V.
ijwinwirl'i)
The Commoner
VOL' IV, NO. 6
U
i
W
hi
4
Text of Selective Conscription Law
district
the reg.
Every Man of Military Age Should Read Thb Statute
' Bo it enacted by the senato and house of rep
resentatives of tho United States of America
. in congress assembled, that in view of tho ex
isting emergency, which demands tho raising of
troops in addition to thoso now available, tho
President bo, and ho is hereby, authorized:
1. Immediately to raise, organize, officer, and
.equip all or such number of increments of tho
regular army provided by the national defenso
act approved Juno 3, 1916, or such parts there
of as he may deem necessary; to raise all or
ganizations of tho regular army, including thoso
added by such increments, to the maximum en
listed strength authorized by law. Vacancies
in the regular army created or caused by
tho addition of increments as herein authorized
which can not be filled by promotion may bo
filled by temporary appointment for tho period
of tho emergency or until replaced by perma
nent appointments or by provisional appoint
ments made under the provisions of section Z3
of the national defense act, approved June 3,
1916, and hereafter provisional appointments
under said section may bo terminated whenever
it is determined, in the manner prescribed by
"the Pres.dent, that the officer has not the suit
ability and fitness requisite for permanent ap
pointment. 2. To uraft into tho military service of the
United States, organize, and officer, in accord
ance with the provisions of seeupn 111 of said
nat.onai aelenae act, so far as the provisions of
said section may be applicable and not incon
sistent with the terms of this act, any or ah
members of the national guard and of the na
tional guard reserves, and said members so
dratted into tho military services of the United
..fetates Bhalljerve therein for the .period of tho
ex.sting emergency unless sooner discharged;
provided, thai when so drafted tho organizations
or units of the national guard siiaii, so far as
practicable, retain tho stato designations of
their respective organizations.
3. To raise by uraft as herein provided, or
ganize and equ.p an additional force of bOO.OOO
einisted men, or such part or parts thereof as
ho may at any time deem necessary, and to
provido the necessary officers, lino and staW,
for said, force and for organizations of the other
forces hereby authorized, or by combining or
ganizations of paid other forces, by ordering
. members of the officers reserve corps to ..
porary duty in accordance with tho provisions
of section 38 of the national defenso act, ap
proved June 3, 1916; by appointment from reg
ular army, the officers reserve corps, from those
duly qualified and registered pursuant to sec
tion 23 of tho act of congress approved Jan. 21,
- , 1903 (thirty-secohd statutes at large, page l1h),
from the members of the natVonal guard draft
ed into the service of the United States, from
those who have been graduated from educa
tional institutions at which military instruc
tion is compulsory, or from those who have
had honorable service in tho regular army, or
in tho volunteer forces, or from tho country at
large; by assigning to active duty with such
, force with their rank on the retired list and
,,the full pay and allowances of their grade; or
. by tho appointment of retired officers and en
, listed men, active or retired of the regular army
as commissioned officers in such forces; pro
.fiVided, that the organization of .such force shall
be the same as that of the corresponding or
. rganizations of the regular army; provided, fur
. ther, that tho President is authorized to in--;,,
creaso or decrease tho number of organizations
, , prescribed for tho typical brigades, divisions,
or army corps of tho regular army, and to pre-
scribe such new and different organizations
v- . and personnel for army corps, divisions, bri
gades, rogimonts, battalions, squadrons, com
; 'panies, troops and batteries as tho effick
"tho service may require; provided further,
;,' that tho number of organizations in a regiment
'"shall not be increased nor shall the number of
r5 regiments bo decreased; provided further, that
jtho President in his discretion -may organize,
' (officer- and equip for each infantry and cavalry
brigade three machine gun companies, and toi
each infantry and cavalry division four machine
gun companies, all in addition to tho machine gun
companies comprised in organizations included
in such brigades and divisions; provided further,
that tho President in his discretion may organize
for each division ono armored motor car machine
gun company. The machine gun companies or
ganized under this section shall consist of such
commissioned and enlisted personnel and be
equipped in such manner as the President may
prescribe; and provided further, that officers
with rank not above that of colonel shall bo ap
pointed by tho President alone, and officers
above that grade by the President by and with
the advice and consent of the senate; provided
further, that the President may in his, discretion
recommission n the coast guard persons who
have heretofore held commissions in the rev
enue cutter. service or tho coast guard and have
left tho service honorably, after ascertaining
that they are qualified for service physically,
morally, and as to age and military fitness.
4. The President is further authorized, in
his discretion and at such times as ho may de
termine, to raise and begin the training of an
additional force of 600,000 men organized,
officered and equipped, as p.ovided for the
force first mentioned in tho preceding para
graph of this section.
6. To raise by draft, organize, equip, and
officer, as provided in the third paragraph of
this section, in addition to and for each of the
above forces, such recruit training units as he
may deem necessary for the maintenance of
such forces at the maximum" strength.. -"-''
6. To raise, -organize, officer and maintain
during tho emergency such number of ammu
nition batteries and battalions, depot batteries
nd' battalions, and such artillery parks, with
such '-numbersand grades of personnel, as ;he
may deem necessary. Such "organizations shall
be officered in the manner provided, in tthe third
paragraph of this section, and enlisted men may
be assigned to said organizations from any of
the forces therein provided for or raised by se
lective draft aa by thid act provided.
4 V. The President is further authorized to
raiso and maintain by voluntary enlistment, to
organize and equip, not to exceed four' infantry
divisions, the officers of which shall be selected
in tne manner provided by paragraph three of
section 1 of this act; provided-, that tho organ
ization of said force shall be -the same as that
of ,the corresponding -organization of thenreg
ular army; and provided further, .that there
..shall be . no enlistments in said force of men
under- 25 years of age at time of enlisting; and
- provided lurther, that jqo such volunteer force
shall be accepted in any unit smaller than a
division.
' Sec. ' 2. That the enlisted men required to
raise and maintain the organizations of the reg
ular army and to complete and maintain the or
ganizations embodying the members of tho na
tional guard drafted into the service of . the
United States, at the maximum legal strength
as by this act provided, shall be raised by vol
untary enlistment, or if and whenever the Pres
ident decided that they can not effectually be
so raised or maintained, then by selective draft;
and all other forces hereby authorized, except
as provided in the seventh paragraph of section
1, shall be raised and maintained by selectivo
t draft 'exclusively; but this provision shall not
prevent the transfer to any force of training
cadres from other forces. Such draft as herein
provided shall be based upon liability to mil
itary service of all male citizens or malo per
sons not alien enemies who havo declared their
intention to become citizens, between tho ages
of 21 and 30. years, both inclusive, and shall
take place and be maintained under, such reg
ulations as the President may prescribe not in
consistent with the terms of this act. Quotas
for the several states, territories and the D s--trict
of Columbia, or subdivisions thereof, shall
i bo determined in proportion to the .population
thereof, and credit shall be given to. any state,
i .territory, district or subdivision thereof, for the
,' J!!?S.be?T0Jm,e o.wll were in tne military service
i of the United States as members of the national
guard on April 1, 1917, or who have since said
date entered the military service of the United
Statea from any such state, territory
w BuuujuBiuu,, wuuei- us memoerB of
ular armv or tho natinnni r.,i
drafted into the service -of the United IT
and all officers accepting commissions in iS
forces herein provided for shall from the ,i.!
of said draft or acceptance, bo subject to th
laws and regulations governing tho reeiZ
army, except as to promotions, so far as 2
laws and regulations are applicable to person
whose permanent retention in the military 8Bp
vice on the active or retired list is not con
templated by existing law, and those drafted
shall be required to serve for the period of the
existing emergency unless sooner discharged
provided, that tho President is authorized to
raiso and maintain by voluntary enlistment or
draft, as herein provided, special and technical
troops as he may deem necessary, and to em
body them "into organizations and to offlcer
' them as provided in tho third paragraph of sec
tion 1 and section 9 of this act. Organizations
of the forces herein provided for, except the
regular army and the divisions authorized in
the seventh paragraph of section 1, snail, as far
as the interests of the service permit, be com
posed of men who come, and of officers who
are appointed from, the same state or locality.
Sec. 3. No bounty shall bo paid to induce
any person to enlist in the military servico of
the United States; and no person liable to mil
itary service shall hereafter be permitted or al
lqwed to. furnish a substitute for such service;
inqr -shall any substitute be received, enlisted or
enrolled in the military service of the United
, ,tates; and no such person shall bo permitted
to. escape such service or to be discharged there
from prior to the expiration of hs term of
service by the payment of money or any other
. valuable thing whatsoever as consideration for
release from military service or liability
thereto.
Sec. 4 That the vice-president of the United
States, the officers, legislative,' executive and
judicial, of the United states and of the several
states, territories Und the District of Columbia,
regular- or duly ordained ministers of rel gion,
students who at the time of the approval of
this act are preparing for the ministry in rec
ognized theological or divinity schools, and all
persons in the military -and naval serv.ee of the
United States shall be exempt from the, selective
draft herein prescribed; and nothing in this
act contained shall "'be construed to require or
compel any person to serve in any of ihe forces
herein provided for who is found to be a mem
ber of any well recognized religious sect or organ
ization at present organized and existing and
whose existing creed or princ.ples forbid its mem
bers to participate in war in any form ana
whose religious convictions are aainst..wart
participation therein in accordance with in
creed or principles of said religious organiza
tions, but no person so exempted shall oe
,empted, from service in any capacity tnai iu
. President shall, declare to' be noncombatant,
,and the President is hereby authorized to ex
elude or discharge from said selective draft an
from, the draft under the second Pf D
section 1 hereof, or to draft for part a am
itary service only those liable to draft as n J
act provided, persons of the 'ollow.ng clasw
County and municipal officials custom hou
clerks, persons employed by the United States
in the transmission of mail, artificers and wow
men employed in the armories, arsena js
navy yards of the United States, and cno
persons employed in the service of tne
.States as the President may des .gnato, w
mariners actually employed m the sea
of any citizens or jnerchant wit un Ul. , ding
States; persons engaged in industries . J.
agriculture, found to be necessary to .tne
tenance of the military establishment c .
effective operation of the military forces
maintenance of national interest cUiriufc
emergency; those in a status witii j wbJch
persons dependent upon them r ''jyjsable;
renders their exclusion or discharge an
and those found to be physically or mo
nclent! No exemption or exclusic ' s,iaexists;
tinue when a cause therefor no n tIoDs
provided,- that notwithstanding the exc i
enumerated herein, each state, tew d t0
the District of Columbia shall "e its pop
supply .its quota in the proportion uw
(Continued on Page 10.)
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