Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1919-05-04
OFFICIALS PLAN
TO ROUNDUP
MANY SLACKERS

WASHINGTON, May 3.-The gov
ernment is about to start a great
round up of draft deserters who are to
be tried and punished as fast as ap-
pretended.
Final separation of the sheep from
the goats among all those delinquents
who having failed to report at camps
in answer to their calls under the
draft have been automatically classed
as deserters will be completed by the
provost marshal generals office with
in the next three weeks and the result
reported to the adjutant general. So
careful have been the officers in
charge to avoid injustice that after
painstaking investigation in each case
the delinquents have been classified
under fifteen different headings. In
the cases of all men falling within
fourteen of these classes the report
will be accompanied by recommends
ton that the charge of desertion be
canceled. The fifteenth will be the
real list of deserters, the men
whose names appear being those for
whom no reason or excuse has been
presented
Included in the fourteen classes OF
eases in which it will be recommend
ed that the charge of desertion be re-
moved are men who, after the first
registration in June and before De-
cernber Is, 1917, enlisted in any branch
of the United States army, navy, ma
rine corps or in the service of the
United States, branch unknown"
those who enlisted in any Allied ar
my; men technically indicted through
error; men who reported and were
sent to camp after "desertion; who
were indicted and later found to be
entitled to Redistribution; those
found to be physically disqualified
and discharged by camp commanders;
men who were in process of induc-
ton into the service at the time the
armistice was signed, and men who
after being reported as deSerters had
presented themselves to their local
boards and whose cases had not been
completed when the armistice was
signed: alien enemies, and men who
have died since the charge was en-
tered against their names.
The real deserters" on the fiji
teenth list will be reported to the
adjutant general and their names will
be furnished to the state and federal
police officers, who may arrest them
without warrants A reward of 500
is payable for the apprehension and
delivery to military control of each
draft deserter physically qualified for
general military service, and whose
offense is found to have been wilful
Although no immunity is promised
10 men, who in violation of our laws
joined the fighting forces of the allies
no man whose failure to answer his
draft call can be satisfactorily ex-
planned on this ground need worry
about his reception if he will present
himself and his proofs to the nearest
American military post.
According to the report of the pro-
yost marshal general there were, UP
TO December 20, 1918, 474,S61 reports
of desertion, more than 1889 of
which were found to be eXplainable.
OF the 363,022 not reported deserters,
S7.S3S have been reported to have
been apprehended or their cases 9TH
eTwise locally disposed of, leaving
295,1S4 then at large, This number
has since been reduced by those who
have surrendered or been apprehend-
ed and will be reduced still further
under the process of elimination at
tending the final classification.
'Slackers," men who failed to reg
lister, and "delinquents," those who
failed to return their QUESTIONABLE
or report for physical examination,
are civil and not military offenders.
Only registrant who failed to obey
an order to report for military duty
was classed as a deserter.