Norwich bulletin., 1920-09-01
WAR DEPARTMENT CLEARING

UP DRAFT DESERTERS' RECORDS The war department is promising to publish before long the complete list of 1 the names of draft deserters. but before | 1 doing so is making effort to clear uo all | i the cases reported by local draft boards | i so that DO injustice shall be done to any 1 man. Already the names of about 165, 900 l men have been removed from the de- serters' list since they had their cases |
 disposed of during the war. These were ] men who came under the following clas- l | Sifcations
 (a) Registrants who enlisted in the
 army, navy or marine corps, but failed
 to inform their local boards of the fact.
 (b) Men who failed to report for military duty, because of ignorance of | the selective service act but who, after learning of the seriousness of the o1- fense, reported to military camps for service, and were restored to duty, after > satisfactorily showing that their offense was not wilful. l (c) A small number of persons, who
 during the progress of the war were con victed of desertion, or discharged as physically unfit for service.
 (d) Registrants who died after their induction orders were mailed.
 Of the remaining 325,O00 names, the
 records of 151,000 showed that they
 could not properly be charged with de- sertion, and their records of 173,00O reg istrants revealed that they had been or
 dered to report for military duty and wilfully failed.
 Out of over 24.900,000 registrants, the maximum number chargeable with will ful desertion is 173 911: considerably
 less than one per cent. of the total reg
 istration. and a tremendous improve
 ment over the draft record of the Civil
 war. The war department. in the near
 future, will publish to the country a list of men classified as wilful deserters. and desires to obtain the cooperation of
 the various state and local officials pa
 triotic societies and other agencies, in
 cluding the department of justice in
 bringing about the apprehension of these
 men, Assurances of such cooperation have in many cases already been given.
 Exact copies of the list of names, 7 grouped by states or other convenient divisions will be available for postmas- ters, police stations and other agencies. 1 Pending publication of the list of de- Il serters, any man charged with draft de- sertion who wishes to avoid the humilia- Il tion of arrest may voluntarily surrender at the nearest army post camp Or sta | ton, in order that his case may be in : vestigated and his status definitely de- termined. In the event that any such : t mans case shall have been finally dis 2 posed of, prior to the publication of the Il list of deserters. his name will be omit
 ted from that list.
 Any draft registrant who is in doubt > as to his draft status may write to the T adjutant general of the army, Washing u ton, D. c. and find out how he is clas-
 sfied notwithstanding the fact that ig- II norance of such status is the registrant's
 own fault, because of his lack of interest . in keeping track of his obligations to the 5 ! government.
 - The war department wishes 1t clearly " understood that men who are guilty of . wilful desertion will not be relieved of ; ! the consequences of their misconduct
 nor will they be discharged merely be- ! cause they write to the adjutant general a of the army and request discharge.
 While the war department is prepared - to give full information to the draft
 regstrants requesting it. as to what > evidence will be required in order to ob-
 tain discharge, the documentary evi- -- dence required will be most rigidly ex- Q amined when it is submitted and must # show conclusively that no snjustice is
 done to the government in granting a q discharge
 ;, Draft deserters are men who regis. d tered, and who were ordered by the
 draft authorities to report for military l. duty at a specified time and place. ant e who did not so report Such men are $. by law held to have been inducted into d the military service Of the United States o where they remain until they are dis V charged. They are subject to trial by
 courts marshal for their offense of de e sertion.
 Il Draft delinquents are men who were . required by law to register but whc is failed to register, or who, although they \. registered, as required, failed to repor
 for physical examination, or failed tC return properly executed questionnaires r. Those delinquents have not been in h ducted into the military service ant l. consequently are civilians, not subject t,
 trial by military courts. The depart ic ment of justice is charged with brngin, ,f these offenders to punishment, and ha It indicted thousands of them before tn,
 federal courts of whom a consderabl r. number have been convicted The of h. fense of draft delinquency is no more t
 be overlooked than that of draft deser d tion. The department of justice ha le most ably cooperated with the war de E. partment in experimenting draft desert
 CTS
 of The war department has temporartl, of suspended the payment of the reward o
 $50 for the apprehension and deliver, i'd to military authorities of draft deserter T. because of the tremendous expense tha e. would be incurred. The patriotism an,
 universal desire of the people to see n to draft deserter go unpunished, it is be It lieved will be sufficient incentive with er out the offering of a reward for the an
 prehension and surrender to militar CT authorities of those draft offenders