Evening Republican, Volume 59, Number 120, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 June 1917 — America’s First Military Census Taking a Success. [ARTICLE]

America’s First Military Census Taking a Success.

Washington, June s.—More than ten million, young Americans enrolled themselves today for war service. Registration day, with but a few weeks of preparation, saw the first military census ever taken in the United States without a single unto ward event of consequence. The manhood of the nation obeyed the president’s call and volunteered in mass, setting at naught all the schemes and plottings of German sympathizers and the few cranks who have agitated against registration. It remains but to select the men who are to go to the front. From virually every state reassuring messages came tonight to Brig. Gen. Crowder, provost marshal general, federal supervising officer of the great enterprise. In some precincts the late comers forced officials to keep the polls open until long after the 9 p. m. closing hour set in. the regulations. General Crowder authorized them to keep open as long As men wished to enroll themselves. The result was further to delay the transmission of returns, however. The early reports showing a full turnout all over the country, indicated that, the estimates of the census 'bureaus as to the number of "within" the" specified”age limits would' 'be verified by the count. Wherever partial figures were available the estimates checked closely. A feature of the registration was the refusal of hundreds of thousands of men to make any reply to the question, “Do you claim exemption?” ; Sven men who reported that they had dependent families, men with .obvious physical disabilities and those whose occupations are certain to keep them out of the lines made no such claim. Apparently they have entered fully into the very spirit of the law. They are content to leave the question of exemption to the exemption boards. They have no Claims to make, but are readv to do their share, whatever it may be.