Morris was scheduled to play in the ill-fated 1919 series, but was arrested by the United States for alleged draft dodging and jailed. He received a sentence of two years, to be served at Alcatraz. Amazingly, the fact that he was a British subject did not stop the American authorties from arresting him, as by treaty, he was supposed to register for the draft (then claim exemption,) but he neglected to attend his physical, thus making him the "first foreign national on the West Coast convicted of draft evasion." By fall he was transferred to an Army unit and in March 1920 granted an honourable discharge.