Racine County, Wisconsin - Chapter 13: Semi-Official Auxiliary Organizations, 1920

THE Legal Advisory Boards and the associate legal advisers appointed to assist the boards, performed one of the most important tasks in connection with the administration of the Selective Service Law.

The legal adage that "ignorance of the law excuses no one" could not, as a general proposition, be applied to the execution of the provisions of this law. After a few months it was realized that a law applying alike to literate and illiterate, and the success of which depended upon the promptness with which the registrants complied with its provisions, could be successfully enforced only by careful instruction of the people as to its requirements. The American Bar Association volunteered to assist in finding the remedy for the draft boards' troubles, and within one week announcement was made that in every state a central board of attorneys had been created, and that within a few days each county would have a committee of attorneys known as the Legal Advisory Board, who would see that every registrant had an opportunity to obtain competent legal advice regarding the law. free of charge.

The bar associations took a firm stand against any lawyer charging fees for any service in connection with the draft law, after the Legal Advisory Board was created. Claimants for exemption were not permitted to appear by counsel, as a general thing.

It was so arranged that men could take the somewhat complicated questionnaire to one of these advisers and get all necessary assistance in filling it out. Offices were opened for this purpose in each draft district.

As a result, the draft boards had but little difficulty in sorting over and classifying the questionnaires and they were relieved of the endless labor which would have been the result if each registrant had descended upon the board to have things explained to him.

Legal Advisory Boards were consulted relative to legislation affecting the selective service act. They gave advice to the various war work organizations. They cooperated with local boards in effecting the rectification of classifications in May, 1918 when it was seen that Class I was not as large as it had been anticipated. In September, 1918, they were confronted with a task equal to all they had accomplished before when the new registration brought forth thousands of new registrants.

In Racine there were from fifteen to twentyfive of these men on hand at the court house, and as many at the city hall, all day and until 10 o'clock every evening. The courts adjourned for weeks at a time so attorneys would be free to perform these tasks and so that court rooms could be used for headquarters. At times one or two hundred men would be lined up awaiting advice from the hard working board members and numbered cards were given out to them so they would be sure to keep their proper place in line. Some members of the

Offices were established for the board members in most of the large factories so the employes could get the necessary assistance without going down town. With every questionnaire mailed to a registrant went a letter of instructions showing where he could get free counsel in regard to the manner of filling it out.

The board fulfilled an arduous duty well, and its labors went far toward making the successful administration of the draft law possible. Perhaps no single factor outside of the draft boards themselves was as important.

The Medical Advisory Board was created in each community to examine physically those registrants whose claims for exemption had been appealed by the registrant, a government appeal agent or the local board. The boards were made up of specialists in various branches of medicine and surgery, and to them were referred doubtful cases of registrants who had, or claimed to have, obscure physical defects. The members served without compensation at considerable sacrifice to themselves. Naturally, their work was of incalculable value to the draft boards. The Racine county Medical Advisory Board consisted of Dr. J. S. Keech, W. P. Collins, W. S. Haven, Emil L. Tompach, L. E. Fazen, G. W. Nott, T. J. McCrory, J. G. Meachem, P .T. Van Ornum and F. C. Christensen.

The Four Minute Men were speakers who volunteered their services to lecture on the war, on drives for funds or such other topics as the Committee on Public Information at Washington desired to have put before the people. Wherever there was an assemblage of people (as, for instance, at theaters, clubs, political meetings, etc.,) a Four Minute man made his appearance to discuss in forceful language some issue which the government desired to have elucidated. In this way it was practicable to reach those men and women who did not read the daily newspapers thoroughly.

A. J. Lunt was in charge of the local organization of Four Minute Men. He arranged to fill all requests for speakers, and also saw that invitations for speakers were forthcoming from such meetings as might prove fertile ground for the seeds of thought the orators were prepared to scatter.

The following men enlisted for this unique service: Rev. Charles S. Nickerson, Jerome J. Foley, Rev. J. M. Naughtin, Elmer E. Gittins, Milton J. Knoblock, R. G. Harvey, Rev. B. Tal- bot Rogers, Peter J. Myers, William D. Thompson, William H. Armstrong, Elbert B. Hand. L. J. Quinn, Mortimer E. Walker, Guy A. Benson, Max W. Heck, William Smieding, Jr., Thomas Kearney, Jr., Thorwald Beck, the Rev. Arthur MacDavitt, the Rev. J. W. Carter and Vilas Whaley.

The speakers visited churches, schools, and public halls to deliver their four minute messages. One-minute community singing was finally added to the plan, and this feature was developed under the direction of Miss Lillian Watts.

To assure the official character of the brief speeches they were prepared at National Headquarters in continued consultations with the proper officials of each Government department responsible for them and were published in the form of bulletins from which the speakers were required to select the material for their speeches during each campaign designated.

With the exception of the first two or three which were put on before the oi-ganization was formed in Racine, Racine Four Minute men put on the campaign for every bulletin furnished by the National organization in Washington and the following- table will serve to indicate just what the Racine Four Minute men talked about in 1917 and 1918 until their discharge in December 1918.

It is impossible to set an adequate value on the good accomplished in this patriotic service. Heavy calls were made upon their time but they responded willingly and cheerfully and the high standard of their work was reflected in the great aid given to the various drives.

Another organization which did good work during the war was the Wisconsin Loyalty Legion. This was a state society founded primarily to stamp out sedition by patriotic propaganda and, where deemed necessary, to take part in political campaigns to insure the election of loyal men to office. The main thing done was the distribution of literature from the Bureau of Public Information. Some 4,- 000,000 documents were thus distributed. The newspapers of the state were supplied with matter for publication, and the league offered to provide speakers for large gatherings in any part of the state. Walter S. Goodland of Racine was a vice-president of the legion.

Wisconsin was first in carrying out the government's war labor program and received much praise from national authorities. George P. Hambrecht was State Director as well as chairman of the State Industrial commission. An agent of the United States Public Service Reserve was named in each county to assist in recruiting labor for essential industries. A community war labor board was named in each industrial center to handle labor questions and see that there was "a man for every necessary job." The position of the government was expressed thus: "If we can have enough shells in France we can blast our way to Berlin. To the extent that we fall behind in the supply of material, we shall have to make up the deficit from the living bodies of our young men. This is not rhetoric. It is cold, precise, military calculation. As soon as Americans realize it they will cease to carry on 'business as usual' and swarm into war work."

In every community hundreds of men were recruited for essential industries and placed in suitable positions. Toward the end of the war the hiring of common labor through other channels than these agencies was prohibited. The Racine employment office was in charge of Arthur P. Kuning, W. R. Levy, H. G. Presser, examiners, and Miss Anna Behrmann, superintendent of women's division.

The local branch of the United States Public Service Reserve consisted of Warren H. Walker, G. A. Kanters, John Konnack, Russell S. Olson, Walter H. Reed, Frank Starbuck and D. E. Callender.

With the first approach of cold weather in October, 1917, the government asked a survey of the fuel situation in all parts of the country. While it was desired to provide enough fuel to keep American homes comfortable, it was essential that necessary industries be supplied with all the coal they needed, that trains and ships be kept moving and, if necessary, that provision be made to export fuel to our Allies.

The County Council of Defense appointed a committee consisting of Messrs. A. C. Mehder, M. J. Pettit and William Horlick, Jr., to investigate local conditions. It seemed probable that Racine had sufficient coal in sight for the winter, but the question had to be viewed from a national standpoint and every possible energy exerted to conserve the supply. The winter proved to be the most severe in many years.

The Council of Defense finally created a County Fuel Administration consisting of F. Lee Norton, Herbert F. Johnson and James V. Rohan. The state sent a commissioner to Washington to represent the governor in an effort to secure shipment of coal to lake ports. By vigorous action, the county administration was able to procure through that channel enough fuel to obviate the danger of a fuel famine, but citizens resorted almost entirely to use of soft coal for furnaces. Wood also became popular as fuel during the war and people who had not swung an axe in forty years were glad to obtain a wagon load of chunks for use in furnace or stove. The Wisconsin Gas & Electric Company was a big factor in preventing a fuel famine, for it manufactured hundreds of tons of coke weekly as a by-product of its gas plant. Wagons were often lined up all night near the plant waiting for the opening of the yards in the morning, when the night's output would be ready to distribute. The company sold the coke as fast as it was made, reserving only the right to give priority to the needs of hospitals, public institutions and homes where there were sick persons or little children. It also limited deliveries to one ton at a time.

Fortunately the winter of 1918-1919 was very mild and the supply of coal received here up to the time of the armistice agreement was ample to carry the city through until spring.

To conserve fuel the public everywhere resorted to such methods as "lightless nights," "lightless streets" during the greater part of the night, and the elimination of electric signs, lights in show windows, etc. When this tended to cause people to seek substitutes for lights obtained from the use of coal, the government actually prevented a shortage of gasoline for warships, motor transport and aeroplanes by decreeing that no gasoline should be used on Sundays by civilians. It was not a law - only a request - yet no law was ever more strictly observed or enforced. A man riding in an automobile on Sunday was hooted, scoffed at and perhaps assaulted. A few had forgotten the edict on the first gasolineless Sabbath, but they never forgot it again. One experience with a stern public sentiment was enough.

The patriotic people operated furnaces in their homes only when absolutely necessary during the war. There were certain days upon which no stores were to be heated. Small things, these seem, yet in the aggregate amounting to huge sums for the whole country. And it was these small things, earnestly and enthusiastically carried into effect by all the people, which enabled America to go through the war with a minimum of suffering and without ruining her normal industrial structure and upsetting her habits of life for all time.