The sun., 1917-08-11
WILSON GUSTS
DRAFT BOARD IN
CITY DISTRICT
Louis 1. Cherry, DR.. Groehl
and DIR. Bernfeld Sum-
marily Removed.
IRREGULARITIES ALLEGED
Adjutant-General Takes Over
the RecOrds-Whitman
Orders Prosecutions.

BY direction of President Wilson, the
three men constituting Division No 80
OF the Exemption Board force of New
York city-Louis l. Cherry DR.. Henry
Michael Groehl and DR.. Samuel J. Bern
feld-were summaTily removed last night
and Roscoe S. Conkling. representing the
Acknowledgement OF New York, took
charge of their records at Public School
IS. at Lewis and Rivington streets.
The removals were made because Of
irregularities reported to have occurred
In the disposition OF draft cases. A new
board will be named to take charge of
the district. and all the cases upon which
the three men have passed will be re-
considered.
For come days Mr.. Conkling had been
receiving letters and telephone messages
making complaints concerning the
boards work. Agents of the Department
OF Justice were assigned to investigate.
The result was stated in this order from
the AaJutant-General. which was ad-
dressed TO each OF the board members:
You are hereby notified that by di.
rection Of the President you are sum-
marily removed from the local board Of
Division 80 for the city Of New York.
and that your appointment as such MEM
Der Of said board and all OF the author
ity and emoluments Of the office vested
in you hereby cease and terminate.
Done at 5 20 o'clock p NJ. August 10,
1917. l.. W. SrorEsBrRr,
"Adjutant General"
Gov. Whitman ordered that the
charges upon which the three men had
been removed he made the basis for
prosecution at once.
COnkIinE Gets Records.
When Mr.. Conkling got the order for
the removal II was S o'clock He hurriei
around TO The school building TO take
possession OF the records and found the
board members had gone home He sent
Al once for John Black, janitor of the
school building. to open the doors and
permit the States representative to re-
cover the books and papers belonging to
the office.
The order which came to Mr.. Conkling
from the Adjutant-General at Albany
was as follows:
Because OF irregularities reported TO
have occurred in Local Exemption
Board. division 80, located at Lewis
and Rivington streets, Borough Of Man
haitian, and after an investigation for
the last few days on the part of the
Department of Justice. GOV. Whitman
al 80 p. VI. this afternoon trans
mitted the following order 10 the Ad-
jutant-General:
l. Cherry, Dr, Henry NJ. Groehl and DR..
s. J. Bernfeld are summarily removed
from local board. division 90, city of
New York, and all cases upon which
they have acted will be reopened by the
new board. which will be appointed at
once.
"'Gov. Whitman urges that the
charges now made be prosecuted to the
fullest extent"
.2S Men Examined.
During FIVE days the local board had
examined 7cS men. Out OF this total 3l7
were listed as physically qualified and
sos were rejected. The board held los
for reeNamination. Sixty-five letters of
notification sent out by the board were
returned because the post office was un-
able to deliver them. The district called
1900 men TO fill its quota OF 2l3. There
are 600 aliens on the list yet to be ex-
amined or reeNamined.
1t was stated in Albany last night that
Gov. Whitman had been in close touch
with the investigation conducted by the
Department of Justice.
I'VE urge that these men be prose-
cuted vigorously said the Governor
hen asked to comment upon the re-
niuvals.
Max Noble of 299 Rivington street.
clerk for the board, and Samuel Gotlieb.
Harry Hecht and Irving KrsnZ, who
had been employed to assist him. came to
the schoolhouse shortly after the States
representatives arrived. The three cler-
ical aids were chiefly concerned about
the payment OF the $3.50 a day they
had been promised.
Noble said the total registration in
the district was 1879 and that OF the
1900 called the board had examined,
about 400 a day He said the districts
quota had been filled by O'Clock yester-
day afternoon. Noble told Mr.. Conkling
that half the registered strength OF the
district was alien and that many men
who were registered lodged examina-
ton. He turned over his records to Mr.
Conkling, who handed them TO the police
for keeping until the new board is
named,
Mr.. Conkling said he would not order
the arrest Of the members OF the board
unless directed by the Department OF
Justice TO do so. He added that he had
had no such direction up to midnight.