30 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. I07 



The information cards were filed by major area (Africa) and sub- 

 division (Abyssinia). A separate alphabetical file of name cards 

 contained no personal information, but noted all areas under which 

 cards for that individual could be found. There was no cross-index 

 by disciplines or linguistic abilities. To find the names of anthro- 

 pologists who had worked in Africa required a half day's search ; but 

 then, this was not the purpose of the roster. 



All rosters soon get out of date. The Board was mainly interested 

 in the immediate utilization of its roster and consequently made only 

 casual efiforts to keep it current. If new information came in, it was 

 duly recorded, but there was no systematic attempt to obtain it. The 

 Army and Navy would have liked information on the draft status 

 of the individuals, although in many cases such data were available 

 through the National Roster's system of having each of its regis- 

 trants mail in a card when classified as immediately draftable. At 

 one point the Army proposed that the Board build up a selected roster 

 of regional and language specialists and cooperate with Selective 

 Service in getting them usefully placed in the armed forces. This 

 request produced intense activity among the Staff but, fortunately 

 for the peace of the Board, the Army completely forgot about this 

 plan 3 weeks after it had first suggested it. At the time, however, 

 the Board considered the problem as one of major importance; it is 

 one which has not yet been solved. 



The major efforts in building up the Area Roster continued for 

 something over a year, since which time it has received only occa- 

 sional attention. The December 1943 approximation of the size and 

 coverage of the roster is adequate for illustrative purposes. Over 

 5,000 individual names were included with an area coverage, includ- 

 ing duplications, as follows : 



Cards 



Africa 2,450 



Asia 1 ,300 



(e.g., Japan, 200) 



(e.g., Burma, 75) 

 Europe 2,550 



(e.g., Germany proper, joo) 



Latin America i ,600 



North America 300 



Oceania 2,450 



(e.g., Sumatra, 175) 



(e.g., Philippines, 500) 

 Total 10,650 



