New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-08-12
Third of Thousand Exemp.
ton Claims Based on o.
cupational Grounds
Cases On Tomorrow
Tangle in Local Boards Re.
suits in Appeal Afidavits
Being Held Up

By tomorrow night half hundred
young New Workers probably will have
heard the final word determining
whether, month hence, they will be
taking orders from civilian boss or
learning how to take trenches from the
Hun
The word will come from the dis
trict board, through its chairman,
Charles Z. Hughes. About thousand
industrial exemption claims and no.
tees of appeal from decisions Of the
local boards had been hled with the
district board up 10 last evening. Of
these about fifty are accompanied by
the proper afiidavits and are in such
shape that, were the higher eXemptors
sitting to-day, they could be immedi-
ately considered.
However, the board will make an
early start tomorrow morning, and its
b-committee should be ready by af-
ternoon TO report back to the full board
on the merits of the cases assigned to
them. Since the disposition Of the
claims is largely prescribed by regula-
ton, it is not unlikely that the sub
committees eyes" or mo" will be at
once ratified and published.
Many Claims Soundly Based
For the most part, the claims that
are ready are soundly based. A good
share are those of munitions workers
standardized and backed by their en-
I ployers. A few are freaks, in dealing
with which the course Of the board is
obvious. One man, for instance, seeks
a discharge over the head of his local
board because meat is part of the army
ration and meat gives him headaches.
Fully a third of the thousand-odC
exemption claims in the hands of the
district board, il is estimated by Sec.
rotary w. B. Davenport, are made or
occupational grounds. The rest are
appeals.
Lack Of coordination between the lsG
local boards and lacLS of understanding
of the regulations on the part of the
public combine to delay action on the
great majority of cases. In the dis
trict boards headquarters, on the thirC
floor of the Federal Building, two
forces Of clerks worked through the
afternoon trying to straighten out the
| tangle.
One portion of the clerical staff wa.
| sending information by letter to regis
trants, whose incomplete claims were a
hand; the other busy transmitting or
ders by telephone to the local boards.
All Documents Unloaded
The regulations require that the low
ell boards send up TO the district boarC
as soon as they receive notice that on,
of their rulings has been appealed, Tho
affdavits upon which the ruling was
based. Few of the exemption divisions
thus far have complied. Some which
have complied, on the other hand, have
been overgenerous and have insisted on
unloading on the district board all the
documents in their possession.
There will be less of red tape in
carrying a case through the district
board than registrants have heretofore
encountered in transaction of business
at local headquarters. Whereas with a
local board only the Federal affidavit
forms could be used in connection with
an exemption or discharge claim, the
district board asks only that aifidavits
be as brief as consistent with clarity
The man with an appeal or an indus
trial claim need only state his case in
his own words.
Among some OF the local BOARD mem
! bers there seems to be prevalent be-
/ lief that with the organization Of the
district board all work of passing on
exemption claims has been lifted from
| their shoulders. OF this the district
board got its information at first hand
yesterday, for many registrants in the
crowd that besieged the Federal Build
ing headquarters said the local boards
, had refused TO permit them to file afti-
davits, insisting they no longer held
T jurisdiction.
The fault here lies with the local
+ board members, many Of whom have
not taken time to study the regula-
tions. First action on all claims, eX-
cepting only those in which the occu-
/ patton of the registrant in industry or
/ agriculture is specified, must be taken
/ by the local boards. From their de-
cision both government and registrant
has right OF appeal.