CHANGE IN DRAFT RULING PLACES ALL NEWLY WEDS IN CLASS NO. 4

Below is given the letter of the District Board of Poplar Bluff, Missouri, in explanation of granting to practically all registrants married since May 18th, 1917, deferred classification:

"Local Exemption Board, Farmington, Missouri.
Gentlemen:
We are returning herewith the questionaires of the registrants recently married that had been previously acted upon by this Board. With reference to our action upon these claims, will say that this action has been taken after a consultation of two members of this Board with Col. McCord when we met together with representatives from each of the other District Boards in the state, last week.

"At that conference Col. McCord expressed himself very strongly in regard to Boards adhering to the rule laid down directing us to consider all such marriages where proof showed that same had not been consummated for the purpose of evading Selective Service Law. At that conference we also found that the other four Boards of the state had been living up to that rule and disregarding the marriage only in such cases where the proof failed to show that the marriage was not for the purpose of evading military service. In our brief conference Col. McCord very emphatically stated that the law was not to be disregarded in this matter and laid stress upon the fact that practically all of the marriageable men of the United States were now registered for military service and that it was not the policy or the desire of the government to discourage marriage and that the only intention was to stop marriage for the purpose of evading military service.

"It is not a question of what the individual members of this board may think the rule should be, but it is a question of our trying to follow the rule laid down which we are directed to follow by the Executive Officer of the law in this State. It is not our intention to encourage a registrant to make a claim for deferred classification on this ground, and in all cases where they fail to make proof that the marriage was not for the purpose of evading military service, the marriage will be disregarded by this Board.

"We are writing this letter for your information in order that you may know our view point.
Yours very truly,
Almon Ing, Chairman."

The clasification of these registrants by the District Board at Poplar Bluff is as follows:

Class One--John C. McDavid, J. C. Flannery.

Class Two--John F. Miller, Percy A. Swink, Edwin J. Murphy, John L. Meyer and Frank E. Watson.

Class Four--John F. Miller, James A. Balard, Carless Province, John F. O'Bannon, Otho E. Mayberry, Robert E. Marks, Loss H. Cash, Frank Rice, Louis A. Perrett, John Dana Jose, Elva R. Dyer, John F. Ford, Firman J. Pratte, Maurice J. Morgolis, James L. Copeland, George Jennings, Wm. H. Herbst, Stanley L. Howlett, Harry R. Croke, William Sullivan, Thomas H. Stamm, John W. Kells, Lynn A. Horton, Robert W. Barber, Willard Lee Rariden, John H. Wigger, Wm. E. Dreier, William Arthur Caldwell, Noah Robert Hibbits, Thomas A. Gibson.

The above classification applies to the papers returned by the Local Board. Some cases are yet pending with the District Board at Poplar Bluff. The Local Board feels that in view of the fact that this action has been taken by the District Board that every registrant who has the same claim for deferred classification should have the right to file it if he has not already done so. Therefore the Local Board feels free to reopen any case and permit it to go to the District Board for its action on a similar claim. Any registrant wishing to take advantage of this new ruling should file his claim immediately. A number of the above named registrants receiving deferred classification had been certified for service, and were being held to fill the present deferred quota until a sufficient number of registrants had been finally placed in Class one and certified for service under the new regulations, before the date of their marriage, but the Local Board is not in position to state that registrant now placed in class one would be accorded the same treatment by the District Board in case of his marriage after receiving notice of his classification.

The Local Board received notice on Monday Feb. 11, that at this time Missouri was required to send but 2624 men, of which St. Francois Co. was to send 131, consequently the number of men to be sent out on the 23rd or within five days following will be but 131 instead of 230 as originally called for. The Board is not in position to state this week just what men will be called, but it can state that these men will be supplied from those whose order numbers are below 1400 and probably it will have a sufficient number under 1300, provided all are in position to appear on the day of entrainment. The Local Board is granting the requests of registrants whose order numbers are above 1400 to go with this contingent if they prefer to do so.

The Board finished the classification with the exception of a few now being held for additional information. There are with the District Board at this time about 150 cases. These of course cannot be finally classified until the action of the District Board is known. We hope to have all these papers in this week and to get the registrants finally classified by the first of next month. The Local Board is under orders to examine all registrants finally placed in class one and the examination will continue until all in class one have been examined. So far the Board has no orders to examine any registrant placed in a more deferred class.

Published by THE LEAD BELT NEWS, Flat River, St. Francois Co. MO, Feb. 15, 1918.