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Washington, D.C. November 13th, 1917
Governor of North Carolina:
Raleigh, N.C.
1. Number 10151. Reference Compiled Rulings No. 12, paragraph “m”. Ample time has now elapsed for the adjustment of the conditions which prompted that ruling. The unrestricted re-opening of cases of men not yet inducted into military service is delaying the raising of the army and the re-opening of cases of men already so inducted is interfering with its training The following rules will therefore govern the re-opening of the the cases mentioned in that ruling in the future.
2. Cases of men inducted into military service by a Local Board shal not be re-opened after such induction except as provided in paragraph five hereof. Cases of men already inducted into military service heretofore re-opened and now in process of re-hearing shall be forthwith closed and the prior disposition of the case adhered to.
3. Any person already inducted into military service who claims that he has not had a full and fair hearing, or has not had a full and fair opportunity to be heard by a Local or District Board as required by the Selective Service Law and Regulations, or who claims that the Board has exceeded its jurisdiction or substantially violated the Selective Service Law or Regulations in passing on his claim may apply to the Commanding Officer of his mobilization camp at any time within seven days after arrival at the mobilization camp to be discharged under the provisions of paragraph one hundred and thirty nine Army Regulations. If the Commanding Officer desires information of the facts of a particular case or the circumstances of its hearing he may request the Adjutant General of the State to investigate the facts of such case and the circumstances of its hearing and the Adjutant General of the State shall forthwith call upon the proper Board for a full report of all such facts and the circumstances.
4. Cases mentioned in sub-paragraph “a” and “b” of page six of Compiled Rulings Number Twelve, which have heretofore been decided may be re-opened as therein provided only when the claim for such re-opening if filed with the Adjutant General of the State within ten days after the date of this telegram and where permission to re-open is granted by the Adjutant General of the State before induction into military service. Cases mentioned in that paragraph decided hereafter will be re-opened as therein provided only where the claim for re-opening by either the Local or District Board shall have been filed with the Adjutant General of the State within seven days after receipt of notice by the registrant or person claiming exemption or discharge of the decision of the Local or District Board as prescribed in sections 25, 41 and 45 of the Regulations and where permission to re-open is granted by the Adjutant General of the State before induction into military service. Such cases may not be re-opened by the Local or District Boards unless permission to re-open them is granted by the Adjutant General of the State as herein provided and such permission shall not be granted unless the claims are filed within the time limits herein prescribed.
5. Cases mentioned in sub-paragraph “a”, page seven of Compiled Rulings Number Twelve, may be re-opened as provided there in.
6. Please inform all concerned and give the publicity necessary to put all on notice of these time limits.
7. The great number of appeals to the President suggest that there must be still a great number of appeals pending before District Boards. We have found already that the President’s urgent call upon lawyers to assist the selective service system is producing a general and enthusiastic response from men of the legal profession and we have taken advantage of it here by using volunteer lawyers to analyze the records in appealed cases and to make a very shory summary and recommendation upon which these cha charged with the decision on appeal can function promptly. This suggests a way to clean up all the appeals pending before District Boards very swiftly. If you will call upon members of the legal profession to offer their services to District Boards and suggest to District Boards that the services be utilized along the lines here suggested, the District Boards will be greatly aided by these summaries and I believe that they can clean up their dockets within a very few days.
This same method can be used at State Headquarters to dispose of the congestion of requests to re-open cases.
8. There is urgent necessity to being the first draft to a close as promptly as possible. Reports from mobilization camps indicate that there is a considerable discrepancy between the percentage of the quotas thus far called and the number of men who have actually been furnished to the camps. Please address yourself to this situation at the earliest possible moment to make sure that every Board has furnished to its mobilization camp the per centage of its quota thus far called. If any part of this delay is due to the fact that mobilization camps have not reported to Local Boards the number of men rejected, please inform me of the name of the mobilization camp in order that I may take immediate steps to have this delay remedied.
