December 13th, 1917.

Mr. W. C. Ruffin,
Chairman Local Exemption Board,
Mayodan, N.C.

My dear Sir:-

Your letter of the 8th received and carefully investigated.

J. Ross Price, serial 2008.- The Adjutant General reports that this case has never been certified to him by the District Board for discharge. He has made a careful investigation of his files, and wrote your Board on December 11th. As soon as the discharge is received from the District Board it will be duly approved and certified to Washington.

Wm. Henry Matkins, serial 1080.- No notice of any kind has ever reached the office of the Adjutant General in regard to this case, therefore there is nothing before the Adjutant General upon which he can act.

I doubt seriously whether or not the War Department would honor a discharge in the case of Price on industrial grounds for the reason that under the rules of Sept. 27th only cases could be opened that would involve great hardships to wives or dependents. I do not recall that a single discharge has been granted after a man has been certified to camp on industrial grounds.

On the 13th day of November the War Department issued a ruling which sent to the scrap heap all cases reopened under the rules of September 27th, and notified the Adjutant General that no further discharges would be granted. Thereupon I sent the Adjutant General to Washington to have a personal interview with General Crowder, and as a result the ruling was modified so as not to apply to cases that had already been ordered to be reopened by the Adjutant and were then pending. We are doing everything possible at this end of the line, but, of course, cannot act upon cases until they are properly certified from the District Board.

I wish to express to you my very profound appreciation of the work you and your Board have been doing, the most disagreeable, thankless, and at the same time most patriotic work that is being done by anybody in the prosecution of this war.

With great respect, I beg to remain,

Very truly yours,

Governor.

B-G