LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 020 930 205 6 W HoUinger Corp. pH8.5 III. REPOET OF THE SPECIAL COMMITTEE FOR WAR SERVICE OF THE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION. The committee began its work in Washington early in January, 1918 (after receiving a letter from President Wilson dated De- cember 31, 1917, in which he wrote that the " work should be done in consultation and close cooperation with the Secretary of La- bor," as the Department of Labor " was doing the same work upon a broader scale because including others besides the legal pro- fession"). The committee was started in the first instance as a legal clear- ing house where lawyers wishing to help the government could either call or register their qualifications on cards prepared by the committee and to which the various departments, bureaus and commissions of the government who desired lawyers could apply. As the committee was in a sense an employment bureau for lawyers and because of the letter from President Wilson, it resulted naturally that the committee should be given offices in the building of the United States Employment Service of the Department of Labor. The committee was organized by the personal selection of lawyers in every state in the Union to act as its advisors; by a list of all the legal advisory boards in the country, more than 4500 in number; by the names and addresses of the presidents and secretaries and so far as possible of the names of the mem- bers of the 700 and odd bar associations of the country ; and it later obtained the names of one or more accredited lawyers in almost every county in the Union. In addition to these lists the committee obtained the lists of the lawyers of the Employers' Liability Assurance Corporation; the guaranteed attorneys list of the United States Fidelity and Guaranty Co., the Russell Law List and Martindale and Hubbell's Legal Directories. Besides the work of placing lawyers there later developed a large amount of work which the committee was able to do in assisting the various departments, bureaus and commissions in war work. ^f> Because of the order in which the work of the committee was undertaken and also for the sake of clearness in describing the work it has seemed best to the committee to divide its work as follows : First. The work of the committee as a Legal Clearing House. (a) The work of placing lawyers in Washington. (b) The work of placing lawyers elsewhere in the United States. (c) The work of lawyers overseas. Second. The cooperation in war work with the various de- partments, bureaus and commissions. Third. The work of the committee requiring special mention, and Fourth. The work done by the committee as suggested by President Wilson in consultation and close cooperation with the Secretary of Labor. First. From the list of almost 4000 lawyers who offered their services to the government upon such terms as they could afford ; from the members of the American Bar Association and from other lawyers carefully selected throughout the country, we sup- plied lawyers to do much of the war work required by the govern- ment. (a) To the State Department in Washington we furnished the names of several lawyers for international law work and for other general work in that department. To the attorney-general we supplied a lawyer to work on the status of interned alien enemies which work will be referred to later. To the Internal Revenue Branch of the Treasury Department we supplied lawyers for in- come tax and other work and also many lawyers to the War Risk Insurance Bureau. The work which we did for this bureau will be described later on in this report. To the Department of Labor we supplied lawyers for the Public Service Reserve and the United States Housing Corporation. To the War Department we supplied lawyers for several of its branches, including the Military Intelligence Branch and the Quartermaster's and Ord- nance Corps. To the Department of Agriculture we supplied several lawyers. We had been in consultation with the Post- Master General's office on the question of lawyers for telephone and telegraph work and were preparing to enlist the services of Sm Ihlte Hriss. Qql lawyers for the Department of the Interior at the time the 2" armistice was signed. We also supplied lawj'ers to the Food Administration, Fuel Administration, U. S. Shipping Board, Emergency Fleet Corporation, Council of National Defense, War Trade Board, Alien Property Custodian and American Red Cross. (b) For work in other parts of the country outside of Wash- ington we supplied to the War Eisk Insurance Bureau at least one lawyer in almost every county in the Union, more than 3000 in all. To the Department of Justice we furnished the names of lawyers in every state to assist the district attorneys in cases of necessity. To the Military Intelligence Branch of the War De- partment we furnished the names of approximately 500 law7ers in cities and towns chiefly through the middle west. For the Department of Labor we selected lawj'ers duly qualified to assist the Housing Corporation of that department with its projects throughout the country. To the Committee of Training Camp Activities we supplied lawyers responsible for proper conditions and the enforcement of law in the neighborhood of camps, and to the War Camp Community Service more than 150 lawyers for voluntary work at local stations. In assisting the director of field work in the United States Employment Service the com- mittee supplied about one-half the organizers, and to the War Industries Board we furnished the names of law}'ers of promi- nence for special work. The work done by lawyers outside of Washington was almost entirely volunteer work. (c) For overseas work, besides referring law}-ers to the Judge- Advocate General's office (which office usually made its ovni se- lections), we supplied several lawyers to work on adjusting claims in France. These men spoke French and had some insurance experience. We supplied law}'ers to the State Department for consular service. To the Military Intelligence Bureau, lawyers for interpreting and other work who spoke respectively Russian, Czecho-Slovak, Japanese, Rumanian, Norwegian, Swedish, Danish and Dutch. Several lawyers were supplied to the Motor Transport Co. and to the Field Artillery Service. At the time of the signing of the armistice the names of 50 law}'^ers of administrative and prosecuting experience had been furnished to the General Staff for military police duty in France, and also the names of 40 men selected for domestic and overseas work for the military and intelligence service to whom commissions were being issued at the time hostilities ceased. We also supplied from time to time lawyers for work overseas for the American Eed Cross and for the Y. M. C. A. Second. Owing to the very large number of departments, bureaus and commissions engaged in war work, especially in the War Department, it was extremely important (in order that the committee should be able to supply as far as possible the need for lawyers) that that department should have a personnel section to whom the committee could refer. The committee was largely instrumental in bringing about such a section. In several important instances we have prevented duplication of effort by getting together men in the different departments who were unconsciously working on similar work, independently of each other — notably in the case of the Judge-Advocate General's office and the Council of National Defense, in the organization of local boards throughout the country, and in the case of the War Service Exchange and the United States Employment Service in securing recruits for the army. We worked with the Attorney- General's office in the attempted coordination of the various law departments so as to avoid the repetition of an ex- amination of identically the same question and so as to render uniform the opinions thereon. With the Secretary of the Navy in calling to the attention of the legal advisory boards the Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act. Through these boards we received the cordial assistance of the lawyers throughout the country in carrying out the pro- visions of the act. The Alien Property Custodian conceived the idea of getting all the lawyers of the country (approximately 150,000 in num- ber) to assist him in uncovering such German owned property as, according to the usages of war, should be taken over by the gov- ernment: and he also wrote for the same purpose to all the pro- bate and other judges having jurisdiction of estates. At his request the committee cooperated with him in enlisting the services of lawyers through the presidents of all the bar associa- tions. The Alien Property Custodian also asked the committee to furnish him competent lawyers to represent him in court in tlie various counties in New York state ; and from time to time we supplied him with lawyers for special service in cities and towns throughout the country. Third. Soon after the committee entered upon its work in Washington it learned that claims agents and pension attorneys were inducing beneficiaries of war risk insurance to place in their hands claims against the government on a percentage basis and at exorbitant rates. In most instances it was entirely unneces- sary to employ lawyers ; and many times the claims were obtained through misrepresentation. The committee also learned that Con- gress, knowing of this situation, Avas proposing to restrict the fees of agents and attorneys and that Congressman Treadway of Massachusetts was working on a bill to effect this purpose. We discovered that the Bureau of War Risk Insurance was unaware both of the practices of these claims agents and attorneys and also of the proposed bill. The committee arranged for a confer- ence between Congressman Treadway and the Law Department of the Bureau of War Eisk Insurance and assisted in the draft- ing of the bill which afterwards became a law. It was evident that in order to render effectual the purpose of the bill we must obtain the gratuitous assistance of the lawyers of the country. To accomplish this purpose we worked with the Secretary of the Treasury and with him sent out to all the legal advisory boards, approximately 4500 in number, a letter from the Secretary of tlie Treasury and the chairman of the committee, and thereby obtained the voluntary services of a large proportion of the Bar of the country, who, in addition to the work they had done for about 9,000,000 registrants in working out their questionnaires, had also helped the enlisted men in various ways with the aid of the home sections of the Red Cross and the committees of the State Councils of Defense. The result of this work will be to get for the soldiers and sailors substantially the full amount of the money due tliem on their war risk insurance. The War Department has relied on the committee to handle the correspondence of the soldiers, sailors and their dependents in cases where their rights were assailed in violation of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act. Letters have been constantly received from the wives of the enlisted men and others, usually addressed to the President of the United States or to the Secretary of War, asking for help either where their property was about to be seized under foreclosure proceedings, or other acts were at- tempted to be done contrary to the provisions of the act. These letters were inunediately referred to the committee and we have been able through the machinery of the office to make a speedy and satisfactory selection of lawyers who have rendered gratuitous service in every instance. The Judge- Advocate and Adjutant- General's office have frequently called upon the committee in like cases for a lawyer in some city, town or hamlet of the country, to assist the enlisted men or their families and Ave liave always been able to furnish them a lawyer within 24 hours of the time the application was made. It has seemed best to the conmiittee to make special reference to its work in regard to alien enemies. The prol)leni was first presented to us upon application from the Department of Justice for an attorney to investigate the situation at Hot Springs, N. C, where many German sailors were living, placed there from the interned ships. Upon the United States Government devolved the duty of feeding these men. Many of them had families in the United States who were subject to public charity as a result of their internment, and they were also a source of anxiety to the surrounding country. The Department of Justice desired to utilize the services of these men so far as it could safely be done, uj)on work of a productive nature. To accomplish this purpose an attorney was selected by the committee for the Department of Justice who, in consultation with the committee, began an in- vestigation of conditions at Hot Springs. A questionnaire was framed and distributed among the men at camp, and through their answers evidence was obtained which enabled the Department of Justice to determine what men were eligible for parole. The committee worked as an intermediary between the Department of Justice and the Department of Labor which had joint jurisdic- tion of the situation, with the result that a considerable number of men were sent to work in industrial departments and upon farms. It was later called to the attention of the committee that friendly enemy aliens were not allowed to pass through certain barred zones. By arrangements with the Department of Justice the United States marshals were instructed to permit the transport of these men through the barred zones in such a way as to greatly increase their working capacity and thereby to materially con- tribute to the national food supply. The lawyer whom we se- lected for the Department of Justice is still at work on questions relating to enemy aliens and will undoubtedly continue his work until the questions are disposed of. Fourth. Because of our close association with the Department of Labor we have been able to carry out the wishes of President Wilson and to cooperate with that department in various ways. Among others we succeeded in improving the relationship be- tween that department and the other departments of the govern- ment. We also assisted the United States Employment Service in field organization of labor through the community labor boards by supplying to them about half of their organizers, and also the Boys' Working Reserve of the United States Employment Ser- vice with a list of organizers in their field. Early in the spring the director of the Bureau of Farm Labor of the Department of Labor called upon the committee to assist in connection with the crop shortage. The problem was to in- crease the number of agricultural workers. Even before the war there was a deticiency in farm labor which was considerably in- creased by conscription into the army, and by the inducements offered to farm hands by occupations paying higher wages. There were also a large number of men who were either idle or engaged in useless or unnecessary occupations. The remedy for these conditions apjieared to be through some form of compulsory legislation which would require all ])ersons to engage in some useful pursuit. The committee learned that the national com- mittee on prisons and prison labor was already working with the provost marshal to frame a uniform, compulsory work law. The secretary of the committee attended conferences at which the Maryland Anti-Loafing Law was used .is a basis for the proposed imiform law. It was suggested at these conferences that the American Bar Association should transmit to the state commis- sions on uniform laws a draft of their proposed law and that the commissioners should procure a passage of such a law through their legislatures at the earliest moment. At the outset it was feared by some of the leading men of the Department of Labor tliat siK'li a compulsory work law might be used unfairly against the laboring man and would tend to lower the standard of living and wages. After interviews with the Secretary of Labor and the War Labor Policies Board, amendments to the proposed law were suggested acceptable both to the conference and to the De- partment of Labor, thus removing the chief obstacles to the passage of such legislation. When the question was taken up with the commissioners on uniform laws, the committee learned that Judge Stockbridge of Maryland, representing the commissioners, was working on a similar law. It was therefore necessary to have a meeting on the final draft of the law at which all persons interested, includ- ing representatives of the Council of National Defense, were present. The draft of the bill as finally agreed upon was ap- proved at a meeting of the commissioners on uniform laws held the week preceding the annual meeting of the American Bar Association. The question of compulsory work legislation was again brought to the attention of the committee by the director of the Bureau of Farm Labor in connection with crop harvesting in the south. The result of the increased income received by colored women through the allotments and allowances of enlisted men was said to interfere seriously with the work of harvesting, especially of cotton, which in the south depends largely upon colored female labor. It was suggested by the director that the compulsory work law be extended to all persons. After talking with the rejire- sentatives of the previous conference ; with women familiar with labor conditions throughout the country; with the professor of negro economics of the Department of Labor; with the solicitor and assistant secretary of the departaient and with several well- known and well-informed southerners, the committee advised against the inclusion of women in the compulsory work law, experience having demonstrated that any such provision would be enforced against colored but not against white women. To re- lieve the existing situation the committee offered its services to Dr. Haynes, professor of negro economics, who was already en- gaged in the work of cooperation between the whites and blaoks in certain of the southern states. Our work with the War Service Exchange and with the Public Eeserve of the Department of Labor disclosed duplication of 9 effort between the two departments. This was due in part to misunderstandings between the heads of the departments which the committee helped to remove by bringing them together on the occasion of the drive by the general staff for a large number of limited service men for commissioned officers. It was learned that the General Staff proposed to secure these men through its own machinery to be built up regardless of the existing machinery of the Department of Labor. Discussion with the leading men at the War Service Exchange and the Conmiitt^e on Classification of Personnel, resulted in a conference with the persons in charge of the U. S. Employment Service and the Public Service Reserve, at which it was finally agreed that a certain proportion of the men desired by the General Staff should be secured by the De- partment of Labor. This work was immediately undertaken by the Department of Labor and the responsibility for its success was placed on this committee. At the time of the signing of the armistice the work was well under way and the War Service Ex- change informed the committee that the results already obtained justified the belief that the plan would have been a complete suc- cess. The reverse process is now taking place. The Department of Labor has been called upon to put the soldiers back into in- dustry. The partial success which it had achieved in the drive above referred to has made it easier to secure the good will and co- operation of the War Department. The conmiittee has again been asked to help the Department of Labor in working out a professional section to have special charge of placing lawyers, engineers and other educated men who are handicapped by womids or otherwise disabled. The secretary of the committee is now working with the Department of Labor in cooperation with the Bureau of Education upon this plan. In conclusion, it is interesting to note that the first important work done by the committee in Washington was in connection with the activities of pension attorneys and claims agents, and that it is now engaged for its last work in getting the Secretary of the Treasury to combine with the committee in calling the attention of the entire Bar of the country to the renewed activi- ties of these attorneys and agents, and with the assistance of all the lawyers again to thwart the endeavors of these men. John Lowell, Chairman. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS ^ lilllilillililllllillilllli ' 020 930 205 6 .LI- As Pi A LIBRARY OF CONGRESS imiii 020 930 205 6 #• HoUinger Corp. pH8.5