The Search for the 'Slackers'
Local draft board publishes a list of 35 men who failed to claim their questionnaires and are now subject to arrest.
Thirty-five men registered in this county stand upon the records of the local draft board as subject to arrest as slackers. They are men whose questionnaires were unclaimed at their last known address and returned to the board. Investigation will probably show that several of the men are already in some branch of the service as is the case with Elmer Ferguson, Battery E, 164th F. A., now in France.
“Thirty-five men registered in this county stand upon the records of the local draft board as subject to arrest as slackers.”
Draft evasion and its administrative consequences were high-stakes issues during WWI, reflecting a period of intense state surveillance and national mobilization. The public listing of 'slackers' highlights the aggressive pressure campaigns that defined the home front.
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