USA > Illinois > Hancock County > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Hancock County, Volume II > Part 64
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The situation was distressing. Parents were alarmed, not so much at the though of losing their boys on the battlefields of Europe, as of their suffering and death from influenza at the camp. The sight of the bodies of boys who had died at the camps and whose bodies had been returned for burial, intensified this feel- ing. It had been the practice of Mr. Scofield, as secretary of the Board, to sign his name as such to telegrams and letters, but this tele-
gram was of such importance that it was signed, "Hancock County Local Board, Philip Dallam, Chairman, Charles J. Scofield, Secre -. tary."
Thereupon the Adjutant General answered the telegram, postponing the call, which was not thereafter renewed because of the practical termination of the war by the armistice of Nov. 11, 1918. Upon the cessation of hostilities calls for entrainment and individual induction were cancelled, and so it turned out that the 96 men who had been notified under the call for Oct. 21st did not have to go to the camp at all.
The armistice did not terminate the labors of the Local Board, which were continued with- out intermission until March, 1919, but it ter- minated any and all calls for entrainment so that the members of the Board were relieved from this distressing, exacting and highly tech- nical part of their duties.
MOBILIZATION OF MEN UNDER SPECIAL INDUCTION ORDERS
In the year 1918 this Board sent men by spe- cial induction under competent orders to the following camps and places of service :
Camp American University, Washington ; Camp Dodge, Iowa; Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia ; Kelly Field, San Antonio, Texas; Camp Greene, Charlotte, North Carolina ; Columbus Barracks, Columbus, Ohio; 31st Engineers, Fort Leaven- worth, Kansas; Camp Zachary Taylor, Ken- tucky; Signal Corps Training Camp, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas; Camp Funston, Fort Riley, Kansas; Camp Lewis, Washington; Jef- ferson Barracks, St. Louis, Missouri ; Camp Joseph E. Johnston, Jacksonville, Florida ; Fort Barrancas, Pensacola, Florida; Valparaiso Uni- versity, Valparaiso, Indiana ; Military Aeronau- tic Corps, Vancouver, Washington; Lewis Technical Institute, Chicago, Illinois; North- western University, Evanston, Illinois; Camp Gordon, Atlanta, Georgia; Armour Institute of Technology, Chicago, Illinois; Loyal Order of Moose, Moosehart, Illinois ; Camp Polk, Raleigh, North Carolina ; U. S. Marine Corps, St. Paul, Minnesota ; Camp Normoyle, San Antonio, Texas.
MOBILIZATION OF MEN PRIOR TO JUNE, 1918, UNDER GENERAL MOBILIZATION ORDERS
On April 1, 1918, 11 men were forwarded to Camp Dodge, Ia., on call No. S1. Lloyd J. Choate
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was in charge of this company from Carthage to the camp.
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On April 3, 1918, 111 men, under charge of Harry Berges Krieg, were forwarded to Fort Rosecrans, San Diego, Cal., under call No. 98. Four of the men called did not respond, and four alternates were sent in their places. The four registrants who thus failed to appear were in distant states engaged in work. As to two of these, telegrams were received from the Local Boards of the counties in which they were working for permission to send them to the camps of those Local Boards. The other two set out for Carthage immediately upon receiving notices, but were unable to reach this county until the day following the entrainment. Upon inquiry, the Local Board ascertained that these young men were in no manner to blame for their failure to appear for entrainment. The Local Board wrote to the Adjutant Gen- eral on the subject and he authorized the Board to send the two who had come to Carthage with the men to be sent on the next call for this county, and to permit the foreign jurisdic- tions to send the other two to their camps as proposed in their telegrams, and this was done accordingly. Two of the young men, Walter Henry Thorpe and Raydle F. Cunningham, were sent to Camp Dodge on April 30th under call No. 137, Leslie Edw. Williams was sent by the Local Board for the city of Great Falls, Mont., to its mobilization camp, and Benjamin E. Barnes by the Local Board for Division No. 4 of Louisville, Ky., to its mobilization camp.
On April 30, 1918, 35 men, under charge of Clarence C. Bruner, were entrained for Camp Dodge, Iowa, under call No. 137. With this company was forwarded a registrant of Fer- gus County, Mont., on transfer to this county, which registrant was for the credit of Fergus County. Thus, 36 men were actually forwarded at this time.
On April 30, 1918, three men were forwarded · to Camp Grant, Illinois, under call No. 159. These registrants were colored men, whose names were Harry J. Williams, Clarence Ci- cero White, and Hugh Wesley Russell. Clar- ence Cicero White was a brother of Chester A. White who had been sent to Camp Dodge on October 27th of the preceding year. Thus, all the colored registrants of the first registration who were physically qualified were in the serv- ice.
On May 13, 1918, under charge of Verner
Lloyd Jacob, 19 of our registrants were en- trained for Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, under call No. 181.
On May 24, 1918, 25 of our registrants, under charge of Ralph W. Wood, were forwarded to Jefferson Barracks, under call No. 549.
On May 27, 1918, under call No. 375, and under charge of James Elza Mecum, 112 men were entrained for Camp Gordon, Georgia. Less than one-third of these were farmers for the reason that farmers were being omitted from calls at this time in order that they might culti- vate their farms.
On May 30, 1918, 30 men were entrained for Fort Thomas, Kentucky, under call No. 557. Harold Grandison Hungate was in charge.
Thus ended the induction of registrants until after the second registration.
THE THIRD REGISTRATION
This registration was provided for by Sec. 5 of the Act of Congress, approved May 18, 1917, as amended by the act approved in August, which section provided for the registration of all male persons between the ages of 18 and 45, both inclusive, such registration to be in accordance with regulations to be prescribed by the President and upon proclamation by the President, or other public notice given by him or by his direction, stating the time or times and place or places of any such registration. The Third Registration took place on Sept. 12, 1918. All male persons who had attained their eighteenth birthday and had not attained their forty-sixth birthday on or before Sept. 12, 1918, were required to register on that day, with the exception of those who had registered theretofore under the First or Second Registra- tion, and except certain persons who were al- ready in the service. 1
The Local Board had immediate supervision and direction of this registration within its jur- isdiction, and it was provided that no powers conferred upon any other agencies and no du- ties prescribed therefor should relieve the Local Board of any of the responsibilities imposed upon it by Registration Regulations No. 3, re- lating to the Third Registration.
It was assumed that one and one-third times as many persons would be liable for registra- tion as were registered in 1917. There were nearly one and one-half times as many in this county.
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HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY
The Local Board was required to appoint a registrar or registrars for each place of regis- tration and to make certain that these regis- trars took the prescribed oath before entering upon their duties. There was to be a registrar for every 80 probable registrants at a place of registration, and he should be competent to do the clerical work, should be a citizen of the United States, and a resident within the juris- diction of the Local Board, and should have lived long enough in that jurisdiction to be well acquainted with the residents thereof. Where there was more than one registrar, one of them was to be designated as chief regis- trar. It was required that there should be a place of registration in every voting precinct, or, if precinct boundaries were disregarded by authority of the Adjutant General, that then a sufficient number of convenient places should be established.
Blank registration cards and other forms and copies of the registration regulations were to be mailed to the Local Board by the Adjutant General. At the time the last installment of forms was sent to the Local Board, the Adju- tant General was required to mail a statement of the total number of forms the Board should have received, and the Board was required im- mediately to verify this number and notify the Adjutant General by telegram that it had re- ceived all cards and forms and that all was in readiness in its jurisdiction.
It was required that blank registration cards, certificates, with the stamp of the Local Board on the back thereof, and other forms, should be distributed to the chief registrars on the basis indicated in the rules for redistribution among the registrars in the jurisdiction, and that the chief registrar would be held account- able for every such card and certificate, and the registrars under him would likewise so be held accountable. The use of special mes- sengers in delivering these supplies to the chief registrars was authorized when necessary, al- though it was stated in the rules that this would be in an exceedingly small number of cases. There were numerous other provisions which it is unnecessary to refer to in this con- nection.
It was provided in the regulations that when compensation was claimed by any registrar, $4 per day might be paid for the services, but that volunteer registrars who offered their services free of charge might be appointed by the Local
Board and sworn in in such number as might be conveniently used.
This Local Board believed that there were many competent men in every election precinct who would be willing to render this service without compensation, and that every such pre- cinct would have a suitable room which would be offered, on request, without charge, for the registration purposes.
The time for preparation was short and many other necessary duties were pressing upon the Board for attention. It was thought that ar- rangements for this registration could be made through the supervisors of the county, one of whom resided in every town or township, and the Local Board wrote accordingly to every supervisor asking him to act as registrar and to name other competent men who would act with him, and asking him to make arrange- ments for a suitable building in which to hold the registration, and asking that this be done as a patriotic contribution to the service.
There were twenty-five supervisors in Han- cock County. The supervisor of the town of St. Marys did not receive the letter of the Board, or did not receive it in time for action, but the other twenty-four supervisors responded cheerfully and promptly.
As to the town of St. Marys, the arrange- ments were made through the postmaster of Plymouth, Mr. Horace C. Aleshire. In every voting precinct a place of registration was fur- nished free. The supervisor and other regis- trars acting under him, or where the super- visor could not personally be present on regis- tration · day, those he had secured to serve on that occasion, and the registrars secured by the postmaster of Plymouth, all gave their services without compensation.
Sending out the supplies was the occasion of much anxiety to the members of the Board, but this was accomplished without a single failure. Heavy rains in Hancock Township in- terfered somewhat with communication by tele- phone and with the transmission of the papers to that township, but the papers were received by the registrars in time and the service was promptly performed.
The total registration was 3250 and all this was accomplished without any expense to the county. The names of those throughout Han- cock County who thus participated in this great service are entitled to a place in this volume, but the records have been sent to the Govern-
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HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY
ment and it is impossible to give their names, except the names of the supervisors, which will be found elsewhere in this volume (being the supervisors for the year 1918).
There was nothing in connection with the work of the Local Board more gratifying than the prompt and efficient response of the super- visors to the appeal of the Local Board for the performance of this important service without charge or compensation.
There were registrations afterwards of those who were absent from the county or unable to register on Sept. 12th, which added 40 names to the list of registrants, making a total regis- tration of 3290.
The drawing for the purpose of determining the order of liability of the third registration began at noon on Monday, Sept. 30, 1918, and ended at eight o'clock in the forenoon of Tues- day, Oct. 1, 1918, a period of 20 hours. The drawing took place in the Caucus Room, in the Senate Office Building. Seventeen thousand numbers were drawn. The first drawing was by Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States, and the serial number drawn was 322. The second was by Thomas R. Marshall, Vice- President of the United States, and the serial number drawn was 7277. The fourth drawing was by Champ Clark, the Speaker of the House, and the number was 1027. The fourteenth drawing was by Enoch H. Crowder, Provost Marshal General, and the number drawn was 438.
As in the first registration, serial numbers had been assigned to all registration cards be- fore the drawing took place and lists showing the names and serial numbers of the regis- trants had been forwarded to the authorities as required in such cases.
The master list, giving the drawing for the Third Registration, was called "Master List No. 3." Although the Third Registration took place on Sept. 12, 1918, registration cards of the Third Registration which were in the possession of the Local Boards on or before Sept. 21, 1918, were given serial numbers, but registration cards received thereafter were held for the time be- ing in the possession of Local Boards, without further action.
It was ordered that, for the purpose of iden- tification and to distinguish the Third Registra- tion from registrants of earlier registrations bearing the same order numbers, the letter "a"
should precede every order number assigned to a registration of the Class of September, 1918.
In case a registration card was overlooked in the assignment of serial numbers, or two cards were inadvertently given the same num- ber, or the serial number was improperly, er- roneously or illegibly assigned, or in case of registration cards received after Sept. 21st, the assignment or correction of serial numbers were to be made by the Adjutant General in ac- cordance with specific rules adopted for that purpose.
In assigning order numbers to the registrants of the Third Registration, the same general rules were followed as in the First Registra- tion. Master List No. 3, containing 17,000 num- bers, consisted of sixty-eight pages, with five volumns on each page and fifty numbers in each column.
A lead pencil line was drawn through every number which exceeded 3250, the number of our registrants at that time of the Third Regis- tration. The first number drawn was 322. This was the serial number of Farnham Marshall Bell of Ferris, who thus became our order No. al. The next two numbers drawn were larger than our registration and did not apply to this county. The fourth number drawn was 1027, Quintin Estes of La Harpe. The last serial number drawn which affected our registration was 2669, William Winsell of Tioga, our order No. a3250. These are given by way of illus- tration.
A single error occurring in the assignment of order numbers necessitated a great deal of care and labor in revision, especially if the error occurred in the early part of the list. As a final verification, the order numbers were writ- ten in the blank spaces at the right of each column of the list, and then these were gone over carefully again and again by members of the Board and by the clerks in order to make absolutely sure of the result. A mistake in the assignment of an order number might have re- sulted in sending a registrant into the service who might otherwise never have been reached on the call for service.
As a final test, Mr. Scofield used a powerful magnifying glass on the figures so as to make "assurance doubly sure." When the verification was accomplished, the order number was found to be correctly assigned, as to every registrant. The preparation of the order number lists on
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HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY
typewritten pages was an equally delicate task, and was performed with unvarying accuracy by the chief clerk.
It was all hard work, but it was fascinating.
STUDENTS' ARMY TRAINING CORPS
The Students' Army Training Corps was ad- ministered by the Committee on Education and Special Training of the War Department at Washington. The primary purpose was to util- ize the executive and teaching personnel and the physical equipment of the educational in- stitutions to assist in the training of the new armies. Its aim was to train officer-candidates and technical experts of all kinds to meet the needs of the service.
This training was conducted in about 550 col- leges, universities, professional, technical and trade schools of the country.
The corps was divided into two sections, the collegiate or "A" section and the vocational or "B" section.
The "A" or collegiate section was open to registrants who were members of some au- thorized college, university or professional school. Students of authorized institutions were permitted to join the Students' Army Training Corps by voluntary induction into the service, and thus became members of the army on active duty, receiving pay and subsistence, subject to military discipline in exactly the same manner as any other soldier.
Carthage College, of Carthage, Illinois, was one of the institutions of learning authorized to have a unit of a collegiate section of the Students' Army Training Corps.
The induction of registrants into the S. A. T. C. was one of the most difficult of all the duties of the Local Board. Some of the rea- sons for this are apparent. The work was done within a short time, during the latter part of September, all of October and the early part of November, a period of not more than five or six weeks. In most cases the induction was of a small number of persons, frequently of a single man. These men were inducted into many different institutions located in this and other states. A special method of induction was provided by special regulations, which followed the general rules for individual induction, but varied therefrom sufficiently to render careful study of the method and its application in order
that the work might be properly performed. While those having charge of the S. A. T. C. at the institutions of learning understood the regulations, as a general rule, yet it must be borne in mind that the inductions were required to be made by the Local Boards, and some of the Local Boards seemed confused as to the manner of accomplishing such inductions. In addition to the preparation of the necessary papers, a great deal of correspondence became necessary in the performance of this work. Nov. 11, 1918, was certainly a glad day for this Local Board, as it terminated this part of their duties.
There were three classes of inductions into the S. A. T. C .: (1) Induction of our regis- trants into Carthage College, which was a home affair and easily accomplished; (2) Induction of our registrants into institutions of learning outside of Hancock County, whether in this or other states; (3) Induction of registrants of other Local Boards, on transfer, into Carthage College.
These inductions originated with the regis- trant and the institution of learning. The regis- trant applied to the institution of learning for what was called a Competent Order for his induction, and, if he was eligible, such order was made out by the proper authorities of the institution of learning. In the case of one of our registrants who was to be inducted into Carthage College, this Local Board, upon pres- entation of the Competent Order prepared the necessary papers, consisting of Form 1, Form 1029 (original and duplicate) and Form 1029 A. & B. Another form used was Form 2008-A. A certain disposition of these papers was made under the regulations, and the registrant was inducted into the S. A. T. C. of Carthage Col- lege. In the case of the induction of one of our registrants into an institution of learning outside of this county, the Competent Order in duplicate was delivered to the Local Board where the induction was to take place, and this Local Board, upon request of that Board, pre- pared and forwarded the proper papers, and the induction was presumably performed by the Local Board where the institution of learn- ing was located, although, in practice, it was sometimes regarded as having been performed by the institution of learning itself. When a registrant of another jurisdiction desired in- duction into Carthage College, he made ap- plication to this Board, presenting the Com-
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HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY
petent Order therefor, and this Board there- upon applied to the foreign Local Board which had jurisdiction of the registrant for the in- duction paper, and, upon receiving these, the registrant was inducted into the S. A. T. C. of Carthage College. As illustrating the diffi- culties with which this Local Board had to contend, we refer to the case of a certain regis- trant belonging to the Local Board of another county of the state, who presented a Compe- tent Order for induction into the S. A. T. C. of Carthage College, but which registrant was unable to give his serial and order numbers. The Local Board to whom we made applica- tion refused to furnish the papers unless the serial and order numbers were given. We wrote to that Local Board as follows :
"We applied to you for induction papers for your registrant, X. Y. Z., into S. A. T. C., Carthage College, Carthage, Illinois. This was under Competent Order No. - -. Serial and order numbers are not given. Many applica- tions have been made to this Board for such papers, and we have had to hunt up the name in our records, and we have invariably done so. It takes time, but there is no help for it, and it has to be done. Your registrant cannot obtain his serial number or order number except from your Board, and presumably he does not have them, At any rate we have done all we can do when we request you to furnish the papers. As a matter of course this Board has no means of ascertaining the order and serial numbers of your registrant. We regret that you are put to any trouble in the matter. We hope to receive the papers at an early day."
This letter was written on Oct. 15th, and, after some delay, the papers were sent us, and the registrant was inducted on Oct. 29th.
As a general rule the various Boards and the authorities at the various institutions of learning were very attentive to this work and courteous in their dealings with this Local Board, and misunderstandings arising from mis- apprehensions of the regulations were always cleared up by correspondence and correction of papers, and the work of induction accom- plished in conformity with the requirements. .
Occasionally there was some delay as in the case above mentioned. Technically the Local Board which demanded the serial and order numbers of its registrant was justified in this demand, for it was the duty of the registrant to ascertain his serial and order numbers im-
mediately after they were assigned by consult- ing the lists posted in the office of the Local Board, or by applying for the information. But, in practice, it was found that many registrants had not acquired this information, or had for- gotten their numbers, or had interchanged their numbers, giving the serial number for the order number, or the reverse, and it was found to be necessary to be very patient with, these boys and to take the time to look up their numbers for them whenever the use of their numbers became necessary. It is no impeachment of a boy's intelligence that he did not remember his serial or order number. The writer heard an intelligent witness testify in court that it was unreasoanble to expect a man to give the date of his marriage or the dates when his chil- dren were born.
In all the dealings of this Local Board with the young men who were inducted into the S. A. T. C., whether the Carthage College unit, or some other unit, there was only one instance in which any discourtesy was shown toward this Local Board. In that case there had been unavoidable delay in preparing or forwarding the induction papers, and the young man be- came very indignant, and wrote this Local Board, threatening arrest and punishment if the papers were not forthwith forwarded, whereupon the members of this Local Board, on the theory that a soft answer turneth away wrath, wrote the young man a mollifying let- ter, as follows :
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