Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1943-03-18
Location of City Determines
How Soon Fathers Are Drafted
Inequality Extends to Street Where Man Lives
Due to Divergent Views Of Local Boards

Ice headquarters recently issued
bulletin advising that if a mans
marriage is good children born
to his wife on or before September
IA, 1912, might be counted as de-
pendents in the eyes of the draft.
Again, however, the question of
imminence of selection arises. For
mans marriage to be good" it
had to be performed before Deem
Der 8. 1941 and when mans selec-
ton for the Army was not imminent.
To judge how other local boards
have Jared with these instructions,
The Star went to official draft
sources in scattered States. Here are
some of the answers:
In Newport News. Va, draft boards
have no date in mind after which
dependents don't count as such
Local conditions, an official said, will
determine this.
In Norfolk, Va, a Government
appeal agent declared that in the
absence of specific instructions, the
draft boards there are bound to ,ule
different ways. THE phrase selec-
ton is imminent is too loose he
said, land we can't pin anybody
down as to what it means. The
boards haven't got time to see what
other boards are doing. Generally,
the boards go by imminence of selec-
ton and if the baby was born after
Pearl Harbor."
How Cities Differ.
In Baltimore, babies are considered
as dependents If they were born on
or before September IA, 1912, but
in Akron. Ohio, the baby must be
born before Pearl Harbor to be
counted as dependent.
In Oklahoma City, boards are
holding that if man marries or
otherwise voluntarily acquires de-
pendents after he,.registres for the
draft, his dependents don't count.
Pearl Harbor is the latest concep-
ton date.
In Wisconsin. State headquarters
considers December 7, 1912, as the
date after which dependents don't
count as such. Imminence of selec-
ton is also considered.
In New York. the determination
OF imminence in tough cases" is
left to the local boards but in gen.
eral babies are considered depend
ents If born on or before September
IA, 1912.
At the Grammar aircraft plants
on Long Island. an official who
deals with 80 different draft boards
in connection with plant employees
was quoted recently in The Star as
saying:
What is all this shooting about
in Washington--this talk about
law to defer fathers? Why. we have
been losing fathers for months"
Presumably, he too was talking
about Pearl Harbor" fathers even
if their children were old enough to
walk.
Date Didn't Count
While officials usually consider
letters about the draft inconclusive,
those sent to Mr. Kilday from wives
or other relatives OF drafted men
report men whose children are as
old as two and half years have
been drafted. The date of marriages
which didn't count" go back as far
as January, 194l.
Another member of Congress re-
celved letter from a man who ex-
planned that he had heard some
draft official say men with order
numbers over 5000 would be called
His was $500. He married and had
a son, who is now year old.
Now it has been decided that 7
got married when my induction was
imminent. after + had been ga
Tor almost two years.
Several of the Kilday letters were
from soldiers. two of whom had
gone AWOL to see that their wives
and children were cared for. Letters
citing cases in detail came from
Dola, Ohio; Springfield, Mass; New
York; Gainesville, Md; Muncie,
Ind; Dorchester, Mass; Fort Smith
Ark Brooklyn; West Allis, Wis.
Milwaukee. Buffalo; Homecoming,
Md, and Kingston, N. Y.