The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1918-04-11
CLEvE EXCUSES ARE
Put UP BY SLACkERS
While Others Who Want to
Serve Are Equally Ingenious
About Getting In.

Kansas City. Mo. Thy maiD The
very serious business OF selecting from
1.-THE manhood Of Kansas City ana vicin-
I3ty the representatives In the national
army was attended by Tnuch humor and
Epathos. The draft appeal board from
pts opening session was besieged by
EthrongS who sought to serve their coun- I
ktry In any but q military way and ex-
hauste4 their ingenuity in thinking up
reasoks why they should not be draft
who yearned for army life and some
times were hard put to il to prove
they would be useful to their country
IN soldier uniform.
There was the man who declared, in
answer to 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: II
4 should tell her on what grounds you
are asking exemption. I'll bet you.
couldn't either"
county organization who asked the dis
trict board that his entire county be
dealt with leniently since it was an
agricultural county and there was the
woman of Al years who asked exemp-
tion for her 30-year-old husband be-
was coffee salesman who pointed out
lthat several hotels would suffer IL he
were called to the colors.
/ Likewise there was a petition signed
By 40 members of a Sunday school con-
Acted in a rural church five miles from
q $toWn asking for exemption for the
Ia ihools superintendent and asserting
Edie school could not be maintained
! tthout his leadership.
Work for the government did not e1-
stnpt from military service. "A post
| saaster in vain filed an affidavit that a
tural mail carrier was necessary to the
| proper distribution Of the mail on his
toute and q district draft board refused
| 10 make any concessions TOR an assist
nnt secretary OF a state board Of agri-
| culture seeking exemption on indus
trial grounds, although many influential
public men were interested in his case.
| The physical director of a high school
who had charge Of the scnool military
| trill was not exempted.
| On the other hand a deputy United
iItates collector Of internal revenue was
| placed in division /, class 3, as a neces-
sary government employee. He was en-
gagged in technical work in the admins
trat1on of the income tax law,
One Buchanan county man assigned
five reasons to the appeal board why
he should be exempted. He said he was
under weight, had crippled foot and
detective eyesight. These reasons were
rejected. Then he claimed he was the
sole support OF his father and, that be-
a farmer working on land his father
rents. He was certified for the national
army.
Although the small salaries given
country school teachers in this as In
other states are notorious, many schoo
boards in the Kansas City district filed
| affdaVits that the teachers were neces-
sary in educational work.
In one 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 man already serving
at Camp Funston. The grandparents
were left destitute and 40 Of theil
neighbors petitioned the district draf
board to return the grandson from
| training camp.
4 Some actual fraud and deceit wa.
I found among those seeking to avoit
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 hi:
/ wife had funds or property. They &C
I copied and discovered he had a banl
account of about $500 that had bee,
hidden in safety deposit box and tina
his wife owned property.
Another man became i'll when mott
fed to report for service and his mothe
asked that he be examined and ex
en9ted because mentally unbalanced
| The doctors made written report
finding that the mans mental condition
was brought on by his own volition.
Some queer exhibits reached the draf
a boards to back up claims for Deepen
+ dency. One man produced a jeweler'
! diamond guarantee issued last April t.
prove a dependency claim In the case o
marriage since May Is. He passed
dependency claim although married las
September. He had been engaged il
Z the spring. he explained, and to prov
1t pinned the engagement ring guaran
tee to his QUESTIONABLE. Love letter
We're offered to show intention to mar
cry before the draft law menaced an
a Wichita paper with news of an an
noancement party and pictures of tn
bride and bridegroom to-be was sent t
a draft board. TO prove that one bride
groom was no marriage Stacker"
Jewish couple sent in n marriage con
tract made out last winter