Salt Lake Tribune | 1917-08-01 | Page 1 | Marriage may not Avail the Slackers

mm MAY NOT ! ii Trace Wives Must Prove Actual Dependency, Provost Marshal Says. 1 WAHINGTON. July 31. Hast: mar-riags mar-riags made since July 20. the date of th army draft drawing. In an effort to escape conscription through the claim of a dependent wife, will not be considered , ground for discharge unless the wife is actuadv dependent on the husband's labor. la-bor. Prompted by n: ports from many cities of marriage license bureaus besieged by men included "in ti-e first draft call. Provost .Varhal General Crowdtr today 'ruled V.- at "marriaae is not of Itse'.f a valid ground for making claim for dis-! dis-! ch.i rge." Dependency is a matter of fact, not a iaw. General Crowder pointed ! out. ! "A man whose wile is mainly d e -I pendent on his daily labor for support," ' he s.iid, "tray ciaim exemption on that i ground. Only the exemption boards can determine this frict. W here dependency is claimtd and circumstances show a niar- r.ac hastily consummated since July 20 j by a man whose number is high on the ; a a ils hie list, th1 actual fact of de-I de-I pendency must closely scrutinized." j Moreover, General Crowder declared, wom-m w lio marry men merely to aid ' them to be slackers are liat to prosecu-I prosecu-I tion under ti e draft net. I Fears of some officials that delay in! obtaining materials and sufficient labor for na t unnl a rmv cantonments would : postpone t o mobilization long past Sep-: i ember 1 were dissiiate;! todiy by an an-nounceiuent an-nounceiuent b' Secretaty Raker tiiat 7S tier rent of the cHn'onment materials are j now on the ground and that reports in- dicate everything will be In readiness , or nea'-'ty so. in another month. , No definite date for. mobilization was ever fixed, but Secretary Raker has indl-j cated that uvrry effort would be made to effect it about September 1. I