830 MEMOIRS NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. [vol.xv. 



Before attempting to evaluate the significance of the data presented in the above tables 

 it would be well to consider carefully some general criticisms of the work. The significance of 

 these data is limited because of two general difficulties inherent in the Army situation at the 

 time the data were gathered. In the first place, the data are representative of draft quotas 

 only and the nature of draft quotas is dependent upon the selective factors at work to produce 

 them. In the second place, the accuracy of the data for any occupational group is dependent 

 upon the accuracy of the personnel methods then operative in classifying recruits occupationally 

 and in differentiating between levels of skill or expertness. These two general criticisms will 

 be discussed in order. 



It must be borne in mind that draft quotas arrived in camps in accordance with the 

 operation of the selective service act. Only those between 21 and 31 were registered prior to 

 September, 1918. More than seven-tenths of those registering were placed in the deferred 

 classes. Provision was made to place in deferred classes (1) necessary skilled farm or industrial 

 laborers in essential agricultural or industrial enterprises, (2) highly trained firemen or police- 

 men in service of municipality, (3) necessary assistant, associate, or hired manager of essential 

 agricultural enterprise, (4) necessary highly specialized technical or mechanical expert of 

 essential industrial enterprise, (5) necessary assistant or associate or sole manager of essential 

 industrial enterprise, (6) all legislative, executive, or judicial officers of the United States, or 

 of State, Territory, or District of Columbia, (7) ministers or students of religion, and all 

 necessary employees in the service of the United States, necessary customhouse clerks, necessary 

 employees in the transmission of mails, and mariners and licensed pilots. In addition to the 

 above deferments for occupational, industrial, and religious reasons we have seven different 

 conditions of dependency involving varying degrees of deferment. 



Of the 6,973,270 total deferments and exemptions we find 473,892 or 6.8 per cent who were 

 given deferred classification because of occupational and industrial reasons; 34,740 or 0.5 per 

 cent because of religious reasons; 3,559,099, or 51.1 per cent, because of various conditions of 

 dependency; 619,727, or 8.9 per cent, because they were already in the military or naval service 

 of the United States; 540,226, or 7.75 per cent, because they were totally and permanently 

 physically, mentally, or morally unfit to be a soldier; and 918,178, or 13.16 per cent, because 

 of alien allegiance. 



The 619,727 men already in the military or naval service of the United States were for the 

 most part members of the various National Guard organizations, or were volunteers in the 

 Regular Army, National Guard, or in officers' training camps, and the naval service. Although 

 there are no figures available, it is probable that this volunteer group is much above the average 

 intelligence of the later draft quotas. The 473,892 men in deferred classes for occupational and 

 industrial reasons are undoubtedly much above the average of men in the same occupation who 

 were not considered to be sufficiently necessary to be given deferred classification. Clearly the 

 selective service act tended to keep out of the Army the most skilled and most intelligent in 

 those agricultural or industrial enterprises that were considered "essential." For this reason 

 one can not hold that the occupational intelligence standards set forth in the above tables are 

 reliable standards of the intelligence of various occupational groups in civil life. 



With the facts in mind concerning the tendency of the selective service act to send men to 

 camp who on the average are probably slightly inferior to the average of the general population 

 we can readily explain some of the inconsistencies involved in figure 57. That farmers should be 

 ranked so low in intelligence is surprising. In all probability the bulk of this group represents 

 unmarried, unskilled farm laborers. The married (with dependents) and the necessary skilled 

 farm laborers in essential agricultural enterprises were exempted according to the provisions 

 of the selective service act. 



The low standing of tailors is probably due to a loose definition of that trade ; many are 

 probably classified as tailors who do routine mechanical machine labor in large tailoring estab- 

 lishments. Also there is probably a large percentage of the group who are of foreign parentage. 

 Such a fact in itself would lower the rating of the group. 



