Memorandum to General Enoch H. Crowder from Lieutenant Colonel John H. Wigmore - April 29, 1918
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April 29th, 1918. Memorandum for Major-General Crowder from Lt. Colonel Wigmore Subject: Information needed from General Staff for levying special calls for men of occupational skill. It is requested that the Chief of Staff be asked to secure, at the earliest possible moment, as specified below, information from the respective Staff Corps and from the line divisions of the kinds of men of occupational skill imperatively needed between now and December 1, 1918, on the basis of one million and a half men to be added to the Army by draft. The necessity for the immediate obtaining of this information rests on the following propositions. I. A general levy of the run of the draft, without prior or simultaneous selection of the men of occupational skill needed for the Staff Corps (and in some measure also for the line division is attended by injurious consequences, both in delay and expense and in general efficiency, because (a) such a levy fails in crucial cases to obtain the kinds of men needed; (b) even when it does, it is attended with needless delay and expense, and (c) at the same time it hampers or prevents the supply of future needs by taking prematurely, and using in the line men of special skill who would shortly be needed. II. This Office is now in a position to make selections so as to obviate the above disadvantages, but only on condition that it is supplied in due season with specific information of the kinds of men needed. Such information has hitherto not been obtainable in practical form from The Adjutant General
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[page 2] skill, certain to be needed in the Staff Corps or line divisions during 1918. (2) By May 20, information of the quantities of those occupations to cover sixty days at least in advance and thereafter the additional quantities each sixty days in advance. Returning to these propositions, the detailed considerations are as follows: I (a) On a general levy, taking the run of the draft, the kinds of occupational men needed at the moment can not be obtained, where the numbers of draftable men are relatively few. For example, a requisition is now in this Office for men of special occupational skill as follows: from the Quartermaster
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[page 3] tification and temporary deferment of the scarce occupational men, the already scanty supply will be depleted, so that the calls due within a few months later, for those special men can not possibly be filled. In these three ways it is highly important to be able to identify before hand and raise by special call the men of special occupational skill needed for the Staff Corps in 1918, and in a measure also for the line divisions. II. This Office, through the Industrial Index, is now in a position to make such selections specifically, but only on the condition that it is furnished in advance with definite information of the kinds of men to be needed. The lack of such definite information makes it impracticable to adjust the complex machinery of this Office, which would otherwise be capable of handling any situation. Here are some concrete examples. About February 12, last, there was compiled in the Adjutant General
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[page 4] [Corps] Eng. [Occupation] Mathematicians [No.] 0 [Date of Req.] April 3 [No.] 10 [Time Needed] At once [Corps] Q.M. [Occupation] Mule Packers [No.] 8 [Date of Req.] April 25 [No.] 50 [Time Needed] At once [Corps] Eng. [Occupation] Marine Gas Engiman [No.] 0 [Date of Req.] April 3 [No.] 24 [Time Needed] At once [Corps] Eng. [Occupation] Marine Steerman [No.] 0 [Date of Req.] April 3 [No.] 80 [Time Needed] At one [Corps] Eng. [Occupation] Bargeman [No.] 0 [Date of Req.] April 3 [No.] 200 [Time Needed] At once [Corps] Q.M [Occupation] Angle Ironsmiths [No.] 0 [Date of Req.] April 8 [No.] 10 [Time Needed] At once [Corps] S.G. [Occupation] Chemists [No.] 0 [Date of Req.] April 10[No.] 10 [Time Needed] At once [Corps] Q.M. [Occupation] Horsetrainers [No.] 0 [Date of Req.] April 25 [No.] 15 [Time Needed] At once The above are merely some of the most striking instances. Most of them represent occupations for which no provision at all was made in the estimate of February 12. It must be stated that the processes of sorting and resorting the Industrial Index are so intricate that they can not be performed instantaneously; and that when a new variety of occupation is named, not already covered in any notification of the Staff Corps, it may often become necessary to resort the entire body of the cards of several occupations, each one represented in 4500 Local Boards. For example, if the Index had been so constructed as to show gas-enginemen in a large group of several thousand, divided into Local Boards, and then, without warning, a special call arrived for a particular variety (as above) of
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III. In order to obtain the best effects as above pointed out, beginning with the June calls, this Office would need (1) by May 5, information of the kinds of occupation calling for special skill and certain to be needed in Staff Corps or line divisions during 1918. The re-arrangements of the Index could then be revised so as to correspond to the needs as thus specified. (2) by Mary 20 information of the quantities of such occupation to cover sixty days at least in advance, and thereafter additional quantities for each sixty days. This would enable the special calls to be prepared and used so as to gather in the quantities needed during each such successive period. The undersigned has had frequent consultation with the Military Board, consisting of Colonel Reese, Major Clark, and Colonel Hugh S. Johnson (the latter of whom has now been succeeded by the undersigned on that Committee) and the situation seems to be that the said Committee, acting with the Operations Division of the General Staff, has not been able to obtain, in ample season, the requisite statements of expected needs from the several Staff Corps and line divisions, in spite of repeated consultations and efforts. This, in turn, has presumably been due to the conditions of the Camps and the impracticability of knowing when conditions and equipment will be available for specified numbers and kinds of men. But now that the Camps are being emptied, it may be supposed that this obstacle has, to a measure, disappeared. At any rate, whatever the cause may be, it is now pointed out that the operations of this Office with respect to the effective use of the Industrial Index, are dependent more or less upon definite and permanent specifications, given seasonably in advance of the required numbers and quantities of men needed. JW Lt. Colonel, J.A., N.A JHW-sbm
Details
| Title | Memorandum to General Enoch H. Crowder from Lieutenant Colonel John H. Wigmore - April 29, 1918 |
| Creator | Wigmore, John H. |
| Source | Wigmore, John H. Information needed from General Staff. 29 April 1918. Crowder, Enoch H. (1859-1932), Papers, 1884-1942. C1046. The State Historical Society of Missouri, Columbia, MO. |
| Description | Memorandum to General Enoch H. Crowder from Lieutenant Colonel John H. Wigmore concerning the drafting of men of occupational skill. Wigmore asks for the Chief of Staff to secure information of the kinds of men of occupational skill needed in the army, and his plan to acquire such men. This document is part of a collection compiled by Enoch Herbert Crowder, the Edinburg, Grundy County, Missouri native who served as Judge Advocate General devising 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. War Department; United States. Engineer Department; Draft; United States. Army. General Staff Corps. |
| Subject Local | WWI; World War I |
| 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 | April 29, 1918 |
| Language | English |