that age up to the age of forty-five years and three hundred and sixty-four days, It affects such persons no matter where they were born, no matter what their citizenship, allegiance, nationality or language. All are required by law to | go to the places of registration and | give information concerning their coz rect name, residence, place and date | of birth, their citizenship as acquired by birth, naturalization, or naturaliza- ton of their parents, their present employment, with name of employer and place of employment, and finally the name and address of the nearest relative which means a wife in the case of married men, or parents or other near relatives in the case of 1 those who are not married A young man not born in the United States. whose father was naturalized, should De advised to obtain a copy of his fathers citizenship papers, in order to prove his own citizenship.
 Although aliens are not bound to military service, they are obliged to register It will facilitate the work of registration and save much em- barrassment If all who are subject to the law are acquainted with the conditions and place of registration in advance. Their prompt registra. ton will do credit to themselves and avoid the penalty of one years i'm prisonment for failure to register.
 Men who may be i'll are requested tc delegate responsible person to rep resent them at the place of registra- tion, giving the necessary informa. ton, and subsequently, returning the signed card of the registrant. A man who is to be absent from home on tha
 day should register in advance or ob
 tain a card from the registration
 board of the place where he Is, i'll
 1t out and mail it to the town clerl of his place of residence before Sep
 tember 12.
 The first registration of 10000, ,O0t men was accomplished in aL thorough and orderly manner because of tht
 good will manifested by the regis trants and the generous cooperation
 of all good citizens who gave freely
 of their time to explain the condi
 tions and volunteered their service
 in the work of registration. You vii
 be of great assistance to the countr, l by your effort, both in and out of tn , pulpit, to prepare your people for tn l registration on next Thursday. Il . one day 13,0O0,00O men, of whom 5 thousands may be hampered by thei
 inability to use English, are expecte 3 to give precise information concernin {, themselves.
 l What an honor to be enrolled i 8 this vast army of men who under tn . providence of Almighty God find thei ] destiny inseparably linked to the SC 6 curity and prosperity of the Unite
 States of America ! For many gen = erations America has looked to he men between the ages of IS and AS hold themselves in readiness for an
 call to arms in defence of her exist = ence. Now that the call has come, le . all step forward with loyalty and loV for the common mother of us al = Only one out of every five may hay ' the opportunity to carry arms in he :. defence, but all should be proud ,I write their names on the imperisf
 able tablets of our country's histor thereby declaring their willingness a make the supreme sacrifice for ht honor and safety.
 , Yours, sincerely,
 -s JOHN MILAN.
 Il Bishop of Hartford.