100 years ago in The Record
Saturday, Aug. 4, 1917
Newspapers this weekend are reporting an armed uprising against the military draft in Oklahoma, but all is calm in Troy as draftees report for their physical exams today. The “Green Corn Rebellion” may have ended tonight with the killing of the alleged ringleader by a civilian posse . Several hundred men reportedly took part in the uprising to protest the war against Germany. In the Collar City, The Record reports that “There was no excitement or scenic effect associated with the proceedings to- day, the men called for examination just responding and going through the routine in a very informal and practical way.” The men reporting for exams today were the first to have their registration numbers drawn in the national draft lottery on July 20. “The cameraman could have obtained some interesting snapshots of the meetings of the selective draft boards in this city,” the Sunday Budget reports. “There were fat men, thin men, tall men, short men, shortsighted men, men who could hear a pin drop and men who apparently could not hear a dinner bell, men who wanted to go to the front and men who would prefer to linger in the rear.” However, as our paper notes, “There appeared to be some misunderstanding among men drawn in the selective draft concerning just what was to take place before the exemption boards at their meeting to- day.”
Many draftees thought that today was the day they could apply for exemptions from military service, but “the opening day was given entirely to physical examination of the men called, and hearing on causes alleged for exemption, other than physical disability, [will] come later.”
On the assumption that half of all draftees will flunk their physicals, twice the number of each draft district’s quota of men to be provided to the army are called in for exams.
The first man examined in the first district, Frank J. Soulier of 135 Fourth Street, is rejected due to bad teeth. After two others flunk, Lank Hollis of 5 Ferry Street is the first man to pass his physical. He promptly claims an exemption as the sole means of support for his wife, child and infirm father. Two more men are rejected before John J. O’Brien of 228 First Street is accepted into the military.
In the second district, the fifth man examined, Joseph H. Bloomer of 55 Middleburgh, is deemed physically perfect. As a child, Bloomer was told by a family doctor that he’d never reach adulthood, making acceptance into the military “a matter of great satisfaction.” Examinations for the third district in Lansingburgh start on Monday.