Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-07-11
SEAL 5TH WARD
DRAFT RECORDS
Major Murdock Acts After
President Wilson Sus.
pends Board
NO. s TO BE ENLARGED
Efforts Being Made to Have
Clinton Rogers Woodruff
Return to Duty

Records OF Local Board No. 4. whic'
mas been suspended by President Wilson
until the Federal Grand Jury probes al
iesed Irregularities. were sealed this a Z
tsrnoon by Major w G. Murdoch. stat,
Disbursing off1cer
They will remain sealed until the sus
pended boards work Is taken over b,
Local Board No 6.
immediately following the announce
ment from draft headquarters that boart
No. would assume charge Of the af.
fairs of No. 4. came the action of Ma tor
Murdock closing the Fifth Ward body's
records.
Local Board No. 6. Of which George
W. Long is chairman, will take up the
WORK OF handling selectives Of Board
NO. next week.
Reorganization work began today to
establish larger personnel for No. s.
because of the increased work
Telephone alls were put in TODAY for
Clinton Rogers Woodruff, former chair
man of Board No, 6, who now is in New
York on a vacation. to have him return
to Philadelphia to take part in the
activities of the larger Local Board
No. g.
1t is understood that Mr.. woodruff,
who resigned recently as head Of the
board, Is particularly desirable to Pro-
vost Marshal General Crowder. and for
that reason draft officials will make
every possible effort to obtain his re-
turn to the board
II Mr.. Woodruff cannot be found by
telephone, he will be certified to the
boards membership anyway.
Besides Mr.. Woodruff. two more men
Will be appointed to the enlarged board
this week
IAN local draft boards in Pennsylya-
MIA have been notified that reportion
Class / registrants preliminary to ap-
portionment of quotas will be requested
within the next two weeks. When the
report is asked nothing shall Interfere
with the prompt compilation" says the
order.
Conditions are such in the Fifth Ward.
II Is said, that any new board ap-
pointed would find itself in the same
position as was the original Board No
4, that is caught between the upper and
neither millstones of the Deutsch. and
Carey factions. Hence the decision to
nave Board No. take over the work
Complaints Are Increasing
Besides the charges already filed
against District Appeal Board No ., of
which Walter Willard is chairman. there
are other accusations of. neglect and
fa,oritism that will be brought by John
2. Dwyer, Of Local Board No 80. Mr..
Dwyer would not go into details about
the new charges today. but intimated
that they were of the same nature as
those fled some time ago.
One of the chief compla atnts against
AnAao1 70 i,
forty-one men who had failed TO report
FOR military service, and who should
have been certified to Major Murdock
- deserters, had been pigeon-holed. The
name of Grover Cleveland Bergdoll is on
This list, and though he is actually de-
eerter. he can not legally be called such,
bot can only be classed as an evader of
the draft law.
The failure Of Appeal Board No to
10 It's full duty, 1t was said by Federal
,nicials today, means that the charge
lgainst Mrs. Emma c. Bergdoll. mother
,f the young man, must be changed
when her case comes up for a hearing
again before United States Commissioner
Long, in the Federal building this after
noon.
She was accused al the first hearing
of aiding and assisting a deserter, but
low the charge is booked 10 be switched /.
70 helping a registrant TO evade the |
iraft law.
Assumes Responsibility
Bronte Greenwood, Jr., chief clerk OF !
Board No. 2, appeared before United
.Sates District Attorney Kane and AS
sistant District Attorney Sterrett today, !
explaining that he assumed all respon- |
stbility for the nonlisting of forty-two |
from the district
: Mr.. Greenwood said the pink Slip
form 146-A--containing the names of .
The deserters reached the district board |
when 1t was still quartered in the Fed
sral Building.
When the board moved, he said. the
Slip was placed in an old filing cabinet !
and was not seen again until about three
weeks ago. when it was found by Green
wood while going over files in the cab
net. He said he gave the slip to J. MIL .
er. clerk of the board. with ingtruc-
ions that 1t be forwarded to the adiu-
'ant general at Harrisburg as quickly as
possible.
Miller failed to forward the list Green
wood said. Greenwood absolved the
BOARD members from blame, saying thew
mad no knowledge of the slips being
Grand Jury Not in Session
There will be no further session of the
Grand Jury, which is probing the
charges against Local Board No. 4 un-
III Monday, but Colonel Easby-Smith, of .
ieneral Crowder's office, will return to
on Saturday and go into
he new charges against rfstrict Appeal
Board No, 2.
Norton, Q. Harris. chairman of the sus-
pended Board, No. 4, said that he well
,omed an investigation in.order that the
actual cckditions may be known. He
ieclared that the board steered clear of
politics and factional fights. especially in
The Fifth Ward, and did not permit
politics TO interfere with operation of
The draft in any way