Section 13. No substitution in favor of drafted men.

The Selective Service Law strictly prohibits the acceptance of substitutes for men selected for military duty. The obligation to render military service is personal and can not be transferred.

Section 14. Oaths of members of boards and other persons.

Before entering upon the discharge of their duties all of the following-named persons charged with duties in the administration of the Selective Service Law and of these Rules and Regulations who have not heretofore done so shall take the oath which is set out as Form 1033 (sec. 317, p. 269), namely:

Disbursing officers and other officials and employees at State Headquarters and all members of Local, District, Medical Advisory and Legal Advisory Boards (including associate members of the latter) and clerks of boards and additional examining physicians and Government Appeal Agents.

The oath hereby prescribed shall be taken before some officer mentioned in section 10 hereof and shall be filed in the office of the Adjutant General of the State.

Section 15. Signing of orders, reports, and certificates of boards.

All orders, summonses, notices, reports, and certificates issued by authority of any Local or District Board may be signed or certified by any member of such board, or by the Chief Clerk, when duly authorized by the Board, unless otherwise specifically provided in these rules.

Section 16. Entries on forms and records.

All entries made by Local or District Boards on any of the forms, notices, and records provided for by these Rules and Regulations shall, unless otherwise ordered in these regulations, be made with pen and ink of black color unless other color is prescribed by the regulations, or with typewriter, except that rubber stamps may, and, where they can be obtained, should be used in preference to pen and ink in entering dates, designations of Local or District Boards, and other entries which require repetition of the same date or word or phrase.

Section 17. Minute Books of Local and District Boards.

Each District and Local Board shall maintain a Minute Book (Form 1004, p. 218) which shall contain a brief record of the proceedings of all meetings of said Board.

The minutes of said Board must contain, however, the following: (1) Date and hour of each meeting and hour of adjournment. (2) Names of members of Boards present at such meetings and period of time devoted to work of Local Board by each member..

(3) The character of work performed by each Local Board at such meeting, whether classification or mobilization; if the work of the Local Board was of classification, the minutes shall state the number of cases classified or examined.

(4) The number of hours devoted by examining physicians to the work of examining registrants during the day.

From the minutes of such Local or District Boards the Chief Clerk of each of said Boards shall prepare the pay vouchers (see sec. 213) for each member and examining physician of such board, and shall

enter thereon the following certificate: "I hereby certify that the services herein stated were rendered to the Government of the United States, as shown in the Minute Book of

Board

No voucher shall be paid by the Disbursing Officer of the State unless the requirements of this section are fully complied with. Every such Minute Book shall be open to the inspection of auditors or inspectors at all times. (See sec. 31.)

Section 18. Designation of Local and District Boards.

When there is but one Local Board having jurisdiction in a county, or city of over thirty thousand population, or other subdivision in a State, it shall be designated and known as the Local Board for (Here insert name of subdivision) of State of Should there be more than one Local Board having jurisdiction in any county, city of over thirty thousand, or other subdivision within a State, the several Local Boards therein shall be designated and known as the Local Board for division No.

(etc.) for the (name of subdivision) of -, State of In the case of a State, such as Massachusetts, which is divided into divisions, such divisions shall be designated and known as Division No. 1, No. 2, and so on, and the Local Board in each of such divisions shall be designated and known as the Local Board for Division No. 1 or No. 2, and so on, State of

Where there is but one District Board in a State it shall be designated as the District Board for the State of In any State where there is more than one district and but one District Board is established in each district, the several District Boards shall be designated and known as the District Board for the

of the State of

District

Where there is more than one District Board in a Federal judicial district, the respective divisions of such district shall be designated and known as Division No. 1, Division No. 2, and so on, and the several District Boards therein shall be designated and known as District Board for Division No. 1, No. 2, and so on, of the District of the State of

The District Board for the city of New York shall be designated and known as the District Board for the City of New York, State of New York.

The District Board for that portion of the Eastern Judicial District of Pennsylvania embracing the City and County of Philadelphia, shall be designated and known as the District Board for the County and City of Philadelphia, Eastern Judicial District of Pennsylvania (Order of Sept. 4, 1918).

Section 19. Members of Local and District Boards disqualified to act on certain claims.

No member of a Local or District Board shall participate in the hearing or decision of any claim for exemption or deferred classification, or as to physical qualification, of any registrant who is related to him either by blood or marriage nearer than a second cousin; and where such relationship exists, the Local Board of origin may, and where it exists as to more than one member of a Local Board of origin the latter shall transfer the classification and physical examination to another Local Board within the same State.

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Section 4 of the Selective Service Law provides: "The decision of District Boards shall be final, except that. in accordance with such rules and regulations as the President may prescribe, he may affirm, modify, or reverse any such decision." Accordingly, the President will consider appeals from the final decisions of District Boards in accordance with the provisions of sections 111 and 112A. hereof.

Section 21. Appeals to the President to be considered when preferred as required by these Regulations and not otherwise.

Section 111 of these Regulations prescribes a method for appeal to the President of certain classes of cases finally decided by District Boards. Every practicable safeguard against unusual hardship has been provided. Appeals made direct to Washington on ex parte statements would have to be investigated locally before action. Due to the unavoidable congestion that must necessarily follow this irregular method, such direct appeals can only result in confusion and delay. Therefore appeals to the President whon not preferred in the manner prescribed in sections 111, 112, and 112A of these Regulations, must be returned for compliance with those sections. (See notes 1 and 2, section 111.)

B. PROVOST MARSHAL GENERAL.

Section 22. Office of the Provost Marshal General.

Under the Secretary of War the Provost Marshal General is vested with the execution of so much of the Selective Service Law as relates to registration and the selective draft.

Section 23. No communications concerning pending appeals to the President to be received by administrative officials in Washington.

All administrative officials of the War Department engaged in the execution of the Selective Service Law are hereby directed to decline to discuss cases in respect of which an appeal to the President is pending, or to entertain any communications, suggestions, or additional evidence or statements concerning them.

Section 24. No communication concerning particular cases pending before District or Local Boards to be received by administrative officials in Washington.

The law and regulations place the matter of deferred classification within the jurisdiction of Local and District Boards. There is no authority in any other official to interfere with this jurisdiction in particular cases. So to interfere would be subversive of the letter and spirit of the Selective Service Law and these Regulations. All officials of the War Department engaged in the execution of the Selective Service Law are hereby directed to decline to discuss cases pending before Local or District Boards or to entertain any communications, suggestions, or additional evidence or statements concerning them.

Note 1.-Local Boards will neither receive nor observe instructions except when they come from the Governor or the Adjutant General, or in cases of emergency, instructions issued direct to such Boards by the Provost Marshal General. Government officials and others may communicate directly with Local and District Boards only in the manner provided in the Regulations in the prescribed forms, affidavits, and information required or authorized by the Regulations. But no person has authority to issue instructions to Boards except as specifically prescribed in the Regulations. Boards will scrutinize carefully all communications purporting to be official and in cases of doubt or suspicion refer the matter immediately to the Adjutant General. (Telegram B-1239, January 1, 1918.)

Note 2.-See n. 1, section 5.

Section 25. Correspondence rules of the Office of the Provost Marshal General.

Rule A. Except as specifically provided in these Regulations, all communications intended for the Provost Marshal General concerning the execution of the Selective Service Law within a State, emanating from individuals within the State or from Local and District Boards or other officials engaged within any State in the execution of the Selective Service Law, must be directed to the Adjutant General of the State for reference to the Provost Marshal General. (See sec. 31.) Correspondence sent in violation of this rule to the office of the Provost Marshal General will be returned to the writer.

Note 1.-War Department rules governing correspondence require that all communications be forwarded in duplicate. (Circular Letter, June 21, 1918.)

Rule B. The Office of the Provost Marshal General can give no opinion direct to individuals concerning the circumstances of an individual case nor can it make rulings at the instance of an individual writing to the Office of the Provost Marshal General direct on any phase of the Selective Service Law. Local, District, and Legal Advisory Boards are the centers of information for the communities over which they have jurisdiction. Individuals must be remitted for information to local authorities, who, if they can not answer the question asked, will promptly proceed as required by Rule C.

Rule C. Local and District Boards will honor proper requests for information from individuals. Whenever a Local or District. Board receives a request for information which it can not authoritatively answer, or whenever circumstances arise which require the decision of higher authority, the Local or District Board will immediately report the case to the Adjutant General of the State with a request for the necessary information or decision.

Rule D. The Adjutant General of a State will scan all communications received in accordance with Rules A, B, and C. Such as can be answered will be returned to the writer with the information desired. Such as can not be so answered will be immediately forwarded to the Office of the Provost Marshal General. When a request for a ruling or for administrative action arises from circumstances so urgent as to demand immediate action. the telegraph will be used.

Rule E. Whenever a request for information is received from State Headquarters by the Office of the Provost Marshal General, an answer will be prepared and returned as expeditiously as possible, and wherever a general ruling results, such general ruling will be circulated to every Local and District Board in the United States, by telegram where urgent, and in any case by bulletins of compiled rulings which will be issued from the Office of the Provost Marshal General from time to time.

Rule F. Whenever an individual feels that he has a grievance against a board or other information which he desires to report to higher authority, he should address his letter to the Adjutant General of the State. Communications of this kind which require the action of the Provost Marshal General should be forwarded to the Provost Marshal General containing recommendation and remarks by State Headquarters.

Note 1.-Under our decentralized system, and in compliance with Section 25, State Headquarters must answer questions which are presented in particular cases or, if they can not answer them, forward them to the Provost Marshal General's office. This decentralization must not, however, be allowed to affect the uniformity of the system and, in order to guard against such result, the following is suggested:

(a) That every effort be made by State Headquarters to encourage Local Boards to study the Regulations carefully to the end that matters clearly covered by the Regulations shall not be referred to the Adjutants General for decision. This may be done by answering questions from Local Boards by reference to appropriate sections of the Regulations.