USA > Illinois > Lee County > War history of Lee County, Illinois, 1917-1919 : a history of the part taken by the people of Lee County, Illinois, in the World War, 1917-1919 > Part 7
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The Board was then ready to begin the classification of registrants. The rules then in force provided for the physical examinations of all men called before passing upon their liability for military service and accordingly it was arranged that 800 be called up for examination. The plan involved calling up 115 a day and they were called for con- secutive days, beginning August 2nd.
In the meantime arrangements had been made for organizing a clerical force and ob- taining quarters for the Board. The jury rooms at the Court House were taken over as Board headquarters and at times of physical examinations all of the jury rooms, the Judge's private office, the grand jury room and the Circuit Court room were used.
The initial business organization of the Board consisted of George C. Dixon as Chief Clerk and Tim Sullivan, Louis Pitcher, A. C. Gossman, Ray T. Luney, A. H. Hanneken, Robert H. Howell, Guy Carpenter, B. F. Downing, A. E. Simonson, Blake Grover, R. C. Bovey and Grover Gehant as principal assistants, together with a number of others who, while not present daily, were invaluable aids. Miss Bess M. Blackburne did most of the stenographie and typewriting work for the board for a number of months, but was assisted by several others, among them being Misses Brink, Gorham, Burke, Miller, Long and others.
The registrants were notified by mail to appear at the Court House at 10 A. M. of the day fixed for physical examination. At that hour of each day they were informed in a 10 minute address by the Chairman of the Board as to their rights in claiming exemption or discharge from military service. Immediately after the examination was concluded each registrant was again notified by a elerk when he came from the room where he dressed that if he claimed the right of exemption or discharge he should go to another clerk sitting at a table in the court room and get the necessary blanks to be completed and filed with the Board within seven days.
Rules for Exemption and Discharge.
The rules then in force provided that persons in the following classes should be exempt or be entitled to discharge from military service, as follows:
Persons Exempt.
a. Officers of the United States and of the several states, territories and District of Columbia.
b. Ministers of religion.
c. Students of divinity.
d. Persons in the military service of the United States.
e. Subjects of Germany residing in the United States.
f. All of her resident aliens who have not taken out their first papers.
Persons to be Discharged.
In the following cases where a claim for discharge was made and which was substan- tiated in the opinion of the Local Board.
a. County and municipal officers.
68
WAR HISTORY OF LEE COUNTY, ILLINOIS
b. Customhouse clerks.
e. Persons employed by the United States in the transmission of the mails.
d. Artificers and workmen employed in the armories, arsenals and navy yards of the United States.
e. Persons employed in the service of the United States designated by the President to be exempted.
f. Pilots.
g. Mariners employed in the sea service of any citizen or merchant within the United States.
h. Those in a status with respect to persons dependent upon them for support which renders their exclusion or discharge desirable, as
1. Any married man whose wife or child is dependent on his labor for support, pro- vided the income from which such dependents received their support was mainly the fruit of his mental or physical labor and was not mainly derived from property or other sources independent of his mental or physical labor.
2. Any son of a widow dependent upon his labor for support (with the same proviso as in section one supra).
3. Son of aged or infirm parents dependent upon his labor for support (with the same proviso as in section one supra).
4. Father of a motherless child under 16 years of age dependent upon his labor for support (with the same proviso as in section one supra).
5. Brother of a child under 16 years of age who has neither father or mother and is dependent upon his labor for support (with the same proviso as in section one supra).
i. Any person who is found by such local board to be a member of any well recognized religious sect or organization organized and existing May 18, 1917 and whose then existing creed or principles forbid its members to participate in war in any form and whose religious convictions are against war or participation therein in accordance with the creed or prin- eiples of said religious organization.
j. Those found to be morally deficient.
Result of Physical Examinations.
During the August 1917 examinations, 702 men were called for physical examination and determination of right to exemption. Of this number 669 were physically examined, 542 of whom were found to be physically fit and 127 physically deficient.
Report to Provost Marshal General.
In November 1917 a report of the results of the June 5, 1917 registration was made to the Provost Marshal General, in which report, among other things, the following de- tails are found:
Total registration
2548 Native born citizens 2327
Married
1212
Naturalized citizens 38
Unmarried
1336
Aliens 126
Alien delearents 57
The aliens, by nativity, were as follows:
England 1, Ireland 1, Scotland 1, Canada 1, Greece 17, Italy 16, Russia 3, Norway 12, Sweden 13, Switzerland 4, Mexico 11, Central America 1, Austria-Hungary 20, Bulgaria 11, Turkey 1, Germany 8, Miscellaneous 4.
There were 15 negro registrants.
69
WAR HISTORY OF LEE COUNTY, ILLINOIS
By occupations, to the extent that the occupation was given, the registrants were recorded as follows:
Agriculture 1292
Animal husbandry 4
Coal Miners 1
Oil and gas wells 1
Building industries 224
Fertilizer factories, etc. 4
Brick, tile, cement and stone industry 42
Clothing, cte. factories
2
Bakeries and other food factories 19
Iron and steel industries
3
Agricultural implement factories 34
Shoe factories 67
Wood working industries 6
Metal industries 2
Paper and printing industries
11
Textile industries 1
Miscellaneous industries 19 Steam railroads
117
Telegraph and telephone companies 5 Mise. trans. industries, postal service, etc. 95
Trade, merchandise, banking insurance, real estate, etc.
153
Public service, not otherwise classified 15
Professional service 11
Domestic and manual services 104
Laborers 266
The Board continued to hold daily sessions and to pass on claims of exemption and discharge for a number of weeks after the time physical examinations began.
During the period covered by this portion of the story and while the first regulations remained in force 702 were notified of their rights to file claim of exemption or discharge as to matters over which the Local Board had jurisdiction. 350 claims were filed, prin- cipally by married men, of which 330 were allowed and 20 denied and 293 agricultural and industrial claims were certified to the District Board.
Jurisdiction of Board.
The Local Board had original jurisdiction over claims of dependency but did not pass upon questions of liability to military service with respect to employment. Questions of exemption or discharge by reason of being engaged in agriculture and industrial oc- cupations, as well as appeals from Local Board decisions of matters in which they had juris- diction were by the regulations placed in the hands of District Boards, and, in the Lee County cases these cases were sent to District Board Number 4 at Freeport.
By the regulations District Boards were given original and exclusive jurisdiction to hear and determine all questions arising with respect to the holding for or discharging from liability for military service of persons engaged in industry and agriculture. It was provided that a claim for discharge could be filed for or on behalf of any person on the ground that he was actually engaged in a particular, designated, industrial or agricultural enterprise necessary to the maintenance of the military establishment; that his contin- uance therein was necessary to the maintenance thereof and that he could not be replaced by another person without direct, substantial, material loss and detriment to the ade- quate and effective operation of the enterprise in which he was engaged.
Disposition of Some to Evade Military Service.
At the beginning, before it was well understood by the mass of the people as to what the war was about, or what issues were involved, or what the fate of men in military ser- vice was likely to be there was a disposition on the part of some registrants and of many of their parents to exaggerate their importance as to being indispensable men in industry
70
WAR HISTORY OF LEE COUNTY, ILLINOIS
and agriculture, as well as with respect to dependence. This tendency was quite marked at the outset but as time went on rapidly diminished. As a result of such initial tendency the work of the Board was then made much more difficult than it should have been. The blanks provided under the first regulation gave practically no aid to the Board in the way of ascertaining the facts so that it became necessary to call in for personal inquiry a large number of the registrants and their supporting witnesses. This no doubt was the situa- tion in all parts of the country for when the second regulations were promulgated in Nov- ember 1917 the old system was abandoned and the questionnaire provided which searched the registrants conscience sufficiently for a Board to come to a reasonably correct conclu- sion in most cases without a personal interview.
Classification Under Amended Rules.
The Provost Marshal General in a communication to all Local Boards at about the time of the promulgation of the second selective service regulation stated, in substance, that the regulation under which the first army of 687,000 men was raised were in a sense temporary, created to fill a breach and as emergency rules could not and should not be considered as permanent regulations.
Accordingly after a study of the situation new selective service regulations were pre- pared which by proclamation of the President became effective November 8, 1917.
The new regulations were a well considered code of procedure which required com- paratively few future changes and were in general so plain and simple as not to require interpretation.
By them it was required that the registrants not in military service should be required to complete and file questionnaires with their Local Board and be classified. Section 70 of the regulations stated as follows:
"The military needs of the nation require that there be provided in ever community a list of names of men who shall be ready to be called into service at any time. The economie needs of the nation, while deferring to the paramount military necessity require that men whose removal would interfere with the civic family, industrial and agricultural institutions of the nation shall be taken in the order in which they can best be spared. For this reason the names of all men liable to selection shall be arranged in five classes in the inverse order of their importance to the economic interests of the nation, which include the maintenance of necessary industry and agriculture and the support of dependents.
The group of registrants within the jurisdiction of each Local Board so taken as the unit to be classified. With each class the order of liability is determined by the drawing which has hitherto assigned to every man an order of availability for military service relative to all men not permanently or temporarily exempted or discharged. The effect of classification in Class 1 is to render every man so elassi- fied presently liable to military service in the order determined by the national draw- ing. The effect of classification in class 2 is to grant temporary discharge from draft, effective until Class 1 in the jurisdiction of the same Local Board is exhausted. The effect of classification in Class 3 is to grant a temporary discharge from draft, effec- tive until Classes 1 and 2, in the jurisdiction of the same Local Board are exhausted, and, similarly, class 4 becomes liable only when Classes 1, 2 and 3 are exhausted. The effect of classification in Class 5 is to grant exemption or discharge from the draft."
71
WAR HISTORY OF LEE COUNTY, ILLINOIS
Five Classes Provided.
By the classification system the registrants after classification, were divided into the following five groups.
Class 1.
a. Single man without dependent relatives.
b. Married man, with or without children, or father of motherless child, who has habitually failed to support his family.
c. Married man dependent on wife for support.
d. Married man, with or without children, or father of motherless children, man not usefully engaged, family supported by income independent of his labor.
e. Unskilled farm laborer.
f. Unskilled industrial laborer.
g. Registrant by or in respect of whom no deferred classification is claimed or made.
h. Registrant who fails to submit questionnaire, and in respect of whom no deferred classification is claimed or made.
i. All registrants not included in any other division in this schedule.
Class 2.
a. Married man with children, or father of motherless children, where such wife or children or such motherless children are not mainly dependent upon his labor for support for the reason that there are other reasonably certain sources of adequate support (ex- cluding earnings or possible earnings from the labor of the wife) available, and that the removal of the registrant will not deprive such dependents of support.
b. Married men, without children, whose wife, although the registrant is engaged in a useful occupation, is not mainly dependent upon his labor for support, for the reason that the wife is skilled in some special class of work which she is physically able to perform and in which she is employed, or in which there is an immediate opening for her under conditions that will enable her to support herself decently and without suffering and hard- ship.
c. Necessary skilled farm laborer in necessary agricultural enterprise.
d. Necessary skilled industrial laborer in necessary industrial enterprise.
Class 3.
a. Men with dependent children (not his own) but towards whom he stands in re- lation of parent.
b. Man with dependent aged and infirm parents.
c. Man with dependent helpless brothers and sisters.
d. County or municipal officer.
e. Highly trained foreman or policeman, at least three years in service of municipality.
f. Necessary customhouse clerk.
g. Necessary employee of United States in transmission of the mails.
h. Necessary artificer or workman in United States armory or arsenal.
i. Necessary employee in service of United States.
j. Necessary assistant, associate or hired manager of necessary agricultural enter- prise.
k. Necessary highly specialized technical or mechanical expert of necessary industrial enterprise.
1. Necessary assistant or associate manager of necessary industrial enterprise.
72
WAR HISTORY OF LEE COUNTY, ILLINOIS
Class 4.
a. Man whose wife or children are mainly dependent on his labor for support.
b. Mariner actually employed in sea service of citizen or merchant in the United States.
c. Necessary sole, managing, controlling or directing head of necessary agricultural enterprise.
d. Necessary sole managing, controlling or directing head of necessary industrial enterprise.
Class 5.
a. Officers- legislative, executive or judicial of the United States, or of State, Terri- tory or District of Columbia.
b. Regular or duly ordained minister of religion.
c. Student who on May 18, 1917, was preparing for ministry in recognized school.
d. Person in military or naval service of the United States.
c. Alien enemy.
f. Resident alien (not an enemy) who claims exemption.
g. Person totally and permanently physically or mentally unfit for military service.
h. Person morally unfit to be a soldier of the United States.
i. Licensed pilot employed in the pursuit of his vocation. Member of well recognized religious sect or organization, organized and existing on May 18, 1917, whose then exist- ing creed or principles forbid its members to participate in war in any form and whose religious connections are against war or participation therein.
Result of New Classification Scheme.
In the main the classification system did not result in the disebarge from immediate liability for military service of many men who would not have been discharged under the original rules, but it assembled the registrants in a much more scientifie and correct arrangement of order of eall and provided a far superior system of selection than was provided.
A radical change was made, however, as affecting married men in many cases. Under the first regulations married men were subject to induction unless their wives and families were actually "dependent upon their labor for support." As a result of this rule and of its observance by the Board a considerable number of married men-our estimate from memory would be as many as 15 or 20-who lived at home with their wives and families were inducted into service in September, October and November 1917. They were cases where the man and their wives had independent incomes, or had parents ready, willing and able to maintain the wives. Among the cases of this type were Herbert Nichols and Dwight Rolph of Dixon, Wesley Attig and Frank Chapman of Ashton and a number of others.
Under the rules as amended these men would have been placed in class 2 if they had no children and in class 4 if they bad children. However, under the first emergency rules the Board had no option under the circumstances existing in those particular cases but was required to and did send such men to military service.
Mailing of Questionnaire.
The mailing of questionnaires to registrants of the class of 1917 not then in service began on December 15, 1917 and five per cent per day were mailed until completion of the work.
73
WAR HISTORY OF LEE COUNTY, ILLINOIS
Legal Advisory Board.
The revised rules provided for the creation of Legal Advisory Boards to aid registrants in the completion of questionnaires and the President called upon all of the legal fraternity in America to aid in this work.
Mr. James W. Watts, President of the Lee County Bar Association was asked by the Adjutant General to nominate three attorneys as members of the Legal Advisory Board and he presented the names of Edward E. Wingert, John P. Devine and William H. Winn. The Board selected Mr. Wingert as Chairman. All other members of the bar in the county were constituted as associate members of the Board and for a month there was no work done of any consequence by the lawyers of Lee County other than the aiding of registrars.
Classification by the Board.
The work of classifieation by the Board was started as soon as possible after the question- naires began to come in and completed in January of 1918.
In October 1917 Tim Sullivan of Dixon was made chief clerk of the Board and the Board's office moved to the Library room on the west side of the third floor of the court house.
At the conclusion of the questionnaire period in January 1918, and after the disposi- tion of all appeal eases and of agricultural and industrial claims by the District Board, the classification of men by the Local Board, and recommendation for classification to the District Board, together with the men inducted by Townships up to that time by the Loeal Board was as follows:
Town
Number Classified
Classification by Local Board Class
In Camp Grant
Alto
85
31
14
4
25
11
2
Amboy
210
74
35
S
77
17
6
Ashton
88
34
13
1
33
4
10
Bradford
58
20
3
0
27
S
1
Brooklyn
86
24
7
2
41
12
8
China
86
37
6
2
33
8
9
Dixon
798
273
85
8
271
161
49
East Grove
42
17
2
2
19
0
Hamilton
56
17
8
5
19
7
2
Harmon
79
25
10
3
34
6
0)
Lee Center
41
11
1
1
26
2
2
Marion
44
14
6
1
19
4
S
May
41
17
2
3
16
3
0
Nachusa
43
17
3
2
17
1
1
Nelson
86
29
9
3
34
11
4
Palmyra
71
21
8
3
29
10
2
Reynolds
79
28
7
5
29
10
4
Sublette
76
28
7
2
37
2
3
South Dixon
55
23
7
2
19
1
2
Viola
59
21
2
3
29
1
0
Willow Creek
83
27
9
3
33
10
5
Wyoming
91
35
15
2
31
8
4
2357
823
259
65
898
308
122
1
2
3
4
5
7
1
WAR HISTORY OF LEE COUNTY, ILLINOIS
Total number classified 2357
Total number heretofore sent to Camp Grant 122
Total number of questionnaires sent to registrants and not yet returned 78
Total registration 2557
The Local Board had recommended for class one classification a number of men who made agricultural and industrial elaims who were afterwards given deferred classification by the District Board. In the neighborhood of 250 of such cases the Local Board was of opinion that the District Board had fallen into error and many attempts were made to induce the Distriet Board to revise its conclusions. These attempts were successful in a few instances but in the neighborhood of 200 or more cases of this type remained at the end of the war when as to most if not all of them injustice to the registrant as well as to others in like situation was done.
Second Registration.
There were two registration days for what was termed by the Provost Marshal General the "second registration." On June 5, 1918 all men attaining the age of 21 since June 5, 1917 were required to register and on August 24 all attaining 21 between that date and June 5, 1918 registered.
The office of the Board at the Court House was the only registration office in the County on both dates and the Board members with a few volunteer aids acted as registrars. On June 5, 1918 there were 218 registrants and on August 24 there were forty, making a total of 258.
Third Registration.
The third registration took place September 12, 1918. This registration embraced all men and boys from 31 to 46 and 18 to 21 years, respectively. It was done at the voting place of each of the voting precincts in the County. The regulations provided that places of registration should be open from 7 A. M. until 9 P. M. of the day appointed.
The registrars were appointed by the Local Board and served without compensation. Every man asked to serve responded and the work was performed in a most satisfactory manner. Every precinet in the County had reported and turned in its eards at the office of the Board by one o'clock P. M. of September 13 and these reports were tabulated and results telegraphed to the Adjutant General at 3 o'clock P. M. of September 13.
This registration resulted on that day in the names of 3287 additional registrants being added to the Lee County list, of whom 223 were 18 years of age, 1447 from 19 to 36 and 1617 from 36 to 46. 70 late cards subsequently came in making the total for this registration 3357.
A few days afterwards a report of the result of the September 12, 1918 registration was made to the Provost Marshal General, containing the following details, and embracing only those registered on that day:
Total registration 3287
Native born citizens 2974
Naturalized citizens 91
Citizens by reason of father's naturalization 63
Deelarent aliens 66
Non-deelarent aliens 93
Whites 3271
Negroes 14
Orientals 2
75
WAR HISTORY OF LEE COUNTY, ILLINOIS
The aliens, by birth, were from the following countries:
Belgium 1, England 12, Ireland 4, Canada 2, Italy 23, Russia 6, China 2, Denmark 7, Holland 1, Norway S. Roumania 2, Sweden 7, Switzerland 5, Mexico 5, Greece 2, Austria- Hungary 43, Bulgaria 5, Turkey 2, Germany 15, Miscellaneous 7.
Subsequently a report of the total registration of September 12 of 3355 as to the num- ber of men of each year's age was made as follows:
Age
No.
Age
No.
Age
No.
18
228
28
2
38
220
19
206
29
2
39
166
20
232
30
none
40
163
21
10
31
1
41
185
22
2
32
144
42
189
23
None
33
238
43
193
24
2
34
211
44
145
25
None
35
223
45
185
26
None
36
203
27
2
37
203
Total
3355
Immediately after the registration copies were made of all cards by a force of 35 or 40 volunteer clerks and serial numbers given the registrants, lists of the names were made for publieation and transmission to the Provost Marshal General. This work was com- pleted within three days through the zeal and industry of the clerks, both men and women, who volunteered.
On September 21, 1918 the mailing of questionnaires was begun to the registrants between 19 and 36 years of age, 15 per cent per day of the total being mailed. The Legal Advisory Board again went into action and for a period of about two weeks the completed questionnaires came pouring in. Classification of these registrants commenced immedia- tely upon the return of the questionnaires and continued without interruption until all had been returned.
On November 4, 1918 the mailing of questionnaires to the 18 year old and 36 to 46 year old registrants began. All of them were mailed, but all had not been completed and returned on November 11, the date of the signing of the armistice. Subsequently the Board was directed to procure the completion and return of all questionnaires delivered to the 18 year old registrants and to classify them but not to require the completion of those mailed to the 36-46 registrants. Definite directions as to this course of procedure was not received by the Board until the latter part of November.
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