The Tabor independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1913-19??, 1918-04-11
Clever EXCUSES ARE
PUT UP BY SLACKERS
While Others Who Want to
Serve Are Equally Ingenious
About Getting In.

Kansas City, Mo-. Coy mail)-The
very serious business Of selecting from
1.-the manhood Of Kansas City and Vicin-
ldty the representatives in the national
army was attended by muc humor and
tpathos. The draft appeal board from
ttts opening session was besieged by
kthropgs who sought to serve their coun-
[ try in any but a military way and ex-
haustsR their ingenuity in thinking up
( reasoi.s why they should not be draft
| ed. And in contrast, there were those
| who yearned fo- army life 4 some
times were hard put to it to prove
| they would be useful to their country
| In soldier uniform.
I There was the man who declared, in
! answer to a question as to why he
thought he should be exempted. that
! no other man IN the world except him.
self could live with his wife. To this a
member Of the draft board replied: If
* should tell her on what grounds you
I arc asking exemption, I'll bet you
| couldn't either"
There was the representative Of a
county organization who asked the dis
| trict board that his entire county be
dealt with leniently since it was an
I agricultural county and there was the
| woman OF AZ years who asked exemp-
| ton for her 3~0-year-old husband be-
cause she loved him so much. There
was a coffee salesman who pointed out
that several hotels oul suffer II he
! were called to tho colors.
4 Likewise there was n petition signed
By 40 members Of a Sunday school con-
q Hted in a rural church five miles from
q Stown asking for exemption for the
| "A .hool's superintendent and asserting
tie chool could not be maintained
1thout his leadership.
! Work for the government did not ex-
tmpt from military service. A post
raaster in vain filed an affidavit that a
Iural mail carrier was necessary to the
Jiroper distribution Of the mail on his
tpute and q district draft board refused
10 make any concessions for al assist
emit secretary Of q state board OF agrt-
culture seeking exemption on indus
trial grounds, although many influential
public men were interested in his case.
THE physical director Of 4 high school
who q charge OF the scnool military
Grill was not exempted.
| On the other hand a deputy United
1Itates collector OF internal revenue was
placed in division !, class 3, as a neces-
sary government employe. He was en-
gagged in technical work In the admins
tratton of the income taxi law.
One Buchanan county mar assigned
five reasons to the appeal board why
he should be exempted. lie said he was
unde weight, had a crippled foot and
defective eyesight. These reasons were
rejected. Then he claimed he was the
sole support OF his father and, that be-
ing disallowed, made II claim. he was
q farmer working on land his father
s sSSss III was e0F''i'oo Tor the national
Although the small salaries given
country school teachers in this as in
other states are notorious, many school
boards In the Kansas City district filed
~affidavits that the teachers were neces-
sary in educational work.
In n case IAN act Of God" was re-
sponsible for an exemption claim. The
overlooking OF the Platte river in Buch-
anan county devastated the farm of the
| grandfather Of q man already serving
at Camp Funston. The grandparents
~neighbors petitioned the district draft
| board to return the grandson from
l training camp.
Some actual fraud and deceit was
| found among those seeking to avoid
military service. One man. asking ex-
emption on the ground that he was the
| sole support of his wife, challenged the
/ draft board to find that either he or his
1 wife had funds or property. They ac-
\ copied and discovered he had q bank
I account OF about $4,000 that had been
I hidden In a safety deposit box and that
his wife owned property.
Another man became Ill when noti-
ticu w AtpOl " SCI VICE anu his I1OIIlcr
| asked that he be examined and ex-
e1nTted because mentally unbalanced.
The doctors made a written report,
| finding that the mans mental condition
was brought on by his own volition.
Some queer exhibits reached the draft
boards to back up claims for depen-
idency. One man produced a jewelers.
diamond guarantee issued last April to
prove q dependency claim in the case of
marriage since May 13. He passed q
dependency claim although married last
September. He had been ngaged in
the spring. he explained, and to prove
1t pinned the engagement ring guaran-
tee to his QUESTIONABLE. Love letters
were offered to show intention to mar
~ before the draf. law menaced and
q Wichita paper with news Of an an
nouncement party and pictures Of the
bride and bridecroom-to-be was sent to
q draft board. To prove that one bride
groom was no marriage Stacker" a
Jewish couple sent in n marriage con-
tract made out last winter.