Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-08-01
Draft Ruling
More Drastic


Continued from Page One
told to appear for physical examination.
Many seemed to think their claims had
been overruled by the board and that the
hope Of exemption was futile.
MAYOR SEEKS TO SPEED DRAFT
Mayor Smith intends to speed up the
city's draft machinery and has asked the
State military officials In Harrisburg to
cooperate. Today several complaints were
sent to the Mayors Office concerning the
failure of the adjutant generals Office to
forward master lists showing the order of
the drawing and other data which enter
into the draft. Thus far the boards have
been calling men from uncertfed lists
printed in the newspapers. Word came
back from Harrisburg that the master lists
have been mailed to each district exemption
board and that district quotas will be sent
out in day or two The boards have
had no official knowledge of the drawings,
because of this delay,
A majority of the boards have set Fri
day as the day to send notices to the con-
scripts and as the latter have five days Of
grace before appearing for physical ex-
animation it will be next Wednesday before
an appreciable number Of men appear for
the tests.
The exemption claims of married men
are to be handled with great care for the
mayor is particularly anxious tnat no
eligible shall escape army service through
the medium of a false affidavit. Men who
can prove their claims to exemption be-
cause of dependents will have no trouble
obtaining releases but as each case is to
be tried separately, the fraud and faker will
experience trouble.
CLOSE WATCH on TENDERLOIN
This is particularly true of the tenderloin
characters who have no visible means Of
support Although many of them are mar
ricd it Is certain that few will receive
exemptions Boards having jurisdiction of
the wards in which this type of Conscript
lives have been warned to exercise great
care in the examination of such cases and
have been told to consult police and court
records in all cases where there is the
slightest suspicion in regard to the charac-
ter of the applicant.
An official omission that is causing
trouble is the delay in sending physical eX-
animation report blanks to the district ex.
emption boards. Thus far doctors in the
city districts have been marking down the
data In notebooks. From these they will
copy the records on the blanks when they
arrive.
TRAPS LAID FOR SLACKERS
Traps are being laid for the physical
Stacker" Continued reports reach Washing
ton of plots for temporarily incapacitating
drafted men. To guard against this strict
| orders have been issued to all examining
| physicians. All known tricks have been eX-
| planned. Exemption boards may hold men
| for service If they have reason to believe
| they are shammng.
Exemptions will be heavy in all sections
| of Philadelphia where live families in ordi-
| nary circumstances, according to Alfred
| Heymann a member of the exemption board
| Of the Thrty-ninth District, located al
| CT a
| In his own district, Heymann said. so
per cent Of the men registered are mar
ried, and the great majority of them are
| exempt; % per cent are aliens, and they
| are exempt. Heymann said he Thirty-nlntt
| district in order to get its quota Of 261 will
| have to summon at least 1000 men for
physical examination. That means. he said
! that it will be September / before the dis.
| trict gets it's quota Virtually the same
| conditions. he asserted. prevail in all dis
| trcts in South Philadelphia, and in dis
| trcts in other sections of the city where
| reside large numbers Of working people
| There are 32i1 men of the draft list OF
the Thrty-niuth district.
| Following instructions from Harris
| burg" said Heyman, 1--WE are completing
| our lists before summoning the men fo
| physical examination. We will begin I,
summon the men on Friday. and the frs
| batch will appear for examination five day
| later-next Wednesday"
| In reference to the eXempting of married
men, Heyman said that in the districts
| where large percentage of the married
men are poor, exemptions will be yer,
| heavy.
"In those districts" he said, where peo.
pie are in very ordinary circumstances
| there is nothing else to do but exempt tn,
| married men. There Is just one question t.
| consider: Is the wife dependent upon the
husband for support? If she is, the hus
band must be let off from military service
| Major Charles ID. Warren made this very
| plain in his recent address in Philadelphia
before the exemption boards of this city.
! Now as to men who married after tn,
enactment of the draft law. | don't care
| If man was married last night. There Il
| only one question the exemption board car
| consider. Is his wife dependent upon him
few have married to escape military
service. but the great majority, l believe
had no such thing in mind
Now as to cases where it is found tina
| wives are working in stores, shops, etc.
| for small wages. Does her earnings pro
| hbit her from seeking exemption for hel
| husband? I think not 1t Is certatnl,
| nobodys business what she does with hel
| earning of maybe eight or nine dollars 8
week. She may be supporting an aged
mother or father with it. Despite hel
earnings she may be dependent upon hel
|
claim exemption If such is the case.
| THE matter of exemption on account
| OF marriage will be more of a compli
Gated problem in wealthier sections of thu
city, where many wives have private in
comes and are not dependent upon thei
| husbands for support"
MANY EXEMPT IN SEVENTH DISTRICT
In the Seventh District, which takes il
| wards Nine and Ten, there was evidenc
today that exemptions will be heavy. Their
are 3040 registered men in the district. o
that number, 925 are aliens and exempt
about 1000 are married men, the majorit,
of whom have dependent families.
| E. c. Atkinson, secretary of the board
said: THE exemptions will be very grea
in our district. 1t .s safe to say that onl.
about a third of the men registered are no
exempt. This Is a dubious situation, bu
the War Department has laid down tn
rules and exemption boards must follow
them"
The number of those who are accepte
and rejected In the Thirty-second conscrip
tion district, Thirty-fourth Ward, Overbrool
Pa, is running about fifty-ffty today. TIL
men are reporting for examination at tn