USA > Iowa > Scott County > History of the war activities of Scott County Iowa, 1917-1918 > Part 4
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his name or address; we evidently did not know at that time just what we were expected to know.
Besides there were some extraordinary surprises; for instance one woman called up and said: "Can't you fix it so my husband goes first?" The bombardment kept up all day and a good part of the night. All kinds of wild rumors were afloat. People did not understand the dif- ference between serial and order numbers. Some men were sure they would be in camp the next morning; many a heart was aching, and many a farewell indulged in, only to be repeated again months later. There was still a great deal of work to do before any men could be sent to camp.
Quotas were allotted to the different boards. Board No. 1 was called on for fifty-seven men, having received its credits for the men who had previously enlisted in the Batteries. Some 232 men were now called and given an opportunity to present their claims. Those men who claimed no exemption and the few whose claims were not meritori- ous were next called for examination.
Meanwhile a medical staff had been organized in order to handle the examinations as expeditiously as possible. Dr. E. F. Strohbehn, Dr. F. Neufeld, Dr. Hugh P. Barton, and Dr. Karl Vollmer were named as additional examiners for Local Board No. 1. Dr. B. H. Schmidt was asked to take the place of Dr. Barton, who enlisted. Later Drs. Weber, Starbuck, and Glynn were added to the staff. It would indeed be dif- ficult to find words to express the praise due the members of the medical profession who so willingly donated their time and service. They were ever ready to do their bit, even during the trying months of 1918 when the influenza was rampant.
Our first contingent left for Camp Dodge September 5, 1917. The selected men were eager to go; in fact some men whose numbers were deferred begged to go. It was an event in the history of Davenport. Many people were astir, even at that early morning hour, and escorted the boys to the depot. True it was but a handful of men, but it was Davenport's first contingent. We were actually at war! America that day mobilized the nucleus of the great draft army; an army of real fighting men which was destined to clinch the overthrow of autocracy.
September 23, 1917, a larger contingent was sent to Camp Dodge. The boys were given a send-off. Crowds filled the streets as the boys marched to the depot headed by Old Glory and a band. Certainly the martial spirit had taken hold; it was apparent everywhere. Men and women, old and young, in fact everybody felt the thrill of patriotism and were fully conscious of the duties and the responsibilities confront- ing us in the world's greatest war, and all seemed imbued with the firm determination to do their bit.
Events on the other side of the Atlantic made our government feel that we must do our utmost. More men and more men would be re- quired. The experience of mobilizing the first contingents had sug- gested many innovations. It was determined that it was but prudent to classify all men registered. Accordingly new forms were prepared, and December 15, 1917, a new set of regulations became effective. The boards, too, were prepared for greater activities. Chief clerks, as-
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sistants, and stenographers were employed. Miss Gertrude Laverenz, who had served since the early days of the board, was named chief clerk for Local Board, Division No. 1.
A questionnaire was now mailed to every registrant; this he was re- quired to carefully fill out and return. The questionnaires were rather complicated and in order to help the men in filling them out a legal advisory board was created, the members of which were Judge M. F. Donegan, Charles Grilk, and J. W. Bollinger. These men, assisted by practically the entire legal profession, worked from early morning until late at night helping any registrants who sought their aid. Like the members of the medical profession their services were rendered entirely gratuitously.
Our government appeal agent, A. W. Hamann, too, had his share of the burden. It was his lot to check up classifications from the side of the government and recommend reopening or to appeal any cases which might deserve further reconsideration.
The boards were now indeed busy-everybody was working-the great draft machine had gained its full momentum. We had over two thousand men to classify-each questionnaire had to be studied; doubt- ful cases had to be investigated, and in many instances men and families had to be called for personal interviews. There were endless problems which required attention; the great problems of industry and labor, the laws of demand and supply, financial and sociological conditions- all had to be studied and given consideration. Besides there were the endless changes in regulations. Registrants, too, were uncertain as to what procedures to follow-in fact the whole system was an innovation. The board was the logical place to get information, consolation, and everything else. There were many amusing and sad incidents. Often we were so busy that it was hard to smile while listening to the airing of a family quarrel, or to stop and give kindly advice to some poor hubby who had just. weathered the blows of a rolling pin or the ad- vancements of a belligerent mother-in-law. And yet it was a wonderful opportunity to study human nature; we learned to know our fellow-men as we had never known them before. There was an endless kaleido- scopic array of pathos, of humor, of love and devotion, of hate and jealousy, and every other human attribute found in Pandora's box.
Yet those were our trying days. Our full responsibilities were in- deed requisitioned. The boards stood between the law and one hundred million people on one side and the individual on the other. Each was entitled to a full measure of justice and it was our endeavor to give it.
During the winter several contingents were sent to various camps. The calls for artisans were very popular, more men volunteering, as a rule, than could possibly be taken care of. From now on contingents of men left at intervals, the work of classification and examination of the class of 1917 having been completed.
A great task imposed on the boards was the carding of every man as to his vocation. This work however was taken off our hands by a vocational board constituted of principals of the public schools. A. I. Naumann, R. P. Redfield, and John Hornby were the members of the board. These men, with the generous assistance of the teachers of the
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various schools, not only lent their able and helping hands in this par- ticular work but upon numerous other occasions rendered invaluable services. It would be most ungrateful to omit mentioning that from time to time students of the High School and students of Brown's Busi- ness College, as well as quite a few patriotic ladies and gentlemen donated their assistance, without which it would have been impossible to have accomplished some of the work in the time allotted.
June 5, 1918, another registration was consummated. This gave us 190 new registrants. These men were at once classified and by the middle or end of July were ready to be sent to camp.
July, 1918, was a very busy month. Many calls were now pending. The August 24th registration was already a foregone conclusion and preparations were made accordingly. On July 26, 1918, 276 men were to be sent to Camp Pike. Some days before notices had been sent to the selected men. Inadvertently one notice had not gone out with the morning mail but left the office late in the afternoon. About 7 o'clock that evening the telephone rang and some one in Northwest Davenport complained: "Why is it that I am not called to go? I am a class one man, and I want to go." After assurance that his notice would reach him in the morning, came a cheerful, "thank you."
Davenport may have been slandered at times as to the loyalty of some of its citizens. Men may have had different opinions, different conceptions as to facts, and different ideas as to politics, but we have been gratified to find that with perhaps a very few exceptions every man was or wanted to be true to the flag which floats over the land in which he or his forefathers had chosen to settle, the place which he calls home and from whose golden fields he, directly or indirectly, reaps the harvests which keeps him and his posterity. Never, except perhaps on November 11, 1918, did we feel the spell of real patriotism as on the morning of July 26, 1918, when amidst a pouring rain the 276 boys and the assembled crowd marched to the train, singing as they never sang before to the tune of "Over There."
July 31, 1918, another contingent left for Camp Forrest, practically depleting Class 1 of the class of June 5, 1917.
The August registration gave us forty more registrants. These men were quickly classified and examined. Speed was now imperative. Class 1 would soon be exhausted. Another registration was imminent. The bill when passed required all men between the ages of 18 and 45, in- clusive, to register, excepting those already registered or in the service. Registration took place September 12, 1918, the entire work being again completed in a single day, and practically without expense to the gov- ernment. Thirty-five hundred and twelve more registrants were now added to our lists, being an increase of 54 per cent over the number of men registered June 5, 1917, and giving us a total of over 6,000 reg- istrants.
The amount of work confronting us was indeed stupendous. Every mail brought fresh orders to speed up. Call after call came for more men. The influenza epidemic was on; calls had to be canceled or suspended; the task of classifying and examining the new registrants was handicapped. Fortunately the government had allotted us a soldier
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clerk. Fred Gosch, of this city, having been assigned to our board in this capacity, rendered most valuable services. Notwithstanding all the set-backs our work, as far as the men between the ages of 18 and 36 were concerned, was completed when the whistles blew. November 11, 1918, the armistice was signed and the longed for peace and victory were at last realities. Words would be inadequate to describe the pandemonium which reigned that day. Joy knew no bounds. Never before had the streets of Davenport seen such crowds and such merriment. Everybody was out doing something. Amidst the din and roar our last contingent reported for entrainment. We had anxiously awaited orders canceling the inductions but none came. Not until the men were about to entrain were the schedules canceled. The boys were accordingly at once given a tentative discharge.
Apparently the work of the boards was over. Orders came in quick succession to conclude our work by December 10, 1918. December 9th, however, new work was again outlined which kept the boards in opera- tion. However, final orders were to forward all records to Washington and to close the boards on March 31, 1919.
Looking back over the past year and a half one cannot help being impressed with the results accomplished in such a short period of time. The selective service system has proven its efficiency; yet it was not the system, but the spirit of the nation back of it, which made all things possible. It was love for our country, our ideals, and our flag which prompted us to lavish our treasures and efforts; it was the spirit of true patriotism which united us in our determination to win, and to establish the great principles of freedom and justice which make life worth living not only for us but for all posterity.
Aid for French Orphans
France and Belgium, an inspiration to the United States from the commencement of the war, had the help as well as the admiration of our community whenever their call for succor came across the sea. What was done for the Belgians is told in the Lend-a-Hand and other reports appearing elsewhere in this volume. There was one organiza- tion, however, with a distinctive and praiseworthy work-the Commit- tee on Adoption of French Orphans. This committee had ten sub- committees working throughout the state, and expected to continue its work as long as the need existed. At the time a report on the work was asked, it had secured the adoption of 554 orphans. Members of the committee were: Mrs. G. W. French, Chairman; Mrs. J. W. Bollinger, Vice-Chairman; Frank Yetter, Treasurer; Mrs. H. V. Scott, Assistant Treasurer; Misses Katharine Walsh, Elizabeth Putnam, Julia Ryan, and Mesdames Robert C. Ficke, J. R. Harper, Alfred C. Mueller, William T. Waterman, Gordon F. Harkness, Edward K. Putnam, R. J. Clausen, and J. Reed Lane.
Local Exemption Board, Division No. 2
BY THOMAS W. GRIGGS, Secretary
Local Board for Division No. 2 of the city of Davenport was organ- ized July 3, 1917.
Members of the board were Nathaniel French, chairman; Dr. Wm. L. Allen, surgeon, and Thomas W. Griggs, clerk. They had previously served as members of the city registration board.
Under their jurisdiction were the registrants of the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth wards. The total number of men coming under their juris- diction during the period of the war was 7,471 men, divided into the different classes as follows: Those registered as of June 5, 1917, 2,749. Those registered as of June 5, 1918, 288, and those registered as of Sep- tember 12, 1918, 4,434.
When the armistice was signed November 11, 1918, there were 2,295 men yet to be classified, all of whom were in the class of September 12, 1918, and who were between the ages of 37 to 45, inclusive. The Local Board for Division No. 2 had therefore classified when the armistice was signed 5,163 men.
In Class No. 1 were 1,679 men. In Class No. 2 were 275 men. In Class No. 3 were 451 men. In Class No. 4 were 1,783 men. In Class No. 5 were 875 men. Cancellation of registration cards by the Adjutant- General of Iowa, by reason of the death of registrants, or on account of errors of registration numbered thirteen.
Local Board for Division No. 2 inducted into service 917 men, not including men who were rejected at camp for physical defects. This does not include 278 men residing in the area of the board who vol- untarily enlisted in the army and navy after being registered nor those who enlisted prior to registration.
Thirty-six men of Class No. 1 were reported to the Adjutant-Gen- eral of the state of Iowa as deserters because of failure to send in questionnaires to report for physical examination or other causes. It is the opinion of the board that only two of these men were willful deserters.
In Class No. 2 there were 116 men whose classification was de- ferred by the district board for the southern district of Iowa on the ground that they were necessary skilled industrial laborers engaged in necessary industrial enterprises.
Men placed in Class No. 3 because they were supporting dependent, aged, or infirm parents numbered 106.
There were 253 men granted deferred classification in Class No. 3 because they were necessary artificers or workmen in the United States armory or arsenal.
In Class No. 4 there were 1,776 men whose wives or children were mainly dependent on their labor for support.
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In Class No. 5 were placed 278 men who were in the military or naval service of the United States.
There were 71 men classified as alien enemies.
There were 232 men who claimed exemption as resident aliens (not alien enemies) .
There were 347. men totally and permanently physically or mentally unfit for military service.
In endeavoring to ascertain the number of men who resided under the jurisdiction of Local Board for Division No. 2, who served in the army or navy of the United States, we must take into consideration the great number of men who joined the service before they were required to register. By inquiry we were enabled to find 325 men who were not registered and who enlisted in the army or navy. The soldiers and sailors therefore residing under the jurisdiction of Local Board for Division No. 2 who were inducted or enlisted numbered at least 1,525, which is about six per cent of the total population of this area. About four per cent of the population of the United States served in the army or navy. In other words we believe that fifty per cent more men residing in the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth wards of Davenport responded to the call to the colors than the average locality of the same size throughout the United States.
In closing I take the liberty of quoting the report of personal ex- periences which we made to the Provost Marshal General of the United States:
"We came into most intimate contact with all classes of people, learned of their trials and tribulations, their fears and hopes, their opinions, prejudices, and feelings, and their histories, sometimes con- taining faults and crimes carefully concealed from the world. While much was commonplace, there was also much that was sad and pathetic, much that was noble, and also much that was amusing. There was very little that was base or cowardly. The patriotism which displays itself in frothy enthusiasm was the exception, but the quiet, grim patriotism based upon a real regard for country and a sense of duty was the rule. This dominant feeling on the part of the registrants was of the enduring character that lasts to the end, and made the draft a wonderful success.
"The percentage of 'slackers' was very slight, much lower than the general opinion would place it. Where there was one 'slacker' trying to escape service there were a great many registrants entitled to deferred classification who made great sacrifices in order to enter military service. While we often received information, especially by anonymous letters, that certain men were 'slackers' investigation in nearly all cases showed the charges were baseless, and some of the men thus accused had waived deferred classification and had been rejected for physical defects. Taking the draft as a whole our experiences were such as to increase our confidence in the average American as a man and as a patriotic citizen, wholly irrespective of his racial descent."
Local Board for Scott County, Iowa
BY LYNETTE BROWNLIE, Chief Clerk
On the 28th day of June, 1917, the President appointed the members of local boards, who were to operate the machinery of the draft law and raise an army. And on July 4, 1917, this board held its first meeting and became known as the Scott County Local Board.
It consisted of three members-Geo. D. Frye, chairman, R. R. No. 5, Davenport; R. K. Brownlie, secretary, Long Grove; Dr. J. C. Teufel, physician, Buffalo.
The original draft law carried with it no provision for clerical help, and all the detail of preparing the individual papers of 1,932 reg- istrants of the first registration of June 5, 1917, for the Local Board of Scott County was successfully conducted by the patriotic men who donated their time and services cheerfully and willingly until the close of the draft.
The board recalls with great appreciation the efficient work of the registrars of the different townships throughout the county who gave their time and services gratuitously, registering each registrant both in this first and the following registrations.
After a short but efficient service Dr. J. C. Teufel resigned as phy- sician of this board, and Dr. J. D. Blything, Bettendorf, was appointed August 1, 1917. On September 5, 1917, we sent our first contingent of eight men to Camp Dodge, and on September 19, 1917, our second con- tingent of sixty-seven men to the same camp. A large number of these two drafts nobly volunteered their services. These two groups com- prising all the men sent by our board under the first regulations.
A new set of regulations and forms became effective on December 15, 1917, and in accordance with these Rudolph Postel, of Davenport, became chief clerk of the board, and Lynette Brownlie, of Davenport, was ap- pointed clerk to assist in the increased burden which the individual questionnaire and correspondence with each registrant entailed.
After six months of devoted service donated to the work, Dr. J. D. Blything enlisted, and the local board takes great pride in his military record both here and in France. He was succeeded by Dr. J. D. Cant- well, who was appointed February 14, 1918, and served very efficiently for four months, when he also enlisted.
Dr. G. B. Maxwell, of Davenport, was appointed physician June 27, 1918, and served until the end of the draft work. Rudolph Postel severed his connection with the board May 1, 1918, and Lynette Brown- lie was appointed chief clerk and served until the draft work was com- pleted and records shipped to Washington.
Henry Jebens was appointed government appeal agent August 3, 1917, and held this position continuously. The registrations of June, August, and September, 1918, brought a need for added help, and Miss
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Grace Seaman, of Davenport, was appointed clerk and served until the work was completed.
In compiling our final data a number of interesting statistics were brought out. In the June 5, 1917, registration 1,942 were registered; in June and August, 1918, were added 215, and on September 12, 1918, there were registered 2,384, a grand total of 4,531. Of this total 1,350 were placed in Class No. 1; 620 were sent into the service, leaving us a creditable number ready for service when the armistice was signed. In Classes Nos. 2 and 3 were placed 414 men. The greater portion of these were so classified on agricultural claims.
In Class No. 4 were placed 1,154 married registrants with dependent claims. Class No. 5 brought to our attention one of the most astound- ing phases of all our draft work, when we found that ten per cent of all our registrants were aliens. Among these some friendly aliens, but a surprising number who claimed exemption on the grounds of their non- citizenship.
After the signing of the armistice all registrants' (over 36 years of age) names were canceled from the classification list. The delinquents were gratifyingly few, and these mostly the result of illiteracy and ignorance.
In addition to these lists we point with pride to some sixty vol- unteers, residents of our county, who enlisted outside the bounds of our county and state, many of whom have made the supreme sacrifice and now sleep in France.
When the final work of the draft boards in Iowa was being compiled extra clerical help was required to bring the work to completion. Orders came from the Provost Marshal General to the state headquarters at Des Moines to call for assistance on the chief clerks of local boards whose work was completed. It was a matter of some gratification to us that our chief clerk was one among eight in the state of Iowa so selected. On reporting to the state headquarters Captain Bissel, Gov- ernment Inspector of Draft Records, made the flattering assertion that the three boards in Scott county had made the best record of any boards in the state of Iowa.
Recruiting for the Army
During the war Davenport was the central recruiting point for the eastern third of Iowa, the recruits from forty counties, in many of which were sub-recruiting stations, being sent to Davenport and from here to army posts, most of them going to Jefferson Barracks, Missouri. Sometimes these husky young Iowa volunteers came here in large com- panies, and when word of their coming preceded them, the larger groups were met at the station by a committee of the Council of Defense, with a band, and were entertained until they went on their way.
These volunteers were from other Iowa counties. From Scott county there went into the service about 2,200 men, inducted under the selective service act, and as the records in the County Auditor's office show nearly 4,500 men from the county in the service, some 2,300 must have gone into the army and navy as volunteers. Batteries B and D and the Supply Company account for 500 of these. The others volun- teered at various times and places-several as far away as Canada.
As throwing further light on volunteer enlistments in Scott county and Iowa the following letter in answer to an inquiry sent the War De- partment is worthy of a place here:
WAR DEPARTMENT, THE ADJUTANT GENERAL'S OFFICE, WASHINGTON, May 14, 1919.
Editor of History of War Activities of Scott County, Iowa:
DEAR SIR :- In response to your letter of the 9th inst., in which you requested to be furnished with figures showing the number of men from Scott county, Iowa, who enlisted in the army during the period of hostilities, I have the honor to inform you as follows:
The records of this office show that a total of 410 residents of Scott county, Iowa, were enlisted in the military service as volunteers during the period of hostilities, including 348 residents of the city of Daven- port. This figure does not, however, include enlistments in the regular army and the National Guard between April 6 and July 1, 1917, figures by counties not having been compiled during that period and it being now impracticable to compile them. The total number of voluntary enlistments credited to the entire state of Iowa between April 2, 1917, and the time when voluntary enlistments were discontinued amounted to 26,833, of whom 10,441, or nearly 39 per cent, were enlisted between April 2 and July 1, 1917.
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