Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-08-18
PLANNING TOCIJRB
DRAFT OPPONENTS
Assistant u. S. District At
torney Expects to Make
Move Monday
ATTORNEYS FOR BOARDS

Assistant United States District At
torney 7. Henry Walnut is mapping out I
course Of action against persons who arr
alleged to be working In opposition to tht
draft and will probably take definite steps
TO curb these activities on Monday.
Today he conferred with special agents
Of the Department OF Justice and received
Information In regard to the activities OF
several downtown notarles who are alleged
to have garnered considerable money by
preying upon illiterates.
OF even greater Importance In this In
vestigation which has been going on rather
quietly for week Is the work of certain
men who are believed, by the Government
Investigators, to be actually engaged in
scheme to win exemptions for regstrants.
The Federal prosecutor is making every
effort to uncover this clique of conspirators
and is confident that he will succeed In
rounding up every man who In any manner
has tried to interfere with the draft ma
chinery.
In order to keep the fifty-one local draft
boards out of legal tanges and to facilitate
the work of handling exemption claims,
Mayor Smith will today designate f1fty-one
Philadelphia lawyers to act as counselors
TO the boards.
request of Governor Brumbaugh, and draft
officials welcome the aid which the lawyers
will extend.
Although considerable doubt exists con-
eerning the distribution Of Pennsylvania's
citizen soldiers among training camps 1t Is
certain that the Phiadelphians will go to
Camp Meade at Admiral Md. Several
units from this State will be assigned to
Camp Lee at Petersburg, Va. and men
froN the extreme western end of the State
will go to Chillicothe, Ohio.
Philadelphia has been cheated" out of
nearly 1000 men by the assignments of the
official quotas. Edysard J. Cattell, city
statistician, who discovered that the city
was being hit for 1894 men more than her
just share, according to draft regulations,
returned from Washington last night, after
having convinced General Crowder OF the
error he said.
The city will be given credit for that |
number of men at the next draft, 1t was |
announced. The error was caused by dupli- |
cations made by the local boards
All local boards have been warned by |
General Crowder to keep the draft sequence. |
The War Department announced that tho |
boards must call upon men for examination |
IN strict accordance with the way the num- |
bers were drawn. and that they must not |
summon additional men for service until |
the cases of the men ahead of them have |
been disposed Of
The War Department also has learned |
that several of the boards have been work. !
Ing on the basis that mere claims to cx- |
emption are tantamount to exemption and !
were summoning additional men. This Is |
contrary to the regulations, 1t was ex-
piained.
MAYOR ISSUES PROCLAMATION
Mayor Smith has issued proclamation
calling upon all patriotic Philadelphians to
take part In the proposed demonstration on
september l In honor of the young men of
this city called for service in the new army
The Mayor himself will be grand marshal. |
Councils and hundreds of organizations will |
take part 1t is estimated that 64, 900 men |
VIII De In line. The parade will be held
IN the afternoon on Broad street Septem-
Der falls on Saturday this year.