Monday, Aug. 20, 1917
A Troy policeman on sick leave commits suicide this morning at his in-laws’ home in Kingston, The Record reports. Michael Frawley joined the force in January 1911. Often in poor health, “it is said that on numerous occasions he had been forced to obtain a leave of absence.” Frawley eventually was detailed to Sycaway, where police work is presumed less rigorous. “While in that section he figured in several happenings which might have resulted more seriously had it not been for his attention to duty,” our reporter writes, “It was he who stopped several runaway horses on Hoosick street, and the discovery of many fires in the community was credited to his watchfulness.” Diagnosed with an “incurable malady,” the 38 year old father of two was forced to take another leave of absence last month. The Frawleys were spending the summer with his wife’s parents when Michael Frawley used the cord of his bathrobe to hang himself in a barn. “His motive in committing the deed was believed to have been despondency over illness,” our writer notes.
1917 DRAFT
The pace of physical examinations for U.S. Army draftees falls off sharply in Troy’s second draft district today as an unusual number of men fail to show up as scheduled. The Record reports that 25 men were supposed to show up for exams today, but as of press time only thirteen had shown up. Of those who did appear, only Jacob Warnken of 1816 Fifteenth Street passes his physical and declines to claim an exemption from service. “Why no more than fourteen reported was not known,” our reporter writes ominously, “It is expected there will be a better showing this afternoon. If those who did not appear have no good reason for it, action of some sort is liable to be taken.” Two out of the city’s three districts are still struggling to meet their quotas of men required for the war against Germany. In the first district, the draft board hears the case of a Rochester man currently employed in Troy. William H. White registered in Rochester on June 5 but took a job in the Collar City soon afterward. He takes his physical here, and after passing it claims an exemption because his wife in Rochester is ill. In addition, White claims that he misled the Rochester draft board about his age. He registered as a thirty year old, but now claims that he’s actually 35, too old for the draft. He tells the Troy board that he was “anxious then to enter the army,” and his wife was well at the time.