Arizona republican., 1919-03-23
ARIZONA LEADS ALL STATES IN
 ENDING DRAF I
Closing of Last Board Puts State First Again-End of War Record Unsur- passed In Country. z,

The magnificent finish of Arizonas magnificent war draft record went in- to history yesterday, when the last piece of government property remain ing in the state at the closing of all draft boards was sold and Adjutant General Harris wired to 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 it into effective opera ton.
 During the last two weeks, every draft board in Arizona has been closed 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 of Apache county, was closed Friday. It was not until yesterday, however, that the boards last piece of government property was sold and the state as d whole, able to flash the "All Clear" '1gnal to the war department. So far as is known here, no other state in the union has yet been able to end all its draft machinery.
 The local board for Maricopa coun- ty was practically the first in the state to close, after the closing orders had been received from General Crowders office The board passed officially into history March IS, when 70 cases of records from the one board alone but including cases from the district board, were forwarded to Washington. The closing of the local board was much aided by the fact that much of its equipment had been loaned by patriotic Phoenicians, leav- ing but little government property 10 be disposed of. The closing orders provided that all federal property used by the draft board would have to be sold before the board could of- ficially terminate it's existence.
 The closing of the Apache board, the last in the state, sends down into his- tory the conclusion of one of the best war records ever made by any state In proportion to it's population, Ari- zona led all the states in the men il sent to war. both volunteers and draftees, and scores of battlefields in France will bear witness to their prowess.
 Wonderful War Record
 T think we should be mighty proud of Arizonas record" said Martin Weyant, chairman of the local board yesterday. ''We were among the first to send out men to war; in propor- ton to Population we sent as many men as any state; and Arizona boys were among the best fighters tho United States ever sent to Europe Our draft system worked remarkably well and played no favorites, and now Arizona is the first state to end the draft system We ought to be prouC of Arizona"
 Twelve thousand men from Arizon; went to war, Mir. Weyant pointed out and many of them, in -act, larg' proportion. were volunteers. This il spite of the fact that Arizona, witt a comparatively small population. hal a very high proportion of aliens, Mari coa county alone having five thous and aliens who could not be called t fight.
 As to fighting qualities, Arizona mel themselves gave the best proof of thei claim to be the best in the service The one all-Arizona regiment, tn 15Sth. was picked from the elite O the American expeditionary forces t serve as BreSl0enL NllSOn 1drl guard, while the band of the sam regiment was chosen as the bes American band in France.
 The draft boards of Arizona, re .sponsible for the men who did the ac tual fighting, back up the states grea record by their wonderful efficiency and now that the war is over set neN record by being the first in the Unite States to bring their business to speedy end.
 VALUE OF EXPERIENCE
 The inexperienced maid wants to b a mans first love, but the wise wido1