and other officials whose assistance has been invaluable in many cases, and have likewise gained the friendly interest and support of County and State officials generally as well as of the Judicial Departments.
We have not attempted to set forth in this communication the volume of work done for the Department of Justice.
A very prominent phase of work in which the A. P. L.
was of use to the War Department is covered very well by
the comment of the Department of Justice regarding the
law under which the American Army was raised:
The most important of the war laws is the selective-service
act. Cases under this act are of three general kinds—first,
the violation of the act by the military eligibles themselves;
that is, the failure to register in accordance with the registration
system under the draft, the failure to file a questionnaire,
the making of false exemption claims, the failure to
report for examination, etc. As soon as a man becomes a
deserter, he comes under the jurisdiction of the military
authorities and is turned over to them. Up to that point,
however, if he does not fully comply with the law and the
Selective-Service Regulations, he is subject to prosecution
by this department. As the main object of the law is the
raising of an army and not the filling of a prison, the department
seeks to deliver to the military authorities for military
service all offenders subject to military service and physically
fit therefor, except those who willfully and rebelliously refuse
military service and can be subjected to substantial punishment.
The second class of cases concerns the acts of those who, not themselves subject to military service, induce violations of the act, such as making false exemption claims for others, inducing others to resist military service or evade the law. This classification also includes violations of duty on the part of members of the exemption boards.
The third class of cases relates to the violation of those sections which aim to protect training and mobilization camps from the evil influence of the liquor traffic or prostitution within the neighborhood of the camp. The first class of cases has thrown upon the representatives of this department throughout the country an immense amount of work. This work has consisted in part of prosecuting deliberate violations of the law. In far larger measure, however, it has consisted in locating, apprehending, and delivering to local boards or Army officials many thousands of men who
