The Exemption of Martin Garber
When a local man avoided the WWI draft to farm beans and fruit, the community demanded an explanation, forcing the draft board to release his records.
This paper is in receipt of a communication from 'A Subscriber' asking why Martin Garber was exempted from army service. In fairness to the draft board and the public, we are publishing the facts. Mr. Garber is the owner of 16 acres of Kennewick Valley land farmed to beans, potatoes, and fruit. He also superintends his father's seven and a half acres in the Garden Tracts. With his brother Charles moving to a new farm in Stevens County, the responsibility for managing 780 acres of wheat land in Lincoln County now falls to Martin. Additionally, he is in great demand during apple harvest as an expert packer. The board concluded he is more valuable to the government as a food producer than as a soldier.
“It would be easier to secure several good soldiers than to replace him as a food producer.”
Exemption battles during wartime highlight the tension between individual contribution and state-mandated duty. This incident reveals how essential agricultural production was to the economy of the Kennewick Valley in the early 20th century.
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