The copper era and Morenci leader., 1919-03-28
ARIZONA LEADS ALL STATES IN ENDING
 DRAFT
Local Boards Send in Records and Pass Into History; Cochise Board First to Close Business; Arizona Record of Producing Fighting Men is Credit to the State.

1 PHOENIX, March 25.-The magni- ficent finish of Arizonas magnificent war draft record went into history yesterday, when the last piece of gov ernment property remaining in the l state at the closing of all draft boards was sold and Adjutant Gener- al Harris wired headquarters in Washington that everything was clear and the Arizona draft system no more And as usual, Arizona led every state in the union in winding Up the draft system, as it was one Of the first to get into effective op- eration.
 During the last two weeks every draft beard in Arizona has been clos ed and every particle of the fine draft machinery sent into the past. The work was done in record time and the last board in the state, that ct Apache county, was closed Friday. It was not until yesterday. however, that the boards last piece oc "ovcr1l- ment property was .solG and the state as a whole. able to flash tEe "AH Clear" signal to the war de
 parrment. So far as is kno-vn here, no other state in the union has been able fo end all it's 1ra"t machinery.
 
 was Iractically the first in the state : to close. after the losing orders had Lear received from General Crowders office.
 The closing of the Apache board il the last in the state, sends down into history the conclusion or one of the
 SaSt war records ever made by aay state In proportion to Its population
 Arizona lead all the states in the meT , it sent to war, both vciuuteers ant , draftees and scores of batticfields , | in France will bear witness to :h2il :. rrcAess.
 Wonderful War Record
 q think we should he mighty prout f of Arizona's record" said MaItj1 2 Weyant, chairman Of the Aaricop; n board. We were among the frs a to send out men to var: in propOr i. tion to population we sent as man!
 men as any state; and .erizona boy
 were among the best fighters thu > United States ever sent to Europe
 Our draft system worked rerl4rl.abl. l well and played no favorites. an, }, now Arizona is the first state to en'
 the draft system. We ought to b proud of Arizona.
 !. Twelve thousand men from Arizcr. 1 r fact large proportion, were volur
 teers. This in spite of the fact tha
 Arizona with a comparatively smal . population, had a very high propol F tion of aliens, Maricopa count '. alone having 5000 aliens who coul' T. not be called to fight.
 As to fighting qualities, Arizon n nen themselves gave the best proc ', of their claim to be the best in tn n service. The one all-Arizona reg
 ment, the 15Sth. was picked from tn , elite of the American eXpeditionar forces to serve as President Wilson
 Paris guard, while the band of tn
 same regiment was chosen as tn i best American band in France. ,' The draft boards of Arizona. re Il Il sponsible for the men who did tn actual fighting, back up the state | great record by their wonderful eff . ciency, and now that the war is owe | set a new record by being the frs
 in the United States to bring thei
 business to a speedy end. ' T. c Gatti the "Champ" return