New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-08-15
Volunteers Will Aid Ex-
emptors in Passing on
Exemption Claims
Appellate Board Busy
Half of Local Districts Have
Lists Ready Showing
Men Qualified

The man who is "out TO beat the
draft" will find his shedding harder
than ever from this time on.
There will be added to-day to the
ranks Of the official beaters who have
been drumming him from cover
small army OF lawyer volunteers, out
OF which will be detailed one man to
sit with each Of the city's lS9 local
exemption boards.
Nominally the men thus detailed
will be special assistant Federal dis
trict attorneys, but it will be their
job to conserve, as we'll as the in
terests Of the nation, the interests OF
the state and of the next man.
Where it appears that local board
has taken. more into consideration the
comfort Of the individual than the
need Of the nation in granting dis
charge, the new special ASSISTANTS will
take an appeal to the district board.
They also will investigate complaints
against slackers, which are bound TO
be turned In by the thousand when
the drafted men are finally marched
away and their friends and relatives
begin to wonder about the youths who
didn't 60.
Volunteers Meet To-day
The lawyer volunteers, who will meet
this afternoon to organize in the rooms
Of the Bar Association, will be under
the central direction of Roger B. Wood,
who as an Assistant United States Dis
trict Attorney prosecuted practically
all the German plot cases.
Mr.. Wood. now in private practice as
q partner Of George Gordon Battle, will
establish headquarters in the State Ar
senal with Roscoe s. Conkling, di-
rector Of the city draft.
There will be another and equally
important meeting in the Ear Associa-
ton rooms tomorrow afternoon, when
members of the nine district boards
Of New York State will get together,
consider the various types Of appeals
and industrial exemption claims to be
handled and take steps that will lead
TO uniformity Of action. For the gath
ering Charles f. Hughes, chairman Of
the New York City district board, sent
out invitations by wire yesterday.
with its clerical force recruited up
and working at top speed under the
direction Of Frank Gallagher, former
State Senator from Brooklyn, Mr..
Hughes's board managed to keep pace
through the day with the work that is
being shovelled upon il. BY nightfall
more than half the local boards had
sent in certified lists showing the
names of men physically qualified for
service and not exempted or dis
charged. As rapidly as they came in
these names, together with serial num-
bers, were transferred to cards and
filed away.
At the same time the FIVE committees
OF the board were in continuous ses-
sion, weighing the merits Of appeals
and industrial cases, and William Ives
Washburn, assistant secretary OF the
board, was holding his daily "recep-
ton" Mr.. Washburn stuck on the job
until evening, by which time he had ad-
vised several hundred anxious regis
trants as to procedure.
Not even an estimate could be had
Of the number of claims in the hands
OF the committees. However, all will
be reported back to the board to-day
and the findings will be made public.
City Troops to Go to Yaphank
II has been decided definitely that
the men from New York City will go
TO the Yaphank camp Men from the
counties south Of Albany also will be