Jasper County Democrat, Volume 20, Number 25, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 June 1917 — NUMBERS IN CAPSULES PLAN [ARTICLE]

NUMBERS IN CAPSULES PLAN

Is Considered the Best Method for Selective Army Draft. Washington, D. C., June 21. —- The ordinary medicine capsule may be the means of determining the Indiana conscripted men who shall go to war. The provost marshal general and the experts who are advising him have considered many lottery schemes which are recommended for fairness, but the one most in favor at the present time is a novel arrangement to use capsules. Under this plan every registered man is to be indicated by a number. A record is to be made of the man and his number. Not even the man himself will know what his number is until after drawing. Each number will be printed on a slip of paper and each slip will be rolled up so that the number does not show and inserted in a capsule. All of the capsules at each drawing place will then be put in a large vase and the capsules will be given a thorough shaking up. Then the drawing will take place. It is claimed for this plan that its fairness can uever be questioned. In the first place, the person making the drawing can not see the numbers in the capsules and in the second place, even if he could see the number, be: would not have the faintest idea as to the identity of the person represented by any particular number. Unless the provost marshall general and his ex-

pert advisers change their minds this probably will be the ’ system adopted. The old-fashioned jury wheel plan was at first thought of, but it was decided on mature consideration that it would be unsatisfactory. FAKE Doerrs WORKING NEAR White County Are Families Swindled Out of $lO5. Two families residing in the neighborhood of Seafield were swindled out of $195 by four men representing themselves to be doctors and passing through the country. The swindlers claimed they had $3,500 worth of radium with which they were enabled to cure any disease. Two of the men remained in the auto and two went into the house to administer the treatment. A stop was made at the home of Mrs. Agnes Salla, a sufferer from asthma, and after she paid them SIOO the radium treatment was administered to her. Her son, Elmer Salla, who was also ailing, but was not considered by the “doctors” to be in as serious a condition as the mother, was given a treatment for $32.50. Mrs. H. Dolick, who has trouble with her eyes, gave the “doctors” a check for $62.50 after they had promised to remove the “scum” from her eyes. The check was later cashed at a Wolcott bank.

After this neat little sum was picked up the four men disappeared completely and no means of identification were left by them. Their victims soon became aware of the fact that they had been swindled, but could not give a description sufficient to apprehend the fugitives who, up to this time, are still at large.—-Monticello Jerald.