Evening star., 1940-10-20
CONSUMPTION
Continued From First Page.)

and the names of the registrants
beside them.
Each board must post publicly the
names and the numbers. Thus any
man who registered can find his
serial number readily.
AS soon as the numbering is COM
plete and the lists are posted, the
Govern or other appropriate off,
Ger is to be notified of the high
est numbers. In congested area
this may be, say, $500. In small
area it might be 800 or less.
Some to Register Late.
Each Governor will telegraph ma
tional selective service headquarters
the highest number in his State.
In this way headquarters will have
the highest number listed by any
of the $500 draft boards in the
country. Naturally every number
must be covered in the lottery, from
No. / to the highest. ,v~s,.-,.s.4~4-s /.
The lottery will contain even more
numbers than have been assigned.
For example, should the highest
number given any registrant be
8,1OO, the lottery might contain
every number up to 5000. This is
to leave plenty for open numbers
for late registrants-for those who
may have been out of the country
or too ill to register or serving a
prison term.
It is indicated from registration
returns that something like 10000
numbers will be drawn. For the
first draft in the World War 10,500
were drawn.
All the numbers will be placed
in capsules-ordinary drug store
capsules, only little larger than
you'd care to swallow-and the cap
sules will be dropped into a bowl
and stirred thoroughly.
President May Draw First.
The lottery then will begin. 1t
is hoped to have President Roose-
welt draw the first capsule.
Whatever this number is, it will
be the first order" number for
every draft board that has such a
number listed. The second number
pulled out will be order No. 2 and
so on. Relays of officials will keep
drawing until the bowl is emptied.
While many draft boards will
have a large proportion OF their
numbers in common, those with
small registrations naturally will
lack the higher numbers.
Thus, say, 1853 is drawn. Every
large city board probably would have
that number. But obviously board
with only 2l8 registrants would not.
What effect do the higher num-
bers have on such sparse areas?
The answer is none at all. In other
words, the board with 218 men waits
until a number from to 218 is
drawn and the first one in that
category becomes order No. 1.
1917 Lottery Recalled.
Eventually every number will be
drawn, large and small. What may
be order No. 10 for the large area
may be the first order number for
the small area.
BY "order" number is meant, of
course, the order in which regis
tered men will be called up for clas-
sification.
The first World War lottery began
at 9:49 am. July 20, 1917, in. the
Senate chamber. when Secretary of
War Newton D. Baker drew the first
number, which happened to be 218
The drawing continued until the
last capsule was pulled out at 2:18
am. the next day.
Officials for that lottery were
blindfolded, but officers at selective
service said they thought the eye
bandages would be dispensed with
this time as an unnecessary for
mality. Chance, they pointed out,
is blind enough, and no one can see
what Is inside the capsule he fishes
out.
Questionnaires to Be Sent.
The order numbers-that is, the
serial numbers in the order the lot
terry has decreed-will be sent to
each board. Questionnaires will be
sent out in that order. The board
presiding over a thinly populated
community will observe the sequence
in which its numbers fell, no mat
ter how many gaps there may have
been, when none of its numbers ap-
peared. It will all work out on the
same pattern.
Classification will be based on an
swers to questionnaires and on such
other investigation as each board
may choose to make. No attempt
will be made to classify all regis
trants at once. This would only
clog the selective service machinery
and prevent an early start on the
big training program.
Whenever the Army is ready for
a group of selectees, 1t will name
the r,,1nnher desired This ui11 hA III.