USA > Pennsylvania > Allegheny County > District No. 15 of Allegheny County Pennsylvania in the Great War : a history of activities at home and abroad from the declaration of war in 1917 to the home-comings in 1919 > Part 7
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3. Charles Daugherty 4. Floyd A. Armstrong 3. Danie F. Umba ugh 4. Frank Lapensky
5. Philip Paustenbach 6. Joseph Goldstein
7. Frank Gilboux 8. John Weinfurther
9. William John Porter
11. Owen K. Hilton
5. 6. Clarence A. Porter
7. John H. Eyler 8. Carl H. Bauer
10. John J Mehal
9. Lawrence Brown
3. Charles Bowman
5. Ernest Langston
7. Henry Long 8. John Ward
4.
6. Norman Clark
PLATES VI-A, VI-B, AND VI-C
9. William Patz
PLATE VI-B 1. Homer C. Smith 2. John McComesky PLATE VI-C 1. Henry Burress 2. Luther Mitchell
- 87
33
PHYSICAL EXAMINATIONS
Registration
Class I Men Physically Examined
Qualified for General Service
Limited Service
Remedials
Disqualified
No.
Per Cent.
No.
Per Cent.
June 5, 1917
884
75I
82.7
33
3
97
II
June 5, 1918
I3I
IO8
82.4
4
I
I8
13.7
August 24, 1918
40
36
90.0
O
O
4
IO
September 12, 1918
I52
IOI
66.5
4
I2
35
23
TOTALS
I207
996
82.5
4I
I6
154
12.7
The following table gives the results of the examinations under the first rules and regulations and includes all registrants with order numbers from I to 2000; also Io men transferred to this District from other Local Boards. It will be noted that under the first examinations there were no classes; the men were either accepted or rejected. When the physical requirements were changed from time to time it was necessary to go over the records of the physical examinations and reclassify them as the new regulations directed.
Number of men called for examination. 2010
Accepted on physical examination.
I649
Rejected on physical examination.
223
Failed to appear.
I38
There were many amusing incidents connected with the physical examinations, but we shall recount only two of them. On the first day of the first examination three stalwart Poles more accustomed to European than American ways presented themselves. They went through their physical examinations with the rest of the men, and although they were able to speak scarcely any English got along fairly well without interpreters. When the examinations were completed they immediately went to the president of the Board and began to tell him something in what appeared to be a combination of some six or seven languages. The president believing that it was a protest of some sort attempted to appease them and gradually shut them out of the door, but they were persistent. Soon the meeting had the appearance of a small-sized row. An onlooker perceived that there was evidently some misunderstanding and summoned an interpreter. It was then learned that the men, believing that they were on their way to the Army, had quit their jobs, packed their grips, and now they wanted to know where to get their uniforms and where to go next. It was with difficulty that they were finally persuaded that they must await the in- structions of the government.
Another foreigner evidently imbued with the same ideal held by those above mentioned did not believe he ought to be asked to don his civilian clothes again after having completed his physical examination. He inquired of the examining physician where he was to get his uniform. The examination was being conducted in a room formerly occupied by the G. A. R. and the physician,
34
AUXILIARY BOARDS
having his weather eye out for any fun that was going, handed him an old army musket and gave him instructions as to how it was to be handled. Imagine the surprise of the Board when the fellow, clad in nature's garb, marched in, presented arms, submitted his examination blank and demanded the remainder of his outfit.
LEGAL ADVISORY BOARD
Very early in the process of organization of the Selective Service system it became apparent that there would be an immense amount of advisory work to be performed by way of informing registrants and their families of the requirements of service and giving them counsel and instruc- tions. The Local Boards were already heavily burdened trying to handle expeditiously, and fairly to the Government and the registrant, the mass of work involved in listing, classifying, inducting and entraining men. After the plan of using questionnaires was adopted, it was seen that the interpretation of their object, language and practice so that they might be properly filled out by the registrants would in itself be an immense task. The questionnaire contained of necessity a number of questions more or less technical, and in order to a prompt and accurate classification, promptness and accuracy in return and answers were essential. It was thought that the services of the legal profession would be peculiarly efficient to render assistance to that end. Accordingly in the various local districts appointments were made of three members of the bar to act as a Legal Advisory Board.
To quote from the report of the Provost Marshal General, "After a very few months of the draft, it was recognized that a law which applied alike to the literate and the illiterate, and the success of which depended upon the prompt compliance of registrants, could be successfully en- forced only by careful instruction of the people as to its requirements and by assisting them in meeting those requirements. In searching the field for an agency which might meet the situation, the legal profession was naturally resorted to as the institution best fitted for the service."
Members of the various Legal Advisory Boards were appointed by the Governor upon sugges- tion of Hon. John D. Shafer, President Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of the County.
The duties of the board were "to be present at all times during which Local Boards are open for the transaction of business, either at the headquarters of Local Boards or at some other con- venient place or places for the purpose of advising registrants of the true meaning and intent of the Selective Service Law of these Regulations, and of assisting registrants to make full and truthful answers to the questionnaire, and to aid generally in the just administration of said Law and Regulation."
Following notice of their appointment, the members of the Legal Advisory Board of the Fifteenth District, met for organization on December 15, 1917, at the office of the Local Board in the Borough Building, at Tarentum, Pa. The oath to the members was administered by H. M. Brackenridge, Chairman of the Local Board.
The Advisory Board consisted of the following men:
S. H. GARDNER, EsQ., Tarentum, Pa.
R. R. ELDER, EsQ., Springdale, Pa.
E. W. ARTHUR, EsQ., Cheswick, Pa.
Mr. Arthur served as Chairman of the Board.
As was the case with many of the Legal Advisory Boards, and in fact as was the case with
35
LEGAL ADVISORY BOARDS
practically all the various agencies connected with the Selective Service System, the individual members were entirely ignorant of the character of the duties which they were to assume. It seemed to be the general impression among the Advisory Boards before they examined the Selective Service Regulations that they were to act as an advisory to the Local Boards rather than to the registrants. If any member of the Advisory Board of this District had such a notion, it was speedily dispelled at the first conference with the Local Board, all of whose members manifested a very complete knowledge of their duties and gave every assurance of their ability to function.
On account of the character of the District and of the fact that there were several different community centers, it was thought best to organize meetings of the Advisory Board at Natrona, Tarentum, and Springdale, in order to serve more expeditiously the registrants from these different sections. With that idea in view and in consideration of the fact that most of the registrants were employed during the day, stated meetings were set as follows:
Springdale, at Public School Building, Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, 7: 00 to 9: 00 P.M. Tarentum, at Borough Council Chamber, Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, 7:00 to 9: 00 P.M. Natrona, at Town Hall, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, 7: 00 to 9: 00 P.M.
It was found, however, when the questionnaires began to go out that the multitude of registrants could not be conveniently accommodated at these evening meetings and additional meetings were held and members of the Advisory Board, both permanent and associate, held themselves in readi- ness for service at their respective homes and offices. Since many members of the Advisory Board and many registrants were employed during the day time in the city of Pittsburgh, the organized work of the board was restricted as far as possible to the evening hours, but in each of the several districts some member or members of the Board were available at all hours of the day. The names of these were listed with the Local Board and frequent reference of registrants made to them, so that at all times registrants were accommodated according to their own convenience.
When the new questionnaire came out following the registration of September 12, 1918, it became apparent that by reason of the large registration and the necessity for quick returns, the former method followed by the Advisory Board in holding evening meetings would not be suffi- ciently expeditious to dispose of the Board's business. Following a happy suggestion made by one of the Coal Companies, associate members of the Advisory Board were sworn in at the different local industrial plants and these undertook to assist so far as possible all their own employees in filling out their questionnaires, thus promoting uniformity of returns and saving time alike to the Advisory Board and the men.
On account of the changes made in questionnaires at this time, a meeting of the Board was called for September 20, 1918, at the headquarters of the Local Board and at this meeting a discus- sion was had of the various changes and the points that required to be emphasized. As a result of the better organization of the work, less difficulty was experienced in securing a uniform interpreta- tion of the questionnaire and thereby a decrease in the number of questionnaires that were defective. So generous was the assistance rendered the Board and so serious was the effort made to answer correctly the questionnaires that about 2400 were completed and returned to the Local Board in some fifteen days' time.
It should be noted that at this time, as at all others, the support given the Advisory Board by the community by way of assistance in filling out questionnaires and by way of patient cooperation in ascertaining and returning the information desired by the Government was worthy of every commendation and was another evidence of the loyalty of the people throughout the District.
36
AUXILIARY BOARDS
In addition to their duties in assisting registrants to fill out questionnaires, the members of the Advisory Board were called upon for advice of various sorts in a multitude of instances. After the personnel of the Board became known throughout the District, it grew to be regarded as a sort of information bureau and general dispensary of advice and counsel, and in certain instances the members or some of them were importuned to lend their services as advocates to present cases before the bar of the Local Board or to draw up special statements or to indite letters to this or that board, commission or bureau. While registrants were not permitted to appear before the Local Board represented by counsel, the advice of the Advisory Board to them, in matters of procedure and preparation of papers, was intended to enable them to present their cases intelligently and thus to facilitate prompt and satisfactory decisions on the part of the Local Board.
After the boys had gone into service, frequent questions concerning allotments and allowances were presented, especially in connection with papers and blanks from the Bureau of War Risk Insurance. Not only from our own district, but from neighboring local districts, came registrants or members of their families to consult with members of the Board from the Fifteenth District. A fact which, in so far as it amounted to a recognition of sympathetic treatment and willingness to serve, was viewed with a certain pardonable pride. Still another sort of service which the members of the Board were from time to time to perform was that of obtaining correct information concern- ing the status and situation of selectives who had petitioned for deferred classification. These matters were often referred by the Local Board to the Advisory Board for the purpose of having an investigation made and recommendation returned. Investigations and reports of this character were made by the Advisory Board not only at the special instance and request of the Local Board of this District, but for boards in other districts and for the Bureau of War Risk Insurance in con- nection with matters arising under application for claims of allotments and allowances.
The services of interpreters were frequently necessary, particularly at the meetings in Natrona, Tarentum, and Springdale, where a large percentage of the registrants were foreign born, who were able to understand and in most cases to speak intelligibly an amount of English sufficient for the ordinary affairs of life, but wofully inadequate to comprehend or explain the intricacies of a ques- tionnaire. In very many cases the members of the Advisory Board were apparently looked upon as attorneys for the defense whose duty it was to "get their clients off," and it seemed often a little difficult for the registrants to grasp the idea that it was primarily the duty of the Board to assist them to make "full and correct" answers to the questions put to them. The Advisory Board, however, adapted and its members followed the practice of stating as fully, strongly and specifically as possible the various claims of the registrants or their families in order that the Local Board might be thoroughly informed of all matters that might or could have any bearing upon classifica- tion. There was, of course, abundant opportunity for scenes and incidents both of the amusing and of the pathetic. In the early days of the questionnaire before the plans of the Government were clearly understood, it was with much fear and trepidation that many registrants appeared before the Advisory Board and it was the aim of this Board in so far as possible to allay these fears and to send each registrant away with a feeling that his particular case would receive every con- sideration. In this sphere of their work it was difficult for members of the Board at times to choose a middle course between a frankness and directness that might alarm and a sympathy that might too much allay the registrant.
It thus came about that the Legal Advisory Board in this District was regarded very much as a "center of information" for the District and accordingly it was able to render, through the services
$5
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FEB 12, 19/8 VI -A
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399
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67 68 69 70
¥7
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52
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78
85
3
75
APRIL 5, 1918 VII-B
PLATE VII-A 1. Clarence C. Cross 2. John M. McCorkle 3. Charles Rupert 4. Henry Newman 5. Wilbur T. Dick 6. Frederick Howe 7. Clemento Torulli
PLATE VII-B 1. Charles E. Bermont 2. Pius Martinka 3. Frank Baczynski 4. Gerald I. Acre 5. Thomas W. Moyes 6. Carl M. Mellon 7. Joseph Herbert Reinehr 8. Harry Lardin 9. Frederick Eugene Reinehr 10. Earl Meyers 11. Elmer McDonough
8. Frank Elmer Clark 9. James Oliver Elliott
10. Hawrail Stepanick
11. Joseph Symons
12. Stanislaw Majewski
19. William Shook
26. Boleslaw J. Skowronski
27. Frank Zokrzewski
28. Stanislaw Kucinski
35. Angelo Prola Federigo
55. Roman Mikulski 56.
57. Joseph E. Smith 58. Alfred Llewellyn John 59. Robert Elliott 60. Winfield Harry Maxwell
61. William Sackett 62. Jan Zrochalski 63. Stanislaw Szynanski
64. 65. Joseph Kerr
36. Frank Grimm 37. Theodore Kendall
38. Domenick Quintilliani
39. Lorenzo Ceccarelli 40. Brandino Quaglietti
41. John Stoffel 42. Rudolph Sefts 66. Joseph Dobzinski 67. Louis Brim 68. Charles Baczynski 69. Francis Roy Milberger 70. Emmet Sloan Hilty 71. 72. Mathias J. Fahrbuechel 73. Frank Bernardo 74. Jess Desser 75. Patrick F. Ryan
43. Stanislaw Juriewicz 44. Steve Czaplicki 45. John Block 46. Leonard Dobrzynski 47.
48. Stanislaw Sumieuski 49. 76. Walter Hemphill 77. Joseph F. Slumkoski 78. Walter VanThiel 79. Homer S. Sharpe 80. Guilto Calderelli 81. 82. Andy Kowach 83.
84. John Pulcini 85. William John Brock
PLATES VII-A AND VII-B
29. Frank Turin 30. Zdsislaw Stryjewski 31. John Sakoski
32. Stanislaw Embrozek
33. Raymond M. Beale
34. Marcelli Kaszabowski
21. Eugene Toussaint
23. Ralph Spencer 24. John A. McIntyre 25. Edward W. Bowser 26. 27. August Giomette 28. Joseph Dobzinski 29. 30. 31. Jan Wieteski 32. Andrezej Dombrowski 33. John Anagnostio
34. Theodore Schroeder 35. Frank Whitehead 36. Howard Sarver 37. Alva L. Chapman 38. Leland McIntyre 39. Frank R. Schuler
40. Charles Mrozinski 41. Fred Edward Schuler 42. Basko Icanovich 43. Edward Barndollar 44. Robert Patterson
45. George I. Smith 46. John Beresick 47. Wicenty Olczak 48. Frank Astembovski 49. Matya Zekovich 50. Felix Kowalski 51. George Hixon 52. John C. Duncan 53 Lonnie Massalsky 3 Alex A. Lubich 54. Chauncey Bouch
22. Charles Archibald 23. Andrew Goldinger 24. Jules Schubert
25. John R. Ambrose
20. Paul D. Wilcox
15. Louis A. Constantino 16. Harry E. Plants 17. Harry Rifley
18. William Meyers
13. Clyde Gohn 14. Thomas Merrill Stockdill 12. Felix Nardelli 13. Otto Schubert 14. William Venables 15. George Singleton 16. Floyd E. Wilson 17. Joseph Torchen 18. Francis W. Hickey 19. George Homer Hill 20. Frank Mieski 21. John Hoak 22. John Sedlacek
7
38
40
3
6
76
9
27
41
43
46
37
BOARD OF INSTRUCTION
of its members, assistance to registrants and their families which gave these the assurance that their individual cases were being put in such shape as to present clearly to the Local Board their respec- tive claims. The opportunities for pretty general acquaintance which members of the legal pro- fession generally have in communities such as those of which the Fifteenth District is composed assisted in establishing the Advisory Board as an intermediary that was close to its constituents. This no doubt added in some instances to the feeling of security which the people had in the preser- vation of their rights under the Selection System and was, therefore, in keeping with the democratic spirit with which the Selective Service System was administered and which made it such a com- plete success.
BOARD OF INSTRUCTION
A letter dated July 4, 1918, was received by the Local Board advising the appointment of a Board of Instruction. The object sought in the organization of this Board was concisely stated as follows:
"To put the selective service men into camp willing, loyal, intelligent, clean, and sober, and thus to fit them better for rapid progress in becoming good soldiers.
"And to accomplish this by systematic personal instruction given beforehand to each selec- tive by members of a local committee of reputable citizens in each board area acting under the auspices of the local board."
Very few selectives had seen any military training before reaching camp. However many of them had a pretty good idea of what would be expected. Some of them went feeling that it was their duty, but they were ignorant of what would be required of them. Many others were not only ignorant but were unwilling to go, were disloyal, and were consequently unfit for service. Army physicians reported that the mental attitude of a man oftentimes seriously affected his physical condition. Consequently many men were rejected on account of minor ailments when they could have been accepted if their mental attitude had been right. It was obviously much easier to get men in condition for overseas service if they were in harmony with their surroundings and in sym- pathy with their instructors.
The experience of several districts in attempting to correct this attitude on the part of the registrant was called to the attention of the Secretary of War and the results of the work appeared to him to be so beneficial that he immediately advised the appointing of a Local Board of Instruc- tion for each Selective Service District.
The peculiar character of these conditions required the appointment of men who would devote themselves unselfishly and unreservedly to the immediate elimination of the obstacles and to the presentation of the patriotic inducement in such a way that every registrant would understand it. It meant the building up of the morale of the army and called for most patriotic and devoted service from the men who were appointed to do the work.
District Fifteen, as shown elsewhere in this history, had a very diversified population and al- though a spirit of harmony and cooperation prevailed there was obviously a great work even here. The personnel of the Board of Instruction was as follows: George E. Alter, Esq., Chairman, S. M. Hazlett, Esq., E. W. Arthur, Esq., F. H. Clay, and W. J. Clinton.
The suggested method for the carrying out of the work was that groups of men should be called together at the time of physical examinations or through the Y. M. C. A., the K. of C., the Jewish Welfare League, etc., but as the appointments of the Board were made at the time when most of the Class I men had been examined and were awaiting call it was deemed advisable to call them
38
AUXILIARY BOARDS
together in one large group. Consequently a meeting was called in the Chamber of Commerce rooms about the middle of August and all Class "I" men who had not yet been called into service were invited to be present. No attempt was made to divide the men into groups but they were instructed in a general way. After some preliminary remarks by the chairman of the Board other members spoke on the "Reasons why we were in the War" and "Every American boy's duty," calling attention especially to the necessity of clean living. The plan and essential features of allotments, allowances, insurance, and other like matters were explained. An invitation was given to any or all of the men to meet with the members of the Board privately at any time they might desire for further instruction, but as most of these boys were called into service within a few days immediately following the meeting there was little opportunity for this.
The influenza epidemic made meetings of the men inadvisable through the month of October, and the signing of the armistice on November 1I made the carrying the work beyond that date unnecessary. There is no doubt however that many of the boys who had the privilege of attending the one meeting entered the service in a better frame of mind than they would otherwise have done, and it was possible to get some glimpse of what might have been accomplished through the efforts of this Board had the armistice not happily put an end to the necessity for its existence.
CHAPTER IV
THE RED CROSS
Among the various agencies that rendered conspicuous service during the stress of war-times, there is none whose record will shine brighter or stand out in clearer light than that of the Red Cross. Whether because of the symbol of the organization, or the principles for which it stood, or the character of the machinery through which it operated, or whether all of these elements entered into its success, of the latter there can be no question.
At the beginning of the war, the Red Cross Society was a National Institution, international in its outlook and service. Very speedily the organization was extended and memberships en- larged until by the close of the war there were included in one or another class of membership practically all the inhabitants of the land. To print a list of the members and workers in the Red Cross Society in almost any particular district would necessitate a census of the population and the including of all but a small percentage of it in the roll.
In District No. 15 of Allegheny County there were several societies organized in the early period of the war, including branches at Tarentum, Brackenridge-Natrona, Springdale, and Cheswick.
Sometime in the fall of 1917 the branches were reorganized through the Pittsburgh Chapter and the work brought into more systematic control, whereby the efficiency of the branches was materially increased.
The local work of the Red Cross was primarily in providing necessities and comforts for the boys going out from this District, and in providing articles of clothing and bandages and other surgical appliances for hospital use at home and abroad. But the spirit of the Red Cross extended far beyond these particulars and the influence of the organization was felt throughout the varied activities brought into being by the war, such as war gardens, comfort and assistance for soldiers' dependents, service in cases of sickness, and particularly in connection with the very serious epi- demic of influenza that passed over the country during the fall and winter of 1918.
Of the detailed work of the different organizations more or less complete records were kept and these, as they have been furnished by the officers of the branches, have their place in this narrative. It is perhaps needless to suggest that these accounts are at best but meager state- ments of the work accomplished by the several branches. As time passes the value of the work will appear in clearer light, and the memory of its appropriateness and far-reaching extent will be a source of increasing pleasure.
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