It was to be expected that many people would look upon the law as highly experimental; as an act that, if it did not produce grave disorders in the country, would fall short of the results for which it was intended. It was fortunate for the country at this time, that the military establishment possessed in the person of General Crowder, one who had made a special study of selective drafts and other forms of compulsory service, not alone in this country, but throughout the nations of the world and back to the beginning of recorded history. He had become as familiar with all phases of it as though it had been a personal hobby and lifetime pursuit.
The law was extremely plain and permitted of no guessing or legal quibbling over its terms. It boldly recited the military obligations of citizenship. It vested the president with the most complete power of prescribing regulations calculated to strike a balance between the industrial, agricultural and economic needs of the nation on the one hand and the military need on the other.
Within 18 days between May 18, when the law was approved, and June 5, the day the president had fixed as registration day, a great, administrative machine was built. Practically the entire male citizenship of the United States within the age limits fixed by law, twenty-one to thirty years inclusive, presented itself at the 4,000 enrollment booths with a registered result of nearly 10,000,000 names. The project had been so systematized that within 48 hours almost complete registration returns had been assembled by telegraph in Washington.
The order in which the ten-million registrants were to be called was accomplished on July 20 by a great central lottery in Washington.
The boards proceeded promptly to call, to examine physically and to consider claims for exemption of over one and one half million men, a sufficient number to fill the first national quota of 687,000. Thus in less than three and one-half months the nation had accepted and vigorously executed a compulsory service law.
On June 5, 1918, 753,834 men were added to the rolls. On August 24, 1918, that number was increased by 159,161; finally on September 12, 1918, under the provision of the act of August 31,1918, 13,228,762 were added to the lists of those available for military service, which, including interim and other accessions, amounted to a grand total of 24,234,021 enrolled and subject to the terms of the Selective Service law. This tremendous exhibition of man power struck terror to the heart of the Hun and hastened him to, if possible, deliver a telling blow against the Allies before the wonderful strength and resources of the American nation could be brought to bear against him.
Commenting on the facility with which the selective draft was put into effect, the report of the Provost Marshall General stated in part:
"The expedition and smoothness with which the law was executed emphasized the remarkable flexibility, adaptability and efficiency of our system of government and the devotion of our people. Here was a gigantic project in which success was staked not on reliance in the efficiency of a man, or an hierarchy of men, or, primarily, on a system. Here was a bold reliance on faith in a people. Most exacting duties were laid with perfect confidence on the officials of every locality in the nation, from the governors of states to the registrars of elections, and upon private citizens of every condition, from men foremost in the industrial and political life of the nation to those who had never before been called upon to participate in the functions of government. By all administrative tokens, the accomplishment of their task was magic."
No distinction regarding color or race was made in the selective draft law, except so far as non-citizen Indians were exempt from the draft. But the organization of the army placed Negro soldiers in separate units; and the several calls for mobilization, were, therefore, affected by this circumstance, in that no calls could be issued for Negro registrants until the organizations were ready for them. Figures of total registration given previously in this chapter include interim accessions and some that automatically went on the rolls after September 12, 1918. Inasmuch as the tables prepared by the Provost Marshall General's department deal only with those placed on the rolls on regular registration days and do not include the accessions mentioned, comparisons which follow will be based on those tables. They show the total registration as 23,779,997, of which 21,489,470 were white and 2,290,527 were black. Following is a table showing the distribution of colored and white registrants by states:
Colored
Total registrants
Colored June 5, 1917 Colored Total
and white Colored registrants colored
registrants. to Sept 11, Sept 12, registrants.
1918. 1918.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
United States 23,779,097 1,078,331 1,212,196 2,290,527
=====================================================
Alabama 444,692 81,963 81,410 163,373
Arizona 93,078 295 680 975
Arkansas 365,754 51,176 53,659 104,835
California 787,676 3,308 6,404 9,712
Colorado 215,178 1,103 1,867 2,970
Connecticut 373,676 3,524 4,659 8,183
Delaware 55,215 3,798 4,448 8,246
District of Columbia 89,808 11,045 15,433 26,478
Florida 208,931 39,013 43,019 82,032
Georgia 549,020 112,593 108,183 220,781
Idaho 103,740 254 255 509
Illinois 1,571,717 21,816 35,597 57,413
Indiana 639,431 11,289 16,549 27,838
Iowa 523,957 2,959 3,022 5,981
Kansas 381,315 5,575 7,448 13,023
Kentucky 486,599 25,850 30,182 56,032
Louisiana 391,654 76,223 82,256 158,479
Maine 159,350 163 179 342
Maryland 313,255 26,435 32,736 59,171
Massachusetts 884,030 6,044 8,056 14,100
Michigan 871,410 6,979 8,950 15,929
Minnesota 540,003 1,541 1,809 3,350
Mississippi 344,506 81,548 91,534 173,082
Missouri 764,428 22,796 31,524 54,320
Montana 196,999 320 494 814
Nebraska 286,147 1,614 2,417 4,031
Nevada 29,465 69 112 172
New Hampshire 95,035 77 98 175
New Jersey 761,238 14,056 19,340 33,396
New Mexico 80,158 235 350 595
New York 2,503,290 25,974 35,299 61,273
North Carolina 480,901 73,357 69,168 142,525
North Dakota 159,391 65 165 230
Ohio 1,387,830 28,831 35,156 63,987
Oklahoma 423,864 14,305 23,253 37,563
Oregon 176,010 144 534 678
Pennsylvania 2,067,023 39,363 51,111 90,474
Rhode Island 134,232 1,573 1,913 3,486
South Carolina 307,229 74,265 74,912 149,177
South Dakota 142,783 144 171 315
Tennessee 474,253 43,735 51,059 94,794
Texas 989,571 83,671 82,775 166,446
Utah 100,038 169 392 561
Vermont 71,464 63 89 152
Virginia 464,903 64,358 75,816 140,174
Washington 319,337 373 1,353 1,726
West Virginia 324,975 13,292 14,652 27,944
Wisconsin 584,639 718 1,117 1,835
Wyoming 58,700 280 570 850
White
registrants White Total
Percent of June 5, 1917 registrants white Percent
total to Sept 11 Sept 12, registrants. of total
registrants. 1918. 1918. registrants.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
United States 9.83 9,562,515 11,926,955 21,480,470 90.37
===================================================================
Alabama 36.74 124,247 157,072 281,319 63.26
Arizona 1.05 39,884 52,219 92,103 98.95
Arkansas 28.66 117,111 143,808 260,919 71.34
California 1.23 312,994 464,970 777,964 98.77
Colorado 1.38 90,453 121,755 212,208 98.62
Connecticut . 2.19 171,296 194,197 365,493 97.81
Delaware 14.93 20,761 26,208 46,969 85.07
District of Columbia 29.45 25,625 37,795 63,420 70.56
Florida 39.26 55,572 71,327 126,899 60.74
Georgia 40.22 147,604 180,635 328,239 59.78
Idaho 0.49 45,224 58,007 103,231 99.51
Illinois 3.65 685,254 829,050 1,514,304 96.35
Indiana 4.35 272,442 339,151 611,593 95.65
Iowa 1.14 237,744 280,232 517,976 98.86
Kansas 3.41 161,691 206,602 368,293 96.59
Kentucky 11.52 190,060 240,507 430,567 88.43
Louisiana 40.46 103,718 129,467 233,185 59.54
Maine 0.22 67,941 91,067 159,008 99.73
Maryland 18.89 110,066 144,018 254,084 81.11
Massachusetts 1.60 391,654 478,276 869,930 93.40
Michigan 1.83 404,040 451,441 855,481 98.17
Minnesota 0.62 247,750 288,903 538,653 99.38
Mississippi 50.24 75,977 95,447 171,424 49.76
Missouri 7.11 372,106 398,002 710,108 92.89
Montana 0.41 96,753 101,432 198,185 99.59
Nebraska 1.42 130,493 151,623 282,116 98.58
Nevada 0.58 12,581 16,712 29,293 99.42
New Hampshire 0.18 41,617 53,243 94,860 99.82
New Jersey 4.39 18,615 409,225 727,840 95.61
New Mexico 0.74 36,776 42,787 79,563 99.26
New York 2.44 1,092,061 1,349,956 2,442,617 97.56
North Carolina 29.63 155,102 183,274 338,376 70.37
North Dakota 0.15 72,837 85,324 159,161 98.85
Ohio 4.61 588,170 735,673 1,323,843 95.39
Oklahoma 8.86 173,851 212,450 386,301 91.15
Oregon 0.38 69,376 105,956 175,332 99.62
Pennsylvania 4.38 353,106 1,113,443 1,976,549 95.62
Rhode Island 2.59 57,433 73,313 130,746 12
South Carolina 48.56 70,395 87,657 158,052 51.44
South Dakota 0.23 64,896 77,572 142,468 99.77
Tennessee 19.99 169,674 209,785 379,459 80.01
Texas 16.82 376,385 446,740 823,125 83.18
Utah 0.56 45,930 53,547 99,477 99.44
Vermont 0.21 30,819 40,493 71,312 99.79
Virginia 30.15 141,714 183,015 324,727 69.85
Washington 0.54 123,752 193,859 317,611 99.46
West Virginia 8.60 128,852 168,179 297,031 91.40
Wisconsin 0.31 265,501 317,303 582,804 99.69
Wyoming 1.45 24,612 33,238 57,850 98.56