Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Hancock County, Volume II, Part 65

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897. cn; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913. cn; Currey, J. Seymour (Josiah Seymour), 1844-1928. 4n; Scofield, Charles J. (Charles Josiah), 1853- 4n
Publication date: 1921
Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1174

USA > Illinois > Hancock County > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Hancock County, Volume II > Part 65

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

"Your letter of Oct. 8th was written the next day after your induction papers into S. A. T. C. had been forwarded (here the name of the Local Board was given). You have no concep- tion, and in fact could have no conception without being here, of the vast amount of work which has been required of this Local Board. We have done this work as best we could, and with the desire of helping and accom- modating the thousands of persons in this county who are interested in the selective serv- ice law and the enforcement thereof. On many days there have been from 75 to 100 persons in this office, asking for information on all con- ceivable questions, and there have been also a great many telephone calls demanding atten- tion, and all this in addition to the unending duties otherwise growing out of the service, and imposed by the selective service regulations and by numerous orders and circulars from the Pro- vost Marshal General or the Adjutant General

998

THISTONY OF BANCOOK COUNTY

.. w Board thore-

nt for the in -

ving these the

A. ko str Dus the ding-

into the S. A 1 0 --- which reci trent wsa Tera to whom we nudde pln to though the pack the -woer numbers were eis le : Local Board as for a:

wanted to you for ir cam papers

Ka Wau Aflere, Carthage, Ii. Phie was Lavetet order N .. stát and via mare But Ina Mary applica- Ul: 1-o mate 1 5% dan for such poor's all ge have bad & botoo the name trends, and we have loved bly done so. I tak Io st here & for it, and It has tobe done Your anpot obtain except from your Board, tre ire unally he does not have . im At ane rar we have come all we can do when we request you to with the papers. . matter of course the uni has no means of ascertaining the order and eria; number of your registrant. We zen. that you ar put to any trouble in the water We hope to receive the papers at an etl dar."

This letter was written on At. With. dal after sune deley, the pipere ves sent us, and the registry was induet .1 . Det. 20th.

As a general rale tlo wers Boards and the au hejties at the afew butions of learning was very aftel ve work and (.urte in their deliers with this Local Board And ha derstauber - from mis- apprenti of the regulation were always cleared up y arri condono 6 0 rection of foper al the work of meme serom- plished jt confopatty v'th the rum 6

Ocasiobaby there was sono deny os at her -

Board which dererdet me erul ana

demand, for i was to duk af me regarder W AsCe (tff is Pa! ! !! camber- in

tu liately after De ale 4 tr sult- ing the list and in the office of the Local Board, or bywol Fing for the information. But, in practice « was found that inany registrants had not geired this information, or had for- emte Soir numbers, or had interchanged their ors, giving the serial number for the order Der, or the reverse, and it was found to be nesstry to be very patient with these boys to take the time to look up their numbers bor 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 unreasonble 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 incipret. and wrote this Local Poard, that and puny ent if the forthwilo Forwarded, Powers of the Board,

the young in a mollifying let- one toilows:

"Your letter of out. sch was written the next day after your i In tion papers into S. A. T. C. bad been forwarded (here the name of the Local Board was given). You have no concep- tion, and in fact could have no conception without being here. of the vast amount of Work which has been required of this Local Board. We have do this work as best we could. and with und aire of helfeng and arcom- modating the twowinds of persons in this county who are in crusted in Die selective serv- ice law and the Mrrement thereof. On many days there hay Len from 75 to 100 persons in this office, aming for information on all con- ceivable questions, and there have been also a great many telephone calls demanding atten- tion, and all this in addition to the unending duties otherwise growing out of the service, and imposed by the selective service regulations and wy romerous orders and circulars from the Pro- Marshal General or the Adjutant General

Florence UL. Menugate

John At Stungaté

989

HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY

of the State. Attention to your application was only one of hundreds of duties pressing upon this Board, and such attention was given your application as soon as it could be done under the circumstances."

The universities, colleges and technical schools into whose units of the S. A. T. C. our regis- trants were inducted are the following : Carthage College, Carthage, Ill .; School of Engineering, Milwaukee, Wis .; Knox College, Galesburg, Ill .; University of Illinois, Urbana, Ill .; Illinois Wesleyan University, Bloomington, Ill. ; Eureka College, Eureka, Ill. ; Bradley Poly- technic Institute, Peoria, Ill .; University of Iowa, Iowa City, Ia .; Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill .; University of Wisconsin, Madi- son, Wis .; University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Ind .; Hedding College, Abingdon, Ill .; Lombard College, Galesburg, Ill .; Iowa State College, Ames, Ia .; De Paul University, Chicago, Ill .; Navy Mobilization Station, Evanston, Ill .; Naval Section, University of Illinois, Urbana, Ill .; Park College, Parkville, Mo.

HOW THE SELECTIVES ARE TREATED BY UNCLE SAM IN CAMP

By Julius R. Kline, Lieutenant Colonel, Illi- nois National Guard. Published by the Govern- ment Printing Office at Washington in 1918.

The watchword of the United States Army is "efficiency." It seeks to train and drill men to become 100 per cent efficient, and to do so it requires men healthy in body and mind. The first duty of the soldier is to win battles, and his individual duty is to become proficient enough to be able to win those battles. The Army must have normal, virile, healthy men, efficient, for efficiency will win this war.

That which most interests the immediate rel- atives of the selected men is as to the care which is given to each individual person selected for this service. When a man is selected, or drafted, he is notified to report at a particular place, and he is then entrained for the point designated by the United States Army Board for him to receive training. Before so reporting each man is advised by the Government to supply himself with the following articles : Comfortable shoes, to relieve the feet from the new shoes issued; extra suits of underwear ; extra pairs of socks; face and bath towels; comb, brush, toothbrush, toothpowder; razor and shaving soap; blanket. When a man re-

ports at the place of entrainment, he is placed in charge of a leader, selected by the Local Board to take charge of his fellows, until the point of destination is reached. When the jour- ney is of any length or duration the men are transported in Pullman or tourist cars, and the person in charge is furnished with meal tickets, the maximum cost of each meal being 60 cents.

When the destination is reached, an Army officer meets the men and takes charge and the recruits are assigned their quarters. The quar- ters usually consist of large, commodious two- story structures made of wood. Each man has a cast-iron cot with steel springs of full length and extra width, which is occupied by only one person. Bed clothing is issued according to the climate and consists of not less than two, and sometimes three, soft khaki wool blankets and two comforters. Only a limited number of men sleep in the same quarters, the number being regulated by hygienic rules, each man requir- ing a given number of cubic feet of air at all times. Windows are kept open top and bottom to allow a free circulation of air. Everything about the quarters is scrupulously clean and sanitary. The floors, in addition to the daily cleaning, are treated with a solution preventing dust and antiseptic in its effect. To the rear of these quarters, as a rule, are located the lavatories, with water pressure and furnishings of the latest design, similar to those used in the leading hotels of the country. Four to six shower baths are installed to be used by each military unit or company formation. Cleanli- ness of person and surroundings is an absolute requirement in the United States Army.

After quarters are provided, the men are then subjected by the surgeons to a rigid physical examination to ascertain their condition. They are also subjected to rigid tests to discover dis- ease of all kinds, and all tests known to med- ical science are applied by the examining sur- geons. In addition to the regular medical staff of the Army, a dental surgeon and an or- thopedic surgeon are attached to each staff. If the recruit passes the required medical ex- amination, he is then treated by what is known as biologic medicine, which is the injection of certain serums and streptococci into the blood flow, which prevents the patient from acquir- ing certain diseases and renders him immune from such disease for a period of practically three years. During this treatment the recruit

990

HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY

is kept isolated and under medical observation for from two to three weeks.

The Army system of building up physical structure and preventing and controlling dis- ease will produce many millions of healthy, strong men that can not fail to leave the seal of their physical identity on the generations to come.

When the recruit is inducted into the Army, clothing is issued to him consisting usually of a pair of gloves and, if mounted, riding gloves ; also a slicker, raincoat, or poncho for protec- tion against the rains; an overcoat, two suits, trousers, and blouse; two suits of underwear ; six pairs of hose; one pair of field shoes and one pair of dress shoes; two outside khaki shirts ; two pairs of leggins, hats, etc .; and as this equipment becomes worn or shabby it is replaced by the Government.

The Army is fed three times daily, and the food is acknowledged to be the best that the market affords. Plenty of fruits and vegetables as the season or the market permits. The foods are so selected, arranged, and served to the men that the highest per cent of food values are obtained, and of such variety and such com- bination as the latest scientific research on food and dietetic questions suggests. A day's ration taken haphazard as served at Camp Grant, Illinois, is as follows :

Breakfast .- Corn flakes and milk ; coffee with sugar and milk ; scrambled eggs, fried potatoes, bread and butter, and a sauce.

Dinner .- Coffee with milk and sugar; beef tongue ; baked potatoes; peas; bread and but- ter ; raisin sauce, and pineapple cobbler.

Supper .- Iced tea; bread and butter; cold roast beef ; potatoes, radishes, onions, and corn.

Butter, as a rule, is served twice daily ; pie once or twice a week, and prunes and dried fruits, in the shape of a sauce, three times a week at least, together with a variety of all vegetables available. Liberal portions are al- ways served, and all the men appear to be satisfied. The men are given four classes of diet, according to their physical condition and the amount of work they are compelled to do. These are, respectively, regular diet, light diet, soft diet, and liquid diet.

The men are required to arise at 5:45 a. m. What is known as "setting up" exercises occupy about an hour's time daily. There is the usual , drill and Army routine. Men have from the supper hour until 9 p. m., when lights are sup-

posed to be out in the camp. This does not prevent, however, conversation among them- selves until 10 or 10:30, at which hour the camp is supposed to be entirely quiet.

At the end of a march the feet of the men are examined and cared for by the orthopedic surgeon. Special care is taken of the teeth and mouth by the dental surgeon. Every morning there is a sick call, at which time each man ailing or suffering from any complaint may report the same to the Medical Corps attached to his command and receive attention. About every 15 days the men are inspected and med- ically examined. Regular bathing is required. Every precaution is taken as to the sanitation of the various camps by the Sanitary Corps, special attention being paid to proper drainage and scientific disposition of all camp offal. . The Army must have healthy men and is exhibiting the greatest care for their physical welfare.

The Army psychology is in vogue, and a rec- ord is kept of each man, together with his his- tory, his occupation, and various other matters of moment. His capacity and tendencies are analyzed closely, and he is placed in the branch of service where he can be of most avail by reason of these tendencies, together with his occupation in civil life.

While caring for the physical structure of men, the Army has not forgotten their morals. The use of intoxicating liquors is positively for- bidden. Within nearly every camp the Young Men's Christian Association, the Knights of Co- lumbus, the Young Men's Hebrew Association, together with many others, have established places of entertainment and instruction, the Y. M. C. A. as a rule having a general head- quarters and subordinate headquarters close to each command. In the structures erected for these agencies are reading rooms containing standard works and the latest publications, to- gether with the means of amusement and in- struction.

In the different camps are many representa- tives of the various religious faiths, so that no matter what may be the religion of the con- scripted man he has a chance to avail himself of spiritual consolation of his faith. It has developed that many of the conscripted men who had never paid much attention in civil life to any particular religion are now deeply inter- ested in religious topics.

In addition to the efforts of these organiza- tions, the Army is endeavoring to amuse its

991

HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY

members in manly sports, baseball games, box- ing matches, athletic competitions-all of them cleanly and morally healthy. Betting, gambling, or gaming is prohibited within the limits of the reservation. In fact, everything is being done compatible with the time the men have from their ordinary duties to furnish clean, healthy amusement.

Many of these men can obtain a pass or fur- lough so that they can visit, after the discharge of their duties, the various towns or cities near which the camps are located. Many of the citi- zens entertain the men of the Army in their homes on various occasions, and the different boards of the State councils of defense are making arrangements for hospitalities to the men. In practically every camp are one or two moving-picture theaters, which are under the supervision and control of the Government.

The greatest of care is taken to preserve the health and morale of the Army. Men when returning from pass or furlough are usually questioned as to the probability of their being exposed to contagion or to acquiring disease, and the moment the medical officer is informed of such exposure the approved steps known to medical science are taken to eradicate, neutral- ize, or prevent the acquired disease.

The enactment and passage of the 5-mile- limit law, which practically regulates and pro- hibits vice within 5 miles of any Army post, has done much toward the purification and pre- vention of vice conditions. 'In many localities a proper supervision under this law has done more to create better conditions in these com- munities than ever existed prior to its being put into effect.

The men are taught a pride in themselves, as well as in the service they have the honor to represent. Instructions are given to avoid discussions and altercations with civilians, which, as a rule, are invariably followed.

The personal appearance, neatness, and be- havior of the men is supervised by commanding officers. Each commanding officer takes a gen- uine pride in the appearance and address of each man under his control.

The United States Army now has a super- vision, direct or indirect, over nearly 3,000,000 men-more people than the average entire State contains. Each civil State has its machinery for the preservation of public order, with its numerous courts, judges, grand juries, and its police department to supervise and hold the

people under discipline and control; yet to the credit of the armed forces of America the in- fractions of the rules of the service, immoral in their effect, are very few and far between, crimes committed by the service men so rare that when one by chance is committed it is con- sidered the rare exception.

Perhaps no army has ever been assembled that is so free from infractions of the moral code or whose personal conduct has been so much in consonance with the moral law as the present armed forces of the United States of America.

Lists of Registrants Sent to the Service by This Local Board, Whether Under General Mo- bilization Orders, or Competent Orders for

INDIVIDUAL INDUCTION

The lists following give the names of men inducted and entrained by this Local Board. These men, without exception, reported to the commanding officer at the place of destination. There was one registrant whose name was checked off by the commanding officer of the camp as not having reported, but this was by mistake or oversight of the commanding officer for the man had in fact reported, and the card showing that he had reported and had been accepted at the camp was afterwards received by this Local Board. Upon writing the com- manding officer on the subject, he requested new papers for this registrant, and the same were sent him accordingly. But the registrant was not in default. Not one of our boys at- tempted to evade his duty after entrainment by this Board.

Some of the men thus forwarded to the camps were not accepted. Before final acceptance at the camps the registrants were given a rigid physical examination with the result that some of them were returned to their homes as not physically qualified for military service. Regis- trants entrained were not actually in the serv- ice, but only provisionally or conditionally so. Acceptance at the camp was necessary, and those not accepted at the camps were regarded as never having been in the service, and Han- cock County received no credit for them on its quotas.

While it could be stated with tolerable accur- acy which ones of the boys were rejected at the camps, this is not attempted, for many reasons, among them, that the records have

992

HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY

been transferred to Springfield or Washington, and are not now readily accessible for that purpose, and absolute accuracy is hardly pos- sible.

The final report of the Provost Marshal Gen- eral shows that 823 men were called from Han- cock County ; that 835 men were inducted, and that 59 men were rejected at the camps, leav- ing a total of 776 who were accepted.

These figures did not include registrants who were released by the Local Board that they might enlist in the army or navy, of whom there were many in Hancock County, for, in such cases, while the Board was instructed that it was its duty to release the men for this purpose except at times when the men were needed for entrainment purposes, yet the Board was also instructed that the county would receive no credit on its quotas for the men so released. Such regulations were like thorns in the flesh to the members of the Local Board, who were thus required to release good men so that they might enlist, and yet receive no credit for so doing.

Neither do the lists following contain the names of men from Hancock County who en- listed before they were subject to the jurisdic- tion of the Local Board. Many men of this county enlisted before or soon after war was declared. Men who did not belong to the First Registration, if otherwise qualified, had the right to enlist in the service before they became subject to subsequent registrations. Thus there was a considerable number of Hancock County men who were in the service, who were not inducted by the Hancock Local Board, and whose names do not appear in the following lists. If it is possible to obtain the names of these enlisted men, this will be done, in which case their names will appear in some part of this volume.

Following the lists of men regularly entrained for the camps, there is a list of men inducted into the Students' Army Training Corps, for which this county was entitled to credit as if these young men had been sent to the camps instead of universities, colleges and other schools.

There is necessarily some discrepancy between the figures given in the final report of the Pro- vost Marshal General and the number of men contained in the following lists. Such discrep- ancy is readily explained.

1. It is not a criticism of the Provost Mar-

shal General's Report to say that it need not be accepted as absolutely final, but as subject to modification which may result from revision. This is illustrated by additions made to Illinois credits during the Civil War.

When the call was made on October 17, 1863, Illinois stood credited with 125,321 men, which was many thousands less than the credit should have been. Through the persistent efforts of the Adjutant General, there was a thorough revision of the rolls, supported by reports and returns called for and made, which resulted in adding 10,947 to Illinois credits. In addition thereto, it was ascertained that 6,032 citizens of Illinois had been enrolled and mustered in the volunteer regiments of the State of Missouri, while 1,659 residents of Missouri had been enrolled in Illinois regiments, leaving, as be- tween the States, a credit of 4,373 in favor of Illinois. These additional credits raised the total of Illinois credits to 140,641. Later, it was ascertained that Illinois was entitled to further credits, raising the number of men fur- nished to a number in excess of all quotas up to the time of the October 17, 1863, call, so that Illinois, up to that time, had never been really subject to the draft.

Under proclamation dated February 5, 1864, the State Adjutant General gives the following reasons why the above information had not been communicated to the public at an earlier date :

"That this information has not been com- municated to the public sooner is fully ex- plained in the uncertainty which has existed as to the credits which would be allowed by the War Department, the unadjusted account between our own and neighboring States of the volunteers of the one enlisted in the regi- ments of the other, and the incomplete returns of the new recruits enlisted just prior to and about the first day of January, 1864."

2. The lists we are giving contain the names of the 59 men who were rejected at the camps and must be reduced by that number of men.

3. In a few instances the same name appears in two different lists, as, where a registrant, having been rejected at one camp, was sent, under a later call, to another camp. This Local Board did not often offend in this particular, but the Local Boards of some neighboring coun- ties fell into the habit of sending men who were rejected at one camp to another camp under a subsequent mobilization order, and were repri- manded by a general order for so doing, because

993

HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY

of the fact that some men who had been re- jected at one camp, were accepted at another, and the seeming inconsistency was embarrass- ing. There was not necessarily any incon- sistency at all for the reason that a registrant might not be in good condition at one time and might be physically qualified at another.

4. Some of our registrants who were rejected at the camps were nevertheless good men phy- sically for limited or special service. After the regulations had been changed so as to enable the Government to avail itself of such services as registrants were able to render, even though not pliysically qualified for the field of battle, some of the registrants who had been rejected at the camps were forwarded under mobilization orders for limited or special service, and these names (there are not many of them) appear in two lists.

It is proper to say that this Local Board did not in a single instance fail to entrain the full number of men required. If Hancock County fell behind in its quotas at any time, this was because of rejections at the camps. The Local Board had power to make up losses occasioned by rejections at the camps, but this Local Board did not undertake to do that, for the reason that the Government, after the classification system had been adopted, was pressing this county hard for its Class I men and getting practically all of them, so that there was no occasion for making up losses. Our large per- centage of Class I men placed us at a dis- advantage. From time to time before calls were made, the Adjutant General would require, ordinarily by telegram, this Local Board to give the number of Class I men physically qualified and ready for service, and would base the call upon our answer, so that Hancock County was practically "trimmed" most of the time.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Hancock County, Volume II, Part 65

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897. cn; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913. cn; Currey, J. Seymour (Josiah Seymour), 1844-1928. 4n; Scofield, Charles J. (Charles Josiah), 1853- 4n Publication date: 1921 Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1174

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897. cn; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913. cn; Currey, J. Seymour (Josiah Seymour), 1844-1928. 4n; Scofield, Charles J. (Charles Josiah), 1853- 4n
Publication date: 1921
Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1174