Joint Resolution by Judge Advocate General for Raising 1,000,000 Men - March 24, 1917
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War College Division 7923-10 War Department Office of the Chief of Staff March 24, 1917. Memorandum for the Chief of Staff: Subject: Joint Resolution, by Judge Advocate General for raising 1,000,000 men. 1. The Judge Advocate General, March 21, 1917, furnishes Chief of Staff copy of joint resolution prepared by him for the Secretary of War in February, providing for raising a force of 1,000,000 men, and suggests that the draft be revised after conference with the War College Division. He invites attention to the amount of amendatory legislation incorporated in the Army Appropriation Bill which failed of passage March 4, 1917, and believes it will be difficult to pursue a policy of relying upon riders to the Army Appropriation Bill; suggests the advisability of a separate bill incorporating such legislation as the War Department may wish to recommend. 2. In its preparation of a report (WCD 9433-11, March 15, 1917) upon 500,000 Volunteers, the War College Division was assisted in the legislation submitted with Appendix A of the report referred to by a study of the joint resolution drawn by the Judge Advocate General in February and confidentially loaned by him for information of the War College Division. The legislation submitted by the War College Division to give effect to the plan for Volunteers omitted certain measures included in the Judge Advocate General
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[Page 2] spects by the War College Division. Instead of excluding the provisions of section 3 of the Volunteer Act relating to the Organized Militia, the legislation drawn by the War College Division excludes all portions of the Volunteer Act relating to the Organized Land Militia. While the exclusion of section 3 is necessary, since National Guard is to be drafted instead of coming in as Volunteers, there are other portions of the Volunteer Act mentioning the Organized Land Militia which, it is believed, should also be excluded. The War College Division believed it better to have legislation expressly authorizing appointment of general officers for Volunteer organizations and therefore to exclude the last proviso of section 5 of the Volunteer Act from the legislation authorizing Volunteers, since that proviso forbids that appointment of officers above the grade of colonel. While it may be true that the National Defense Act in authorizing full pay and allowances for retired officers placed on duty in time of war, contemplated employing such officers with field units, the War College Division believed it best, in giving effect to the Volunteer Act through this joint resolution, to exclude the first proviso of section 11, since it believes it very desirable that retired officers may be legally employed with field units and even appointed to higher rank in the Volunteer army for such purpose. (d) The fourth paragraph of section 1 was omitted because the War College Division believes that the reserve battalions authorized by section 79 of the National Defense Act should be used only for recruiting organizations of the National Guard drafted into the Federal service. The Judge Advocate General
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[Page 3] that such legislation would authorize the President to appoint officers of the Regular Army for such combinations. (See paragraph 5 of WCD 9433-11.) 7. The War College Division approves of the suggestion of the Judge Advocate General that such legislation as was recommended to Congress during the session which terminated March 4, 1917, may well be made the subject of a separate bill, to avoid the necessity of numerous recommendations to Congress. Joseph E. Kuhn Brigadier General, General Staff, Chief of War College Division, Assistant to the Chief of Staff, 2 encls. added. hwh
Details
| Title | Joint Resolution by Judge Advocate General for Raising 1,000,000 Men - March 24, 1917 |
| Creator | Kuhn, Joseph E. |
| Source | Kuhn, Joseph E. Joint Resolution by Judge Advocate General for Raising 1,000,000 Men. 24 March 1917. Crowder, Enoch H. (1859-1932), Papers, 1884-1942. C1046. The State Historical Society of Missouri, Columbia, MO. |
| Description | Brigadier General Joseph E. Kuhn wrote a memorandum for the Chief of Staff concerning the raising of 1,000,000 men proposed by the Judge Advocate General. In the letter he addressed the revisions made to the joint resolution and explained why those revisions were made. This letter 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; War College Division (U.S.); Kuhn, Joseph Ernst, 1864-1935; United States. War Department; United States. Army--Recruiting, enlistment, etc.-- World War, 1914-1918 |
| Subject Local | WWI; World War I; Volunteers |
| 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 | March 24, 1917 |
| Language | English |