Show full text 01 arc presidents 81 deni as 44 A proclamation by the president of the united states whereas congress has enacted and the president has on oil the day of may one thousand nine hundred and seventeen ceven teen approved a law which contains the following provisions see sec 5 that all male persons bea tha he ages of 21 and 30 both lolu lait shall be subject to registration 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 hla his direction stating tho the time and place of such euch registration it shall be the duty of all persons of the designated ages except officers and enlisted men of the regular army the navy and the national buerd guard and naval militia while in fit the service of the united states to present themselves for and submit to registration under the provisions of this act and every such person shall be deemed to have notice of the requirements of this act upon the publication of said proclamation or other notice as aforesaid given by ahe the president or by his direction and any person shall willfully fall or refuse to present himself 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 jurisdiction thereof be punished by imprisonment for not more than one year and shall thereupon be duly registered provided that in the call of the locket docket procedure shall be given in courts trying the same to the trial of criminal proceedings under this act provided further that persons shall be subject to registration as herein provided who shall have attained their twenty first birthday and who shall not have attained their thirty first birthday on or before the day set act for the registration and all persons so registered shall be and remain subject to draft into the forces hereby authorized unless exempted or excused as lit in this act pr provider ovideo provided further that in the case of temporary absence from actual place of legal residence of an person liable to registration as provided herein such registration may be made by mall under regulations to be prescribed sc by the president of procedure see sec 6 that the president Is hereby authorized to utilize the service of any or all departments and any or all offices or agents of the united states and of the several states territories and the district of columbia and subdivisions thereof in the execution of this act and all officers and agents of the united states and of the several states territories and subdivisions thereof and of the district of columbia and all persons designated or appointed under regulations prescribed an by tile tho president whether such appointments are made by the president himself or by the governor or other officer of any state or territory to perform any duty in the execution of this act are hereby required to perform such duty as aa the president shall order or direct and all such officers and agents and persons so designated or appointed shall hereby have full all authority for all acts done by them in the execution of this act by the direction direct iora of the president correspondence spon dence in the execution of this act may mav be parried carried in penalty envelopes bearing tile the frank of the war department any persona charged as herein provided with tile the dut of carrying into effect any of the provisions of this act or the regulations made or directions given who shall fall or to perform such duty and any person charged with such duty or having and exercising any author autho under said act regulations or actions ct tons who shall knowing make or be a party to the making of any false or incorrect registration physical cal examinations exemption enlisting enrollment or muster minter and any person who shall make or be a party to the making of any fase false statement or certificate as to the fitness or liability of himself or any other person for service ice under the provisions of this act or regulations made by the president or otherwise evades or aids another to evade the requirements quire ments of this act or of said regulations or who in any manner shall fall fail or neglect to perform any duty required of 0 him in the exec udon of this act shall it if not subject to military law bo be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction in the district court of the united states having jerls diction thereof be punished by imprisonment for not more than one year or it if subject to military law shall he be tried by court martial and suffer such punishment as a court martial may direct june 5 date set tor for registration now therefore 1 I woodrow wilson president of the united states do call upon the governor of each of the several states elates and territory ties the board of commissioners ol of the district of columbia and all officers and agents of the several states and territories of the district of columbia and of the counties and municipalities therein to perform certain duties in the execution of the foregoing law which duties will be to them directly in regulation of even date herewith and I 1 do further proclaim and give notice to all persons subject to registration lit in the several states and in tile the district of columbia in accordance with the above law that the time and place of such registration shall be between 7 a m and 9 p TO in on the fifth day of june 1917 at the registration place in the precinct wherein they have their permanent homes those who shall have attained their twenty first birthday and who shall not have attained their thirty first birthday on oil 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 corpa and the national guard and naval militia while in the service of the united states and officers in the officers reserve corps and enlisted men lit in the enlisted reserve corps while in fit active service in tile the territories of alaska hawaii and porto rico a day for registration will be named m a later proclamation may renter register b mull mail and I 1 do charge those who through sickness shall be unable to present themselves tor for registration that they apply on oil or before the day of registration to the county clerk of the county where they may be for instructions as to how they may be registered by agent those who expect to he be absent on the day named from the counties in which they have their permanent homes may register by mall but their mailed registration cards must reach the places in which they have their permanent homes by the lay day herein named they should apply as soon as to the county clerk of the county wherein they may be for instructions as to how they may accomplish their registration by mall mail in each case persons as through sickness a or absence may be unable to present themselves personally for registration shall be sojourning sojo in cities of over thirty five thousand population they shall apply to the city clerk of tile the city wherein they may be sojourn ing rather than to the clerk of the county the clerks of counties and of cities of over thirty thousand population lit in which numerous applications from the sick and from nonresidents non residents are expected are authorized to establish such sub agencies and to employ and deputize such clerical force as may be necessary to accommodate these applications nation must lust train the power against which we are arrayed has sought bought to impose its will upon the world by force to this end tt it has increased armament until it has changed tile the face of war in the sense in which we have been wont to think of armies there are no 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 tile the army in france than is the man beneath the battle flags it must be so with us it la is not an army that we must i chape 0 and train rain tor for war it is a nation to this end our people must draw close in one compact front against a common foe but this cannot be it each man pursues a private purpose all must pur sue one purpose the nation needs all men but it needs each man not in the field that will most pleasure him but in the endeavor that will best beat serve sere the common good ibus though a sharpshooter pleases to operate a for the forging of great guns and an expert machinist desires to march with the flag the nation is being served only when the sharpshooter in marches arches and the machinist remains at his levers the whole nation must be a team in in which each man shall play the part parl for which he to is best fitted to this thid end congress has provided I 1 that the nation lall mcall be organized ila tor for war by selection and that each man shall be classified for service in the place to which it shall best serve the general good to call lit him ua the significance of thas cant cannot to t be overstated it ft to IB a new thing in our history and a landmark in our oar progress it to ia a new manner of accepting and vitalizing our d duty uty to give ourselves ou selves with thoughtful dvo devotion tion to the common purposes of us all it is in no sense a conscription of the 1111 unwilling it is rather selce tion from a nation which has volunteered in mass it is no more a choosing of those who shall march with the colors than it la Is a selection of those ullo nho shall servo an equally necessary and devoted purpose lit in the industries chak alia lie behind the battle line conspicuous moment homent tn in history the day here named is the time upon which all shall present themselves for assignment to their tasks it Is for that reason destined to be remembered as one of tile most conspicuous moments in our history it to is nothing less leas than the day upon which the manhood of the country shall step forward in one solid rank in defense of the ideals to which this nation is consecrated it Is important to those ideals no less lesa than to tile the pride of this generation in manifesting its devotion to them that there ha be no gaps in the ranks it is essential that the day be approached in fix thoughtful apprehension of its significance and that we accord to it the honor and the meaning that it deserves our industrial need prescribes that it be riot not made a technical holiday but the stern sacrifice that Is be fore us urges that it be carried in all our hearts as a great day of patriotic devotion and obligation when hen the duty shall lie upon every man mall whether he is himself to be registered or not to see to it that the name of every male person of the designated ages is written on these lists of honor lit in witness whereof I 1 have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the united states stales to be affixed done at the city ot of washington this 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 for ty first by the president WOODROW WILSON robert lansing secretary of state |