Reading Eagle (October 10, 1940)
16,000,000 AMERICANS EXPECTED TO REGISTER FOR ARMY SERVICE
By E. C. Daniel
Washington, Oct. 10 (AP) –
Some 16,404,000 young men of America will spend about 20 minutes each next Wednesday, October 16, signing up for the greatest personal obligation ever imposed upon such a large group of United States citizens in peacetime.
Once he puts his name on a tan Selective Service registration card, every young man must stand ready for four years, at least, to join the country’s armed forces on short notice.
He must be prepared, if called, to give up a year of his home life and career to the nation, or even more if Congress decrees a state of national peril.
He must carry at all times a government identification card, notify a local board if he extends to take an extended trip and obtain permission to leave the country.
And he must inform the board of any major change in the number of his dependents, his job, his citizenship status and physical condition.
First, without any written notice other than the publication, posting and broadcasting of state and national proclamations, he must present himself for registration.
Who Must Register
All men from 21 through 35 years of age must register, with the following exceptions:
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Members of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and their Reserves.
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Members of the Coast Guard, Coast and Geodetic Survey, Public Health Service and National Guard.
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Cadets of the U.S. Military Academy and Coast Guard Academy, midshipmen of the Naval Academy, and those who have been accepted for those schools.
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Diplomatic representatives, senior ROTC and NROTC students and aliens who have not declared their intention of becoming citizens.
Registration will take place October 16 between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. local time. President Roosevelt has asked employers to give time off, if necessary.
Men must register at the polling place nearest home (in some states and cities, schools will be used instead). The government will not pay transportation to registration places. Those who are away from home may register at the nearest precinct or school. Most public officials, policemen, firemen, newspapers, radio stations and post offices will know the registration places.
Those who are at sea or aboard must report to their local Selective Service boards for registration within five days after returning.
Those Who Are Ill
Any man who is ill and not in a hospital may send any competent person to the registration board to be deputized as a registrar and take his registration. Those who are quarantined or too sick to register must report as soon as possible after recovering. Those in hospitals will be registered by special registrars, who also will be appointed at camps, schools, colleges, etc.
Superintendents or wardens of insane asylums, jails, penitentiaries and reformatories will register inmates on the day of their release. National park superintendents will register residents and visitors in their territories. Superintendents of Indian reservations will do the same. Company commanders will register CCC enrollees.
Registrars, who generally will be election officials or school teachers, will want to know from each man his name, age, permanent mail address, telephone number, occupation, employer, nearest relative and citizenship status. Care will be exercised to register all data correctly. Each registrant will be interviewed an average of 20 minutes. His general description will be placed on the back of his card.
After registering he will receive a card certifying that he has registered. He must carry that card with him at all times. In 1917, men unable to produce cards often were rounded up on suspicion of being draft dodgers. Any man losing his card should apply for another.
Each registrant will receive a booklet informing him what his duties and obligations will be thereafter. The theme is:
Remember it is your duty to learn what your local board is doing about you.