Newspapers / Carolina Watchman (Salisbury, N.C.) / May 23, 1917, edition 1 / Page 2
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WILSON ISSUES BIG ARMY DRAFT PROCLAMATION President Designates June 5 As Registration Day HEAVY PENALTIES FOR FAILURE TO ENROLL All Males Between 21 and 30, Inclusive, Are Liable. Absentee Registration May Be Done By Mail. Federal and State Officials to Appoint Registrars. Washington. President Wilson's proclamation, putting Into effect the selective draft provision of the war army bill, follows: A proclamation by the President of the United States. Whereas, Congress has enacted and the President has on the eighteenth day of May, one thousand nine hun dred and seventeen, approved a law which contains the following provis ions: Section 5 That all male persons between the ages of 21 and 30, both inclusive, shall be subject to registra tion in accordance with regulations to be prescribed by the President and upon proclamation by the President or other public notice given by him or by his direction, stating the time and place of such registration, it shall be the duty of all persons of the de signated ages, except officers and en listed men of the regular Army, the Navy, and the National Guard and naval militia while in the service of the United States, to present them selves for and submit to registration under the provisions of this act; and every such persons shall be deemed to have notice of the requirements of this act upon the publication of said proclamation or' other notice as afore said given by the President or by his direction; and any persons who shall wilfully fail or refuse to present him self for registration or to submit thereto as herein provided, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall, upon conviction in the District Court of the United States having jurisdic tion thereof, be punished by imprison ment for not more than one year, and shall thereupon be duly registered. Provided, that, in the call of the docket preceding snan oe given, in the courts trying the same, to the trial of crimin al proceedings under this act: Pro vided further, that persons shall be subject to registration as herein pro vided who shall have attained their twenty-first birthday and who shall not have attained their thirty-first birthdav on or Kpfnro tVi a ov a&t - w WUl 071, 1U1 registration, and all persons so regis tered shall be and remain subject to draft into the forces hereby author ized unless exempted or excused there from as in this act provided: Provid ed further, that in the case of tem porary absence from actual place of legal residence of any persons liable to registration as provided herein, such registration may be made by mail un der regulations to be prescribed by the President. Penalties Are Fixed. Section 6. -That the President is hereby authorized to utilize the ser vice of any or all departments and any or all officers or assets of the United States and of the several states, territoie, and the District of Columbia, and sub-divisions thereof, in the execution of this act, and all officers and agents of . the United . States and of the several states, terri tories and sub-divisions thereof, and of the District of Columbia and all persons designated or appointed un der regulations prescribed by the Pres ident whether such appointments are made by the President himself or by the Government or other officers of any state or territory to perform any duty in the execution of this act, are hereby required to perform such duty as the President shall order or direct, and all such officers and agents and persons so designated or appointed shall hereby have full auth ority for all acts done by them in the execution of this act by the direction of the President. Correspondence In the execution of this act may be car ried in penalty envelopes bearing the frank of the War Department. Any persons charged as herein provided with the duty of carrying into effect any of the provisions of the act or the regulations made or directions given thereunder who shall fail or neglect to perform such duty and any person charged with such duty or having and ! exercising any authority under said i act, regulations or directions, who ! shall knowingly make or be a party to the making of any faise or incorrect registration, physical examination, ex emption, enlistment, enrollment, or muster; and any person who shall make or be a party to the making of any false statement or certificate as to the fitnese or liability or himself or any other person for service under the provisions of this act, or regula tions made by the President there under, or otherwise evades or aids anoherto evade the requirements of this act or of said regulations or who in any manner, shall fail or neglect fully to perform any duty required of him in the execution of this act. shall, if not subject to military law, be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction in the District Court of the United States having jurisdiction thereof be punished by imprisonment ! for not more than one year, or, if sub ject to military law, shall be tried by court-martial and suffer such punish ment as a court-martial my direct Now, therefore, I, Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States, do call upon the Governor each of the several States and Territories, the Board of Commissioners of the Dis trict of Columbia and all officers and agents of the several States and Ter ritories, of the District of Columbia, and of the counties and municipali ties therein to perform certain duties in the execution of 'the foregoing law, which duties will be communicated to them directly in regulations of even date herewith. And I do further proclaim and give notice to all persons subject to regis tration in the several States and in accordance with the above law that the time and place of such registration shall be between 7 a. m., and 9 p. m., on the 5th day of June, 1917, at the registration place in the precinct wherein they have their permanent homes. Those who shall have attain ed their twenty-first birthday and who shall not have attained their thirty flrsit birthday on or before the day here named are required to register excepting only officers and enlisted men of the regular Army, the Navy, the Marine Corps and the National Guard and Naval Militia while in the service of the United States , and of ficers In the Officers' Reserve Corps and enlisted men in the Enlisted Re serve Corps while in active service. In the territories of Alaska, Hawaii! and Porto Rico, a day for registration will be named in a later proclamation. And I do charge those who through sickness shall be unable to present themselves for registration that they apply on or before the day of regis tration to the county clerk where they may be for instructions as to how they may be registered by agent. Those who expect to be absent on the day named from the counties in which they have their permanent homes may register by mail, but their mailed reg is'tration cards must reach the place in which they have their permanent homes by the day named herein. They should apply as soon as practica ble to the county clerk of the county wherein they may be for instructions as to how they may accomplish theft registration by mail. In case sud persons as, through sickness or ab sence, may be unable to present them selves personally for registration shall be sojourning in cities of over -30,000 population, they shall apply to the city clerk of the city wherein they may besojourning rather than to the clerk of the county. The clerks o4 counties and of cities of over 30,00(1 population in which numerous appli cations from the sick and from non residents are expected are authorized to establish such sub-agencies and to employ and deputize such clerical force as may be necessary to accom modate these applications. The power against which we are arrayed has sought to impose its will upon the world by force. To this end it has increased armament until It has changed the face of war. In the sense in which we have been won't to think of armies, there are nc armies in this struggle. There are entire nations armed. Thus the men who remain to till the soil and man the factories are no less a part of the army that is in France than the men beneath the battleflags. It must be so with us. It is not an army that we must shape and train for war; it is a Nation. To this end, our people must draw close in one compact front against a common foe. But this can not be if each man pursues a private purpose. All must pursue one pur pose. The Nation needs all men; but It needs each man not in the j field that will most please him, but in ' the endeavor that will-best serve the j common good. Thus, though a sharp shooter pleases to operate a. trip hammer for the forging of great guns; and an expert machinist desires to march with the flag, the Nation is 1 best served only when the sharp shooter marches and the machinist remains at his levers. The whole na tion must be a team in which eacl man shall play the part for whicj he is best fitted. To this end, Con gress has .provided that the Nation shall be organized for war by selec tion and that each man shall be classi fied for service in the place to which it shall best serve the general good to call him. The significance of this cannot be overstated. It is a new thing in our history and a landmark in oui progress. It is essential that the day be ap proached in thoughtful apprehension of its significance and that we accord to tit the honor and the meaning that it deserves. Our industries need pre scribes that it be not made a techni cal holiday, but the stern sacrifice that is before us urges that it be carried in all our hearts as a great day of patriotic devotion and obligation when the duty shall He upon every man, whether he is himself to be registered or not, to see to it that the name ol every male person of the designated ages is written on these lists of honor. In witness whereof I have hereunto get my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. Done at the City of Washington this 18th day of May, in the year of our Lord, one thousand nine hundred and seventeen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and forty-firwt By the President: ROBERT LANDING, Secretary of Stats THE CAROLINA WATCHMAN, SALISBURY, N. C. WILSON OUTLINES ADMINISTRATION'S FOOD PROGRAM Washington President Wilson has outlined the administration's food con trol program in a statement. The president's statement follows: "It is very desirable in order to pre vent misunderstandings or alarms and to assure co-operation in a vital mat ter, that the country should under stand exactly the scope and purpose of the very great powers which I have thought it necessary in the cir cumstances to ask the Congress to put in my hands with regards to our food supplies. Those powers are very great, indeed, but they are no greater than it has proved necessary to lodge in the other governments which are conducting this momentous war, and their object is stimulation and con servation, not arbitrary restraint or injurious interference with the nor mal processes of production. They ar eintended to benefit and assist the farmer and all those who play a legitimate part in the preparation, distribution and marketing of food stuffs. Sharp Distinction. "It is proposed to draw a sharp line of distinction between the nor mal activities of the government rep resented in the department of agri culture in reference to food produc tion, conservation, and marketing on the one hand, and the emergency ac tivities necessitated by the war in ref erence to the regulation of food dis tribution and consumption on the other. All measures intended directly to extend the normal activities of the department of agriculture in refer ence to the production, conservation and the marketing of farm crops will be administered, as in normal times, through the department and the powers asked for over distribution and consumption, over exports, imports, prices, purchase and requisition of commodities, storing and the like which may require regulation during the war, will be placed in the hands of a commissioner of food adminis tration appointed by the president and directly responsible to him. "The objects sought-to be served by the legislation asked for are: Full inquiry into the existing available stocks of foodstuffs and into the costs and practices of the various food pro ducing and distributing trades; the prevention of all unwarranted hoard ing of every kind and of the control of foodstuffs by persons who are not in any legitimate sense producers, dealers or traders; the requisitioning when necessary for the public use of food supplies and of the equipment necessary for handling them properly; the licensing of wholesome and legiti mate mixtures and milling percent ages, and the prohibition of the un necessary or wasteful use of foods. Authority is asked also to establish price, but not in order to limit the profit of the farmers, but only to guar antee to them when necessary a mini mum price which will insure them a profit where they are asked to at tempt new crops and to secure the consumer against extortion by break ing up corners and attempts at specu lation 'when they occur by fixing tem porarily a reasonable price at which middlemen must sell. Hoover Accepts. , "I have asked Mr. Herbert Hoover to undertake this all-important task of food administration. He has ex pressed his willingness to do so on condition that he is to receive no payment for his services and that the whole of the force under him, exclu sive of clerical assistance, shall be employed so far as possible upon the same volunteer basis. He has ex pressed his confidence that this diffi cult matter of food administration can be successfully accomplished through the voluntary co-operation and direction of legitimate distribu tors of foodstuffs and with the help of the women of the country. "Although it is absolutely necessary that unquestionable powers shall be placed in my hands in order to in sure the success of this administra tion of the food supplies of the coun try, I am confident that the exercise of those powers will be necessary only in the few cases where some small and selfish minority proves un willing to put the Nation's interests above personal advantage and that the whole country will heartily sup port Mr. Hoover's effort by supplying the necessary volunteer agencies. "The proposed food administration is intended, of course, only to meet a manifest emergency and to continue only while the war lasts. Since it will be composed for the most part of volunteers, there need be no fear of the possibility of a permanent bu reaucracy arising out of it. All con trol of consumption will disappear when the emergency has passed. It is with that object in view that the Administration considers it to be of pre-eminent importance that the ex isting associations of producers and distributors of foodstuffs should be' mobilized and made use of on a vol unteer basis. The successful conduct of the projected administration by such means will be the finest possi ble demonstration of the willingness, the ability and the efficiency of de morcracy, and of its Justified reliance upon the freedom of individual initiative. DESTRUCTIVE FIRE ATLANTA THOUSANDS ARE MADE HOME LESS WHEN FLAMES SWEEP RESIDENTIAL SECTION. SEVENTY FIVE BLOCKS BURN Estimates on Loss Vary Between Two and Three Million Dollars. Soldiers Guard Stricken Section. Dynamite Won Fight, Atlanta, Ga. Fire that swept through a large section of Atlanta from Decatur street north and north east, cutting a clean swath of vary ing widths, finally was brought under control just before it reached the At lanta baseball park. The city is virtually under martial law administered by hundreds of sol diers who have been training at Fort McPherson or National Guardsmen in camp here acting under the direction of Col. Charles R. Noyes, U. S. A., who officially is under the guidance of the Chief of Police. Thousands of homeless persons were being fed and housed in th Auditorium Armory, the Negro Odd Fellows' hall and in hundreds of pri vate homes. The most of them saved only what they could carry, as house hold goods piled in the streets in ad vance of the flames were devoured in the rush of the conflagration. For six hours dynamite was resort ed to and it finally won the fight. Fire fighting apparatus sent from other cities was of some aid and will be of more as acre after acre of smoldering ruins await water to make them safe. Only one death has been reported. Mrs. Hodges died of shock after her home burned. Sixty injured persons were taken to hospitals, but it was re ported none was seriously hurt. Approximately 75 blocks were de vastated, but the area cannot be cor rectly estimated by blocks as after the fight at Ponce de Leon avenue the flames skirted that thoroughfare on the south side of the street for some distance. Officials would not hazard a guess at the monetary loss. The destroyed buildings ranged all the way from shacks occupied by negroes to homes up to $6,000 or $8,000. Some estimates were between $2,000,000 or $3,000,000, but they were neither from authori tive sources nor based on calculations to give them weight. The blaze started in the Skinner Storage and Warehouse Plant near Decatur street, just east of Fort street, from a cause not determined. It quickly spread to the small houses nearby which were ctry from lack of rain and driven by a high wind, start ed to rapidly eat its way north and northeastward . GOVERNMENT REGULATION OF THE COAL INDUSTRY Proposed to Congress By Federal Trade Commission. Washington Government regulation of the coal industry, including the fix ing of prices, was proposed by the Federal Trade Commission in a report to Congress charging producers and brokers with exacting exorbitant prof its, and blaming the present coal shortage at consumption points on in adequate transportation facilities. "The price of bituminous coal, which is a necessity, should be fixed," said the report, according to the same general principle which has been es tablished in the conduct of public util ities. At a time like the present, ex cessive profits should not be permitted to be extorted from the public by pro ducers and distributors of any prime necessity of life." In line with the Trade Commission's statements concerning transportation, the supreme court handed down a de cision upholding the power of the In terstate Commerce Commission to compel railroads to furnish a reason ably adequate supply of coal cars to handle normal and seasonable de mands for interstate commerce origi nating at mines along their lines, and to award reparation to shippers for failure to supply cars. SHARP CONTEST IN HOUSE OVER REVENUE BILL Washington. Two sharp contests during consideration of the war reve nue bill in the house resulted in South ern members killtng a proposed tax of $2.50 a bale on raw cotton, arid rep resentatives from automobile manufac turing districts limiting the five per cent levy on automobiles, motorcycles and their tires to plants paying an nual profits above $5,000 and eight per cent on capital invested. HOME RULE FOR IRELAND IS PUT UP TO IRISHMEN London. For the first time in mod ern history, the destinies of Ireland are. to be placed in the hands of the Irishmen alone. The British prime minister, David Lloyd-George, an nounced to the House of Commons that the government will call a con vention of Irishmen to frame a con stitution for Ireland, and if Irishmen are able to agree upon any scheme for the administration of their country, will attempt to enact it lntovleglslation. MARINE CORPS TO GO WITH PERSHING ALL THREE ARMS OF AMERICAN FIGHTING FORCES TO THE FIRING LINE. APPROXIMATELY 40,000 MEN American Destroyers Already Combat ing U-Boat Making Preparations For a Military Census. New Forces to be Called. Washington. All three arms of America's fighting forces, the army, navy and marine corps, soon will be represented in the war zones. With American destroyers already combating the U-boat menace in Eu ropean waters, and army regulars con centrating to carry the flog to the bat tle lines in Belgium and France, a regiment of marines was designated today to 'join the expeditionary force and round out the nation's representa tion in the field. The marines will be attached to the army division under General Pershnig, which is under orders to proceed abroad as soon as practicable. Although details are not being made nublic. it was calculated that with the marine regiment, the total American force now designated for land service in Europe is close to 40,000. An army division at war strength comprises about 25,000 men, and upwards of 12, 000 are expected to be in the nine volunteer regiments of engineers now being recruited. The forestry regi ment and the marine regiment each will number more than 1,000. The strength of the naval force in Euro pean waters has not been revealed. General Pershing and his staff will sail for Europe ahead of the troops, as there is much to be done on the other side to pave the way for final training of the force and for the huge army the United States is preparing to pour across the seas after it as rapidly as men can be trained and equipped. For obvious reasons, no in formation as to the time of the Ameri can commander's departure or his destination will be made public. In all parts of the country state officials redoubled their efforts at re cruiting the National Guard to war strength. Authorization reached them almost simultaneously with the sign ing of the army bill. The war de partment unfolded new elements of its plans for the guard, disclosing the departments in which each division will be trained. Geographical Distribution. A similar table of geographical dis tribution of divisions for the new se lective army also was given out. It follows closely the lines of the Na tional Guard division. Distribution of the country by states into the areas that will provide the sixteen divisions of the selective draft army, as announced by the war department, Include: Fifth division New Jersey, Dela ware. Maryland, Virginia, Eastern Department. Sixth division Tennessee, North Carolina, South Sarolina. Southeast ern Department. Seventh division&Georgia, Florida, Alabama. Southeastern Department. Eighth divlson West Virginia, Central Department. Twelfth division Arkansas, Louis iana, Mississippi. Southeastern De partment. AIRCRAFT POLICY IS FORMALLY ANNOUNCED. Washington. Formal announce ment of the Government's policy as to all types of aircraft except Zeppelins was made by the Council of National Defense through Howard E. Coffin, member of the council's advisory com mission and head of the aircraft pro duction boardj recently created. The object aimed at for the first year, according to Mr. Coffin, Is the production of a minimum of 3,500 training and battle aeroplanes; the education of from 5,000 to 6,000 avia tors and the doubling or more of the producing capacity during the second year. Other plans include the establisb-N ment of nine aviation training fields, three of which already have been selected by the War Department and construction work on which will be gin at once. Each will provide for two aero squadrons of 150 men each and have hangars and shop equip ment for 72 machines. It will cost approximately $1,000,000 to equip Bach field. Six American colleges are to give cadet courses by July 1. The first classes opened May 10 and Prof. Hiram Bingham, of Yale University, ij assigned at the War Department In charge of this instruction. CLASH BETWEEN FRENCH AND GERMAN FLOTILLAS. Paris. French torpedo-boats had encounter with a German flotilla. An official statement says: "A patrol of four French torpedo-boats about 1 o'clock in the morning encuntered a flotilla of German destroyers making toward port. After a brief engage ment, the enemy flotilla at full sneed in the direction of its base. Our four torpedo-boats returned. One of then ! suffered some damage." PERSHING TO LEAD E AMERICAN GENERAL WILL COM MAND EXPEDITION ACROSS WATERS. REGULARS TO 60 AT ONCE America's Answer to France's Appeal. Troops Go at Earliest Practicable .Date. Pershing to Precede Soldiers. Washington. President Wilson or dered that a division of regular troops, commanded by Maj. Gen. John J. Pershing, be sent to France at the earliest practicable date. This is the answer of America to France's plea that the Stars and Stripes be carried to the fighting front without delay to hearten the soldiers battling there with concrete evidence that a powerful Ally has come to their support against German aggression. Announcement of the order follow ed signing of the selective draft war army bill by the President and the ! issuance of a statement that under the advice of military experts on both sides of the water, the President could not employ volunteers nor avail himself of the "fine vigor and enthu siasm" of former President Roosevelt for the expedition. ' The army law provides for an ulti mate force of approximately 2,000,000 men to back up the first troops to go to the front. When the bill had been signed, the President affixed his name to a proclamation calling upon all men in the country between the ages of 21 and 30, inclusive, to register them selves for military service on June 5, next The proclamation sets in mo tion immediately machinery that will enroll and sift 10,000,000 men and pave the way for the selection of the first 500,000 young, efficient soldiers with out crippling the industries or com merce of the nation or bringing hard ship to those at home. Orders For Guard. Even before the bill was signed, the War Department announced that the full strength of the National Guard would be drafted into the United States Army beginning July 15 and concluding August 5. Orders to bring the regiments to full war strength im mediately accompanied the notifica tion sent to all governors. A mini mum of 329,000 fighting men will be brought to the colors under those or ders, supplementing the 293,000 regu lars who will be under arms by June 15. Tha Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee guards will be mobilized July 25. It is from these forces that the first armies to join General Pershing at the front will be drawn to be followed within a few months by recurring waves from the selective draft armies, the first 500,000 of whom will be mob ilized September 1. COL. ROOSEVELT WON'T BE PERMITTED TO GO Washington. Colonel Roosevelt will not be permitted to raise his volunteer expedition to carry the American flag against the Germans in France. On signing the war army bill, President Wilson issued a statement saying that, acting under expert advice from both sides of the water, he would be un able to avail himself at the present stage of the war of the authorization to organize volunteer divisions. There was talk in army circles of the possibility that a way would be found to use the former president's services in another way, but official comment on the subject was lacking. BRITISH SUFFER IN NAVAL BATTLE IN THE ADRIATIC Cruiser Damaged and Fourteen Drift ers Are Sunk. London. The British admiralty an nounced that 14 drifters had been sunk In a raid by Austrian light cruisers in the Adriatic Sea and that the British light cruiser Dartmouth was tor pedoed in a subsequent engagement with the Austrian warships, but reach ed port safely. The text of the statement reads: "The admiralty announces that from reports received fnn the rear admiral commanding He Adriatic squadron, supplemented oy the Ital ian official communicafc on, it ap pears that early Tuesday morning an Austrian force conslstii g of light cruisers, subsequently reinforced by destroyers, raided the Ated drifter line and succeeded in sinking 14 Brit ish drifters from which, uccording to the Austrian commun b Jtions, 73 prisoners were taken. BRITISH ARTILERY IS CO-OPERATING WITH KALIANS. British heavy artillery is so-operating with the Italians in then latest at tempt to drive the Austrian? from the line of the Isonzo. Against the combined British and Italian artillery fire, the justrianf have failed in attempts to i capture lost ground between Gorizia nd Tol mino. Under cover of the artl .lry, the Italians are fortifying captured posi tions and preparing ror another for ward movement. TROOPS FRANC
Carolina Watchman (Salisbury, N.C.)
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May 23, 1917, edition 1
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