Milford chronicle., 1917-08-31
TO RAISE AN ARMY
WITHOUT HARDSHIP
General Crowder Wires Governor
Townsend In Regard To Mat
ter Of Exemption.

The following telegram was receiv-
ed this week by Governor Townsend
relative to the exemption OF married
men from military service:
Washington, Aug. 27, 1911
Governor OF Delaware, Dover, Del:
First-A feeling has been expressed
that, in passing on claims for dis
charge on the grounds of dependents,
local boards ought, in no case. to
refuse a discharge to a married man
or to the head of a family. The law
under which local boards act re-
duires that, before such a discharge
Is granted, dependency as well as re-
lationship must be established. The
matter having been presented to the
President, the following are his ord
ers thereon:
I'VE ought as far as practicable to
raise this new national army without
creating the hardships necessarily en-
tailed when the head of a family is
taken, and l hope that for the most
part those accepted in the first call
would be found to be men who have
not yet assumed such relations"
The selective service law makes
the fact of dependents, rather than
the fact Of marriage, the basis for
exemption and there are, undoubt-
edly, many cases within the age lin
its fixed by law, Of men who are
married and yet whose accumulations
or other economic surroundings are
such that no dependency of the wife
exists in fact. Plainly, the law does
not contemplate exemption for this
class of men.
The regulations promulgated on
June 80, 1917, should be regarded as
controlling in these cases and the or
ders issued under that regulation, di-
recting exemption boards to establish
the fact of dependents in addition to
the fact of marriage ought not to be
abrogated.
Second-The attention of this Office
has been invited to the fact that, in
in a few instances, local boards have
certified to district boards as held
for military service, men whose fam
lilies are acually dependent upon them
for support on the theory that the
wife is able to work and should be
put to the necessity Of going to work
to support herself and children.
This situation is addressed in the
following opinion of the district
boards of New York city, in which
opinion this Office cOncurs, with the
understanding that the phrase. sup
port available from relative" is sup
port partial or total previously ex-
tended to the applicant himself: I'VE
do not concur in the view suggested
in some quarters that in case of wife
and children actually dependent on
applicants labor for support, and
where there are no other means Of
support, the wife should be put to
the necessity Of going to work to
support herself and children. Bona
fide dependency of wife and children
on labor of applicant where in his
absence they will be left without rea-
sonably adequate support, after duly
taking into consideration soldiers
wage and support available from rel
atives, as stated in the ruling Of the
provost marshal-general, is ground of
discharge"
This opinion clearly and adequately
expresses the intent Of the law in this
regard.
Third-Paragraph B. compiled rul-
ings of this office, No. 6, addressed
a state of affairs where the parents
or other relatives of the wife OF hus-
band are able, ready and willing ade
quately to support the wife and chill
dren, if any, during the absence of the
husband This ruling was responsive
to a class of cases that had been
brought to the attention of this Office
where claims for discharge had been |
made on the ground of dependency on
a husband, who, as a matter OF fact, /
was not dependent upon himself. The /
ruling directed the attention Of local /
boards to the fact that scrutiny Of
cases of this kind might disclose that I
no discharge was available
1t was not intended that paragraph |
B of the compiled rulings should ap- |
ply to the case OF the head OF fam [
lily whose family at the time Of his I
summons and prior thereto, were and /
had been mainly dependent upon his .
labor for support.
Fourth-Instance in which local /
boards have been in error in respect /
to these two classes Of cases are rare. |
It was to be expected that with some |
4,500 exemption boards there would /
be some un-uniformity Of decision in
this regard. To provide against this /
un-uniformity, section 27 of the regu
lations provides for the automatic ap
peal of all dependency cases to the
district boards. District boards
should scan the decision of the local
boards on questions of dependency
and wherever it appears that such de-
cisions are Illegal as in the two cases
Just mentioned or otherwise, or where
these decisions seem to be so far un-
uniform as to result in an unequal Op
Grafton Of the law, or modify the de-
cision of the local board.
HnOWnEn