The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1921-07-01
LETTER ON SUBJECT
1t Is Sent the Free Press
BY COMMITTEES
SHED LIGHT ON NAMES
Men Who Served Their Country
Want to Know Who Run
To Cover.

Publish the slackers' list. This
The request =, made of The Press b
Lorentz Post No. II, The America
Legion Mankato, The reasons TO
this request are set forth i
the following letter which was re
ceired from the committee appointe
by the post to draft the communica
ion. They are explicit and logica
The letter reads as follows:
Lorentz Post No. II, Tho Amerl-
: can Legion, Department OF Mime
sofa, Mankato, Minn., juno 20, 1921.
TO The Free Press: At the meet
Ing Of Lorentz Post No. II. the
American Legion, neId Thursday.
pointed a committee to communicates
with your paper to inform you Of
the position taken by the local Ie-
publication Of the list OF sIackers In
AS near as the committee can as
certain, the public press seems to
be practically unanimous In the
not be published and as near as can
be determined, the reason for the
osition taken by the press, Is that
position taken by the press, 10 thar
be published, through error caused
many men voluntarily enlisted In the
service, after their registration for
the draft and forgot to notify their
local draft board. Consequently,
when they were called under the
draft. they did not report and SO
IN kYftt
list them as deserters from the draft.
The fact that the name of some In
nocent men appeared on the list we
. believe to be a reason in favor of
p9 aTsM 4H FnsesJ saan n ns:nss
At the meeting OF the local Le-
gion post, this matter was given a
thorough discussion and several ..;e::i-
bers Of the local post of the Legion,
M s, but hass noe rs IN to ns b.
sed the opinion that they were eager
to see the slackers list pabll-.ed,
even II II did carry their own MAZE:
because the Legion desires to learn
who the real slackers are In the
community, II any there are.
The committee knows personally
Of several men In this eo:.::..unity,
whose names will be on the slackers'
list without reason. For instance, a
certain person, whose name II is un-
Der of the First Officers T-aIri-g
Camp at Fort Smelling In 1917. He
finished his period Of training and
was Immediately sent overseas, for
reeistered for the draft, while In the
training camp but, Of course, when
called for the service by the local
draft board, did not respond for the
reason. that he was already u the
two years IN france. has An excel
lent war record and holds an :soncr-
able discharge from the service:
still his name will appear on the
siackers list, because his local draft
him as a technical deserter.
MEN VOLUNTEERED ON LIST.
The committee knows OF se.e-al
ex-servlce men from Mankato and
In June, 1917 but who chose to
voluntarily enlist In the servIce,
rather than walt for the call, as In
numerous cases these men forgot to
notify the draft board that they had
enlisted and consequently, their
ers list, az technical deserters.
lorentz Post OF the American Le-
eion believes that the right thing to
do Is to publish the slackers last
partment for the reasons below
given:
One That the public have riar.
to know the persons who were act
uaI siackers durina the war and who
attempted to evade or who actually
did evade military service.
Two. The men whose n--.es are
on the slackers' list without cause.
such as the examples given above.
desire to have tire list published az
their friends and acuualntainces IN
the community Will know that thnir
names are wronsfuliy on the list f-:d
consequently when ar" mans war
record Is questioned, his friends and
c,n inform the questoner. that his
war record was good and that his
name was wrongfuIIv upon the slack
ers list. u 1t should chance that the
list shouid be published at ST..
generation Is living In the cc::.:.un-
Ity and the soldier In question, has
his name on the sIackers list. his
friends and acquaintenances Will have
Iy, will not be there to defend the
coed name of the ex-.e-.icc ...sn,
whose name Is wrongfuliy upon the
list,
the local Post Of the American Leg.
ion on the matter and we>beIIcye the
reasons for our position are valid. :
We trust that the public press can
see Its way clear to adopt eur POSI-
tlon In the n.eter-Yours 'ery re-
William Stradtmann. committee OF
Lorentz Post No. II, the American
Legion, Mankato, Minnesota.
Clear Up the Innocent
The slackers' list has not come In
O possession of The Free Press
When it does the request of the Amer
can Legion will be given every con
liberation The names of the slack
hose men who were not slackers, bu
whose names are on the list shouit
'e given a clean record now instead
# waiting until some future tim,
When it would be more difficult Il
wipe away the stain that was unin
entionally placed on his name.
WAPNYNG re CnTTNnEn