Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1917-08-10
discharge on the ground Of dependent

discharge on the ground Of dependent
relatives.
Such a condition indicates, General
Crowder said that unfair advantage Ia
being taken of the regulations de-
signed to protect men who properly
should be exempted from military serv-
ice, and actually threatens to interfere
seriously with the raising of the ma
tional army.
Message to Governors.
The message to the governors fol-
lows:
Section of the selective service
law exempts no person from military
service on the ground Of dependency
It only authorizes the president to eX"
clude or discharge from draft those IN
a status with respect to persons de
pendent upon them for support when
renders their exclusion or discharge
advisable
''The controlling necessity is to raise
an army. 1t Is advisable to disturb de-
pendents just as little as the necessity
of raising an army will permit. To this
end Section Is Of the regulations was
COmplleQ carefully iAu aAtei 'hS
earnest consideration.
IF experience is to prove that the
generous conditions prescribed by Sec
ton IS, or any abuse of them. Will IN
terfere with the raising Of any army
then it is no longer advisable to dis
charge so wide class and the con-
ditions stated therein will have to be
restricted until an advisable rule is
reached.
Abuses and Their Effect.
,, Nothing has happened to change
the belief that the persons enumerated
in Section IS could be discharged WITH
ont interfering with the raising OF an
army, but there are indications that
abuses of Section IS may render It's
continuance no longer advisable.
Reports are to the effect that IN
some districts as high as so per cent
of persons called before local boards
are fling claims for discharge on the
ground Of dependent relatives.
Such a percentage Of claims when
viewed in connection with all aVallao!e
statistics indicates beyond question
that advantage is being taken or the
provisions of the law and regulations
which were intended to reduce to a
minimum the misery at home normally
attendant upon war
Many Unfounded Claims.
There is afnoral certainty in the ex-
travagance of this percentage that nun
dreds of unfounded claims are includ-
ed in these totals
This state of affairs greatly in
- i,,Il boards for
if so high a percentage of regstrants
claim exemption, only the uncomprom-
Using action of local boards can prevent
a new regulation CT the subject of de-
tendency which shall reduce discharges
for dependency to a far more restricted
class and to very necessitous and clear
ly defined circumstances.
In the absence of a stern repression
by local boards of unmeritorious claims
this result is inevitable since any such
percentage of exemptions as reports of
claims indicate would nullify the law
and prevent the raising of an army.
Hurts Protected Persons.
TT is thus apparent that the filing
of these improper claims will react dl-
rectly and injuriously on persons whom
the present regulations were designed
to protect, and ths. the welfare of per-
sons who have filed bona fide claims
under the present generous clauses OF
the regulations is seriously imperiled
bv persons who have filed claims with
out merit and that the only protection
of persons whose cases are within the
meaning Of the present rules lies in the
power of local boards to refuse exemp-
ton in every doubtful case.
at is true that cases OF discharge on
the ground of dependency are appealed
to the district board but this clause is
only inserted to secure uniformity OF
action. District boards are to examine
these cases to discover departures from
the law, regulations, and ruling, and
they will not and cannot open every
case on its merits. 1t is in the local
boards alone, therefore, that the solu-
ton OF the difficulty and the protec-
ton of deserving claimants lies"
In Camp Before Sept. 5.
In issuing the new national army reg
ulations, General Crowder said that
100000 of the first $4,000 men will be
called up to Sept. l and forwarded to
their camps before Sept. 5.
The whole business Of assembling the
levies at entraining points, providing
them with shelter, food and transporta-
ton, and giving them their actual in