The weekly Alaska citizen., 1918-04-22
NOVEL EXCUSES
 ARE PUT FORTH
 TO DISQUALFY

1 ST. LOUIS, MO-, March 30.-The business of sending men to war is serious thing but according to the various exemption boards here, be- fore whom the cases of the thous- ands of prospective soldiers are heard. there are at times bits of comedy Altering through the drab routine of facts and figures.
 Examination of the questionnaires submitted by men of draft age in St. Louis disclosed attempts to avoid service that amounted to the l,,di- crous. For instance, there was the man who declared he should not be sent to Camp Funston because h. was morally unfit" He explained that several days before he had stolen sack of potatoes and, accord ing to his statement, anyone so be- | reft of morals should not contami- nate United States soldiers. The ex- emption board reviewed his case and appended this notation:
 "The man is the victim of tcmpta. tion and is more to be drafted than | censured." He was placed in the | IA class.
 There was also the son of one of the city's wealthiest men who sought exemption upon industrial grounds. He asserted he owned farm and was active in its operation. It was | found that his father had given him small plot of ground, but his ac- tivity in tilling it amounted to an occasional visit to the place to go hunting
 Men seeking exemption because of marriage. although they had wed since the draft law went into effect, were numerous. As evidence of an understanding" before the war start ed they submitted newspaper clip pings and letters.
 A father attempted to save his son from serving by stating to the board that he would refuse to care for his daughter-in-law and that she proba- bly would starve to death. One of the local boards has been troubled with the case of a Russian who claimed exemption because of his dependent wife and three child ren. He explained his family was en route from Russia and was ex- pected almost any day" His classi- fication was postponed from week to week until the board, believing the man was evading them, finally chased him as IA. The day the Russian received his notification he came into exemption quarters, accompanied by his wife and three children. They had arrived just in time to save the husband and father from a hurried trip to the cantonment.
 A newspaper item to the effect that bald-headed men were not wholly acceptable for army service because they offered an obvious target for Teuton sharpshooters was the foun. dation for a popular excuse for ex. emption among scores of bald-headed men. Several stated they were cer. tain they would always be bald headed, because they had for year tried various hair restorers without effect
 Brother" cases attracted attention in many wards. These involved the classification of several brothers from the same family where there were dependents. Instances of four son in one family being liable for servic. were numerous. If the parents were dependent, the boards were in all cases lenient. In one ward when three brothers appeared for classifi cation they requested that one should be allowed to stay at home. The board assented and asked which one would stay. The question was finally settled in the old-fashioned "eeny meeny.miney-mo" system.