The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-01-31

emption claims and placed him in de- ferred classification. am in a posi- ton to make this unoualified sstate- ment
 Dempsey a { no time impressed me as man who would willingly shirk hi@ military duty I do not believe he knows the meaning of fear and | was convinced from what conversation 1 had with him. and from my own in- vestigation. that were it my duty to have placed him4in Class IA he would have gone 10 serve his country with out question or appeal.
 The exemption laws were clear enough on the point of deferred classi- fication. and Dempsey had not merely one valid claim for e&amotion from military duty. but three. His state ments made to me under oath were such that had no other recourse than to place him in Class IA His duty was to his dependents-that was clear. ''The circumstances in the Dempsey case, as they came under my observa- ton. were these:
 "I had just returned from a visit to San Jose one evening when by home phone rang. I was told there was registrant at the office in the hall of justice who wanted to have his classi- fication made at once. as he was leav- ing for the east the next day. Re- quests for immediate classification were. frequent then. for 1t was at this time a drive was on nicking up non registrants. Even if a military eligi- ble was in IA and did not have his card to prove it. he would he lodged in jail.
 Dempsey was waiting for me when arrived at the hall Jack KearEs, who was with him. snolSe up and in- troduced Dempsey a, the man who wanted to be classified. I had never seen either ore before and did not know Dempsey even by reputation. As a matter of fact. his pugilistic record at that stage of his career in 1917 was not such as would command attention any more than that of the average four-round boxer.
 Dempsey explained that he was leaving for the east the next day for a war charity fund. He wanted his To- cal boards permission to 20 and needed his classification card to protect him and from being packed up and jailed
 Dempsey said his ouestionnaire was on file-he merely asked to be classi- fled so he would know where he stood in the draft
 ''I secured Dempsev's uuestionnaire and read it thoroughly. He had set forth three claims for exemDt1on hav- ing been helped in, making it out by a member of the advisory board. He was married fnan-he was~support- ing his parents-was also supportine an invalid brother and sister and in addition he was making payments on a. ranch for his parents He made no further statement merely setting forth the facts.
 q investigated his claims thorough ly, though, as I have said. the estab fishing of the validity of just one Of the claims was sufficient to force me as a government official to place him in deferred classification.
 q was satisfied with Dempsey's claim at the time and had no hesitancy in placing him in Class 4-A--nor have I since been convinced that his classi-s fication was wrong or that his claims for examption were to be disregarded any more than the thousands of oth CTS who came under my jurisdiction as an exemption board chairman. Kearns mention at the time that it was Demp- seys intention to box throughout the country for various war stunts.
 "My personal opinion was that
 man who was able to earn fhOu-
 sands of dollars for the Red Cross
 and the various war charities was
 more valuable to his government
 in that capacity than carrying
 gun.
 "But. viewed solely from an imper- sonal point. boxing for the war fund was not ground for exemption, nor was it urged as such bv Dempsey To recognize boxing for war charities as A valid claim for exemDtion. would be much the same as aceepting a donation of smoney> to war charities as a good