THE AMERICAN DRAFT

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXXVII, Issue 9051, 23 July 1917, Page 8

THE AMERICAN DRAFT

WAR DEPARTMENT'S PLANS.

Writing on June 4, the Washington •correspondent of the, New" York "Evening Posfc" S aid: Plans of the War Department to draft from 900,000 to 1,500,00p men of the 10,000,000 who it is estimated will register to-morrow for the new array; were disclosed to-day by Provost Marshal General Crowder to the Senate ittilitary Affairs Committee. Exemptions, he' said, probably would result in reducing the number to 625,000 men for immediate service".

While the War Department* had originally planned to, select 500,000 men, General Crowder told : the committee the plans have been revised, and it now is proposed to require. 625,000. To secure this number he said it probably will be necessary to draft at least 900,000; • and- possibly ,l; 500,000, because of expected exemptions. '

General Crowder told the • committee the additional 125,000 will be heeded to fill up vacancies in arm yof 500,000 and to keep training camps in continuous operation. When . the original plans for service from. a half-million men were made, he said, the. Depart menfihad not planned to send American, forces abroad s,Q soon.: Casualty from foreign Jservice, he believed; sickness, etc., make necessary a reserve of 125,000 men, in addition to the duty of training camps.

General Crowder told the committee he favoured immediate .drafting of men registering, rather than postponement of the draft for several weeks after 1 registration. He regards it desirable that men drafted.may know, and can have a few .weeks to ,make their personal arrangements before being called to the colours. I

Details of making exemptions also were explained to the, committee by the Provost Marshal General. He said the Government does not contemplate any class exemptions, but that all. willbe personal.' Farmers, factory operatives, and other special classes would riot be exempted as such, nor territorially, but all exemptions will be made individually. ■ ; The .men drafted probably will be in training camps by .September 1, Gfeneral Crowder said, and added,that he favoured beginning selections within .two weeks after registration, so that exemption work may be . expedited, and notifications of final selections may be made as soon thereafter as possible.

The following is from tho " Australasian " on the subject of women j>atrols: —While Victoria has been ''making up her mind " whether she v/ill huve policewomen—patrols is the word now used to describe them?—they can be numbered in'thousands-in all the big cities oi the world. There <are .5000 la London alone,, . the reason being because of their remarkable efficiency in the duties for which they were instituted. There is still some, liazy idea that they were ..to do • the i^ork of the ordinary policeman, capture burglars, arrest criminals, do duty in lawless portions' of the city, and so on. This is not so; and was never '..intended'. The work of women patrols is the prevention of crime and the protection of young girls and •children; -and,-according'to the latest reports from Home, their success in doing this has been so remarkable that it is urged that thousands more

lie enrolled.. Throughout the Kingdom half a dozen are on duty at every large ammunition factory whore there are girl workers. They mix with them, go to their homes and the places where they get their meals, watch and warn them against companions, if necessary, attend at their, amusements, and sop that they aie at their sleepinsc-j^sKit's betimes. All railway stations and wharves arc patrolled for now arrivals from Hie country, who arc* taken charge of juid directed to respectable lodging-hou-e-,. One of fcho patrnlN chief tasks is on Sundays, when fcliey endeavour to pcet girls to attend chuich. Children are cleared off*-th» sit pots, and, if homeless, aie put up for the night, virh a good meal md clothes into tbo bargain, if needed hi mot, as tln> chiefs of police say, " they are invaluable, and Imw we did without them now makes ■us wonder." •