Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 238, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 October 1919 — Page 3

PROBLEMS IN NOMENCLATURE WHICH WAR RISK BUREAU HAS TO TACKLE

Difficulties the Bureau Experiences in Answering Letters and Maintaining the Correct Addresses of Demobilized MenMany Become Transients and Others Give Only Fragmentary Information.

Washington. —Ecce homo! Behold the man! "Get me this man’s namosothatl can report definitely on the status of his Insurance.” -the memo, “James Hall, (3,721,505) McCall, South Carolina. Beneficiaries; Mrs, Ella Stalks (wife), Mrs. Fannie Stalks (mother),” was handed to a file searcher in the bureau of war risk insurance. The man’s name was given as Hall, while those of his wife and bis mother were given as Stalks. Patently, something was wrong somewhere. Just what was wrong, however, was not so evident. To find out what and where the error was,, was the job. Finding the error somebody else made is always the job of the war risk index file searchers, and it’s a tough job if they fail to get at the bottom of it. Going into the index files section where are listed the names of nearly five million men who were inducted into military service, the young woman made a complete Inventory ofall

Girl Sleuths Searching Card Index Files.

the thousands of men surnamed Hall. Among them all there was not one who ■came from McCall, South Carolina, nor yet <Jne who had a wife or mother whose name even remotely resembled the “Stalks” given as the name x?f the two beneficiaries. Calls for Nimble Wit. This, clearly, was a case for the use of that specially nimble wit and fine deductive faculty which has characterized touch of the work of the searchers of the index files, and given them a process of procedure which might be .used to add a leaf to the book of Flynns. “Well," remarked the girl charged with producing the needed information, “this man may be ‘Stalk,’ since that is the name given for his wife and mother.” But search through the “Stalks” brought nothing to identify the case. “Still,” she persisted, and they always do persist, these girls. “His name must be some kind of a ‘Stalk,’ but what kind? Corn stalks, bean stalks, and cabbage stalks are the only kind of stalks I about so I’ll just look them’up.” And sure e'ndugh, it turned out that his name was “some kind of a Stalk.” CabbagestalkSjlnfacLandhialndcx card was duly changed to read: “James Cabbagestalks, (3,721,505) McCall, South Carolina; beneficiaries, Mrs. Ella Cabbagestalks (wife), Mrs. Fannie Cabbagestalks (mother).’’ “You see that girl wearing the blue sweater over there,” said one young woman. ,

The girl of the blue sweater appeared so young she might have just left school. She was searching some index cards, her fingers rapidly running from one to another. With each flap of the card she had taken a mental note of the inscription thereon, but to the observer she was making a speed record in touching every card in the file drawer. Suddenly—Bang! The drawer was closed. She moved a fodt to the right, began another Marathon in card movements, selected one, made a notation on a slip of paper she carried, placed the card among the others, closed the drawer, and walked toward the man who is in charge of the file section. This pantomime was quickly enacted, and as it turned out, it brought to a close a •remarkable case which had been under investigation for some days. .' \ ‘‘ The “Dlvls Mystery.” The title of this strange case might be the “Divis mystery” with Miss Blue Sweater as the detective heroine. ▲ typewritten letter was received by

the bureau from an army camp, and ended as follows: “Respectfully, * —" * "Private Divls Spruce, Hastings, Pa.” the letter with instructions to secure the man’s policy number that certain information requested as to the standing of his Insurance might be furnished him. The name of Dlvls Spruce could not be found in the flies, Then came the time for imagination and deduction. No matter how the name was spilt to make some other plausible name, the files could not produce results. Finally the young woman decided to address a letter to the man at Hastings, Pa., requesting him to furnish ln=formatlon about himself. In due time the letter jras returned to the bureau as unclaimed. This did not put an end to the search by any means. Imagination and deduction again were brought into the case, and a further study of the original letter was made.

Dlvls Spruce, Spruce Division. Of course! The Spruce Division! The Spruce division was a part of theAmerrcanarmy. Miss Blue Sweater secured a roster of the Spruce division from the war department and searched through the nearly 40,000 names for a man who lived at Hastings, Fm .. In this she was regarded. The list showed only one man; from that town. He was Herman MillerP With this inj formation the young no ■ difficulty in finding the card of Herman Miller, (policy number 1,877.155; j serial number 860,255) of Hastings, i Pa. Thlsman was furnished theinI formation he desired, and in thanking ! the bureau he admitted he had forgotten to sign his name to the letter. Searchers From All Sections. Girls from every part of the country are employed as searchers. If a complex case arises involving a man’s Identification,—and rs in Maine, a girl from that state is assigned to run down the mystery and she nearly always does. Should the state be California, a girl hailing from the “Coast” soon has the correct data parefully listed in the files. There are innumerable "wonderful” i cases under Investigation every day, but these girls are not unlike the heroes from France who never exploit the “wonderful” things they themselves did in line of duty. Handwriting experts are employed to determine the identity of many signatures, since every conceivable form of handwriting reaches the bureau. Often the body of a letter will be per-

Checking Names of Soldier Survivors.

fectly legible, but the signature will prove to be one of those nonforgeable jumbles pf pen strokes which are the delight and pet hobby of the writer and the despair of every hopeful reader. Silent letters in names must always be taken into consideration. The name of Hlynack is a good example where the silent letter is the key letter for searching, but at the same time it is particularly dead In pronunciation. This name is 'pronounced Lynack, and in the hurry of writing, often names are misspelled, when on the surface they appear very simple and correct. Foreign names are often typed incorrectly because the soldier at the time of making application for Insurance may have been unfamiliar with English and made a mistake in repeating the spelling to the army or navy clerk. This is a great source of worry to seartmera. Names Spelled ' Many Ways. Frequently, one man’s name may be spelled in four or flve ways. If relatives, parents or someone interested in his welfare Inquires about his .insurance,' each will spell It In their way. Girl searchers must determine which is the correct spelling and then verify it from the man’s original signature. \ A clever piece of deduction was that to the case of Andrew Good of North Dakota. His name could not be found

THE EVENING REPUBLICAN. RENSSELAER. IND.

Ln the files and was turned over to one of the cleverest searchers. Since the man’s address was given as North Dakota, she assumed, in view of the fact that there were many Indians listed from that state, that his must be an Indian name. She immediately added Thunder to his name and found the record card as Andrew Good Thunder, in less than three minutes after she had been asked to lend her aid. Carelessness or unavoidable haste In writing up insurance applications on the Form 1-B, by which a man entering the service “requests“ordisclaims government allowance to dependents, and failure to include complete identifyinglnformation Ina letter of ttfc quiry, constitute the largest single cause In the bureau’s delay in answering mail. Any letter addressed to the bureau on any matter pertaining to a service man should contain his name in full — first, last, and middle; it should state his rank and organization at the time “Form 1-B” was filed, or at the time Insurance application was made; his present home address and former address if the address has been changed; the first, middle and last name of his beneficiary, and present and former address, if the address has been changed. The names of the nearly five million men who were inducted under the selective draft, and those who have joined up since the armistice, are on cards in filing cabinets, which, placed one after the other, would make a line, more than five miles long.

Just wba t complications may arise when there is failure to include this Identifying data, may be- Imagined from the fact that a comparison shows that the repetition of names in the files of thp bureau is far greater than the repetition of names carried in card indexes of commercial companies. Many Bear Same Name. Fifty-three thousand two hundred Johnsons were called into active military service. The Smiths were not far behind numerically, coming up to the considerable figure of 51.950. The “Brown” family with 48,000 is next. More than half the letters inquiring about Insurance come from men who either fail to give their identifying number, or their address. In thousands of cases they give their address, hut due to the fact that there lire others with similar names who live in the same city, and have moved this information is of little value to the girl searchers. Actual figures show that more than half the soldiers, sailors and marines have moved since leaving the service. Few forwarded a notice of a change of address. This left the bureau with only the name of the man for record, but through its system of tracing men, large numbers have been located by the girl sledths and their correct addresses have been listed. Many amazing discoveries have been made in names, and the number of ways they can be spelled. One young woman has tabulated 49 ways, so far discovered to spell Aloyslus. Another has specialized in the spelling of Ignatz. She has found 18 ways to spell this name. Still apother has found that John can be spelled 24 ways. To Bartholdt Otto Aabel, (policy number 3,263,838) of Minden, Neb., befiles. The last card In the file bears the name of lyiadySlaus Charles Zyzes, policy number 1,802,689) of 421 Maury street,' Rome, N. Y. Constant combing Is necessary to keep the files up to date.

Georgian Too Tired to Crank Up His Auto

Atlanta, Ga. —And now the laziest man! Lawson Collier, an autoist, was coming Into Atlanta, whep he overtook an old car stopped by tfie roadside. The occupants ’were in animated conversation. Thinking he might be of assistance,‘Collier stopped and asked if he could help. • “You might pull us down the road aXpiece to start my auto,” said the tired-looking owner. Coiner backed up, pulled out a piece of rope, and pulled the auto about 50 yards, and then asked what the trouble was. “Oh, nothing at all,” said his neighbor. “I just didn’t want to take the trouble to crank it.”

U. S. LOSES 4,480 CAPTURED

Eighth Army Division Makes Low Record With Only One Man Captured. ~ Washington, D. C. —A rechecking by the war department of the figures up to June 3 shows the total number of Americans captured by the enemy in France was 4,480, of whom 316 Were officers. 9 The Twenty-eighth division Was the heaviest loser with 18 officers and 714 men, and the Twentysixth next with 19 officers and 438 men. The Eighth division reported one man captured. Of the divisions earliest in line, the First lost no officers and 152 men md the Second division five officer* «■! 152 men.

TRIS SPEAKER LONG IDOL OF BASEBALL FANS AROUND AMERICAN LEAGUE CIRCUIT

“Gavvy” Cravath of the Philadelphia National League Team, Who Was Recently Appointed to Succeed Jack Coombs, is Seen Congratulating Tris Speaker, Who Has Just Been Made Manager of the Cleveland Indians.

News of the appointment of Tris Speaker as manager of the Cleveland Indians was welcomed by baseball fans all around the American League circuit, with whom he was long a basebaU idol. He began his career in the North Texas league—he was born in Hubbard City, Tex.—and later played with the Houston team of the Texas league. Speaker first joined the Boston team late ip 1907, playing his .first game. In Philadelphia and batting .240 for the three weeks he was with the team. With Little Rock in 1908. - He was sent to Little Rock in 1908, rejoining the Red Sox at the end of the season. The next year he joined the ranks of the real stars and since then has been a consistent hitter and has been recognized as perhaps the greatest outfielder in baseball. It was in a post-season series with the Giants in 1909 that Speaker gave Boston fans striking proof of his wonderful ability. Boston won the series,

BASEBALL STORIES

Catcher Art Wilson of the Boston Braves is nursing a cracked rib. ♦ • * jAr -■? <’ It may be true that a crowd likes hitting, but it wishes the home team to do it « ♦ ♦ Ferd Schupp says his arm is as strong as ever, but that he just can’t get control. • » ♦ And if anybody thinks Eddie Cicotte has blown at 35, take a look at the pitching record. • • ♦ Hy Myers, the Dodger center fielder, has a batting average of .340, and Wheat is clubbing for a .320, for some time, has recovered and rejoined the Pittsburgh Pirates, * * • International league club magnates voted down the proposition to increase the player limit from 16 to 17. * * * The veteran Al Schweitzer, who was with Jersey City earlier in the season, has been taken on by Rochester. • * • Hal Chase makes great plays with wonderful ease and grace. The same goes for the errors he executes also. ■* • • Pitcher Dick McCabe, released by Binghamton and taken on -by Newark, has been a great winner for the Bears. * * * a No mean factor in the recent recovery of the Brooklyn Dodgers has been the work of Hi Myers, both at bat and in the field. • * • 1 “Cactus” Cravath, Phil manager, declares that there is no chance for the Giants or any other dub to get Eppa Jeptha Rixey. • ♦ • Rumor has it that Casey Stengel is tired of playing in Pittsburgh and is trying to get, his release so he can join some Eastern team.

• • * Providence has sold Fred Brainard, and Danny Gearin to Oakland of the Pacific Coast league. Brainard recently returned from France. The veteran Bill Crlstall, recently released as manager of the Bay . City team of the Michigan-Ontario league, has signed with Moline to pitch. • * ♦ With two third basemen in Milton Stock and Doug Baird on his hands, the president of the St Louis Cardinals is expected to ship one away soon. • • • The Chicago White Sox will try out Eddie Forster, a frora Brewster academy. He is an outfielder and in college made a reputation for fleetness it toot. "

4 games to 1, and It was largely through his fine batting and fielding. “In the World’s Series of 1912 Speaker again played a prominent part. It was his long drive in the eleventh inning of the second game of the series, the return of which was muffed byWilson at the plate, which enabled the Red Sox to tie the Giants, 6 to 6, in that game, and it was his single in the memorable tenth inning of the eighth and deciding game ofthat series which put the Red Sox in position to, wfn the game and the world’s championship. Continued Fine Work. He played in the World’s Championship 191. T team when it beat Philadelphia, and, after going to Cleveland the next season, continued his fine work at bat and in the field. He has been a .300 hitter .throughout his career as a regular and 4ed the league in batting once, in 1916, when he had an average of .386. As a ground coverer, thrower andquick thinker he has had few equals and probably no superiors.

HERRMANN SURE OF TRIUMPH

President of Cincinnati Club Most Optimistic Over Team’s Success In National League. Garry Herrmann, Redland chief, is most optimistic over his team’s chances, and freely predicts a pennant for the Cincinnati club. He says the club is breaking all attendance records, and is playing to bigger gates, both at home and on the road, than at any time in the club’s history. The Reds also are run on a pretty economical basis. The club has little utility strength. Lately Bressler, a pitcher, has appeared in left field.

Garry Herrmann.

Sherwood Mfjgee started off in left, but after he became ill, Cueto, the diminutive Cuban, who is an allround handy man, played the outfield until he got bad fingers. Bressler then was playing in the outfield. Cincinnati’s only other utility man is Jimmy Smith, the little Infielder, who has been kicked alt around the circuit.

BASEBALL GAINS IN MEXICO

National Pastime Bidding for FaVor and May Supplant Bull Fighting and Other Games. Baseball is bidding for favor in parts of Mexico and may supplant bull fighting and other distinctly native pastimes, according to>a Dallas sporting goods concern,/which has Just made a large shipment of baseball equipment to Monterey, northern Mexico. This concern recently sdht a salesman through the northern part of Mexico and he reported that baseball was rapidly gaining in favor and predicted it soon would become a national pastime in that country, t ’ ■ ; ■ .4 '' • ,V. ’- 3'

STUDYING NIGHTS

When the Cardinals were doing their spring training Branch Rickey noticed that Austin Mell Ary, in stealing a base, was the wrong foot, and thus slide three feet further than necessary. Calling McHenry to him Rickey asked: “Austin, what is the first rule of plane geometry?” °I don’t know nothing about geometry, sir,” was the --reply. - “Well, then, TH tell you,” Rejoined Rickey, “it is that the shortest distance between two points may be accomplished by "~fl~stralght line. You ignore that rule in sliding to bases and travel ah~excess~ distance of throe feet on every slide. so that when you have stolen 30 Bases you real 1 y will have stolen 31, though you won’t get credit for the extra base. Just apply a little geometry to your base stealing and you will get better results with less effort,” “Yes, sir,” answered McHenry, too dazed to say anything else.

WOULD PUT STOP TO ROWDYISM ON FIELD

President Heydler Would Stamp Out Umpire Baiting. Considers His Group of Arbiters Effident Men andlntends to Back ~ Them to Limit—Players —— Are Given Warning. President Heydler of the National league in an interview announced that he would not stand for umpire baiting or rowdyism on the ball field. He at- ■ tended a game between the Cardinals and Giants on the Polo grounds, where it is claimed certain Cardinal players behaved in a disgraceful manner. Heydler said: . g -- “Baseball is too great a game te permit such tactics as certain players have employed in recent games to show their dissatisfaction over decisions by umpires. I do not contend that the umpires always are correct. It would be humanly impossible for th em al ways to give the right decisions. But it is safe to say they are rightlnine-ty-nine times out of a hundred. Eyen if a player dtffers with an umpire over a decision it behooves him to recognize the authority of the official instead of indulging in disorderly conduct. “Baseball is a clean'game. Spirit is essential, of course. Rivalry makes

President Heydier.

for faster competition. But spirit and rivalry must not be mistaken for guttersnipe tactics such as throwing handfuls of dirt at umpires and cursing, as some players have done. The fans in the stands—that is, a big majority/ of them —certainly do not approve of misconduct such as that: “I consider the National league um-_ pires a group of effictent men. and ta* tend to back them to the limit. Players who persist in breaking the rules by misconduct on the field will be severely dealt with. JLet this serve as a warning to them." K

BRAINARD IS BACK FROM WAR

Former University of Illinois Star and Later With Giants to Re-enter Professional Ball. Lieut. Fred Brainard, former University of Illinois baseball star and later with the New York Giants, has returned from overseas service and expects to re-enter professional ball. He has been sent to Oakland of the Pacific Coast league. While in France Lieutenant Brainard was in charge of the baseball of his division.

THOMAS AS PINCH MANAGER

$ ScouVfor Philadelphia Athletics Take* Hold of Atlanta Team and Wins Many Game* ' J • ■ —a While Charley Frank was absent looking for talent, Ira Thomas, visiting Atlanta in the'interest of Connie Mack, took hold of the Crackers and won several games with them. As a pinch manager Thomas delivered such a brand of goods that Frank has a f right to be jealous. < ;