An explanation as to how the 1917 draft was conducted. Illustrated with three charts, the article provides the number of males in the U.S. at that time (54,000,000), how many had registered under the Selective Service Act (26,000,000), the percentage of the whole number who had never registered and how the onslaught of the influenza epidemic had affected the W.W. I draft.
"In the fall of 1917 the first half million came rapidly. During the winter the accessions were relatively few, and those that did come in were largely used as replacements and for special services."
It was later discovered that a full sixty percent of the invalided Doughboys were mentally deficient, and the Army was unable to screen them out - you can read about that here
Click here to read more statistics about the American military of the First World War.
