Jasper County Democrat, Volume 20, Number 18, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 May 1917 — NO EXEMPTIONS TO BE MADE [ARTICLE]

NO EXEMPTIONS TO BE MADE

1,000,000 Names May Be Drawn by Lot—Exclusions Come Later. Washington, D. C., May 24. —Final decision that the exemgtion of persons between the ages of 21 and 30 from military service will be made after the draft and not after registration was reached today by the provost marshal, General E. H. Crowder. " In other words, no matter how many dependents a man has and no matter how physically unfit he is for military service, his name will go in with all the others, and he stands a chance of beihg drawn in the first increment of conscripts. It is then that his claims to exemption will be considered. If he

has dependents, he probably will not b© called on to serve, and if he has physical defects he will be eliminated. This will it -necessary to put more than .505,000 men in the "first draft. The chances are that as man'y as 1,0,00,000 • fiainos will be drawn, for the proportion of those to be exempted probably will be about one man out of every two who registers. After all exemptions have been made from ihds 1 drawn in the draft tho rest will be put through the regular army examinations, and, of course, many will be eliminated in this maaaer. The remainder will constitute the first increment of the new national drmy. General Crowder said' today that many ' persons, were confusing the registration with the draft. AH rules and regulations thus far promulgated, he said, have b\?en for the registration. Rules for the draft will not be made public until after registration day, June 5. It is probable that the date of the draft will be fixed near July 1, although no definite word on this subject is available yet, The department has nbt made public Regulations for the draft, but it is understood that the names will be drawn by lot, much in the manner that names are drawn for homestead entries by the interior department; The burden of proving exemptions will be placed on the individual. In other words, except in the | eases of physically unfit persons, , the government will assume that all men between the proper ages should be soldiers and will expebt those who feel that they should not serve to prove that they should not. On this subject' General Crowder said today:; “The determination of whether a particular claim for exemption, exclusion or discharge shall be granted be made by boards to he appointed by the i President. These boards will function under the law and under reg-, j illations prescribed by the Presi-j dent. The only regulations that' have as yet been prescribed are those governing the registration' alone. The determination of ex-j emptions, exclusions and discharges

is a second step, Quite separate from the registration. Regulations governing the determination of extent ptioris, exclusions and discharges will, when promulgated, be made ' available to all concerned at the offices of the local boa-ds. Ufitil [such regulations have been promulgated further information can not be given, as it might later prove j misleading; and even after the reg[illations have been made public, ' decisions concerning exemptions, or discharges in individ--1 ual cases can not be made by this 'office si the provides that I all such Cases shall be heard uind ' determined 'by: ’ the boards to' b'e.-es-tabli-hed for that purpose.”