USA > Illinois > Hancock County > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Hancock County, Volume II > Part 61
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967
HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY
was a matter of much hard work and great anxiety to the Local Board.
The boys entrained on Sept. 5th were John Peyton Sea, Earl Henderson, James Paul Work- ing, James Stockwell, John Bartholomew, Al- bert Hugh Kirby, Curtis Guy Roberts, Roy Bat- trell, William A. Ringold, Jr., Louis Finley Neaterour, and William Henry Bower, the last- named registrant having charge of the men from Carthage to the Camp.
The board, having become worried with ref- erence to three or four of the registrants who were absent from their homes, undertook to reach them by telephone. One of the boys, who had registered at Hamilton, was working at Rock Island or Moline, and did not receive his notice. Through the assistance of Hamilton parties he was located and notified by tele- phone. When he received the notice, he had barely time to reach the train which would enable him to get to Keokuk in time to take the early train for Carthage on the morning of the 5th. He acted promptly and was here, ready for entrainment when the time came. Another of the boys was at Blandinsville in McDonough County, and received his notice after some delay and made a forced trip by automobile, reaching Carthage in time.
Another of the boys, who reported on the afternoon of Sept. 4th, as required by the call, requested the privilege of going home to spend the night with his sister and other relatives, promising to be on hand on the next morning, regardless of the condition of the roads, which were then muddy and difficult for automobil- ing. The request was granted, and the young man was at Carthage on time the next morning.
The eleven boys were present when the roll was called at the court-house before starting for the train. Many citizens were on the north side of the public square awaiting the boys as they should emerge from the court-house. Under the leadership of the Local Board and accom- panied by city authorities and interested citi- zens, the boys marched from the court-house to the north side of the square and thence west to the depot, band playing, colors flying, and under circumstances of much feeling and great enthusiasm. A prayer was offered and a brief address was made at the depot, and when the train left for Burlington at 8:57, the eleven boys, our first contribution to the war under the selective service law, were on board, en route for Camp Dodge near Des Moines, Iowa.
It is worthy of mention that the eleven boys were all accepted for service at the mobiliza- tion camp.
The account of this entrainment is here given somewhat in detail, because it was the first and was a novel experience to all concerned. There was as much interest, and sometimes more of feeling and enthusiasm, in some of the later entrainments, because of the large number of registrants entrained, but there was no occa- sion of greater interest or anxiety to the mem- bers of the board than this first entrainment of only eleven of our boys.
THE SECOND ENTRAINMENT
The next call was for the entrainment of ninety-two men, which was issued on Sept. 17, 1917. The registrants were required to report at three o'clock on the afternoon of Sept. 21st for entrainment for Camp Dodge on the morn- ing of Sept. 22d, by way of the C. B. & Q. railroad.
The rules required the boys to report not less than a certain number of hours before they were to be entrained, so as to make sure that the required number would report. The board was authorized to call alternates to supply the places of registrants who should fail to appear. On the second call the ninety-two boys reported promptly and alternates were not required. The entrainment of these men, in view of the fact that there were so many of them, drew a large crowd to Carthage, and the pressure of the throng at the train was so great as to render any sort of discipline or strict compliance with the rules impossible. An ad- dress was made, a prayer was offered, and the train departed amidst great demonstrations. It was found impossible to call the roll, and Mr. Scofield, the secretary of the board, went with the boys as far as Ferris, and called the roll upon the train, ascertaining definitely that all the boys were there. Robert W. Reed was in charge of the company. Six of the ninety-two were rejected at the mobilization camp as not being physically qualified for service, and the remaining eighty-six were accepted as qualified for service.
THE THIRD ENTRAINMENT
The next call was for one colored man to be entrained for Camp Dodge on Oct. 27, 1917.
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HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY
There were only seven colored men who regis- tered at the First Registration.
Three of these were exempted under proper claims and the others were held for service. Among those held for service was Chester A. White, and he was the registrant entrained on Oct. 27th. The people of the county, and par- ticularly of Cathage and Hamilton, assembled to honor this young man, and he was escorted to the train in the usual manner, and was sent to the service with the stimulus of prayer and a patriotic address. In the language of the conductor of the train, he was given "a royal send-off." The conductor stated to the writer that colored men from some other points had been forwarded without much ceremony or demonstration, and he gave unstinted praise to Hancock County for the manner in which the people had shown respect for this colored regis- trant. Chester A. White was accepted at Camp Dodge as qualified for military service.
SPECIAL INDUCTION
Afterwards, from time to time, registrants were sent to one or another of the camps on special order or by special induction. In some instances they were thus inducted into a special service for which they were especially qualified. Aside from such occasional special inductions the forwarding of men to the camps under gen- eral orders was suspended until after the ques- tionnaire system had been adopted and put into operation.
BOARD LABORS ILLUSTRATED
Before passing to the questionnaire system and subsequent inductions thereunder, it is proper to refer by way of illustration to some of the difficulties with which the board con- tended during the summer and early fall of 1917.
There was a great deal of correspondence, in addition to a vast amount of telephoning, which naturally fell to the lot of Mr. Scofield as sec- retary of the board. The difference between secretary and chief clerk is that the secretary was a member of the board and performed duties as such, while the chief clerk was not a member of the board, and performed such duties as he was instructed by the board to perform, or as were provided for in the rules and regulations.
Among the registrants entrained for Camp Dodge on Sept. 22, 1917, was a Bulgarian named Pete Demoff Ganevsky, Order No. 369. He was undoubtedly liable for service. However, after he had gone to the camp, it occurred to the board that he might be placed at some disad- vantage in case the war against Germany should develop into a war against the allies of Ger- many as well, and for that reason the following letter was written to the Adjutant General.
"Instructions bearing No. 850 have been re- ceived. Before receiving these instructions, and on Sept. 22d, we sent 92 men to Camp Dodge, Iowa, in accordance with the mobilization order. Among these was a Bulgarian, named Pete De- moff Ganevsky, Serial No. 2226, Order No. 369. He stated to us that he had taken out his first papers, having been in this country about eight years. He is a large fine-looking man, quite intelligent, and speaks Englishlı fairly well. He claimed no exemption, seemed cheerful and ready to go. We are not now at war with Bul- garia, technically at least, but we may become involved openly in war with the allies of Ger- many at any time. As we understand it, any alien having taken out his first papers, who is not an alien enemy, may serve if he is willing so to do, and claims no exemption. Such are the facts. If you have any instructions to give us, these will be gladly received and acted upon. In the absence of instructions from you, we deem it unnecessary to give further attention to the matter."
The Adjutant General advised the board that it had acted properly in sending this registrant to the service.
In the matter of the entrainment of Chester A. White, two letters were written to him, one showing the desire of the board to make the leave-taking as easy for him as possible, and the other showing the solicitude of the Adjutant General for his comfort. The first letter was as follows :
"We have been ordered by the Adjutant Gen- eral to send you to Camp Dodge, Iowa, on Sat- urday. You are to take the train for Burling- ton at Carthage, Illinois. We have sent you red card stating that you are required to appear . at Carthage, Illinois, for this purpose at three o'clock in the afternoon of Oct. 26th, which is Friday. This is in compliance with the rules and regulations. We write, however, to say that it is not necessary for you to come Friday after- noon, provided you will be here at eight o'clock
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HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY
Saturday morning of this week. Do not fail in the matter for it is extremely important. You can come on the early train which reaches Carthage at 5:15 Saturday morning, or in any way you prefer, so that you reach our office at the court-house not later than eight o'clock on Saturday morning. Arrangements will be made to furnish you with railroad ticket and meals, and specific instructions will be given you as to how you will go to the camp."
The second letter to Chester A. White was as follows :
"The Adjutant General has instructed us to notify you that when you come to Carthage to be forwarded to Camp Dodge, you should bring with you your heavy clothing and heavy under- wear, if you have any on hand, and also one pair of heavy shoes, and that there is no ob- jection to your bringing extra clothing in a handbag or suitcase."
During the latter part of October and early part of November, 1917, when the change to the questionnaire system was in preparation and the issuance of mobilization orders was sus- pended, many of the boys became anxious to be advised as to the probability of early calls for service, and considerable correspondence and telephoning on this subject resulted. This is illustrated by the following letter of Nov. 1st addressed to Jarrel John Martin Burrow of La Harpe :
"In answer to yours of recent date, permit us to say that as yet we have no mobilization order from the government, and therefore we · are unable to state when the remainder of our quota for the present army will be sent to Camp Dodge. It is practically certain that you will be among those called as soon as the mobili- zation order comes. The boys who are to go will be notified. Please keep in touch with the situation, for the posting of notices at our office is notice to the party called, even if, by some miscarriage of the notice in the mail, he should fail to receive his notice. However, the under- signed (Scofield) endeavors to find out from the boys whether or not they have received the notices and understand the matter so that none of them may be placed in the unfortunate posi- tion of not responding at the time when called. If it is in our power to help arrange the mat- ter so that you and your cousin will be together at the camp (as this registrant had requested), this will afford us much pleasure, as we wish to do all we can to please the boys who are
called upon to respond to this national neces- sity. We are not sure that we can do anything for you, but, we would think the Adjutant of the camp would have a proper regard for any preference you might express to him upon your arrival at the camp."
Registrants did not always make inquiries directly of the board, but sometimes addressed letters to the county clerk, and sometimes to the sheriff, and sometimes to some other officer of the county, or to some individual with whom they were acquainted. Raymond Francis Mon- roe wrote from Saco, Mont., to Marion Mosley, the sheriff of this county, and the board an- swered the letter as follows :
"Your letter addressed to the sheriff of this county has been delivered to us for answer. Your serial number is 466 and your order or call number in this county is 209S. We have examined the first 960 of the registrants of this county, being from No. 1 to No. 960 inclu- sive of the order or call numbers. There are more than 1000 to be called for examination before your order number will be reached. We certify that your serial number is 466 and that you have not been called by this board for ex- amination."
Tom Stone Stout neglected to file his affi- davits as to dependency within the required time, and the board, fearing that the notice had failed to reach him, or that he was not in- formed as to the requirements, undertook to give him an opportunity to present his affidavits. Thereupon, a letter was addressed to him at Dallas City, as follows :
"On Oct. 20th, the day of your examination, you filed with this board your claim for exemp- tion on the ground of being a married man with wife or child dependent upon your labor for support. You had ten days thereafter with- in which to file your affidavits, but you did not file any affidavits in pursuance of this claim, for which reason your claim amounts to noth- ing as the matter now stands. We have tele- phoned to La Harpe to ascertain where you are and to find out whether or not your failure to file affidavits was on account of a lack of under- standing as to the requirements, or because you had abandoned your claim. Mr. Ingraham an- swered us and looked into the matter and ad- vised us that you were probably ignorant of the necessary requirements in these cases. We send you herewith blank affidavits to be used if you desire to press your claim for exemption. You
970
HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY
will have to sign and swear to the first affi- davit, your wife to the second, while the third affidavit will have to be signed and sworn to by some honorable man who knows you, who is the head of a family. All this should be done before a notary public. (There were other officers authorized to administer the oath, but' a notary was considered preferable because it was absolutely certain that he had authority, and his official seal was a guaranty.) The bankers at Dallas City, or Mr. Kirkpatrick, will assist you in filling out these papers, or, if you should go to La Harpe, the bankers there, or Mr. Warner, will assist you in filling them out. (This was before the day of the Legal Advisory Board.) If you wish to file the affi- davits, do so without much delay, and we will permit them to be filed, although the time for this purpose has expired, and especially if it be true, as Mr. Ingraham advises us, that you have not only a wife but also a little child who are both wholly dependent on you for support."
HOMECOMING IN BODY NOT ALLOWED
During the latter part of Nov., 1917, the board was requested by relatives and friends of boys who had been sent to Camp Dodge, to endeavor to make arrangements for their home- coming in a body for a visit and celebration along the line of what had been done for the McDonough County boys, and the board took the matter up with the Adjutant General and with the authorities at Camp Dodge, but without success. The following letter was written to the Adjutant General, under date of Nov. 27th :
"Some two or three weeks ago, the McDon- ough boys who are at Camp Dodge, Iowa, were permitted by some sort of an arrangement to return home in a body, under charge of an officer, for a visit and celebration which had been arranged for them by the citizens. The Hon. W. J. Graham of Aledo was at Macomb and delivered an address, and there was an overflow meeting which was addressed by others, and the whole affair was splendidly patriotic and attracted much attention in neigh- boring counties. There has been a rumor of an effort in Adams County to do something of the same kind for the Adams County boys. This local board has been besieged by parents of Hancock County boys, who are at the camp, for something of the kind for this county, so
that the boys might be permitted to come home in a body under charge of an officer, as was done in the case of the McDonough County boys. Thanksgiving was first suggested as a suitable time. Manifestly, that would now be imprac- ticable. And so Christmas is now being sug- gested for such a visit and celebration. We do not know whether you are the proper offi- cial to write to on this subject, or whether the letter should be addressed to the command- ing officer of the camp, but we have thought it advisable to write to you and ask you whether or not there is any chance for this county to do for our boys something like that which was done by McDonough County for its boys. This thing should not have been done at all, or it should not be confined to one county. It makes the Hancock County boys feel that they are discriminated against, or that the members of the Local Board of this county, have no in- fluence in accomplishing their wishes in the premises. An answer to this communication will be appreciated."
The board was finally advised by the author- ities that it was impracticable to grant further permits for the homecoming of the boys in a body, but that furloughs for individuals would be granted from time to time upon proper show- ing and where there would be no injury there- from to the military service. Applications were sent in, with or without recommendation, but ordinarily with recommendation that the fur- lough be granted as far as consistent with the exigencies of the military service, and the appli- cants were notified of the result by mail as soon as the decision was received by the Local Board from the commanding officer of the camp.
DISCHARGE OF MEN ACCEPTED AT CAMP
Among the difficult questions which came before the board were applications for discharge or release of registrants who had been for- warded to the camp and accepted there for service. Such applications were rare, but con- sumed much time and caused much anxiety in the few instances in which they were made. The method of having such a case reviewed was complicated and hard to work out in practice. Two cases are here given by way of illustra- tion. The first of these may be called X, but his name was not X.
On Nov. 3, 1917, we wrote the Adjutant Gen-
WILLIAM H. GROVE
MARY E. GROVE
971
HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY
eral, on behalf of this registrant, as follows:
"In the matter of X, who was called for ex- amination on Aug. 6, 1917, by this Local Board, and was examined and who filed a claim of discharge with this board on that date, on form No. 121, on the ground that he was a married man with wife or child dependent upon his labor for support. This man filed no affi- davits in support of his claim and his claim was therefore disallowed, and he was certified by us to the district board as called into the service, and the district board certified him back to us for service, in the usual form. On Sept. 22, 1917, X was sent by us to Camp Dodge and was afterwards accepted by the proper officer as one of our quota, and is now at Camp Dodge accordingly. (There was statement of facts made by reputable citizens of the county, presumably acquainted therewith, for the purpose of justifying the board in taking action to have the case of this registrant recon- sidered.) Where a man has five little children, the government might not be desirous of hav- ing him in the army, and it might not be in accordance with the spirit of the act of May 18th, that he should be retained in the army after the ascertainment of the real facts of the case. We are submitting the facts to you as above outlined for your advice as to whether we should or should not be authorized to re- open this case."
It is proper to state that the Local Board could not reopen and reconsider the case of a registrant who had been accepted at the camp, without permission so to do from the Adjutant General of the state. The commanding officer of the camp had power also to take the initia- tive in this matter. The Adjutant General granted authority to reopen the case of X, and the case was reopened accordingly for fur- ther consideration. At this point, however, word was received from neighbors of X to the effect that he had been discharged from the camp and was at home. We thereupon wrote to the Adjutant of the camp at Camp Dodge, referring to this registrant, and then pro- ceeding :
"This man filed no papers for discharge with this board, and was therefore held for service by this and the district boards, and was sent to your camp; and accepted on Oct. 6th. The fact is, as we were informed after X had been forwarded to the camp, he had a wife and sev- eral children. The case has been reopened by
this board. We are informed, however, that X is at La Harpe, claiming that he has been dis- charged from the camp on the ground of hav- ing a dependent wife and children. We would be glad to know what the fact is, so that, if he has been discharged, our record may be put into proper condition."
As a matter of course, the Adjutant of the camp had no power whatever to discharge an accepted man on the ground of dependency, and for that reason, among others, we wrote the above letter. The Adjutant advised us that X had not been discharged on the ground of dependency, of which this Local Board alone had jurisdiction when authorized to reopen the case by the Adjutant General, but that X had been discharged as not being physically quali- fied for military service. The mistake of the registrant as to the ground of discharge was undoubtedly honestly made, the registrant not thoroughly understanding the matter.
One of the most difficult cases the board had to handle was that of Walter Harland Alther of La Harpe. He was sent to Camp Dodge , with the 92 boys who were forwarded on the morning of Sept. 22, 1917. Soon after the train had left, the registrant's wife, Mrs. Alther, called at the office of the board, and strenuously objected to the entrainment of her husband, alleging that he had a dependent wife and child, and had not made a claim for exemption when he should have done so, or had failed through some sort of accident to transmit the papers to the board.
It was a distressing case, as presented by Mrs. Alther, and we forthwith (Sept. 22d) wrote to the Adjutant General as follows :
"We entrained ninety-two of our boys for Camp Dodge, Iowa, this morning. Every one was here, and here on time. An immense crowd followed them to the train. Among them was Walter Harland Alther of La Harpe, whose serial number is 11, and whose order number 287. This boy was called, on Aug. 1st, for examination on Aug. 7th, and appeared and was examined. The physician found him quali- fied physically for military service. Prior to his examination he called at our office and ob- tained blank claim and affidavits for discharge on the ground of a dependent wife and child, but he did not send us, or file with us, any claim or affidavits. The call for examination having been made on Aug. 1st, the time for filing claim expired on Aug. Sth. On Aug.
972
HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY
13th, there being no claim or affidavits on file, this Local Board certified him to the District Board, and the District Board afterwards cer- tified him to this board as having been selected for military service. In the making up of our list of 92 to be entrained today, we included Mr. Alther. We knew nothing of the circum- stances, and had no acquaintance with this man except as we met him when he asked for his blank exemption papers, and as we saw him and the boys here yesterday and today. Since the departure of the boys, Mr. Alther's wife has been here with her child, asking that her hus- band be exempted, and stating that she and her child are absolutely without means and wholly dependent upon him for support. We have told her that the matter has passed be- yond our jurisdiction and that we have no power to do anything for her.
"We have endeavored this afternoon to in- form ourselves as to the facts, and we believe the facts to be as follows: that these parties have been married for about ten years; that they have one child, a little boy eight years of age, the wife's name being Mary and the child's name Ardia ; that the wife and child are wholly dependent upon the husband for support, hav- ing no means or resources otherwise, except as she may be able to earn a living for herself and child by physical labor; that until called into the service Mr. Alther was working on a farm at $40 a month and living with and sup- porting his family; that upon being called for entrainment, he gave up his work and moved his family from the farm where they were liv- ing to Dallas City, in this county, where they now are; that these parties have lived together in harmony; that Mr. Alther has been and is an industrious man; that he gave his wife to understand that he had filed his exemption papers, or sent them with the papers of others to this board; that when she asked him to take an appeal he said there was no use in doing so, for if this board did not grant the exemp- tion it was not probable he could do anything by an appeal; that the wife is at a loss to , understand the situation, or how the matter occurred, and probably does not know whether her husband deceived her with reference to fil- ing or attempting to file his papers or whether he is sincere in his declaration, although she believes he is sincere for the reason that they have always lived pleasantly together and he seemed deeply to regret his going away.
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