Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 54, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 March 1918 — MARCH 29 SET FOR NEXT CALL [ARTICLE]

MARCH 29 SET FOR NEXT CALL

95,000 CALLED FOR MARCH 29 800,000 DRAFTEES THIS YEAR. Eight hundred thousand men are to be called to the colors gradually during the present year under the second army draft, which begins on March 29. * An announcement Tuesday by Provost Marshal General Crowder of. the number to be called was followed closely by an order for mobilization of 95,000 men during the five day period beginning March 29, some 15,000 of them to be assembled under the second draft. Eight thousand will be men of the first draft of 687,000 not yet summoned into service. Details of how the second draft is to be applied will be made public later after congress has acted upon proposed legislation providing for the registration of youths attaining the age of 21 years and for basing state and districts quotas on the number of registrants in Class 1. In his first official statement on the subject, however, General Crowder assures the country that no sweeping withdrawal of large number of men at one time is contemplated, and that care will be taken to avoid interference with harvesting. The 95,00 men now called, it is understood, are needed at once to fill up divisions and other units scheduled for early departure or to take the place of the men transferred from other divisions to make up such deficiencies. Newly organized .regular divisions are particularly short men and heavy drafts on national army divisions to make these good have been necessary, seriously interfering with the training work of the national army divisions drawn upon. The call for men makes it probable no further transfers will be necessary. The 800,000 men to be summoned this year represent the number necessary to fill up all existing divisions, create all the army corps and field army troops to fill but the war machine for which the framework already exists and to provide a quarter of a million replacement troops. When they have mobilized, which will not be before the first of next year, there will be more than forty full infantry divisions of 27,700 men each and all the additional units necessary. No additional divisions of national army or national guard will be created this year, though the program for the regular army, now composed of eight infantry and one cavalry division may be enlarged.