eck's skill came back. Six years later, during which time the
agent heard from them once or twice a year, Aleck was still keeping
straight, the children were doing well in school, and the family,
prosperous and happy, had bought a farm of their own in another
state.

FOOTNOTES:

[40] The deserter who does not fail to support is usually safe from
punishment no matter how aggravated his offense. A man living with his
wife and five-year-old boy in an eastern city eloped with another woman
to a city in the Middle West. The couple kidnapped the boy and took him
with them; and the distracted woman, bereft of both her husband and
child, had no recourse in any court, since the father was continuing to
provide for his son.

[41] Proceedings of the New York State Conference of Charities and
Correction, 1910, p. 76.

[42] Loane, M.: The Queen's Poor, p. 102. London, Edward Arnold, 1905.

[43] Solenberger, Alice Willard: One Thousand Homeless Men, p. 22. New
York, Russell Sage Foundation, 1911.

[44] For a consideration of possible lines of treatment for the
non-supporter and his family, the reader is referred to Chapter VII,
where is discussed the treatment of the deserter who is willing to
return.

[45] Behind the Service Flag, pamphlet ARC 211, American Red Cross,
Department of Civilian Relief.

IX

NEXT STEPS IN CORRECTIVE TREATMENT

Any discussion of laws, their application, and enforcement, must
perforce be very general, since the different states vary greatly in
laws governing desertion and in equipment for their enforcement.
Suggestions for a uniform federal desertion law are not considered here;
the term "next steps" should be read as meaning not plans in actual
prospect but rather the increase in legal facilities desirable from the
social worker's point of view. In communities where no such facilities
exist, social workers are in a good position to collect illustrative
material and push for desirable changes in law and law enforcement.
Especially advantageous is the position of the legal social agencies
such as legal aid societies and special bureaus and committees for
increasing the efficiency of the courts, many of which are affiliated
with or maintained by the large family work societies.

1. Measures for the Discovery, Extradition or Deportation of the
Deserter.--The nation-wide registration of males between certain ages,
under the Selective Service Act, was widely utilized by