The sun., 1918-12-15
CITY DRAFT BOARDS
REGISTER 1,4S2,S59
One Man in Every Four, Be-
fore September Call, Shout
dered Rifle.
100000 WENT FROM HERE
30 Per Cent. Found Physically
Unfit-0nly 1874 Directors
Escaped Service.

with the work of the draft boards
in this city virtually completed, Mar
tin Conboy. who has directed the
activities Of New York's 1s9 boards,
has made public the figures showing
Father Knickerbocker's contribution
TO the National Army.
Mr.. Cowboys figures show that L.
4S2,S59 New Workers registered for
military service, 701,762 in the classes
of June 5, 1917, and June and August
"a, 1918, and 7s1.097 in the class Of
September IL, 1918. OF the latter
class, which included 337671 men be-
tween 10 and So years Of age, S99,145
between 81 and As, and 44,2S1 is years
old, very few men reached the uni
form stage, as the signing of the
armistice, November IL, resulted In
the cancellation of all calls affecting
these groups.
OF the 654,S99 men who registered
June 5, 1917, and the 46,S63 who regis
tered June and August "a of this
year, 1S0.124 found their way into uni
forms, Asst by voluntary enlistment
and 15T,267 through the process of
induction. That Is to say, of the 7O1,-
762 registered prior to the September
u, 1918, call, one man in every four
was found to be suitable material and
eventually shouldered rifle.
Exemption Claims Allowed.
Sixteen and one-half per cent. Of
the registrants Of these earlier classes
were excused from service by virtue
Of their foreign citizenship. OF H.
271 such claims allowed, 45,S57, or s u
per cent. were enemy aliens. The re-
manning 71,414 were non-declarants
who claimed exemption by reason of
that status.
Fairly numerous as their tribe was
the conscientious DIRECTORS do not fig
ure to any great extent in Mr.. Con-
boys tabulations, as only 124 escaped
service by virtue of their scruples
against mixing it with the Huns.
Where these were otherwise available
for service they were sent into the
army and assigned to non-combatant
duties.
About 80 per cent. of the registrants
placed in Class l were found to be
physically unfit for military service,
and Z per cent. Of the men passed by
draft board doctors were subsequently
sent home from camps as being unfit
This does not indicate laxity on the
part Of the local board examiners,
however. according to Mr.. Conboy. AS
a result of experiences in the field
army surgeons were constantly rails
ing the physical standard, so that
while a man might have been fit ac-
cording to the standard the draft
board examiners had been instructed to
set, he might later be adjudged unfit
when subjected to a more rigid test at
camp.
Mr.. Cowboys figures do not. Of
course, include any relating to the men
who entered the military service be-
fore the date for registration of their
respective classes, but estimates based
on these figures place the total num-
her OF New Workers. in the service at
from 100000 to $780, 900 men.
Army Oh De""cc''
TT has been a great democratizing
influence, this draft" said Mr.. Con-
boy at his desk in the Hall OF Rec
ords. 1T took gentlemen and gentle
mems gentlemen from Fifth avenue
the rural SWANS OF Queens. the push
cart men and pedlers Of the lower