Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1917-09-27
EXPLAINS OR|E
BROWNS CASE
Papers of Draft Board Fail to
Show That Brown Furnished
Any Affidavits
REQUIRED FOR EXEMPTIONS
Brown was Negligent and Not Draft
Board or Appeal Board il is
Shown.

The case OF Orrie Rueben Brown of
ST. Louis, who was drafted, and was
one of the men to go to Battle Creek
lest Friday has been getting consid-
cradle prominence in the papers of
the state, which evidently have been
written as a big sob story, and with
out thorough going into of the de-
tails of the case.
Some stories on this case have east
reflections at both the local board of
Gratiot county and the district appeal
board at Lansing, which the papers
in the hands of the draft boards,
would indicate were entirely out of
place. Rather do the papers show
that Brown was negligent in his own
case, and not either the local board
OF the appeal board at Lansing.
Orrie Rueben Brown appeared before
the local board for Gratiot county for
examination August 9th, and passed
the physical examination. Following
the physical examination Brown went
out and filed notice that he would
claim discharge on the ground of de
pondents, but did not ask for the
blank afiidavits to fill out, and did not
81 any time secure them, make them
out and file them with the board,
which would give every indication that
he did not intend to file any claim Of
discharge. He had the full time allot-
TED all men to file claim
No claim being filled with its sup
porting ailidavits as is required, he
was passed on to the appeal board as
tit for service by the local board,
which could not well do otherwise
1t should be understood at this
point that the board has not and at no
time has had the time TO inquire into
every individual case which has been
brought up, with over eight hundred
and fifty men appearing before the
board for examination. 1t is plain on
the face of it that the board could not
dc this and it is equally as plain that
the members Of the board would not
know every man appearing for exam
ination and their exact conditions as
to their financial standing and their
need for exemption. This was the
reason that the men were required to
lie afiidavits
His case went to the appeal board
al Lansing. To this board Mrs.
Brown sent the following letter.
St Louis. Mich, Sept. 5, 1917
To the Exemption Board,
Lansing, Mich
Gentlemen:
|, Jessie Leona Brown, wife of Orrie
Rueben Brown, serial number 2454
who is drafted in the United States
service, order number 270. ! ask pro
lection at your hands for his release
We have one small child. We are
wholly depending upon him for our
support, as he is without other means
to care for US.
Yours truly,
Mrs. Jessie Leona Brown
The appeal board at Lansing sent
the following letter to Brown. after
receiving the communication of Mrs
Browns:
Lansing, Mich, Sept IS, 1917
Orrie Rueben Brown,
st. Louis Mich.
Dear Sir:
If you wish to file a claim for ap
peal with this board it will be neces.
sary for you to send us form No l5l
which you obtain from your Local
board. You must send affidavits sup
porting your claim if you make any
Give this matter prompt attention
Respectfully yours,
District Board No 3, Eastern Dis
trict OF Mich. II. d. Luce. Sec'y
The entire set Of papers relatins
to the Brown case fail to show that
Orric Rueben Brown ever secured tn,
form and affidavit blanks from the
local draft board as told by the appea
board to do, or that they were ever
made out and sent to the appeal boarc
at Lansing, indicating clearly that tn,
trouble which has fallen to the lot o
Brown and his family has been be
cause Of his own neglect, everything
having been made plain to him.
The result of Browns not replying
10 the appeal board naturally left tin,
board nothing to do except to certif,
MN AVl e'l NiNNf dN III Niltc tdSts a.
with the one with the local board
there was nothing on which the hoarC
could do in granting him discharg
from the service Of the United States
That he had plenty Of timo in whicl
to get the matters arranged befor
he was certified for service by the APP
peal board at Lansing is shown by tn
following letter of the appeal boar
to the local board twelve days afte
Brown was asked TO send prope
claim TO the district board:
Lansing, Mich, Sept. 25. 1917
Sec. Local Draft Exemption Board,
Ithaca, Mich,
Dear Sir:
This is to certify that no claims TO
exemption or supporting affidavit
were filed with this district board b.
(Continued on mage four)