Pursuant to the proclamation issued by me on the 23rd day of September, 1917, you are directed to proceed to organize State Militia Companies in the several counties of the State, beginning in the counties having the largest population.

You will designate an advisory committee of three men for each county and direct such committees to carefully select the members for the militia companies. It is my desire that the men selected shall represent the intelligence, the character and the courage of the communities in which they live. These men are to be the special guardians of our women and children, and the keepers of the peace and order of the State. The service they are to perform requires that the militia roll shall be a roll of honor. I insist that the men selected shall be:-

1. Men who fear God, and make a decent effort to keep His Commandments.

2. Men of fortitude who are able and willing, for the public weal, to face danger and endure hardships without complaint.

3. Men of wuiet minds who will be very careful of human life, but will, when stern necessity demands it, shoot straight to protect the helpless and preserve the peace and order of the State.

These men are to be selected, but not drafted. The organizations are to be composed neither of volunteers nor of drafted men, but of men chosen by the committees because it is believed that they possess peculiar qualifications for the service to which they are called. If any man who is selected shall decline the honor, it will not be thrust upon him. Any unwillingness to serve would indicate that the committee had made a mistake in the selection of that particular man. In designating the advisory committees you will take pains to name men who are themselves patriotic, intelligent, unselfish and unafraid.