Newton D. Baker to Woodrow Wilson

I have just received a letter from General J. Franklin Bell, who is at Camp Upton, on Long Island, giving me the facts with regard to some of the young drafted men, who were loaned by him to the Liberty Loan Committee of New York.

These boys were largely Jews from the East side of New York. They collected subscriptions aggregating $610,000, practically all in subscriptions of fifty and one hundred dollars each.General Bell's report continues to the effect that he is informed that these young men made a very favorable impression by their soldierly bearing, earnestness and intelligence; that they went out of their way to impress upon the members of the Advisory Trades Committee the fact that they were entirely satisfied with their treatment at Camp Upton, that the clothing and food were excellent and that any remarks which the people in New York City had heard as to bad treatment came from irresponsible and unintelligent soldiers who were not interested in their work.

I had heard in New York that the East Side Jewish district was an especially nervous center, full of agitation against the draft, and that when these young Jewish boys came home in their uniforms, their families were filled with pride, and a great deal of the unrest and dissatisfaction in the district was changed into an equally strong feeling of enthusiasm and local pride.

The incident seems to me a note-worthy one, and has probably served a very useful purpose in clarifying public feeling in a section of New York City not easily susceptible to direct argument on public questions.Secretary of War.The President.

The White House.