January 7, 1918.

From: The Governor of North Carolina,

To: The Commanding General 81st Division, Camp Jackson, Columbia, S.C.

Subject: Discharge of men under compiled Rulings No. 12.

1. By direction of General Crowder, i am transmitting under separate cover discharges granted under compiled Rulings No. 12 (M), as follows:

Two hundred and sixty-five married men and forty-four single men, whose discharges have been granted by the Local Board, approved by the District Board, by the Adjutant General and myself. I also transmit eighty-nine discharges granted by the District Board upon appeal from the Local Board that refused to grant discharges in these eighty-nine cases.

2. These discharges were granted after a careful investigation in strict pursuance of the rules and regulations prescribed in compiled Rulings No. 12. The Local and District Boards considered these cases and gave the Government the benefit of all doubts. This is evidenced by the fact that although fifteen hundred applications for discharge were made and considered only four hundred and twenty-one discharges were granted. Of these twenty-three are not up for consideration by reason of the fact that the parties have already been discharged or have died.

3. I call your special attention to a copy of a letter from the Provost Marshal General to the Adjutant General of this State of January 4, 1918, in which he says,

“Major Langston calls to my attention the fact that some of the four hundred cases you sent here in accordance with our conversation were decided on verbal evidence that could not now well be reduced to writing. You are hereby authorized to forward these cases to the proper camp commander with a copy of this letter in order that the camp commander may understand the situation.

These were cases that had been reopened under Compiled Rulings No. 12 “m” and discharges granted prior to the repeal of that ruling but the discharges had not been consummated prior to the repeal of that ruling.

The repeal of that ruling foreclosed the authority of the Selective Service System to handle these cases and placed the matter of granting discharges in the jurisdiction of the camp commander. These cases were all carefully considered by the Local and District Boards and each discharge certificate is to be taken as evidence that the case is one of unusual hardship in which a discharge should justly be granted.”

4. The work done by the Local Boards, the District Boards, the Adjutant General and myself in these cases was thrust upon us by the war department. We did not seek any authority in the premises. But the work having been thrust upon us, we hold ourselves responsible for results, and the public also holds the Governor, the Adjutant General and the Local and District Boards responsible for the outcome of these cases. With respect to the eighty-nine cases in which discharges were denied by Local Boards and granted by District Boards, we are content to leave the disposition of these cases to your judgment without comment.

5. With respect to the two hundred and sixty five cases of married men, and the forty-four cases of single men, in which discharges have been granted by both the Local and the District Boards, I am compelled to respectfully insist that these discharges be honored and the men sent to their homes at once. Unless this course shall be taken my usefulness to the Government in the administration of the selective service law will be completely destroyed.

5. I hereby certify upon my honor as Governor of the State, and over its great Seal, that in each of the two hundred and sixty-five cases of married men and forty-four cases of single men that the registrant was originally drafted contrary to the selective service law, was sent to the camp illegally and this action in each case resulted in a serious hardship. This certificate is based upon the findings of the Local Board, the District Boards, the Adjutant General and myself. I understand that some of these men have been sent to other camps and are not now at Camp Jackson. With respect to such cases I ask you to please take whatever steps may be necessary to have these men discharged from the camp wherever they may be. I am enclosing you several copies of this letter to the end that it may be forwarded to such officers in other camps as may have the control of men not in your camp.

7. In view of all that has been said above, I trust that you will notify me at once that these discharges will be promptly honored.

With much respect, I am,
Very truly yours,

T. W. Bickett,
Governor.

TWB/D