Alien Draft

(COPY V)

WAR DEPARTMENT

Office of the Provost Marshal General
Washington

MEMORANDUM
for the Counselor of the State Department:

The alien draft would give us another hundred thousand men in the National Army. Senator Chamberlain's resolution will do this. The Senate is ready for that resolution, and the country is daily demanding it in letters and popular resolutions communicated to the Senators. The Senate resolution 84 can hardly be passed, however, without a prior waiver of treaty rights by the two or three important nations concerned. Under Senator McCumber's resolution, the Department of State is now engaged in seeking such waivers from the representatives of the countries concerned.

At this moment, therefore, the whole situation depends on a speedy completion of such negotiations. Unless completed within the next two weeks, we risk losing the benefit. All aliens are now registered. The local boards having nothing more to do administratively, in order to hold those aliens, than merely to deny their exemption claims. But the local boards will within two weeks have completed the certification of their quota and the process will stop substantially; hence, if the Provost Marshal General cannot secure the authority to instruct the local boards to that effect during the next two weeks, the whole matter will have to go over to a second draft. A second draft is as yet unprovided for, and it may be a matter of months.

The time to get these aliens is now. The armies of France and England await the arrival of our own forces. Every day counts. With the terrible conflict pressing upon us in this way, it seems absolutely necessary to ask that the procedure of diplomacy be speeded so as to give us the army. It is respectfully urged that this matter be given a right of way in the State Department's business. The Senate is ready, the War Department is ready; and everything awaits the prompt removal of this obstacle to the mustering of our forces.

Provost Marshal General.

JHW-fmp