Research: Military: Records Relating to World War I
Records Relating to World War I
Additional State Agency Records
Department of State
Bureau of Miscellaneous Records
13035. Proclamations by the Governor, 1893-1992. 21.6 cubic feet
Arrangement: Chronological by filing date.
This series consists of original signed proclamations issued by the governor to formally notify the people of the State on matters of law, policy, or custom affecting them, or to designate exclusive times for commemoration or observance of special events. The proclamations were filed with the Secretary of State as the office of record for New York State. Subjects of proclamations typically include: special elections, holidays (e.g., President's days, Thanksgiving, Arbor Day, Flag Day), compensatory time for State employees to attend special events (e.g., Civil War commemorations), extraordinary sessions of the legislature, and statewide days of prayer. The proclamations are in typescript on sheets bearing the seal of the State of New York, and carry the governor's official seal. They are signed by both the governor and his secretary, and are also stamped with the date of filing at the Office of the Secretary of State. A manuscript entry giving the subject of the proclamation is found on the folded outer side.
Proclamations issued by Governor Charles S. Whitman (and his secretary William A. Orr) during the World War I period (1917-1919) are found in series accretion 13035-79, Box 2. Some war-related issues addressed by the proclamations include: appeals for war relief (of Jewish, Polish, Belgian and French refugees), Liberty Loan, and Red Cross drives; organization of patriotic and educational events such as "France Day" or "Italy Day" in support of the Allied cause; and messages requesting citizen cooperation with the State Food Supply Commission and the New York State Boys Working Reserve to produce and conserve food during wartime. There are also several transcribed copies of gubernatorial approvals (required under Chapter 521 of Laws of 1918) of applications received by the Department of Excise to suspend the liquor tax certificates of local purveyors during wartime. Of special interest is the proclamation of a "Loafer Law" (Chapter 625 of the Laws of 1918) certifying that "public exigency requires that every able-bodied male between the ages of eighteen and fifty years, inclusive, shall be habitually and regularly engaged in some lawful, useful and recognized business, profession, occupation, trade or employment, until termination of [the] war".
A3260. Payrolls for Employees in Military Service, 1917- 1920. .2 cubic foot
Arrangement: Chronological by month of payroll.
When the United States entered the First World War in 1917, the New York State Legislature enacted a law stipulating that State employees would not lose any of their employment privileges due to absence in military service, and that they would be paid the difference between their military pay and their State salaries. Later that year the legislature appropriated funds for the salaries of employees in military service.
These records document payment to State Engineer and Surveyor employees for the differential between their military pay and their State salaries. Most of the records are monthly payrolls providing:
- name
- State title
- military rank
- monthly State salary
- monthly military pay
- amount due from State
- governor's approval number
There are also a few additional items in the series, including lists of dates on which employees went on the military payroll or returned to work, and a table which apparently lists rates of compensation due at various salary levels.
B0303. Joint Legislative Resolution Regarding the 332nd Regiment of the American Expeditionary Force, 1919. .1 cubic foot (1 item)
This document is an original typed resolution issued by both houses of the State Legislature upon the return of the 332nd Infantry Regiment of the American Expeditionary Force from the Italian front in 1919. The resolution was issued to recognize the "conspicuous services and devotion to duty" for which the 332nd Regiment was decorated by the Italian government upon its return to New York. It is noteworthy that Major Fiorello H. LaGuardia, born at Madison Barracks, Sacketts Harbor, New York, and future mayor of New York City, was attached to this regiment.
The 332nd Infantry Regiment was part of the 83rd Division, which was deployed overseas in June 1918. After training in France the regiment was detached for service as army and corps troops, and on July 25 it moved, with the 331st Field Hospital, to Villafranca, Custoza, and Sommacompagna, Italy. In October the regiment participated in the Vittorio-Veneto Operation (Italy). The regiment assisted in establishing bridgeheads at the Piave River, and as part of the Italian 31st Division (Tenth Italian Army) participated in the pursuit of the Austrians from the Piave to the Tagliamento River. The Second Battalion crossed the Tagliamento under fire and reached Villaorba on November 4, when the Austrian armistice became effective. Thereafter the Second Battalion arrived at Cattaro and sent troops into Montenegro; Headquarters and the First Battalion moved into Treviso; and the Third Battalion moved to Fiume. The regiment assembled at Genoa in March 1919 and the first contingent sailed for the U.S. on March 29. The second contingent sailed from Marseille on March 29 and April 4, 1919.
The resolution was introduced on April 16, 1919 by Senator Salvatore A. Cotillo of the Eighteenth District and concurred in without amendment by the Assembly on April 17, 1919. It is signed by Ernest A. Fay and Fred W. Hammond, Clerks of the Senate and Assembly respectively. Affixed to the resolution are the original seals of the Clerks' offices.
Joint Legislative Committee to Investigate Seditious Activity
L0031. National Civil Liberties Bureau Subpoenaed Files, 1917-1919. 5.25 cubic feet (10 microfilm reels)
Arrangement: Organized into 2 subseries: Subseries 1, Legal Defense Correspondence, is arranged alphabetically by topic or by state. Subseries 2, Conscientious Objection Correspondence, is arranged by topic, state, or Army camp.
As part of its investigations, the Committee to Investigate Seditious Activities (commonly referred as the Lusk Committee) probed the wartime "subversive" ventures of the National Civil Liberties Bureau (NCLB). The Committee charged the NCLB was in the forefront of a legitimate pacifist movement that was being manipulated by Socialist revolutionaries in order to influence U.S. foreign policy.
The NCLB was formed in 1917 as an outgrowth of the American Union Against Militarism, which itself was formed to work against American intervention in the war in Europe. One of the stated objectives of the NCLB was to assist the defense of conscientious objectors during World War I, and it served as a type of national clearinghouse of information on their legal defense. The NCLB changed its name in 1920 to the American Civil Liberties Union.
Activities investigated by the committee included encouraging individuals to register as conscientious objectors to escape military duty, assisting radical groups in obstructing the war effort, and furnishing attorneys for those objecting to military service. Correspondence between the NCLB and conscientious objectors from 32 states and 12 Army camps are found in Subseries 2, boxes 4, 5, and 6. Included are letters from the NCLB to the War Department on behalf of individuals applying for conscientious objector status. The records also include correspondence between the NCLB and organizations active in the pacifist movement, such as the American Friends Service Committee, the American Liberty Defense League, the League for Democratic Control, and the People's Defense Council.
Finding aid: Folder list.
