Letter to General John J. Pershing from General Enoch H. Crowder - August 29, 1918
Transcript
Personal August 29, 1918. General John J. Pershing, American Expeditionary Force, France. My dear Pershing: In my partial reply to your very interesting letter I discussed, and dismissed from your consideration and mine, the question whether anybody should bother themselves further about a fighting opportunity for me abroad; saying in that connection that I realized that when I failed to get a division in August of 1917, and therefore the opportunity to run somebody a race in getting a division ready for the fighting front, I dismissed the idea that I could have any opportunity of that character in this war. Should the opportunity arise in the future it will be a pleasant surprise, but I am doing nothing in regard to creating such an opportunity, nor shall I. I said that I would comply further with your request for an occasional letter. I fully intended to do so. Circumstances have arisen, however, to which no reference can be made in this letter, but which deny me that knowledge of the home situation that would make it possible for me to write in any detail of what is going on here. I am completely absorbed in the work of the draft, and quite apprehensive as to whether I shall be able to telescope into the next hundred days the work of registration and classification of thirteen millions of men, so as to give you assurance that the flow of man-power to the cantonments and thence to the battle-field shall not be interrupted. On September 1st over 2,500,000 men will have been inducted into the service in the operation of the draft alone. We have not as yet made a single default, and I do not intend to default in the future, if it is humanly possible to keep up the flow. My task is made vastly more difficult by the failure of Congress to enact this new registration law last spring, when I first recommended it, or in June when I renewed my recommendation, or in July, when the matter was again presented to Congress and the Committees assured that September 20th would be ample time. I have one destructive critic, but I am happy to have only one in the one hundred and five millions of people whose homes have been invaded by the draft. I have had several very fully talks with Senator Warren. Should I succeed in what seems the impossible and present the spectacle of the nation classified on January 1, 1919, with nothing left to do in the administration of the draft except to issue orders of entrainment, I shall begin to look about for a new, and of course larger task. How I wish I could make a finish with you and have something to do
Transcript
[page 2] with the 1919 campaign. But that is a mere wish and not a revival of the subject for your embarrassment. I hate to think that I will not be
Details
| Title | Letter to General John J. Pershing from General Enoch H. Crowder - August 29, 1918 |
| Creator | Crowder, Enoch H. |
| Source | Crowder, Enoch H. Letter to General John J. Pershing from General Enoch H. Crowder. 29 August 1918. Crowder, Enoch H. (1859-1932), Papers, 1884-1942. C1046. The State Historical Society of Missouri, Columbia, MO. |
| Description | In this letter, General Enoch H. Crowder wrote General John J. Pershing and discussed his work with the draft and his difficulty with Congress instating the new registration. 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; Draft; Draft--Law and legislation; Pershing, John J. (John Joseph), 1860-1948. |
| Subject Local | WWI; World War I; Selective Service Act of 1917; Selective Draft Act |
| 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 | August 29, 1918 |
| Language | English |