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Show WILSON TO i CALL OUT ! ALL MEN : NEEDED Military Bill Is Amended Amend-ed in Committee to I Confer Upon the Pres-I Pres-I ident Unlimited Pow-I Pow-I er for War Purposes. i SECRETARY BAKER ! MAKES STATEMENT .(Notice to the World : That the Complete Man Power of America j Will Be Drafted if It Becomes Necessary. i SKy International News Service. I WASHINGTON, May 2H. Unlimited power to draft men within the ages pre-fee pre-fee lined by the selective service act wa? granted Secretary of: War Baker this fefternoon by the house military affairs committee. . Tho committee adopted an amendment to tho military bill allowing allow-ing the president to take any number sof men in any fiscal year under the Jpresi-nt draft law, observing the order Jof Classification. This amendment to the existing law -was adopted by the committee: I "Provided, that tho authority conferred con-ferred upon the president b the act approved ap-proved May 18, 1917, entitled 'An act rto authorize the president to increase temporarily the military estab'Ubmeut jof the United States' is hereby ex- The eommitteo report was unanimous. Chairman Dent, who previously had said he would support no "indefinite items or powors " changed his mind and will lead the fight for the bill on the floor. tended ao as to authorize him during each fiscal year to raise by draft . as provided in said act and acts amendatory amenda-tory thereof the maximum v umber of nen wa..th raa,y he organized, equipped, Strained and used during such year for Jtly3 prosecution of tho present war until Jtne samo shall have been brought to a TBfccissful conclusion.' ENORMOUS SUM IS CARRIED IN BILL. ') The complete bill was reported out, carrying $S,560,129,319.H in "cash; $2,464,416,451 iu authorizations, anil a sum estimated at just in excess of 11,000,000,000 for signal corps and air-waft, air-waft, a total of $12,033,545,822.14. : Secretary Baker won a notably easy victory in gaining authority to draft an unlimited uumher of men. He was before the committee only ten minutes urging it. When he came out o the iKunnuttee he said: ; "This is a notice to the world that the complete man-power of America is ..uiprtgaged to the successful prosecution Of the war. It is a signal that congress aad the people stand firmly for President Presi-dent Wilson's prosecution of the war, embodying as it does, the use of as many men as are essential to victory." NO OPPOSITION IN HOUSE EXPECTED. A campaign is under way by committee com-mittee members to have the house vote unanimously for the measure. It will come up in the next day or so and hold a preferred place on the calendar until passed. Chairman Dent said tonight to-night that he knew not one individual who would oppose or delay its passage. At the war department, after his return re-turn from the capitol, Secretary Baker made the following statement: "I have been down to the house appropriations ap-propriations committee on the question of the appropriation for 1918-19. ' The only question remaining under consideration consid-eration in the house is the question of the size of the army. The question is whether to put a limit on it, and, if so, what limit. I urged the committee commit-tee to put on no limit, but to authorize author-ize the president, in the terms granted him by the act of May 18, 1917, to use such number as he found it possible pos-sible to organize, train and equip so as to bring the war to a successful conclusion. con-clusion. "The committee seemed to be very generous in their consideration of the suggestion and it rather looked as though that was the way it wished the thing would be done. "They asked at the house committee commit-tee meeting whether I had prepared any change in the draft age, and I said I had not. ' ' The subject of using men in industrial in-dustrial pursuits was not mentioned." |