The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-01-31
Bv John s. Hogan)


 If Jack Dempsey is a stacker, then | I am a stacker and the man in the | first line trench was a stacker.
 Jack Dempsey is No Stacker
 As Chairman of the Local Board ] which passed upon his exemption l claims and placed him in deferred | classification. I am in a position to make this unqualified statement.
 Dempsey at no time impressed me as a man who would willingly shirk his military duty. do not believe he knows the meaning of fear and l was convinced from what conversa- tion I had with him, and from my
 own investigation, that were it my
 duty to have placed him in Class IA he would have gone to serve his country without question or appeal. The exemption laws were, clear enough on the point of deferred c1as- sification and Dempsey had not merely one valid claim for exemption from military duty, but three His statements made to me under oath were such that I had no other re- course than to place him in Class A. His duty was to his dependents-that was clear.
 The circumstances in the Dempsey l case. as they came under my obser- vation, were theSe:-
 1 I had just returned from a, vfsss 70 1 San Jose one evening when my Home l phone rang. was told there was a | registrant at the office in the Hall of Justice who wanted to have his l classification made at once as he was l leaving for the East the next day. Re quests for immediate classification l were frecuent then for it was at this l time a drive was on picking up non ! Exyor a ble was in A and did not have his | card to prove it he would be lodged
 in jail.
 Dempsey was waiting for me when I arrived at the hall. Jack Kearns
 who was with him, spoke up and in troduced Dempsey as the man who
 wanted to be classified. I had never
 seen either one before and did not
 know Dempsey even by reputation.
 As a matter of fact, his pugtlistic
 record at that stage of his career in 1917 was not such as would command l attention any more than that of the 1 average four round boxer.
 Dempsey explained that he was leaving for the East the next day for
 a War Charity fund. He wanted his | Local Boards permission to go and needed his classification card to pro-
 tect him, and from being picked up l and jailed.
 Dempsey said his questionnaire was 1 on file-he merely asked to be claS- ; sified so he would know where he stood in the draft.
 I secured Dempsey's questionnaire and read it thoroughly. He had sci forth three claims for exen pt ton, hav- , ing been helped in making it out by g . member of the Advisory Board. He ! , ing his parents-was also supporting , 1 an invalid brother and sister and 1T
 addition he was making payments or
 a ranch for his parents. He made nc
 further staten ent-mere1y setting forth the facts.
 I investigated his claims thorough, , ly, though, as I have said, the estab- fishing of the validity of just one o1 the claims was sufficient to force me
 as government official to place hin in deferred classification.
 I was satisfied with Dempsey: 1 claim at the time and had no hesi : tansy in placing him in Class A
 nor have I since been convinced tha y his classification was wrong or tha: 3 his claims for exemption were to bt disregarded any more than the thou s sands of others who came under my g Jurisdiction as an Exemption Boar< a Chairman. Kearns mentioned at thu I time that it was Dempsey's intention
 to box throughout the country fo various war stunts.
 3 My personal opinion was that s man who was able to earn thousand e of dollars for the Red Cross and tn s various war charities was more valu s able to his government in that capa = city than carrying a gun.
 R11f iroy n sonal point, boxing for the War Fund y was not a ground for exemption, no Il was 1t urged such by Dempsey e To recognize boxing for war charitie = as a valid claim for exemption wouIt
 be much the same as accepting do q nation of money to war charities as 2 good and sufficient reason for defer r red classification.
 K From the night Kearns and Demp t sey appeared at the Hall of Justfc - I did not see them until the evenin, f that Dempsey boxed Willie Meehal V here for war fund. I was curiou s then t9see Dempsey, for he had be a come We'll known for his ring worl d during his Eastern trip. I have no l. seen Kearns or Dempsey since thel q and doubt if I would know Kearn 5 if met him again
 = Dempsey was and is in no sense d stacker or draft dodger. If the gov
 ernment as represented by me a e chairman of the Local Exemptio, IS Board 13 did not see fit to call upol o him for military duty, his position il Il the matter cannot be questioned n I may add that the fact that Dennp = sey was able to get by John S. Ho = gan is, in the eyes of any of the boy IS who passed through Board 13, proc n that his claims were just and valid \. I had the reputation, the boys toll d me, of recognizing both in spirit an
 to the letter, that the government ha n appointed me to secure as many mili 1t tary eligibles as possible, and I be e lieve I did. The Hoganizing proces IS of Board Is was by-word around tn Is Hall of Justice.
 r, The fact that Jack Dempsey was nc
 1 taken in the draft after registerin
 with my Board absolves him and hi 1T war record from any blame or cen