No rush to US post offices on first day of draft registration

There were no long lines at US post offices July 21 when the first 19-and 20 -year-old men were to begin registering with the US Selective Service System. At some post offices, there were no lines at all.

Chicago's Downtown LaSalle Street office closed its special window after a morning in which only four men registered, and business was equally slow throughout the Chicago area.

Registration was also on the light side in New York City, with the largest number at the main post office. In Houston, only two men had registered in the early morning hours; in Indianapolis, only a dozen men had registered at the main post office in the Federal Building by noon.

In Massachusetts, an early check showed only one registration in Brookline; five in Belmont; six in Cambridge. About 50 men had registered at the main post office in Boston, but some said they gave false information, a course advocated by anti-draft demonstrators who staged a sit-in around the building entrances in the late morning hours.

Some men in eligible age groups who watched the demonstrations in Boston said they had not registered yet because they felt confused and were unsure of what course to follow if they object to the draft.

The demonstrations were relatively small and primarily in the large cities.