Draftsman

“ To tell the truth, drafting is odious to every nation, whatever be its government. But it is a dire necessity, and it is impossible to avoid or to turn it. The draft became here imperatively necessary by the long uninterrupted chain of helplessness and mismanagement of events, the sacrifice of blood and of time. But for the advice of the Scotts, of the Sewards, of the Blairs, but for the (p. 323) military prowess of McClellan and his minions, but for the high military science of a Halleck, Mr. Lincoln would not have been obliged to draft. ”

“ They complain that when we call for volunteers we present the alternative of a draft, as it when the ship has been scuttled the Captain ought to leave the sleeping passengers to go to the bottom without calling upon them to take their turn at the pump. ”

“ I mean, sir . . . There's no way of getting hold of an officer to march the draft. Them as are eligible gets to 'ear of what drafts is going and they've all bolted into their burries. Not a man of 'em will be back in camp before five to-morrow morning. Not when they 'ears there's a draft to go at four of mornings like this. . . . Now . . ." His voice became husky with emotion as he offered to take the draft hisself to oblige Captain Tietjens. And the captain knew he could get a draft off pretty near as good as himself: or very near. ”

“ I never in my life heard of a woman being drafted. Such an event would be impossible,” said Lieutenant Ethel.
“‘Impossible!’ Lor!” mocked Elfie. “Are you so young and green as not to know impossible things constantly happen? And here is the proof in black and white.”
58“If that document is the official summons of a drafted man, it proves beyond a doubt that it was never intended for you,” urged the young officer. ”

“ A cake of soap, a razor, a small towel, two or three brushes, a spare pair of socks, a clean shirt—it seems little enough for a man to face an unknown world with, a man who is heir to the gifts of a complex civilisation.
[Pg 105]
Once thoroughly inspected, the draft ceases to be a draft, and is merged in the camp. The men settle down in the lines of their battalion, take their share in the life and work of their fellows until the day comes when they are joined to another draft and sent forth on a yet more adventurous journey. ”

“ The drafting board may show that no such arrangement of parts can ever be made, that the whole scheme must be altered to make it practical. A real hero is required for the work of juggling the elements of a drafting board. He must have patient endurance and sufficient strength of character to use the eraser heroically, for the eraser is mightier than the pencil in the drafting-room. There are a thousand valiant knights armed with pencils to one stalwart pusher of the eraser. ”

“ Lieutenant Riker with a smile. “Well, I’ll leave that part to you. Now about this enlistment. It’s fine of you to be among the first to come in. There’ll be plenty more too, when they find out a draft is coming.
“Not that it is to the discredit of any one to be in the selective service, as it is going to be called,” he went on. “No higher honor can come to a man. But the advantage of enlisting is that you can pick your own branch of service, and that will be of value. Have you boys any idea where you’d like to be?”
“I’d like aeroplane work,” said Jerry. ”

“ They were selected from Class Al of the registration lists and were to replace the men who have been sent abroad from the training camps.
A resolution providing that all young men who have reached the age of 21 years [245] since June 5, 1917, the first draft registration day, shall be subject to military service was passed by the Senate on March 29. About 58,000 men thus become available each month, and in the year since June 5, 1917, about 700,000 will have been brought under the selective draft law. ”

“ But so difficult was it to obtain properly instructed engineers, that he was obliged to seek his engineer officers in the ranks of foreign adventurers, and to make drafts from the other arms of service, and have them regularly instructed in the duties of engineer troops, and commanded by the officers of this corps. An order, in his own handwriting, giving the details of this temporary arrangement, is dated March 30th, 1779. Until men are enlisted for the purpose, companies of sappers and miners shall be formed by drafts from the line. ”

“ I do not believe many men are going to be obtained by a draft; I do not believe a very good Army will be got by a draft; I do not believe an Army will be put in the field, by a draft, that will whip General Lee. ”

“ The subject of forced draft is of great importance, and, as a corollary of high-speed development, is being studied with keen interest. There are wide differences of opinion not only as to the proper systems, but even as to the value of the principle. ”

“ I'd hate to be drafted. I'd feel mean to think I had to be dragged in; besides I want to do my part. Every fellow ought to get into it."
"What part of the service did you elect?"
"The Infantry, sir. I'm going to Spartansburg to the training-camp." Silence for some moments; then, showing that his bridges were burned, "I've sold my clothes; sold 'em for four dollars and I'm to send 'em right back soon's I get my uniform. I hope I don't have to wait for the soldier clothes. ”

“ We have more than twice as many men here, and their own blacks are but a broken reed. When we begin to draft, however, war will begin in earnest. They dread that drafting far more than volunteering. They know by experience, what we have not as yet learned, that drafting contains many strange secrets of success. ”

“ Had the Armistice not been declared, had respondent gone on to Camp Dodge, and had he then been rejected for any reason there, he would have received, not an honorable discharge from the Army, but a 'Discharge from Draft.' Yet we are asked to give the regulations and certificates a judicial construction, contrary to the Army's construction, whereby respondent, who got no farther than his local board, would stand in a better status than the tens of thousands of other draftees who came much closer to complete integration into the Army than he ever did. ”

“ There was not a breath of air stirring outside, yet I, who was sitting just across from the lamp, felt a cool draft. No one else noticed this draft. It was just as if someone directly opposite me had blown forcibly at the lamp, or as if the wing of a powerful bird had passed by it.
There can be no doubt there is something radically wrong in this house, and I am determined to find out what it is, regardless of consequences. ”

“ TELEGRAM TO GOVERNOR SEYMOUR. EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, AUGUST 16, 1863.
GOVERNOR SEYMOUR, New York:
Your despatch of this morning is just received, and I fear I do not perfectly understand it.
My view of the principle is that every soldier obtained voluntarily leaves one less to be obtained by draft. The only difficulty is in applying the principle properly. Looking to time, as heretofore, I am unwilling to give up a drafted man now, even for the certainty, much less for the mere chance, of getting a volunteer hereafter. ”

“ In the army, only those men whose ranks are above captain use their military title on their visiting cards. Others use merely the prefix "Mr." Men who are officers of volunteer regiments are not entitled to the use of military titles on their cards, and they should be careful to use only "Mr." before their names. A captain, major, or colonel in the army signifies in the corner of the card whether his command is in the artillery, the infantry, or the cavalry. ”

“ All the "artillery, ammunition, war supplies, and weapons, shall be given into the charge of the captain of artillery, and all the vessels of the fleet into the charge of the commander of the fleet, together with all their equipment, tackle and rigging, and provisions." In each ship, a pilot, master, boatswain, and notary shall be appointed. Each ship shall be put in charge of its master, and the notary for that ship shall take full notes of everything transferred to the former's keeping. ”

“ It was not argued that a conspiracy to obstruct the draft was not within the words of the Act of 1917. The [p53] words are "obstruct the recruiting or enlistment service," and it might be suggested that they refer only to making it hard to get volunteers. Recruiting heretofore usually having been accomplished by getting volunteers, the word is apt to call up that method only in our minds. But recruiting is gaining fresh supplies for the forces, as well by draft as otherwise. ”

“ The draft was in the best of spirits; it cheered the colonel, adjutant, and any officers on sight; it leant out of the carriage windows and waved beer bottles, and rifles, and caps; and [Pg 10] it greeted with such uproarious applause any attempt to give orders on the part of Mulligan or myself that we thought it best to remain in the corner of our first-class carriage. There were 180 men of all ages from nineteen to forty, old soldiers and young soldiers, militiamen, reservists, and a few regulars. ”

“ It assures to drafted men the same pay, bounty, clothing, and equipments as volunteers receive, and in all respects puts them on the same footing. It thus removes the unjust distinction wont to be made between the drafted man and volunteer, looking upon each as a true soldier of his country, equally interested in its honor and perpetuity. And in order that justice may be secured to the citizen as well as to the Government, the entire business of the enrolment and draft is under the supervision of a board of three men, generally residents of the district. ”

“ The "drafted men", consisting of men between the ages of twenty-one and thirty-one, fairly represent the adult male white population of the country, except in two respects. Many able young men were not included in the draft, having previously volunteered for officers' training camps or for special services. ”

“ I'm curious to see how the drafted men will take to the life."
"I suppose some of them will be sore at having had to come whether they wanted to or not," replied Frank. "Still there will be lots of good fighting material in them. I've heard Peterson say that the drafted men in the Union Army fought as well as the volunteers. They'll all be good Americans when they face the Huns." ”

“ The battleship was running under forced draft, and Ned and Frank were very thankful that they were not coal-passers, or firemen. For the temperature in the stokehole of a battleship, when forced draft is being used, is about the highest in the world.
Still everything possible is done to make the men comfortable, and they only work in short shifts, changing frequently, and receive the best of medical treatment and advice if they are temporarily overcome, as often happens. ”

“ He snatches meals in strange messes, railway refreshment rooms, and quayside restaurants. [Pg 101] He may have to conduct his draft all the way from Cork or Wick. He may be kept waiting hour after hour for a train. He may be embarked and disembarked again three or four times before his steamer actually starts. The men of his draft are strangers to him. He does not know whether his sergeants are trustworthy or not. Yet there is no epidemic of suicide among draft-conducting officers, though there very well might be. Great and unconquerable is the spirit of the British dug-out officer. ”

“ If Congress had not passed the amendatory act of February 24, 1864, it might very well have been asserted that making an enrolment of persons liable to draft, was a service relating to the draft; for being a necessary preliminary to putting the draft in force, it bears a very close relation to it. ”

“ Potter said.
“It will come closer then. The draft was a big step—and the people’s attitude toward the draft was an eye-opener. I’ve a notion we men who like to think we’re the most important thing in the nation, we wealthy men, don’t really know what the people are thinking about. Maybe they’re more serious than we think? Maybe there’s more genuine love for America in them than we think.... A year ago I would have said an attempt to draft would have brought on a revolution.” ”

“ Persons failing to report, to be considered deserters. All persons drafted shall be assigned by the President to military duty 127in such corps, regiments, or branches of the service as the exigencies of the service may require.
1864, Feb. 24—Provided for equalizing the draft by calculating the quota of each district or precinct and counting the number previously furnished by it. Any person enrolled may furnish an acceptable substitute who is not liable to draft, nor, at any time, in the military or naval service of the United States ”

“ The simplest way of explaining the operation of raising a draft or check is as follows:
Two men are necessary for success at any given point, and hence they are not so liable to detection as if a number of confederates were engaged. It is the business of one of these men to enter a bank, and purchase a draft on New York City, for a certain amount of money, usually about fifteen hundred dollars, and a short time after this another draft would be procured from the same bank for a small amount, seldom over ten dollars. ”

“ Again, after the draft in any district, would it not make trouble to take any drafted man out and put a volunteer in—for how shall it be determined which drafted man is to have the privilege of thus going out, to the exclusion of all the others? ”

“ ORDER FOR A DRAFT OF FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND MEN. EXECUTIVE MANSION, February 1, 1864.
Ordered, That a draft of five hundred thousand (500,000) men, to serve for three years or during the war, be made on the tenth (10th) day of March next, for the military service of the United States, crediting and deducting therefrom so many as may have been enlisted or drafted into the service prior to the first (1st) day of March, and not before credited. ”