A Proclamation by the President of the United States - June 5, 1917
Transcript
May 2, 1917 delivered by Wilson June 5, 1917 see Lockmiller p. 166 A Proclamation by the President of the United States. Whereas, Congress on the day of has enacted the following law. Now, therefore, I, Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States, do call upon the Governor of each of the several states and territories, the Board of Commissioners 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 communicated to them directly in regulations of even date herewith. And I do further proclaim and give notice to all persons subject to registration 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 day of 1917 at the customary voting place in the voting precinct wherein they have their permanent homes. And I do charge those who, through sickness, shall be unable to present themselves for registration upon the day named and those who expect then to be absent from the counties in which they have their permanent homes that they apply to the County Clerk of the county in which they may be on the sixth day after the date of this proclamation for instructions as to how they may be registered on the date prescribed herein. In cases such persons as, through sickness or absence, may be unable to present themselves for registration as in the law provided shall be sojourning in cities of over thirty thousand population, they shall apply to the City Clerk of the city wherein they may be sojourning rather than to the clerk of the county.
Transcript
[Page 2] 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 wont to think of armies there are no armies in this struggle. There are entire nations armed. Thus, the men beneath the battle flags are no more a part of the army that is France than the men who remain to till the soil and man the factories. 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 cannot be if each man pursues a private purpose. All must pursue 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 serve the common good. Thus, through a sharpshooter 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 being served only when the sharpshooter marches and the machinist remains at his levers. The whole nation must be a team in which each man shall play the part for which he is best fitted. To this end, Congress has provided that the nation shall be organized 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 him. The significance of this can not be overstated. It is a new thing in our history and a landmark in our progress. It is a new manner of accepting and vitalizing our duty to give ourselves with thoughtful devotion to the common purpose of us all. It is in no sense a conscription of the unwilling; it is rather, selection from a nation which has volunteered in mass. It is no more a choosing of those who shall march with the colors than it is a selection of those who shall serve an equally necessary and devoted purpose in the industries that lie behind the battle line.
Transcript
[Page 3] 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 the most conspicous moments in our history. It is nothing less 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 these ideals no less than to the pride of this generation in manifesting its devotion to them, that there be no gaps in the ranks. It is essential that the day be approached in 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 not made a technical holiday, but the storm 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 lie upon every man, 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
Details
| Title | A Proclamation by the President of the United States - June 5, 1917 |
| Creator | Wilson, Woodrow |
| Source | Wilson, Woodrow. A Proclamation by the President of the United States. 05 June 1917. Crowder, Enoch H. (1859-1932), Papers, 1884-1942. C1046. The State Historical Society of Missouri, Columbia, MO. |
| Description | In this speech President Woodrow Wilson explained the process of registration and called on all young men to register. He also called upon the entire country to help fight the war against a common enemy and encouraged each individual to do their part to win the war. This document is part of a collection compiled by Enoch Herbert Crowder, the Edinburg, Grundy County, Missouri native who served as Judge Advocate General. Crowder devised the Selective Service Act in 1917 which drafted America's forces during World War I. |
| Subject LCSH | Crowder, E. H. (Enoch Herbert), 1859-1932; United States. Army--Recruiting, enlistment, etc.-- World War, 1914-1918; Draft; Wilson, Woodrow, 1856-1924 |
| Subject Local | WWI; World War I; Selective Service Act of 1917 |
| Site Accession Number | C1046 |
| Contributing Institution | The State Historical Society of Missouri |
| Copy Request | Transmission or reproduction of items on these pages beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the State Historical Society of Missouri: 1020 Lowry Street, Columbia, Missouri, 65201-7298. (573) 882-7083. |
| Rights | The text and images contained in this collection are intended for research and educational use only. Duplication of any of these images for commercial use without express written consent is expressly prohibited. |
| Date Original | June 5, 1917 |
| Language | English |