February 14th, 1918.

Mrs. L. C. Keene,
Four Oaks, N.C.

My dear Madam:-

Replying to yours of the 13th I beg to say that I am absolutely without power or privilege to review in any way the findings of the local or district board with respect to any particular case. It would be a just cause for grievance on the part of the board if I attempted in any way to review or criticize their findings of fact in regard to any particular case.

The very most that I can do is to send out general instructions to the Board applicable to all cases coming before them, and then for the boards to say whether or not these instructions are applicable to individual cases coming before them.

This is not only the law, but as a practical matter it is necessarily the law because, even if the Governor had nothing else to do (and he has many things on his hands just now) it would be a physical impossibility for him to sit as a court of review on the thirty thousand cases before the local boards in the State. The only appeal from the decision of a local board is to the district board which is a legally constituted court of appeal and the only appeal from a district board is to the President of the United States.

With best wishes, I am,

Very truly yours,

[unsigned]

B_G