Table Of ContentLOCAL BOARD
A STUDY OF THE PLACE OF VOLUNTEER PARTICIPATION
IN A BUREAUCRATIC ORGANIZATION
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
in the
FACULTY OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, PHILOSOPHY AND PURE SCIENCE
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
by -
DONAID DEAN STEWART
19$0 _
.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter Page
I. THE CASE UNDER STUDY 1
1. The Selective Service System
2. The Social Milieu
3. The Limitations to Bureaucratization
U. A Theory of Structural Change
5. The Methods of Study
II. THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE SELECTIVES ERVICE SYSTEM ... 29
1. A Responsible Bureaucracy
2. Integrity: The Theme of Operation
3. Informal Control of the Local Boards
U. Indirect Control: The Role of the Appeal Board
III. THE LOCAL BOARD MEMBERS..................... 63
1. Some Selected Personal Characteristics of the
Local Board Members
2. The Selection of the Local Boardm embers
3. The Local Board Members as Community Leaders
lj. Conscription by Neighbors
5. A Note on the Sociology of the Volunteer
IV. THE OPERATION OF THE LOCAL BOARDS............ 92
1. The Duties of the Local Board Members
2. Registration, Classification, and Induction
3. Calls
ii. Indirect Control: The Role of the Local Board Clerk
V. THE CONDITIONS FOR THE CENTRALIZATIONO F CONTROL . . . . 127
1. The Conditions of Decision <
2. The "Discomforts" of Decision
3. The Local Boards as a "Grass Roots Organization"
Chapter Page
VI. THE CENTRALIZATION OF CONTROL 160
1. Dependency Deferments: A Case Study
2. The Local Board Members' Appraisal of the Adminis
tration of the Selective Service System
3. Resistance to Control by the Local Board Members
VII. CONCLUSIONS 196
1. A Summary
2. The "Effectiveness" of Volunteer Participation
in a System of Conscription
3. The "Efficiency" of Volunteer Participation in
a System of Conscription
BIBLIOGRAPHY 213
Appendix
A. INTERVIEWING THE LOCAL BOARD MEMBERS 218
1. The Selection of the Interviewees
2. Arranging the Interviews
3. The Interview Guide
k• The Conduct of the Interviews
B. TABLES OF PERSONAL DATA ON INTERVIEWEES 2Ul
C. THE NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS OPINION SURVEY 2Uii
LOCAL BOARD
A STUDY OF THE PLACE OF VOLUNTEER PARTICIPATION
IN A BUREAUCRATIC ORGANIZATION
CHAPTER I
THE CASE UNDER STUDY
1. The Selective Service Sy3tem
This is a description of volunteer participation in the system
of conscription of military manpower during World War II. The volunteers
whose activities are described— the Local Board members of the Selective
Service System— were legislatively assigned a significant role in the
selection of men for military service. The Selective Service System was
a quasi-military bureaucracy, and the purpose of the study is the analy
sis of the place of the volunteer participant in such an organization.
The formal structure of the Selective 3611/106 System of World
War II was outlined in the Selective Service and Training Act of 19liO
and the first Selective Service Regulations* The formal structure of the
System was not altered during World War II and, from an administrative
point of view, the operation of the System might be considered to be a
series of adjustments to this structure which was imposed, at least par
tially, from 11 out side.*1 The general orientation of the series of adjust
ments was toward the establishment of orderly procedures and the elimina
tion, so far as possible, of non-rational considerations in the procurement
2
of military manpower. The process of bureaucratization does not proceed
evenly with any large organization;1 in the instance at hand this process
was complicated by the substantial, legally designated authority of the
volunteer personnel and by the general purposes of the organization.
The consideration of the advisability of, or the necessity for,
peacetime military conscription lies outside the field of this study. Ex
perience and observation have indicated that conscription is probably the
only method which could have been utilized to mobilize the approximately
fourteen million persons who served with the American armed forces during
World War XI which would not have seriously disorganized industrial and
agricultural production.^ War-time conscription has been adopted by all
of the major belligerents in both of the major wars of this century.
^or a general statement of the "problem of bureaucracy" see
Beinhard Bendix, "Bureaucracy; The Problem and Its Setting" in the American
Sociological Review, XII, October, 19l*7» PP« 1*93-507* See also PhiHp
Se'iznick, "An Approach to the Theory of Bureaucracy" in the American Socio
logical Review, VIII, October, 191*3, pp* 1*7-1*9. See also the chapter on
‘bureaucracy in H. H. Gerth and C. Wright Mills, From Max Weber: 'Essays in
Sociology (New York: Oxford University Press, 191*6) pp. 196-2id*.
^There are two recently published works on American conscription
by Edward A. Fitzpatrick. Conscription and Democracy (Milwaukee: Richard
Publishing Company, 191*0) and Universal Military draining (New York:
McGraw-Hill, 191*5). The topic ~o£ conscription is treated in a number of
more general works on military history and organization, e.g. Brigadier
General John MacAuley, American in Arms (New Haven: Yale University Press,
191*1) John Clarkson and Fred Cochrane, War as A Social Institution, (New
York: Columbia University Press, 1938) i^dward ft. "Herring, frde Impact of
War: Our American Democracy Under Arms (Now York: Farrar and Rinehart,
line., 191*1) Grosveno'r iS'.' Clarkson, Industrial America and the World War
(Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 1923). tfhe issue o£ September,11^1*5, (36X)&(XI,
of the Annals of the American Acadeny of Political and Social Science was
devoted id the topic of conscription.'' See especially the article by Major
General Lewis B. Hershey, "Procurement of Manpower in American Wars," and
the article by Robert A. Graham, "Universal Military Training in Modem
History." See also the article by Elbridge Colby, "Conscription," in Vol
ume Four of the Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences (New York: MacMillan
and Company, 1930) pp.' 220-23..
3
The experience of the federal government during the Civil War demonstrated
that the basis of conscription must be an enforceable law which distributes
the liability for military service to all sections of the population.^ The
more cogent arguments for war-time military conscription are strikingly
similar to those sometimes advanced for the bureaucratization of organiza
tion. Conscription, as contrasted to a system of voluntary enlistments,
is rational and orderly and provides the methods for the more effective
general utilization of the manpower supply.^
— /
The Selective Service and Training Act of I9I1O was approved by the
President on September 16, l£l;0.£ The let of 19U0 was similar to the act
of 1917 as the Selective Service System of World War I was similar to that
^The "draft riots" of the American Civil War are treated in a
number of histories of that period and more general American histories.
See, for example, Charles and Mary Beard, The Rise of American Civilization,
(New York: MacMillan and Company, 1933)* ’ "An excellent account o? the
operation of Civil War conscription in one state is given in the.Historical
Report of the Operations of the Acting Assistant Provost Marshal General, ~
Illinois available in the library of Congress, the major objection to the
Civil War conscription centered on the provisions of the legislation
which permitted the registrant with funds to purchase exemption from mil
itary service by the payment of a "bounty," usually of from three to five
hundred dollars, to a substitute. As would be expected, the militarily-
eligible of the lower income groups thought that this policy was dis
criminatory. The legislation was so poorly drawn and the system so badly
organized that less than two per cent of the federal forces were conscripts.
She works of Fitzpatrick cited above under (2) incorporate most
of the usual arguments for conscription* Although Colonel Fitzpatrick
stresses the "unofficial" nature of his views, at the time of the publi
cation of the second of these books he was assigned to the office of the
National Director of Selective Service as Editor of the Director's
Reports.
$
Selective Service in Peacetime: First Report of the Director of
Selective Service (Washington; Government Printing Office, ) p. 3.-
h
of World War II.8 One month after the enactment of the Act of 1924.0 on
October 16, more than sixteen mill ion men were registered Trith Local Boards
in their home communities. Before November 16 several thousand men had
been inducted into the Army through the Selective Service System, and fur
ther inductions had been delayed only because of the lack of adequate
training facilities.7 Such speed of organization, even in an emergency,
■would have been impossible without a well-formulated plan of operation— a
plan designed before the enactment of the measure or even before the Con
gressional debate on the measure had begun* The organization of the Selec
tive Service System of World War II began in 1926 with the establishment of
a Joint Army and Navy Committee “on Selective Service in the Personnel Divi
sion of the Chief of Staff of the Army under the provisions of the National
Defense Act of that year.8 The Conmittee devoted 12; years to the study of
the experiences of America and other nations with conscription and to the
consideration of plans for the mobilization of manpower in the event that
it became necespary.
8For a description of conscription in America during World War I
see the Report of the Provost Marshal General to the Secretary of War on
the First Draft under the Selective Service Act of 19 lV (Washington;
Government Wdnt'lngOffiice, 19lS),~ the Second Report of the Provost Mar
shal General to the Secretaiy of War on the Operation of 'the 'Selective
Service ^System to December 20, 1915 (Washington: Government Printing"*
Office, l9ll£y, ffinal Report of the Provost Marshal General to the Secre-
tarjMof War on the Operation of the Selective Service System 'to July l£7
I#l9"(Washington: Government Printing bffice, 1920). See also krigaclier
General Enoch B. Crowder’s The Spirit of Selective Service (New Yorks
Harper’s, 1920). As Provost Marshal" General ol1 the Arny during World War
I, General Crowder was National Director of Selective Service.
^Selective Service in Peacetime; First Report of the Director of
Selective Service. (Washington: Government Printing Office, 19U2) pp. 17
and Z|07.
8Ibid., pp. 9-11.
5
The officers of the regular Arny and Navy who worked with the Joint
Committee formed the nucleus of the administrative staff of the Selective
Service System*? The executive officer of this Committee, Major General
Lewis G* Hershey, was the National Director of the Selective Service System
during most of the period of active operation of World War XX, A major
peacetime activity of the Committee had been the training of reserve Amy,
Navy, and Marine Corps officers in the procedures of conscription through
conferences and extension courses; and this trained personnel was soon
mobilized for duty in the various State and National Headquarters.10 The
majority of the State Directors of Selective Service, who were appointed
by the various State Governors, had been either State Adjutants or officers
in the National Guard and militia organizations; and they were familiar
with the mobilization plans of the Joint Committee.H This trained group,
regular and reserve officers of the armed forces and the Adjutants, were,
or soon became, "professionals11 in the administration of a system designed
to select men for military service.
The extent of the "non-professional" or volunteer participation in
the operation of the Selective Service System is indicated by the fact that
almost 80 per cent of the more than two hundred thousand persons serving
with the System in June, 19U2; were in this category.^ There wore 6,Uj3
?Ibid., pp. I
IQlbid., p. £1;.
Hlbid., p. 66.
l^On July 31, 19lUi there were 1,327 full-time compensated employees
at the National Headquarters of this System in Washington, including ll|.0
commissioned officers of the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps. On the same date
there were 813 officers, 183 enlisted men, and 2,8£3 civilians serving with
the various State Headquarters and there were 16,213 clerks serving on a
6
Local Boards, or one for approximately each thirty thousand of the popula
tion, with a minimum of one for each county regardless of population size.
In addition to the three to five Local Board members the volunteer person
nel of each Board included a varying number of Registrants' Advisors, a
Government Appeal Agent or Agents, a Re-employment Conmitteeman or Committee
men, and a group of examining physicians or dentists.^ For some the service
full-time basis and 1,UU2 on a part-time basis with the various Local Boards.
The total of this compensated personnel was 22,631* On the same date there
were 8,197 doctors serving on an uncompensated basis with the various State
Medical Boards, 2h,106 Local Board members, 28,9Ul doctors and 7*095 dentists
as examiners with the Local Boards, 76,290 members of the Advisory Boards
for Registrants, 7,807 Government Appekl. Agents, and 2,010 members of the
Appeal Boards. These uncompensated persons constituted 87.6 per cent of the
total of 182,087 serving with the System. This data was taken from an un
published report prepared by the Administrative and Personnel Division of
the National Headquarters of the Selective Service System.
•^Selective Service in Peacetime: First Report of the Director of
Selective Service (Washington^ Government Printing Office, 19i*2) p. 58*
l%he Registrants' Advisors supervised and sometimes served as
clerks for the seven Registrations for Selective Service. During the course
of the study, it was observed that most of them served only on the registra
tion days for the first five Registrations. The major duty of the Govern
ment Appeal Agent was to assist those registrants who desired to appeal the
decision of the Local Board in the preparation of their appeals. With some
Local Boards the Government Appeal Agent regularly attended meetings, and
he might (and sometimes did) initiate appeals if he did not approve of the
ruling of the Local Board. The significance of the role of the Government
Appeal Agent was dependent, to a considerable extent upon the interests
and abilities of the incumbent, and during the course of the study consid
erable variations were observed. The Selective Service Act provided for
the re-employment of discharged inductees in the position at which they
had been employed at the time of induction, subject to some restrictions
with reference to the "permanence" of the position. The duty of the Re
employment Committeeman was to advise the veterans of the provisions of
the Act and the Selective Service Regulations on this matter and to assist
them in either returning to their previous employment or in finding new
employment. This duty was later assumed by the United States Employment
Service and the Veterans Administration. The duties of the physicians and
dentists were dependent upon the prevailing policy with reference to Local
Board physical examinations. Originally, this examination was- rather super
ficial and the more complete examination was given at the induction station,
then the Local Board examination was made more complete, and, finally, the
Local Board examination became merely a "screening" for the elimination of
the grossly unfit.
was only occasional and of brief .duration* For many, including almost £0
per cent of the Local Board members, service was a daily or weekly duty
for more than six years.^ Although the activities of the other volun
teers are relevant to the consideration of the operation of the Local
Boards and the System, the major emphasis of this study is on the activi
ties and the attitudes of the Local Board members.
The Local.Board members were appointed from lists submitted to the
President by the various State Governors.^ The only necessary qualifica
tions were that the appointee be a civilian, a citizen and a resident of
the area of jurisdiction of the Local Board, and that he be beyond the
age for induction into the armed forces.-*-? The tenure of the Local Board
members was indefinite, but it was presumed to be for the duration of the
operation of the System. No particular proficiency was required. The
^The number of the "original appointments," i.e., appointments
before November 18, 191*0, to the Local Boards was 22,71*6. On May 31* i9l*6,
according to a report prepared at the National Headquarters, there were
11,21*7 or 1*9.2 per cent of these appointees still serving as Local Board
members.
l6Ihe reference for this procedure was The Selective Service and
Training Act of 19l*0i An act to provide for the common defense by in
creasing the personnel of the armed forces of the United States and pro
viding for its training. Section 10 (a) (2). This section of the law-
was later implemented by provisions of the Selective ServiCe Regulations.
Of somewhat more significance to this study, in the opinion of the author,
were the methods utilized by the various State Governors in the compila
tion of these lists, and these methods are discussed in more detail in
Section 2 of Chapter Three.
1 ft
The tenure of the Local Board members is not specified in either
the Selective Service Act or the Selective Service Regulations. Of course,
the Local Board members could resign at any time that they chose, and they
could be removed by action of the administrators of the System.
