New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1921-05-06
Battle Heroes
Found I'm U. s.
Stacker List
Names of Medal of Honor
Man and a Canadian
Veteran Cited for BRAY
cry ON New York Roll
One Laid to His Double
BENZ. Kaufman, Decorated
iia France, Resembles
Man Sought~ as Deserter

What appeared to be glaring error
In the first list of draft evaders issued
yesterday by the War Department was
explained and defended in a statement
by Secretary of War Weeks in Wash
ington yesterday. The list from Board
81, Brooklyn, included the name Of
Benjamin Kaufman, 1s5 Kosciusko
Street, and it was assumed that this
was the Benjamin Kaufman of 2113
PitiSin Avenue, Brooklyn, who had
served as first sergeant of Company X,
aosth Infantry, and had been awarded
the Congressional Medal of Honor for
conspicuous bravery in the Argonne.
War Department records cited by
the Secretary of War show that the
Medal of Honor man was born in
Buffalo on March 10, 1894, and had
been indicted into the service at Local
Board 10, Brooklyn, on September %,
1917 He was honorably discharged
on Nay 10, 1919. The alleged teserter
was horn in Russia ON June "a. 1894,
and failed to report for service on
September 10, 1917.
Not only do these two men, bear
ing. the same name, come from the
both registered under the draft law on
June 5, 1917. were within four months
of being the same age and entered the
service within four days of each other.
Even physically the two men seem TO
resemble each other, according to the
records on file"
Nine of Them in Army
The War Department also pointed out
that there were nine Benjamin Kauf-
mans in the army.
Peter Kaufman and Louis Kaufman,
father and rothers. respectively, of
the medal winner, said last night that
he had never lived at 1S5 Kosciusko
Street. He is now working in Trenton.
N. ]. No Kaufman was known at 1S5
Kosciusko Street, and it was said that
Benjamin Kaufman never lived there.
No arrests of alleged deserters were
reported at the judge advocates Office
on Governors Island yesterday. Among
the complaints of improper inclusion
in the list was that of William G.
Forbes, a valet of 140 West Fifty
seventh Street, who showed papers to
prove that he had served three years
with the Canadian forces, fighting in
the battles of Amiens and Arras and
receiving the military medal at Cam
brai. Forbes said he left for Canada
a few days after registering in
July, 1917, and joined the 5Sth Bat
talon at Toronto. According to the
military authorities on Governors
Island, Forbes did not inform his draft
board when he left for Canada, assum-
ing that the British Mission would
make the necessary arrangements with
the War Department
Colonel Gullion, judge advocate at
Governors Island, pointed out gester-
day that the government had held off
for two years in publishing the lists,
thus giving all men who had entered
the service without informing their
draft boards Of their actions a chance
to straighten out the records.
Wrote to the Addresses
The judge advocate said that the
War Department wrote to the address
of every man in question before prep
aration of the lists was started. They
were thus given a chance to fix their
individual status. He pointed out that
the registrant was held responsible for
keeping in touch with his local board
under the draft law,
Colonel Gullion was asked why the
lists were being published, thus warn
ing deserters, when they could be
sought for and arrested. He explained
that this was not practically possible
as the army could arrest only army
people and that there is no appropria-
ton fer army Secret Service men to
make necessary investigations.